The Vickers Family

Christmas in Jackson

2010-01-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Cade's Favorite gift

2010-01-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here's Cade with his paintball gun that he got for Christmas. Too bad it's already out of CO2 and the nearest place to get it filled is 30 minutes away : (

Christmas at Home

2010-01-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

Cookies for Santa

Christmas in Grenada

2010-01-03T13:19:00.001-08:00

Santa visits Addyson at school

2009-12-20T06:13:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Thanksgiving

2009-12-06T17:36:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my parent's house in Grenada. I only managed a few pictures.

Caroline Ruth Day

2009-11-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

Amy(my sister) and Matt welcomed sweet Baby Caroline on October 18. Last weekend I flew down to meet her and enjoyed some time with her big sister and brother.

Addyson's Birthday Day 2

2009-11-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

Since Addyson LOVES animals, we decided that she would LOVE going to the zoo. So the Sunday before her actual birthday we met Aunt Angela and went to the zoo. She had a wonderful time and as you can tell she's getting her "cheese" smile down pat!!

Addyson Turns 2- Day ONE

2009-10-31T19:58:00.001-07:00

We like to spread birhdays out around here. On Tuesday Addyson will be TWO, but we decided to go ahead and kick off the celebration today. We gave her the "big" birthday present and let her break it in. She loved it- she giggled and squealed the first 10 minutes at least!!

Halloween

2009-10-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

Lookout neighborhood, here we come!!

Cutest Bug EVER!!

The TOUGH LOOK

Going to a neighbor's Halloween party

Laken (center)went trick or treating and to a Halloween party with friends, then they all slept over at our house. This was the first year I didn't watch her trick or treat : (

sleeping like a baby...

2009-10-31T19:37:00.001-07:00

Laken-pep rally

2009-10-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

State Swim Banquet

2009-10-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

This banquet is by invitation only and only the top 5 swimmers in each event for each age group are invited. Ryan Lochte (Olympic swimmer) was the guest speaker. The banquet was held in Jackson. I was really proud that both of my swimmers received this honor!!

All of the Top 5 swimmers from Starkville:

Posing with Ryan Lochte

MSU tailgating

2009-10-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

All of these tents were set up by Southern Tradition Tailgating:

The rain won't stop my fun!!

Loving Andrew

Arriving at the Tailgate

TIME TO GO!!!!

Tailgating with friends

Pappy went Bye-Bye

2009-10-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Addyson recently said bye bye to pappy when day care started. This is the last picture I have with her and pappy : (

Emma Kate's birthday party

2009-10-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Lake Tiak O'khata

2009-08-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend we met the Dinkelackers and the Fords at Lake Tiak O'khata. This is a lake with diving boards, water slides, and pedal boats. We had a picnic lunch and a wonderful dinner at the lake restaurant. It was a perfect summer afternoon and only thirty minutes from our house!!

First Day of School

2009-08-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

Laken started SEVENTH GRADE!! She has friends in all of her classes and is especially excited about Viva Art this year.

Cade started THIRD GRADE!! He likes school as much as he can like school : ) He is good friends with two of the boys in his class. His teacher is very creative and he was pumped about winning a day at the teacher's desk by playing a game called homeworkopoly...

Addyson started day care/preschool. She hasn't cried about being left, but the teacher did tell me this afternoon Addyson kept telling the teacher, "she be back." How sad is that-she's trying to be positive!! Bless her heart!!

Preston and Nelson come to visit

2009-07-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Michelle was going to a funeral the other day, and she asked me to keep her boys. Of course I was thrilled since I don't get to see them nearly enough!! As you can see my kids loved having them here, and Addyson really played and shared SOME with Preston- a first for her!! I love the one of him mowing and her following with the baby to make sure he does it right : )

Robert's visit

2009-07-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

Robert is our friend that was at UGA with Brad. He has been living in California and is moving to New York, where he is from. He has not met Addyson, so on his way to New York, he and his friend Allie stopped by to visit.

July 4th with the Smiths

2009-07-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

Good friends, Good food, Good fun...

The Grand Canyon

2009-07-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Day One: Met Tom and Dianne in Grenada, loaded the Sequoia with seven people, and left around 4 pm. We arrived in Oklahoma City around 1 am. Slept 8 hours then packed up for day 2.
Day 2: Everyone is in good spirits. Nice breakfast, nice lunch, enjoyed checking out historic Route 66.

As we approach Albuquerque... BOOM... Addyson is throwing up. We make a couple of more hours to Gallop, NM with me holding the paper towel as she dry heeves. We arrive around 8 pm and she is finished throwing up before we put her to bed. This is the low point of our trip- the realization that we will all likely be throwing up soon brought our spirits down dramatically!!
Day 3: Only four hours until we reach destination-enough to cheer everyone up. We begin to notice signs for the meteor crater-the place where the crater hit that might have led to the extinction of dinosaurs. We decided that was worth seeing. So we stopped for an hour or so, and it was well worth our time.

However, we were anxious to move on to the GRAND CANYON. We arrived around 2pm and our rooms were ready. We stayed at the Best Western Squire Inn. I highly recommend it. Wonderful, hot breakfast included, shuttle to canyon, bowling alley and arcade in hotel, and the rooms/bathrooms were HUGE. Anyway, we unpacked then headed to the IMAX movie of the bottom of the canyon-very entertaining. Next we headed to the south rim. The Grand Canyon was breathtakingly beautiful.
We walked about 3 miles on the rim to the Bright Angel Lodge for dinner. Then back to hotel for good night sleep. Brad, Tom, Laken, and Cade were planning to hike 6 miles the next morning...
Day 4: The hikers were up and ready around 6 am. They set out with lots of enthusiasm. Addyson however, took a turn for the worse. She was throwin up again, so mom and I took turns having breakfast. Then I called our pediatrician who gave me dehydration signs, but she didn't seem to have any thank goodness. The hikers arrived back after lunch. The kids were real troopers. Total round trip down and UP was app. 6 miles!!

Mom and I left Addy with the hikers and went to lunch. When I returned, Brad said he wasn't feeling too good. The rest of the crew went bowling. When we got back to the room Brad was throwing up and Laken didn't want supper because her stomach was hurting. This was pretty much an all nighter- Brad and Laken back and forth...
Day 5: No one is throwing up!! However, Brad and Laken were not up for sight seeing and mama and I were not feeling 100%, but we heard Desert View was a must see, so we were able to find the energy to make it there- the whole crew except for Brad and Laken. Desert View was definitely the most beautiful view of the canyon. I'm glad I "toughed it out".

We went back to the room and rested up. By supper time everyone was ready to go again. We decided to catch a sunset and "say goodbye" to the canyon.

Day 6: Time to go!! We had plans to meet Brad's dad, John, for breakfast on our way back. It was very nice to see him after way too
many years.
Then we traveled for about 11 more hours to Abilene, TX. This was a really long day in the car for all of us. Then we rested up about 8 hours for day 7!!
Day 7: We decided the kids needed a travel break!! Abilene is only a couple of hours from Hurricane Harbor (6 Flags Water Park) in Dallas. We booked a room in Dallas and spent this day at the water park!! All three kids and their parents : ) had a blast.

Day 8: Time to go home!! We left Dallas shortly after breakfast, dropped off my parents in Grenada, then made it to Starkville before dark. It was a wonderful trip, that we will always remember (well maybe not Addy), but it's always good to be home!!

Amy's Visit

2009-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

My sister, Amy, and her two precious children came to visit in Grenada and Starkville this week. We had lots of relaxing fun...

Laken teaching Mary Katelyn about Webkinz

Holden loves Cars-Lightning McQueen and No Stall

Reading books in the laundry basket: What is it about kids and laundry baskets??

Mary Katelyn thought Cade needed something to snuggle with during his nap : )

Playing outside with Papa

Nana let Addyboo lick the banana pudding spoon!!

New Bar Stools

2009-06-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Our new bar stools finally came in. We got them out of the boxes and set them up, but as you can see the boxes were more of a hit with the kids than the stools!!

Knoxville visit

2009-06-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last week the kids and I went to visit our Knoxville family. We got there Sunday afternoon. We played at the pool, Britt cooked some wonderful hamburgers, and Marianne out did herself as always with the extra stuff including three wonderful desserts. On Tuesday we went to see Bill and Sarah's shop and their neat cabin home in Gatlinburg then the kids got to pick what looked "fun" to them on the Gatlinburg strip. That consisted of pizza buffet, Jurassic Park boat ride, bumper cars, bumper boats, and go carts. Then we toured Bill and Marianne's future lake house-awesome!! And had Mexican for supper per Cade's request. The next morning Laken, Kayce, and myself got pedicures. Then we picked up Daniel, Robert, and Sarah and headed to Biltmore. We had a fun lunch in downtown Asheville then toured the Biltmore home. We had an awesome trip-one we will remember for years to come. Thank you Marianne for planning such a wonderful trip and to everyone else for taking time out of their busy schedules to "play" with us!! Can't wait to see everyone again. I wish I had more pictures-maybe next time...

At Biltmore: Marianne, me, Sarah, Robert

At Biltmore: Kayce, Laken, and Daniel

Laken and Kayce getting pedicures

Addy mastered the stairs

At future lakehouse: Laken, Jacob, Daniel, Kayce, Cade, and Addy

Cheer Camp

2009-06-11T04:16:00.000-07:00

Laken had a wonderful experience at cheer camp last week. She has several best friends on the squad and was able to be roomies with one of them. We were able to go and watch the squad at night, and besides one phone call,this is all we saw and heard from Laken. She explained that she was just too busy. The MSU dorm they stayed in was as nice as most hotels. Dorms have come a LONG way-private bathrooms, walk in closets, etc. She was also excited about the microwave, and made some soup and easy mac at night. Laken has always said she's never leaving home-she'll just live with us when she goes to college. All of that has changed-she now says she can't wait to go to college!! Which I can't decide if I'm happy or sad about this : )

Baseball

2009-06-11T04:08:00.001-07:00

Cade recently completed another season of baseball. He really loves baseball-especially batting.

Gulf Shores

2009-05-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Brad and I recently went to Gulf Shores with our friends Bryan and Kerri. We had a WONDERFUL time. We didn't get the camera out much, but here are a couple of pictures...

Graduation

2009-05-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month I finished my masters degree in school counseling at Mississippi State. Here are some pics:

Christy Howe Vance

2009-05-06T09:34:00.001-07:00

Christy has been like a big sister to me since I was about 8 years old. She is a strong Christian example who stays positive no matter what her circumstances are. She was diagnosed with cancer and is now in remission but because of complications from past surgeries she has been diagnosed with gastroparesis. (Because of nerve damage , her stomach and small intestine are paralyzed). Christy is on a strictly liquid diet & on a waiting list for a gastric pacemaker at UMC in Jackson, MS. She recently found out she has been moved up on the list and she will have the procedure next Thursday. Christy's insurance company will not authorize this procedure so some of her church community friends are doing a fundraiser in her honor-they are selling really cute t-shirts. You can view them and more about Christy at this site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/christyvance. Some of you who don't know Christy may know Michelle her sister. Michelle has a 2 year old and a two MONTH old and her husband Chris was just deployed to Iraq for 16 months. Please be in prayer for Christy, her husband Joe, and their three children: Allie, Caleb, and Drew. Also remember Christy and Michelle's parents who are struggling to try to help both daughters during this time.

Home Improvement

2009-04-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

My little "Tim the toolman Taylor" aka Brad Vickers has been busy around the house. In the last three weeks he has built a fence by himself and built and hung shutters. Here are some before/after pics...

Happy Birthday, Laken!!

2009-04-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Laken through the years. I can't believe she is 12!! She is still really sweet-not sure Brad and I deserve that : ) We like to extend birthdays around our house. Yesterday was the actual birthday. She opened gifts (got a new camera-maybe she'll start a blog!!), brought cookies to classmates, then went to Mugshots with us and my parents and my sister's family were in town so they joined us-which is a gift in itself since she hasn't seen them for her birthday since she turned 5!! Then she has invited 15 girls to join us at her favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate her birthday this Friday night. I'll post some pics of that later.

Happy 100th Birthday, Grandmother Earlora!!

2009-04-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Addy on the Hunt!!

2009-04-15T20:14:00.001-07:00

Although, this is actually Addyson's second Easter, it is the first Easter she was aware of eggs, bunnies, baskets, etc. As you can see she had her own little way of hunting(pull egg apart, throw egg, chase or be chased, grab basket and start over with new egg), but she had fun regardless, and we had fun watching...

All Dressed Up

2009-04-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

Easter Bunny Visits

2009-04-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Dying Eggs

2009-04-15T19:49:00.001-07:00

Addysn meets the Bunny

2009-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

Smiths visit

2009-04-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

We love when we get to spend time with the Smith family. Not only do we love Lucas and Kristy, but our kids love their kids!! As you can see everybody has a friend their age!! Alexis (middle Smith) even thinks we're all cousins : ) Good times...

Another Aunt Amy Original

2009-04-09T05:58:00.001-07:00

Amy has been sewing again. I tried to get Addyson to smile, but she was making it a game to not smile. Anyway, I got a good picture of the cute dress!!

Meet Nelson Christopher Downs

2009-04-09T05:46:00.001-07:00

This is the newest blessing in Michelle and Chris's life. Michelle is my best friend from childhood. She's one of those people you can go weeks without talking to and it doesn't matter-she's like family. Please pray for Michelle, Chris, Preston (2 1/2), and baby Nelson. Chris will be leaving in May for training then in June he will be deployed to Iraq for possibly a year...

Addyson and Preston playing

sleepover

2009-04-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

This is Laken with her three best friends. We feel so blessed that she has found a sweet group of girls to hang out with.

Mimi

2009-03-25T07:51:00.001-07:00

In December 2007, Brad's mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She fought a tough battle, but she went to be with the Lord on March 17. We all do and will miss her very much. Double click on the collage to get a better view of some of our favorite pictures.

Cade's party

2009-03-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

This year Cade had his party at the skating rink. He had a football cake with Georgia vs. Mississippi State on the field. Here are the fun pics...

Thomas Cade is EIGHT!!

2009-03-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Cade is such a ray of sunshine in our family. I still think of him as my chubby little baby boy. It doesn't seem possible that he is EIGHT YEARS OLD!! Here are some of my favorite flashback pics of him...

Snow Day!!

2009-03-01T06:54:00.001-08:00

Our neighbors, The McReynolds, are very creative/talented photographers. They were sweet enough to send us this cute collage of the neighborhood kids...

Two hours ago... Now the sun is shining : )

Cheerleader Tryouts

2009-02-27T17:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my child is old enough to try out for middle school cheerleader!! This week she and several of her friends made the squad. She is so excited (as you can tell from the pictures)...

State Swim Meet in Oxford

2009-02-26T05:03:00.000-08:00

We had a fun, but exhausting weekend in Oxford. Thank goodness my parents came and helped me with Addyson every day of the meet. It's taken me a few days to recover even with help!! Laken qualified to swim seven events (the max) at state meet. She made it to finals(top 16) in six of the seven events!! The breast stroke is her best/favorite stroke. She made her first AA time and a sectionals time in that event. Most of all she had fun hanging out with her friends and cheering them on as well. Cade did well too. For this meet swimmers had to qualify-Cade was the youngest male who qualified!! He swam his one event-breast stroke. He was seeded last for the entire event, but he ended up winning his heat!! Then they asked him to compete on a relay. His relay did well and he ended up scoring points for the team. Here a few pics:

"Resting" before finals

Cade with two of Brad's best college friends' kids. Alexis Smith (Lucas), Cade, and Bradley Horn (Jeff).
Addy thinks it's her turn!!
Me with Mark-relative of relatives (seen at swim meets for years, but didn't realize we had a common bond)

Bike Video of Cade

2009-02-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Addy meets mud

2009-02-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

Today was such a beautiful day. I dressed Addy in Laken's hand me downs and let her have at it and LOOK!! She had a wonderful time, in case you couldn't tell. This is really a big deal for me-I am not such a mud fan. I don't think I would have ever let Laken get this dirty...

Baby Doll

2009-02-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

Addyson is like my dress up baby doll-all my kids are really, I love dressing my kids. However, there's something really fun about dressing a baby girl. My mom got her this outfit for Valentine's day, but getting her clothes is like a two in one gift (I feel like it's a gift for me too!!). This outfit came from Puddleducks (in Grenada-owned by my friend, Karen Hartley).

8 and under state meet

2009-02-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

This Saturday Cade competed in the 8 and under state swim meet in Jackson. He did really well. He won first place in three of the five events he swam: 25 breast, 50 breast, and 100 IM!! He also won 2nd place in the 50 freestyle. He competed with all of the 7 year olds in the state. He is such a little racer. I did not get any new pictures, but he qualified for the 10 and under meet that's this weekend in Oxford, so maybe I'll get some pics of Cade and Laken.

Laken

2009-02-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Last week Laken informed me that she and some of her friends had declared it tacky day!! They were going to all dress tacky for school. Not all of them participated-I think some of the mothers were not too sure about the girls wearing these crazy clothes without the school declaring it tacky day, but I thought, hey they aren't breaking the dress code and I need to choose my battles. This week the girls have declared today 80s day, so once again I supported Laken's bold fashion choice and here's what she wore to school today...

Rodeo

2009-02-17T07:32:00.001-08:00

Last Friday night our neighbor, Payton, invited Cade to go with his family to the rodeo. Cade loves the idea of being a cowboy, so he was thrilled. This is Cade and Payton before the rodeo. Then Andy, Payton's dad, bought all the boys cowboy hats at the rodeo, so here's a pic of Cade with his cowboy hat. Thanks, Payton for such a fun night!!

sewing

2009-02-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

I spent the whole day last Wednesday playing on my sewing machine. I embroidered this dress and shirt for Addy for her Valentines present. Then I made my friend Michelle these happies for her baby Nelson that's due in a couple of weeks. I wanted to do swim towels for Laken and Cade, but my last towel was a disaster. I ordered them some swim gear they had been wanting instead.

Addyson loving her big girl chair

2009-02-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

Addyson is loving her chair that she got from Nana and Papa from Christmas. I love this picture. She does this all the time: Gathers her blankets puts them in her chair then grabs a book and climbs up in her "nest"...

Sunday

2009-02-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Spring was in the air!!

2009-02-02T06:06:00.001-08:00

I love spring time. The weather this weekend was a much needed reminder that spring would be coming again. The kids enjoyed playing outside, but especially Addyson. When she gets out the door she takes off. It's like she's been released from prison. She runs with her arms stretched out squealing!! Here are some outside pics from this weekend:

My busy bee (this week)

2009-02-02T05:38:00.001-08:00

Picture says it all... I once again have to re-evaluate my childproofing attempts:

Addyson has become quite a climber. She is so proud to have conquered the remote!

These two pictures go together. When I walked in the kitchen and saw blanky in front of the open snack cabinet I knew "someone" was having a party somewhere!!

This is how I found the party animal. My girl loves to eat...

Laken has bangs

2009-01-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

Laken has been asking for bangs for a little while now. I have been trying to discourage her for some reason. I finally decided she should get her hair done however she wants it done-choose my battles, right : ) So I made her an appointment with our neighbor, Misty who did a great job. I think Laken was sooo right about the bangs-I should have let her do it a long time ago. Her ponytail-which she likes to wear most days- looks alot better with bangs too!!

Hand me downs save the day...

2009-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

For church Addyson has been wearing red for the past month and a half. Well, this Sunday when I tried to find something for her to wear, I couldn't find any shoes to match any of the outfits that still fit : ) She has several smocked dresses that I could put a white sweater with, but no shoes. And of course I waited until Sunday morning to figure all of this out. Luckily, I had a bag of summer clothes my sister had passed down. Mostly size 2 and 3-keep in mind Addy is only 14 months old!! Anyway, I found this precious outfit that I believe my neice wore as a capri outfit on her THIRD birthday in the month of July. So I winterized it by adding the dressy white shirt and she had these cute pink shoes from Emma Kate Smith and wah lah- I think it turned out pretty cute...

What a difference a lamp has made...

2009-01-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Cade got this bed with the built in desk when he was three. He has really never used the desk. This year his papa decided he needed a lamp under there, so papa went shopping. He found this lamp for Cade and now Cade, who we used to nag and nag to do his homework, goes straight back to his room, turns on his lamp, posts his spelling words on the bulletin board, and gets to work. Cross your fingers that the newness doesn't wear off!!

Busy, busy

2009-01-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

My days of getting things done while Addyson is awake have come to an end. Yesterday, this was the first thing she "got into." After this she found a bottle of red food color and squeezed it onto the wood floor, patted it and smeared it around her mouth-I thought she was bleeding when I first found her. This is all before noon while I was trying to update the blog... After nap she had some juice. So you know what happens after babies drink juice-if you have a weak stomach, stop now. Addyson found her dirty diaper in the trash and brought me a wipe from the inside!! My life has officially changed-goodbye to those easier baby days, I have a toddler on my hands!!

Swimming

2009-01-14T08:44:00.001-08:00

This past weekend Laken and Cade competed in a swim meet in Starkville. This was their first meet since July. They both did very well dropping lots of time in all the events they swam. Brad was busy helping time, etc so I pretty much took care of Addyson alone on Sunday (my parents were there Saturday to help) which is quite a job!! I guess that's my excuse for only getting one picture! This is Laken with the A relay (which is a big deal for her to make). For those who are interested, our next meet will be in Tupelo on Feb 7, then Cade's state meet in Jackson on Feb 14, then Laken will have state meet in Oxford on Feb 21.

Ratliffs visit Grenada

2009-01-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

My sister Marianne and her husband, Bill, and two children Britt, 19, and Kayce, 16, visited in Grenada while Amy's family was visiting. It was so sweet of them to drive from Knoxville, and it's always great to see them.

Addyson's first Santa picture

2009-01-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last year I refused to let one month old Addyson Clair get her picture made with Santa. I just thought that costume had way too many germs on it. So this year I made it a priority to have her picture made with Santa. Also her sister and brother thought it was necessary for her to meet Santa so he would know who he was bringing gifts to!!

Christmas with my parents and my sister's family

2009-01-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

On the 28th we left home again. My sister, Amy, her husband, Matt, and their two children, Mary Katelyn (4) and Holden (2)arrived at my parents house in Grenada. It's so much fun to be back at home with all the family there. We really miss seeing Matt and Amy and kids (they live 15 hours away), so we try to stick around Grenada for most of their visit. As you can tell by some of the pictures Holden really has a thing for Laken; they really have a special little bond. Mary Katelyn loves everybody, but she really likes trying to keep up with Cade. It will be interesting to see how Addyson fits into the picture as her personality is developing.

Day after Christmas celebration with Vickers family

2009-01-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

After leaving my aunt's house we went to Jackson to celebrate Christmas with Mimi, Aunt Angela, and Uncle Charlie

Day after Christmas Celebration with Byars family

2009-01-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas it was time to visit extended family. Our first stop was at my Aunt Yandel's house. This is a picture of my mom with her two sisters. We get together several times a year with my two sweet aunts and my cousins and their children.

Home for Christmas

2009-01-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that we haven't packed the kids up to visit relatives as soon as they see what Santa brought. The day was very relaxing and the kids were able to actually enjoy their toys. Most importantly we were also able to put more of a focus on celebrating Jesus's birth.

Santa baby on Christmas Eve

Addy with her first taste of gummies-her favorite stocking stuffer!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus party

Laken and Cade enjoying their new electric scooters:

Cade's school Christmas party

2009-01-14T05:56:00.000-08:00

Cade's class had a Polar Express Christmas party this year. They got to wear pjs and have hot chocolate at school. This picture is of Cade and his two favorite classmates: Griffin and Payton.

A few of my favorite things

2008-12-14T18:18:00.001-08:00

Addyson loves long necklaces-mardi gras beads : ) She also loves her cell phone-which she calls "bye-bye", and she really loves silk blankies-I thought it was really cute that she climbed on the couch with all of her favorite things (she's such a girly-girl!!)

SNOW!!

2008-12-14T16:36:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday there were a few small snow flakes mixed in with the rain. My kids were ready to build a snowman, they were so excited. Oh, well I told them it's still early for snow-maybe later this winter, or maybe not???

What have I been up to???

2008-12-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well, besides working full time for the past seven weeks and taking care of my family, I have been making Christmas presents, mostly for teachers,but now I'm starting to work on some family happies as well. These hand towels have taken over my spare time. I hope to have a more fun update soon...

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T05:35:00.000-08:00

My first feast

Dancing with Buffy(Aunt Angela and Uncle Charlie's puppy)

Three Little Turkeys

Helping Papa cook

Getting into EVERYTHING

Thanks Aunt Amy

2008-11-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

My sister, Amy, made Addyson this precious outfit for her birthday. She wore it to church today and got lots of compliments. It's nice to have such a talented aunt!!

Addyson Clair is One...

2008-11-02T18:16:00.001-08:00

Today is bittersweet for me. Although I love to see Addyson growing and changing into her own person, I know that she is my last baby. This means that all of her firsts are lasts as well... Anyway, I am so thankful that I have been blessed to enjoy three beautiful children and Brad and I have so much more life to enjoy when our children outgrow us : ) With that being said here's a glance back to her two week old pictures and a video from today-she is just starting to walk...

Addyson's First Birthday Party!!

2008-11-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Addyson's first birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow. We had many family and friends help us celebrate. We had a cupcake theme and really cute cakes(the cake pictures are on my parents camera-I'll add them to the slides when I get them). Addyson loved all of her toys, but she did not like sharing them!

Another Tailgating Saturday

2008-11-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

This Saturday we tailgated again with BJ and Kerry. MC and her boys joined us too. Cade played with his friend Griffin. Laken enjoyed her friends Kristen and Abbigail and Addyson loved playing in the dirt!!

Halloween

2008-11-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Friday we celebrated Halloween by trick or treating around the neighborhood, having pizza, and watching Disney Halloween movies. Laken and her friend Kristen dressed up as sleepover girls. Cade was a Georgia football player (I got a good before/after candy shot) and Addyson was a butterfly princess/fairy??

Tailgating

2008-10-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

This week we set up a tent in the Junction at MSU. We had a great spot right beside the Kid Zone and Brad had the TV set up so he wouldn't miss the GA game. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed visiting with family and friends.

Cade had fun eating and playing football with the Dinkelacker boys-Cody and Andrew.

Addyson loved all of the food. This was when we busted her in Amy's chess squares!!

Laken with her two friends Kathryn and Walker-they practiced cheer stunts all afternoon.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

This Sunday after church, we met the Dinkelackers in Tupelo and went to the pumpkin patch. This was a great place: petting zoo, horse swings, bounce house, hay ride, hay maze and a PUMPKIN PATCH. We ended the day with a yummy supper at the Dinkelackers.

Namesakes

2008-10-17T08:33:00.001-07:00

I thought this picture was really neat. Thomas Dobie Holden (statue), named his son Thomas Eugene Holden. Both Amy and I named our sons after these wonderful men: Thomas Cade Vickers and Holden Harrison Day.

Dobie Holden Saturday

2008-10-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

This Saturday Tom's father who is a coaching legend at Pearl River Community College was honored with this huge bronze statue. This picture is of the statue designer, Grandmother Earlora (age 99!!), Carole (Tom's sister), and Tom. Don't they look proud : ) It was really neat to hear all of the stories and how much this man has influenced so many lives. We felt like celebrities for being part of the Holden family. Here are a few more pictures...

The Day's come to Starkville

2008-10-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Amy and her family flew in for the weekend. We started off at Cade's ballgame. Then we had dinner at Mugshots. Mary Katelyn spent the night with us and we went to Jackson for pictures with Mauri, and birthday lunch at PF Chang's. Angela and Barbara joined us for lunch. Then we went to Hattiesburg and met my mom's sisters and their families for dinner. This was all in preparation for Dobie Holden Saturday(I'll explain later).

My birthday

2008-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's what I would have looked like in the middle seventies-if I wasn't a newborn!!
Yesterday was my birthday, but why just celebrate for a day??? I usually manage to get a good two weeks out of it (the week before and after)!! This year Amy and her family started off the celebration. Amy and I have the same birthday and there have only been a couple of years that we haven't celebrated together. Last night we ate at Old Venice and Brad and the kids had a custard pie from Bop's with candles when we got home. Now I have to manage to pro long the celebration a few more days...

My Girls

2008-10-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

I just love it when Addyson can wear one of Laken's old dresses. This doesn't happen very often because I've given most of Laken's stuff away, and if I haven't given it away I should have!! Anyway, look how different these two sisters look-I guess you never know what genes are going to pop up...

Mary had a Little Lamb

2008-10-06T14:13:00.001-07:00

Laken is still enjoying her (really Aunt Amy's) flute. We (the home audience) are so glad she can actually play songs now rather than the same notes over and over!! She recently earned the position of second chair flute!! She's such a hard worker-whatever the task.

Athens (The Vickers were Back in Black)

2008-09-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we traveled back to Athens to visit friends and go to the Georgia/Alabama game. We left early Friday morning and had a nice relaxing trip. We dropped Brad off at UGA to visit with old professors and friends while I took the kids to our favorite ice cream stop (Hodgsons). Next I took Laken to the gym where she took gymnastics for the three years that we lived in Athens. These girls were her best friends and as you can tell from the pictures, she jumped right back in like she hadn't missed a day. We had dinner with the Arenas family at On the Border-something we did reguarly when we lived in Athens. The Arenas's were sweet enough to let us stay with them as well. Saturday morning Brad, Cade, and Pete (daddy Arenas) went to college game day. Kim and I joined them with the girls later that afternoon to tailgate. All of Brad's UGA friends were in town and they joined us for the tailgate. Pete got Brad a ticket for the game and Emily and Ilsa(Brad's UGA friends) got Cade a ticket. Although the outcome was depressing, the boys had a wonderful time being at the game. We left early Sunday morning so we could get back and go see Fireproof with a group from our church. However, our car had other plans!! Our WATERPUMP WENT OUT!! This happened about twenty miles past Atalnta. Five hours and a thousand dollars later-we were back on the road. Here are the pictures-ENJOY!!

Andrew's Buffalo Park Birthday Party

2008-09-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Dinkelackers for a wonderful day!!

My Big Girl

2008-09-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Laken is so grown up these days. She is having a wonderful school year-she gets to change classes, and she has a locker. She has also made alot of friends this year and they are pretty much inseparable. School is still pretty easy for her and she is very self-motivated in swimming as well. She was at Camp Lake Stevens this weekend with several of her friends and had a wonderful time-that's why she's not in any of the birthday pictures. She is still as sweet as can be and remains naive to most of what's happening around her. We are really proud of her and wonder why we are so blessed to be able to raise such a sweet girl : )

Cade's First Flag Football Game

2008-09-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Tailgating

2008-09-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this Saturday afternoon/night tailgating with the Ford family and the Dinkelacker boys. I guess it would have been even better if we had won : ) Laken went to the game with her friend, so I wasn't able to get her picture.

Cade, Andrew, Cody

Me and M.C.

Addy loves playing with "Emmy"

"We found Bully(not really)!!"

Happy Birthday Preston!!

2008-09-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is the best picture we could get of Addy and Preston together...

Preston opening his presents with Michelle and Chris

Cade had fun playing with Christy's boys, Caleb and Drew

Look what we made...

2008-09-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

While the boys and Laken were watching football, my mom and I made this outfit for Addy. My mom is quite the seamstress and perfectionist(I'm so glad one of is!!). She made the pants pattern then instructed me on how to put everything together. I did most of the shirt before she got here and finished it when she left. Anyway, I thought the outfit turned out really cute and the best part-we only spent $6.50!! Thanks, Mama!!

Go Dawgs!!

2008-09-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

That's the cheer in our house this fall since it applies to both of our Bulldog teams. This year we ended up with three season tickets to the MSU games and my friend Sadie let us use hers for this game. I'm not sure Addy is quite ready for all that excitement, so I offered one of my tickets to my parents. My mom is a big MSU bulldog fan too, but she decided to stay home and help me sew. As you can see we sent Laken and the boys to the game. They had a wonderful time and thank goodness MSU won this weekend...GO DAWGS!!

My brother is soooo funny...

2008-08-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Usually, Addy only laughs like this for Laken. However, she thought Cade was pretty funny last night- which was great for him because he works so hard to get ANYBODY to laugh at him. I don't remember Laken and Cade laughing like this for very long, so I'm trying to capture all of these precious moments that I know won't last long...

This Litttle Piggy

2008-08-26T06:35:00.001-07:00

Addyson's cousin Mary Katelyn(top picture), who is now four, has given her many precious hand me downs. This is one of my favorites. I have been looking forward to Addy being able to wear this precious piggy outfit. Of course the hat only stayed on for about 30 seconds, but I thought it would be fun to see her and Mary Katelyn around the same age with the same outfit. Thanks for sharing Mary Katelyn!!

Addyson on the move

2008-08-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Music to my ears!

2008-08-21T17:49:00.000-07:00