The Hicks Family

Jackson's 11th Birthday!

2010-09-22T15:01:00.000-04:00

For Jackson's birthday we didn't do a regular party since he is getting a little to old for that. He decided to have a couple of friends over for a sleepover which turned into about 8 people over. Boys can be about as loud and giggly as girls can. They want to talk to the wee hours in the morning too.

Are you ready now?

Yep! That's a lot of candles.

Finally all blown out.

First Bus Ride

2010-09-10T14:53:00.000-04:00

Everyday I was hearing why can't I ride the bus. So we decided to let Dawson ride with her and get off the bus at our house. She thought that was the best thing ever. Rhylan wants to be like the other kids so bad for example: riding the school bus home, getting dropped off in the car rider line in the morning and getting a lunch from the cafeteria. Being a teacher's kid getting dropped off in the car rider line in the morning hasn't happened yet. Getting a lunch from the cafeteria is a treat for Rhylan. She gets so excited when she doesn't take a lunchbox. Crazy :)

Getting off the school bus. I am the dorky mom standing in the front yard taking pictures of her kid getting off the school bus. HA! HA!

Dawson rode the bus with her so she would have someone on there till the end since she would be one of the last ones on the bus.

First Day of Pre-K

2010-08-06T14:39:00.000-04:00

About a week before school started we decided we would let Rhylan go to Pre-K. She had begged and begged to go to big school with me. Jeremy was totally against it. He finally gave in and there were only two open spots left in Pre-K. So we had to hurry and get all our paper work in. Luckily she got in. She LOVES it!!!

Look at what walked into my bathroom at like 6:45. Scarey isn't it.

Joking!!!

Rhylan was ready to go for the first day of Pre-K.

Poor Pedro the cat

A meltdown over something important like where I parked or what door she got out of.

At school and ready to go!!!!

Ober Gatlinburg

2010-07-30T14:21:00.000-04:00

Granny called and wanted to know if we wanted to go to Gatlinburg with her and Peyton and some of Peyton's friends so we didn't have anything to do. It was the weekend before school started and the first weekend we hadn't had baseball in forever. The girls wanted to go to Ober Gatlinburg, neither Jeremy or myself had ever been. It was fun. Rhylan ice skated for the first time which was cool.

Riding the Carousel

Taking a break

Rhylan & the big girls

(Sam, Sam & Peyton)

Rhylan & Aunt Peyton

Getting ready to ice skate

Riding the bobsled down the mountain

Riding the chair lift up the mountain. Rhylan wanted me to go with her but I am terrified of heights. The longer I waited the more sick I felt. So Jeremy rode up with her. They chose to come down after only going halfway up the mountain. I don't blame them :)

All-Stars 2010

2010-07-29T13:56:00.002-04:00

After retrieving the flag ( a Dixie Youth tradition after you loose- how awful)

After the last game - they look so sad

After the first win - they were super excited

At bat during the first game

Happy 4th Birthday Rhylan

2010-07-08T10:23:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Rhylan's 4th birthday with a Princess party on July 3rd. She was set on a Snow White cake but Cinderella was the best we could do. She enjoyed it. She loves birthday parties whether it is hers or someone elses. I can't believe Rhylan is 4 it seems like not too long ago she was just crawling. Wow time flies! Happy Birthday Rhylan!!!

Panama City Beach

2010-06-28T09:39:00.000-04:00

Jackson's travel baseball team was playing in a tournament in Panama City Beach. After endless fundraising we get to Panama City lose all three games, the BP oil is quickly heading to the beach and the humidity is extremely high along with temps in the upper 90's. Besides that it was a great trip. It started out bad though. Rhylan started throwing up and running a fever the first night we were there. Must have been a little bug b/c she was fine the next day. We all got a little burnt OUCH! We rode the aquacycle and the banana boat. Everyone ate tons of seafood and we found out we love to crab hunt. All in all it was a good trip and we didn't ever encounter oil (thank goodness). The pictures are backwards - they start the last night and end on the first day.

While waiting to go into Guy Harvey's restaurant (which was so good)

Post-Game meal at Olive Garden

Trying to lay down a bunt.

Catcher

The Aquacycle - a giant tricycle in water. Jeremy and Colyer took the first turn on the aquacycle and then me and Delaney took the next turn. Delaney could barely reach the pedals so I was doing most of the pedaling. My legs were hurting so bad.

What a workout.

At night all of the kids would go crab hunting.

They absolutely loved this.

Dawson with one of the biggest crabs they caught.

AHHH! Makes me want to move to the beach.

Playing in the sand

The green water matched Rhylan's swimsuit :)

The water was so green b/c of all the algae.

You would have green slime on you.

This was only the first day.

The boys loved playing beach volleyball.

How sweet!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T15:27:00.000-04:00

On Memorial Day Weekend we headed to Ohio to the Great Wolf Lodge which can be compared to Wilderness at the Smokies. The boys were playing in the Kings Island Memorial Day Basketball Tournament. Jackson's team placed 2nd which was awesome on the other hand Colyer's team didn't do as hot but they still had fun. Of course they loved the waterpark which was next door to Kings Island. We could see the whole theme park from the outdoor pool. Everyone had a blast.

The kids are letting you know we are headed to OHIO!

Delaney "O", Rhylan waving "HI" and Colyer "O"

Jackson with his runner-up trophy

Rhylan at the waterpark

Colyer goes for the block

Wanting the ball

Rhylan says we are #1

Jackson shooting foul shots

Colyer's Birthday

2010-05-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

May 14th was Colyer's 13th birthday and it also marked the first night we stayed in the new house. We had pizza, chips and cookie cake and Aunt Peyton spent the night with us.

Almost all blown out.

We had to count and make sure there were 13 candles lit.

Everyone getting ready sing.

Colyer looks like he just woke up.

Almost Finished!

2010-04-21T14:36:00.005-04:00

Here are the latest pictures of the house. The sidewalks and all of the concrete are complete. Actually everything is complete except for the last electrical inspection and the septic tank. Just ONE MORE WEEK.

Closer look at how the front sidewalk connects with the garage pad.

Front sidewalk

Front door after it was stained and glossed.

Jeremy's future man garage.

Sam, Peyton and Rhylan. As you can tell by the look on

Rhylan's face she thinks these girls are CRAZY!!

Back deck and patio

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T13:45:00.000-04:00

This year for Easter we went to church with Granny (Jeremy's mom). Her church did their Easter egg hunt after church so the girls hunted eggs. Rhylan found the "golden egg" which was the prize egg and the prize was a basket full of candy, crayons, coloring books, etc. She was so excited about that. After that we went to Granny's and ate lunch and the kids dyed Easter eggs and then hunted them again. After all of this we played basketball for about 2hours girls against boys. The girls lost but we did pretty good considering we have a height disadvantage. All in all it was a beautiful and great day.

Delaney getting ready to hunt.

Rhylan having a field day hunting all these eggs.

Rhylan is so excited that she found the prize egg

Rhylan still looking for more eggs.

Delaney looking for the prize egg.

Jackson stealing candy from the girls.

Jackson, Peyton, Delaney and Rhylan. Colyer didn't want to stay

for the egg hunt so he went ahead and went to Granny's. If you look close you can see the golden egg right there on top of Rhylan's basket. She was so proud of herself and she had to tell everyone that she found the prize egg.

Rhylan and Savannah

More House Pictures

2010-03-18T12:31:00.004-04:00

Here are the latest house pictures. Slowly but surely we are getting hopefully by the end of March if it doesn't rain too much (yeah right!)

Island

This is the microwave......

.......and it has to fit in this slot (Hopefully)

Master bedroom shower

Close-up of cabinets

Kitchen countertops

Yeah! A garage door.

This is the little pass through that is between Delaney and Rhylan's room. They are lovin' it right now but not in a few years when Delaney is a teenager.

Happy 9th Birthday Delaney!!

2010-03-09T12:26:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, we had Delaney's 9th b-day party. Her birthday was on Feb. 23rd so we were about a week and half late but with all of the ballgames this was the only time we had to do it. She had a basketball themed party again. We all had a good time. I can't believe how fast Delaney is growing up. When Jeremy and I got married Delaney was the same age a Rhylan is now - 3 1/2. My how time flies.

Pretty Cake

Getting ready for everyone to sing Happy Birthday! Three pretty girls!

Delaney and Granny aka known as Kathy. Sorry Granny I had to put

this one on here b/c it is so cute.

Rhylan and Taylor

Delaney with a little help from Ava.

Make-up or jewelry case with her initial on it (thanks, Kristy)

Basketball Championship Games

2010-03-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

This past Friday, Jackson and Delaney's little league basketball tournaments were going on. They both made it to the championship game. Delaney's team played Norwood and won, but Jackson's team played Coalfield and lost. They both had great seasons. I know they are mad it's over but I sure am glad it is :) Of course now we are playing AAU, so we are in the gym every weekend with at least one of them.

We are the Champions!!!

Look at that pose. We might soon be on Toddlers and Tiaras (just kidding).

The photographer getting them ready. Rhylan has thought for the whole season that she plays on this team. She went right up there with them and the tournament director gave her a trophy too. She was so excited about having her very own trophy.

Delaney's team

Jackson's team

I didn't realize they were giving trophies out right after the game. So I wasn't ready with the camera and only got one picture of them.

"Mom, my pants are wet"

2010-03-05T10:15:00.002-05:00

"Mom my pants are wet" yes that is what I heard this morning at 4:30. I go and check and she had peed in the bed. So I strip the bed and Rhylan and give her a bath. She was ready to put her toys in the tub. I had to tell her no b/c after we get finished we are going back to bed (she was a little confused). She did really well about not whining about getting a bath. Well here is the whole point of this story. After I get her jammas on and hair combed she gets in bed with me (which she is excited about). She leans over and gives me a kiss and says "Mom, your the best mom" ahhh how sweet. That made the 4:30 a.m. wake up call much better.

Cabinets and Bathroom Vanities

2010-03-04T08:58:00.011-05:00

We now have cabinets and bathroom vanities. (Yeah Yeah) I chose a dark glaze for the maple cabinets. I went with the antique white island. This made me a little nervous b/c this was a little bit out of my comfort area. But I think it turned out awesome. I almost called 3 or 4 times to tell the cabinet people to change the color and the size of the island. I didn't want it to look overwhelming compared to everything else in the kitchen. Now I just need to find some appliances, I have already purchased a refrigerator and a dishwasher (I have never had or used a dishwasher before I am so so excited about this). We are going with stainless steel appliances.

Rhylan had to have her picture taken. This is in the master bedroom.

This is the master bath vanity.

The lonely pantry - the pantry sits on a 10ft wall all by itself. It was originally supposed to have cabinets beside it and then I decided I wanted an island. But there wasn't enough room for both. No I have about 7ft of blank wall space, but I'll figure out something for that space eventually. We took out the wall between the living room and kitchen to make it more open so that took out my pantry so then it had to be added somewhere. The pantry is where the refrigerator was supposed to be which is crazy b/c when you opened the refrigerator doors they wouldn't have been able to open the entire way. Look at that cute little girl peeping around the corner :)

The island - this was one of the things I had trouble deciding

on, but I am happy with my decision.

(Drumroll) CABINETS!!!!!

Dentist

2010-03-02T20:46:00.000-05:00

This was Rhylan's third trip to the dentist. She absolutely loves going to the dentist (weird, I know). She has a really good dentist and the staff is awesome too. They have t.v.'s for the kids to watch overhead while they are getting their teeth cleaned. After the dentist we headed to get something to eat so I let Rhylan choose since she had done really well at the dentist and her choice was Wendell's (in Oakdale) :). I told her that was too far away so she decided on Taco Bell I was hoping for Olive Garden or O'Charleys. On our way to Taco Bell we passed McDonalds so she suddenly changed her mind to chicken nuggets. She doesn't ever want a happy meal she just wants the nuggets. She ends up wasting the fries anyway. She is so un-American she doesn't eat french fries. As a treat we went to Toys R Us and of course she needed everything in there. She ended up getting a dark brown Zhu Zhu pet. We only need one more and she will have them all.

Rhylan with her prizes after being such a good girl. She loves getting a new toothbrush (almost like she never gets a new one). It kind of makes me feel bad but I really do get her a new toothbrush quite often.

Ready to get her teeth cleaned. She was watching Horton Hears a Who on TV.

More house pics - we have floors and paint

2010-02-23T11:09:00.012-05:00

Here are some recent pictures of the house. It is coming along. The cabinets will be here in a couple of days. Finally we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This has been quite the process, but will be completely worth it in the end.

This is the front yard - it is so hard to even get to the house b/c of all of the mud. You have to walk through the mud pit to even get to the house. Needless to say we don't make too many trips out there.

This is the driveway - check out the gigantic mud hole.

Looking from the breakfast area into the kitchen.

The floor is nasty looking in this picture.

Laundry room - this tile is the same as the boys bathroom.

This is standing in the kitchen looking into the breakfast nook.

This is Colyer's room (it is light gray and Jackson's is the same color). There wasn't very good light. I was trying to get a good picture of the hardwood.

The girls bathroom (light lime green). I couldn't get a picture of Delaney's room b/c I was running out of daylight and you couldn't really tell what the color was. I will get one soon hopefully.

Rhylan's room (bright pink)

The playroom (it is going to be a laker playroom)

SNOW!! Ist and 2nd

2010-02-16T09:47:00.001-05:00

Rhylan's favorite thing to do in the snow was sled and make snow angels. By the time the second snow had came she loved sledding and was even going down the hill by herself. This was a big improvement from the first snow. Jeremy and Rhylan had went down the hill together the first time during the first snow. Well it didn't end in smiles, they wrecked and Jeremy ended up partially falling on Rhylan. She informed Jeremy that that was enough sledding and she was ready to do something else.

The finished snow angel.

Almost finished

Snow Angel - her favorite snow activity.

Golfing in the snow.

These pictures are from the 1st snow back at the end of January. Rhylan and Jeremy built an Alabama football player snowman. My pictures of the finished product didn't turn out because there was something funky going on with my flash.

Our snow covered house.

We were so excited to play in the snow. I was even happier to be out of school for a few days.

Rhylan tried to keep her gloves clean but the snow kept sticking to them.

H-O-U-S-E!!!

2010-01-22T13:51:00.023-05:00

Here are pictures of the building process so far - starting at the bare land up until the sheetrock which is where we are now. We started in the third week of October. It has went pretty fast considering all the rain we have had.

It's hard to see but there are orange stakes staking out the layout of the house.

Footers

The kids on top of one of the huge dirt piles left after they dug for the footers.

Block being laid.

Subfloor

Framing

More framing and some trusts

Almost completely roofed

This is where we are now. This is the living room.

Kitchen

Back of the house and the deck.

Check out that garage door :)

Front of the house without the sidewalks and porch.

RMS Basketball

2010-01-22T13:28:00.008-05:00

These are the best of the middle school basketball pics. Not much you can do when you are keeping up with a 3 year old :) Middle School basketball is almost over. District tournaments start next week in Eagleton (Blount County). The next three pictures are from the last regular season game and the last two pictures are from the first game of the season.

He got the rebound.

Look how much bigger this kid is than Colyer.

Getting ready for the rebound.

Getting offensive position against Harriman

Colyer didn't even think he would get to play but ended up going in in the 2nd quarter (he is only in the 6th grade). I thought he was going to pee his pants while waiting at the scorer's table.

Colyer's 1st Middle School Game - on the bench until the 2nd quarter.

We're BACK!!!

2010-01-21T15:05:00.002-05:00

We are back in the world of blogging thanks to the TN Dept. of Edu. unblocking blogspot.com :)

Let It Snow!

2010-01-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

The recent snow sent us home early from school on Thurs. and we didn't go back until the next Thurs. It was a nice little extra break to get caught up on some house cleaning, organizing and new house planning.

The Emory River - It was getting a little dark but it still turned out great.

This is coming out onto the highway. The kids think it looks like a giant mouth.

The same shot during the daytime.

Delaney's 8th Birthday

2009-02-25T14:40:00.009-05:00

Delaney had her 8th birthday party at the school's gym. She wanted a basketball party with her basketball team so that is what we did. They had so much fun playing kickball, basketball and especially busting the pinatas. I am having problems getting the pictures to download so maybe I can get them up soon.

UT Basketball Game

2008-11-04T09:58:00.009-05:00

Monday was a big night for the Hicks boys. Jackson's AAU basketball team had been invited to play at halftime of Tennessee's first game-it was an exhibition game against Indianapolis. His team only has 8 players so to be able to play each other they needed a couple of more players. So they asked if Colyer would be one of the extras and of course he said yes. Colyer is 2 years older than these boys but he didn't care because he was getting to play at Thompson Boling Arena. The boys got their own dressing room to change their clothes and into their shoes (that had to be spotless clean) before the game. Jeremy went down to the first row to get some pictures. They turned out pretty good. The only problem was that we ran out of disk space by the time Colyer got in so that is why there aren't any action pictures of him. Some of our friends were able to get some so hopefully I will have them soon. Neither one of the boys scored but Colyer did shoot 3 times and missed all of them. Jackson shot once and also missed. They both said they were a little nervous so that may have had something to do with it. The boys still must me in football mode :)

Jackson throwing in the ball.

Jackson driving to the basket.

Jackson running the offense.

Jackson is the one at the foul line (white jersey).

Colyer walking to the bench. He is on the left of the last kid in line.

Jackson walking to the bench. He is first in line.

Crazy Girls

2008-11-03T14:05:00.004-05:00

Delaney has an in-grown toe nail so Jeremy made her soak her feet in Epsom Salt to soften it up so he could see if he could get it out. When Rhylan saw Delaney with her feet in the water of course she had to join in. These girls are just too funny.

Championship Saturday

2008-11-01T22:54:00.001-04:00

Saturday was Super Saturday for the Tri-County Little League Football. Colyer's cutter team was playing against Wartburg for 3rd place and Jackson's hopper team was playing against Coalfield for the championship. Colyer's team had played Wartburg three times prior and had won 2 and lost 1. The one they had lost was actually two weeks ago in the first round of the playoffs, so they were out for revenge. They beat Wartburg and won third place. Jackson's team was playing Coalfield for the third time. The first time they played we lost 14-12 and the second time we played we lost 8-6 in overtime. We lost this time 6-0. Coalfield scored with 2 1/2 minutes left to go in the game. We couldn't do anything on our last possession. There aren't any action photos of Jackson because I was filming the game for Jeremy. Jeremy helps coach so he can't film. He does film Colyer's game so I did get some action photos of him. They both had great seasons, but both are ready for basketball season to start.

Water Girls - Delaney and Peyton

Oakdale Hoppers with their 2nd place trophy.

Jackson getting his individual trophy.

Jackson first in line to receive the team trophy.

2008 Oakdale Hoppers

Jackson taking a breather during halftime.

Colyer and Maverick after their game sporting their individual trophies.

Colyer getting ready for the hand off.

Coming to the sideline to get the play.

Getting the play from the coach.

Halftime water break.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T11:39:00.001-04:00

After getting off to a late start, the Hicks family finally made it Trick-or-Treating. We started out in Rockwood. We went to Jeremy's mom's and his aunt's house and then headed down to Kingston Ave. After all of this we headed back to Oakdale to my mom's house. Halloween ended at about 9:15 p.m. for the Hicks kids. They were very good the entire night. This was Rhylan's first year of actually doing the whole trick-or-treating thing. She loved it. She told everyone thank you and would even stand there after getting the first piece of candy waiting for the people to put more candy in her bucket. The kids all liked their costumes and there wasn't a lot of complaints besides the wigs falling off and Jackson's face paint started to itch by the end of the night. Colyer was a 70's basketball player, Jackson was the Joker, Delaney was Hannah Montana, Rhylan was Tinkerbell and Jeremy was Robby Ray (Hannah Montana's Dad). When Delaney first decided to be Hannah Montana she asked Jeremy if he would be Hannah Montana's Dad and of course Jeremy said yes. I think Jeremy enjoyed it as much as Delaney did. Peyton went with us trick-or-treating and she dressed up in a wolf costume that she had worn in her Halloween party. A big thank you to my mom for making Jackson and Delaney's costume. They looked much better than the ones at the store. Thanks to Jeremy's mom for the Joker's dynamite in his jacket. Hope everyone had a great Halloween.

Miss Independent fixing her shoe. She now thinks that she is able to do everything herself.

Hannah Montana with her admiring fan Tinkerbell.

Hannah Montana without her protective Daddy - Robby Ray

70's basketball player

Tinkerbell

"Give me some candy or I will blow you up"

Robby Ray and Hannah Montana

The big bad wolf stealing Tinkerbell.

The whole crew

All of the goblins in the car ready to get some candy.

Rhylan doesn't know what to think of the big bad wolf.

This is the way all of us felt after a long night of Trick-or-Treating.

Don't Ever Grow Up

2008-10-30T09:55:00.001-04:00

Wednesday when I got home from school Rhylan was being really clingy but in a sweet and cute way. She was just wanting me to hold her and give her hugs. So we cuddled for a few minutes, she was telling me that she loved me and missed me which broke my heart. As I was holding her I said "Rhylan don't ever grow up" and she replied "O.K. Mommy". I thought it was just so sweet the way she said it. She was sincere in her answer. I am loving the age she is right now and I don't want her to grow up but I know she is and is doing it very fast. You just have to trust that you are raising your kids right and that when the time comes for them to make decisions that they will make the right ones. I just want to cry every time we accomplish another major childhood milestone because that just means she is not so little anymore.

Halloween Party

2008-10-27T12:01:00.006-04:00

Saturday was Peyton's (Jeremy's little sister) annual Halloween party and Haunted Trail. This is the third year that Peyton has had a Halloween party. They play games and eat until it gets dark. Then the adults get in their costumes and get ready to scare the kids. Their is usually a zombie, gorilla, chainsaw man, dead woman and many other scary people hiding in this decorated trail. Kathy (Jeremy's Mom) usually starts about 2 weeks before getting this trail all set up and decorated. As usual it was hit with the middle schoolers. Rhylan and I stayed in the basement most of the night watching the UT/Bama game. Rhylan drug around Tommi the new kitten all night (poor cat). She woke up on Sunday morning talking about that kitty as she calls it. She wanted to go get that kitty and bring it home. Here are a few pictures from Saturday night.

Jackson and Tommi. Jackson has become quite the cat lover.

Rhylan and Tommi. Rhylan also loves kitty's. I don't think the feeling is mutual for the kitty. It ran from Rhylan every time she put it down. But she always managed to find it. Then she would carry it upside down or by its neck. That cat was glad to see Rhylan leave :)

Jess with Eddie and Lilly. Eddie and Lilly were wearing their Halloween decorations. Eddie was wearing bat wings and Lilly was wearing spider legs.

Rhylan attempting to ride the scooter before the party got started.

Fall Break

2008-10-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

Fall Break flew by. We didn't go anywhere but still stayed busy. Here is a little run down of our week off from school.

Monday - Everyone had well visits at the doctor and everyone also got their flu shots. We left the house at 8:30 and didn't get back until about 5:00. Whew!!! what a long day. We topped off the day by going to Stanley's corn field to get our cornstalks to finish our fall yard decoration.
Tuesday - We did yard work at my mom's all day. Everyone was exhausted. Grandma fed us pizza and made some awesome sweet tea. The yard looks tons better. The big event for the day was Colyer stepping on a nail. Good thing he had just had his Tetanus shot on Monday at his well visit. It didn't go very far in either just a little bit of blood and NO ER!!
Wednesday - Rhylan and I did some "spring" cleaning in the fall. We borrowed my mom's Rainbow vacuum cleaner which has got to be the best vacuum cleaner ever made. It is amazing to see how much dirt is in your house that you didn't even know was there. We also visited Taylor and Liam and Mamaw and Papaw Headrick.
Thursday - Colyer, Rhylan and I made our weekly trip to the grocery store - how exciting. It wasn't too bad Colyer was able to help out with Rhylan who wants to open everything and sample it before we leave.
Friday - I kept Taylor and Liam for a few hours for Will to go to a job interview. Good luck Will! Then the kids and I decorated our pumpkins. We didn't carve the pumpkins this year like we have done in previous years. Last year we tried something new - painting the pumpkins which would have been great had we not used washable paint - DUH!! The first time it rained all of the paint was on the deck. So this year we used markers and stickers. The kids loved and it wasn't so messy. Here are the pumpkin pictures.

The completed pumpkins.

Colyer and his mini face on his gigantic pumpkin.

Jackson and his cute pumpkin.

Delaney and her scary pumpkin.

Rhylan "writing her name" on her pumpkin. That is what she told me she was doing.

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-10-10T13:09:00.006-04:00

Rhylan has become quite the little helper around the house. She will take clothes from the dryer to the living room to be folded. She will take anything you want to the trash can. She even gets out a new trash bag when she sees me taking out the trash. She puts her clothes in the dirty clothes basket when she takes her clothes off. This week everyday when we get home from school she has asked if we can do dishes. Wednesday she was almost in tears because we didn't have any dirty dishes because we had ate out for supper. When she sees that it is time to do the dishes she'll say "I want to get in ner' " meaning she wants to sit on the side of the sink with her feet in the sink while she rinses the dishes. It is so amazing how much they imitate you and want to be like you. Aren't they so PRECIOUS and SWEET!! Enjoy these cute pictures.

Rhylan rinsing the clean dishes. When she is finished rinsing them she puts them on the counter to dry.

Rhylan is just as excited as mommy is that the dishes are washed and put away.

Puppies, Puppies!!!!

2008-10-05T20:16:00.001-04:00

Sunday afternoon we went to Jeremy's mom's (aka Kathy or Gannie) house to play with her puppies. She has four left out of nine. Jackson loves these puppies. He wants to bring "Liza Jane" home but we are afraid she will get run over with us being so close to the highway. So every chance we get we try to go to her house and let him play with them. Kathy also had supper fixed for us. Supper consisted of Pinto Beans, Greens, Cornbread and Meatloaf.. yum yum! If you will notice there are no pictures of Colyer with the puppies. He could care less about the animals. He is more interested in Fantasy Football right now :) what a typical male. Enjoy the pictures.

Jackson and "Liza Jane", this is his favorite puppy. Jackson loves these puppies he would go everyday and visit them if he could.

Delaney with one of the puppies. Delaney has come a long way in getting to where she will touch a dog or a cat. She used to scream and cry when they came near her.

Rhylan likes to get a toy and just run with it and then all of the puppies follow her wherever she goes. As you can see in the picture she still has the toy in her hand. The puppies decided to quit playing with her because she never gave them the toy. How funny!!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-04T23:19:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, after all of the ballgames and packing up all of the unsold yard sale items, we headed to Crossville to the Autumn Acres Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. The kids loved it. We went the petting zoo and playground first. Then went on the tractor ride to get our pumpkins and then headed for the corn maze. We split up into boys and girls. The girls questions were about Hannah Montana and the boys questions were about The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. We beat the boys :) They used the excuse of someone switching the signs because they never made it past question #2. They kept going in circles so they decided just to give up and come back out the entrance. After the corn maze, we got our hot dogs and stuff for smores and cooked them on the camp fire. I highly recommend this corn maze it is very kid friendly and well priced. It is $8 to get in (2 and under free)and you can choose from the petting zoo, two playgrounds, a little kids four wheeler ride, the pumpkin patch, the corn maze and you can bring your own hot dogs and smores to cook at the fire pit.

Jackson's Pumpkin

Colyer's Pumpkin

Delaney's pumpkin

Rhylan and Daddy picking out the perfect pumpkin.

This had to be the fastest slide I have ever seen. It was a big black pipe with this thick, black, rubbery thing attached to the end. The kids just flew out of the tube. I was very scared when Rhylan went down but Jeremy said to let her do it, so we did and she absolutely loved it. Check out the next three pictures.

Rhylan sliding, the face says it all.

Jackson going head first (what a rule breaker).

Delaney sliding by the rules: feet first.

Delaney didn't really like feeding the goats.

She didn't want them to touch her with their tongues.

Yum! Yum! Rhylan didn't care if the goats licked her.

Peyton and Rhylan feeding the goats.

Celebrating Our 4th Anniversary

2008-09-29T15:07:00.002-04:00

On Friday night we celebrated our anniversay by going out to eat at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. I had wanted to go to a restaurant located on the river but then the weather was kinda cool and rainy on Friday so we decided just to go somewhere at Turkey Creek. The food was delicious and we enjoyed some kid free shopping. We realized on Friday that we are officially becoming old. As we were sitting and waiting for our ticket we both were talking about how tired we were and how we couldn't wait to get home and go to sleep. But all together we enjoyed our actual anniversary day and our anniversary date.

Happy 4th Anniversary

2008-09-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

Today, Jeremy and I celebrated our 4th anniversary (wheww :). Just kidding, it really doesn't seem that long. It actually has flown by. He is an awesome husband and even more awesome daddy. I never would have even thought the night that Maranda and I went to Taco Bell for some TCBY ice cream that I would see my future husband there. We didn't actually talk that night but he finally flagged me down through Maranda. I am so glad that I decided to say yes to the date invitation. Ever since that day things haven't been the same. I am so thankful for my husband all he does for our family. I love you honey. Happy 4th Anniversary!!!

More Party Pictures!!!

2008-09-22T13:05:00.007-04:00

I forgot to put some pictures of the little kids in the previous post. Here are a few pictures of Rhylan, Taylor and Ava, sorry Liam you slept a lot of the time.

Rhylan has managed to finally drink a Capri Sun without choking herself.

Ava is making one of her silly faces.

Taylor showing of her chocolate icing beard.

Rhylan and Taylor eating their cupcakes. If you call it eating a cupcake. They both just licked the icing off the top and were done with it. They are so cute and funny.

Jackson's 9th Birthday Party

2008-09-22T12:48:00.014-04:00

On Sunday, we celebrated Jackson's 9th birthday at the Oakdale gym. Jackson's birthday was last Saturday but we didn't celebrate until this weekend. We just got together with his friends and played dodgeball, kickball and football. The kids absolutely loved it. Who wouldn't love 2 hours of pizza, cupcakes, cokes and playing games :) Jackson got a lot of neat gifts. Thanks to everyone for coming. We had so much fun!!

Jackson was all smiles while everyone was singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to him.

Jackson blowing out the candles.

Eating Pizza.....

And more Pizza.

Rhylan just can't figure out how to hold the pizza right to get it into her mouth.

Jackson opening his presents.....

Everyone is trying to avoid getting hit.

On your mark, Get set, Go! Gotta love DODGEBALL!!

Laci Paige Smith is here!!

2008-09-20T13:12:00.000-04:00

I am an Aunt again. Brant and Jessica had their little baby girl this morning. Her name is Laci Paige and she weighed 5lb and 15oz. She was almost a month early. I will post pictures when I get some.

Happy Birthday Jackson and Will

2008-09-13T13:20:00.005-04:00

September 13th was Jackson and Uncle Will's (my brother) birthday. Jackson turned 9 and Will turned 26. Jackson is looking more and more like Jeremy everyday (bless his heart :). Jackson loves basketball, football and baseball and is pretty good at all three. All around he is a good kid. A question never goes unasked or unanswered with Jackson. Will is my youngest brother and the one that I am closest to. We are only two years apart. We went from being fighting young siblings to best friends. I joked with him when I was getting married that I wanted him to be my man of honor, of course we didn't do that :) Happy Birthday and we love you. Sorry Will no pictures of you on my computer.

How sweet! Rhylan loves her "Jackso" as she calls him.

Pictures

2008-09-09T13:27:00.010-04:00

Maranda (AKA - Ramanda according to Delaney) came Friday to my Uncle Reggie and Aunt Candy's house to take some outdoor pictures of kids. There landscape is so pretty and Maranda captured in the pictures so good. They all were so awesome. Maranda let the kids do these sad faces and silly faces to keep them from getting to cranky during the whole process. I love all of them. Thanks Maranda. Here are some of my favorites.

This is my favorite. Aren't they just precious.

Here is one of the silly pictures. The kids loved doing the silly faces.

The Zoo

2008-09-08T17:07:00.001-04:00

Once again I am behind on blogging. Here are pictures from the zoo (we went in July). The zoo was a blast. We took Peyton and then met up with Will, Kristy, Taylor and Liam at the zoo. The kids both big and little loved it.

Peyton and Delaney practicing to be cowgirls.

" Milking" the cows, Rhylan crawled all the way underneath the cow to milk it.

Jackson, Rhylan and Peyton riding the camel.

Colyer and Rhylan petting the camel. Rhylan loved the camels.

Rhylan and Taylor checking out the exotic bird exhibit.

Colyer, Jackson, Delaney and Peyton enjoyed the zoo just as much as the little kids.

They are sitting on a giant frog. Look at Taylor's face.

Rhylan has just seen a giant cockroach.

GROSS!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Rhylan!!

2008-08-29T14:40:00.015-04:00

Being the great blogger and mom that I am, I am just know getting Rhylan's second birthday pictures on here (her birthday was July 8th). We had her party at our house. It was just a cookout with family. It started out really bad because it started raining about 45 minutes before the party was supposed to start. I thought to myself when it started to rain that it was just icing on the cake due to the fact that the day had started out so bad. I decided I was going to make Rhylan's cake. Everything was fine until I started making the icing and had put the wrong ingredients in and then it took me FOREVER to ice the cake. I will never make another b-day cake again :) It didn't matter that it looked ridiculous it still tasted good. I don't think Rhylan cared either she was so excited to have so many people to play with that it didn't even phase her that it rained and that the cake looked bad. Rhylan would like to thank everyone for her wonderful gifts and for making her second birthday so special.

Rhylan blowing out the candles.

Look at the cake I made
Let the candy frenzy begin!

Even the adults were getting in on the candy.

Rhylan getting ready to take a swing at the pinata.

The best part - opening the presents.

Roane County Park

2008-08-27T15:07:00.005-04:00

At the beginning of July we went to the park to feed the ducks, walk, ride bikes and play on the playground here are some pictures from the playground. I know I am really slow about getting the pictures off my camera and onto the computer. The duck pictures must be on another disc. I know there are only pictures of the girls but the boys did not want their picture taken.

Delaney sliding.

Delaney got stuck at the top of the circular slide.

Rhylan sliding.

The Hicks girls

Rhylan has red gatorade all over her face. She looks like she has had an allergic reaction. She is not happy at all about having her picture taken.

Vacation 2008

2008-08-08T15:00:00.001-04:00

For the past couple of years for vacation we have just been going to visit my dad in NC and then heading over to the beach for a day. So here are a few pictures from our day at Myrtle Beach.

The Hicks Kids

Look how happy they all look :)

Jeremy tried to bury Rhylan in the sand but this is as far as he got before she escaped.

Rhylan is OCD at an early age. She couldn't stand for the water to get near her toys so when they tide would come in she was packing up quickly.

Delaney playing in the sand.

Jackson isn't too happy that I am taking his picture because he had to give up the boogie board for a minute.

Colyer on the boogie board.

Colyer and Rhylan

Colyer's All-Star Tournamnet

2008-07-03T14:54:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Colyer's All-Star tournament held in Rockwood.

Colyer playing shortstop.

Swinging for the fences.

Must have been a low pitch.

Jackson's All-Star Tournament

2008-07-02T12:08:00.006-04:00

Jackson's All-Star tournament was held in Rockwood this year which was awesome. We won one and lost two and were finished. We played Kingston first round and lost. Then we played Spring City and won. We met Kingston a second time and gave them a great fight and ended up losing 8-5. It was a great season for Jackson.

Jeremy called this his rally hat. For everyone that knows Jeremy he doesn't ever wear hat b/c he looks ridiculous in a hat. Good thing he doesn't look at our blog. He would kill me for putting this on there.

Jackson gets ready to rip the ball.

Pre-game introductions - Colby, Jackson, Trey and Marcus

Pre-game warm-ups. Look at those stylish uniforms.

June Pictures

2008-07-02T11:56:00.004-04:00

Rhylan's new favorite thing to do - put stickers on just her right leg.

You have to pass the time somehow.

Everyone loves grilled corn on the cob.

Where Have the Hicks' Been?

2008-07-01T12:12:00.002-04:00

We have been at the baseball field every night. Both Colyer and Jackson made the Rockwood All-Star team in their age group, so we have either been practicing or playing baseball every night and every weekend. It takes up a lot of time but they love so it is worth it. I will post pictures when Colyer's tournament is over of both the boys.
Next week is Rhylan's 2nd birthday on July 8th that is another exciting event and then vacation at the end of the month before we head back to school :( Summer has flown by so far and I am sure it will continue to pass quickly.

BABY LIAM!!

2008-05-29T12:48:00.011-04:00

Baby Liam is finally here! His full name is William Bradley Smith Jr. but he will be called Liam. He weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 21 inches long. He was one week overdue so they induced on Tues. morning and he was here between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. on Tues. night. He is so sweet and handsome. Congratulations Will & Kristy! Rhylan and I couldn't wait any longer to see him so we went to visit them when they got home on Wed. evening. Here are few pictures of Taylor and Rhylan with Liam.

The Beginning of Summer

2008-05-27T09:43:00.006-04:00

Well it's finally here -SUMMER- Yeah!!! Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer but for the majority of TN teachers it is the beginning of summer break. Well our very nice calendar committee thought that it would be fun to go to school after Memorial Day - 3 1/2 days after to be exact. So come Friday at 11:00 a.m. my summer vacation will officially begin :)

I am going to sum up the last two days of our Memorial Day weekend quickly and without pictures (I remembered the camera but didn't even take it out of the van). On Sunday, we went to church. Rhylan is a little on the small side for her age and she is still in 18 months dresses but the dress I put on her Sunday for church was a 24 months. The dress has a hat and she has never liked wearing hats so to my surprise she kept putting the hat on. This hat did not quite fit her big head. I guess she has a bigger head than what a 24 month old kid should have. Well the hat looked kinda goofy but with a southern belle look. She looked like she should have been in Gone With the Wind (check out the picture below). After church we went to Rockwood to Jeremy's mom's for a cookout, swimming, volleyball, badminton, kickball, pizza and fireworks and all of that occurred in a nine hour span in that exact order. Whew! We were wore out. Rhylan did all of this without a nap. Needless to say she was quite hateful by about 9:30 or 10:00. On Monday, Jeremy mowed the yard while Rhylan and I went to the grocery store (what an eventful trip). After we ate lunch, we planted the flowers that took forever to pick out at Lowe's on Saturday. The flowers were part of my Mother's Day present. Jeremy put a lot of work into digging the holes for the flowers. The land that we live on is very rocky so it took quite a bit of muscle power to dig the holes. The flowers look great. You will just have to take my word b/c I forgot to take a picture. Well that sums up our great weekend. We look forward to many more cookouts, swim dates and fun games till August rolls around and the school bell rings for the fun to begin again.

My little Southern Belle.

Swimming in the Lake

2008-05-27T09:24:00.008-04:00

Our Memorial Day weekend started on Saturday with some mowing and weed eating at my Mom's house. Afterwards we went to the park for a birthday party and ended up in the lake swimming. Don't let the kids smiling faces fool you it was a little cold. I only stuck my feet in, but everyone else jumped right in. When I got Rhylan out her lips were purple and her teeth were chattering. After the park we made a "quick" trip to Lowe's to buy some flowers. That turned into almost 2 hours but I think I finally got the right combination of flowers that I wanted.

All the Hicks kids! (Look at Rhylan's face)

Jackson and Rhylan swimming in the "clean" lake water.

Delaney and Rhylan smiling through their chattering teeth.
The water was a little cold on Saturday.

I hate swinging! Get me out and let me slide.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLYER!!

2008-05-14T10:28:00.007-04:00

Today is Colyer's birthday also in addition to my dad's isn't that pretty neat. Colyer is 11 years old today. He is in the 4th grade at Ridgeview Elem. He isn't that crazy about the school work but loves the social part of school. Colyer loves any and every sport. He is playing at least one sport during every part of the year, with basketball being his favorite. During this baseball season he has started pitching and loves it. This experience has changed his whole liking of baseball. Jeremy and I have nicknamed Colyer "The Cat" b/c he is constantly laying on you or touching you in some way. He just can't sit beside you and watch T.V. he needs to be touching you somehow :) He is such a protective and caring older brother. Here a few pictures from the past couple of months. HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLYER, WE LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

2008-05-14T10:20:00.003-04:00

Today is my daddy's birthday. He is 58 years young. My dad lives in N.C. so I don't get to see him but just a handful of times a year. It is hard every time I go to visit to say goodbye b/c you just wish everyone could live close enough that when you wanted to visit them you could. But jobs and life changing events causes us not to be close to our loved ones sometimes. I don't have any pictures of us together saved on my computer so there aren't any pics to post. I love you daddy and Happy Birthday!

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T11:56:00.012-04:00

On Mother's Day, Rhylan and I went to church and then over to my Mamaw's. Jeremy was at the baseball tournament with Jackson so he missed all of the good country cooking. All of the little ones played outside after eating. It is so much fun to go to Mamaw's and see everyone. The kids love to go and play games outside. There is usually a game of basketball or touch football going on. It is so much fun just to watch the big kids and the little kids play.

Mamaw, Grandma, Me (wow look at the frizzies, can you tell it was about to rain outside) and Rhylan

Rhylan thought that "baby" as Taylor calls her did not need to be in this

picture with them. Taylor always has a baby with her everywhere she

goes. Look at the look Taylor is giving. She isn't too happy about "baby"

not being in the picture.

Well I guess Taylor is o.k now. She got over it pretty fast.

Rhylan hanging out with Uncle Stanley, Dawson, Ava and Maverick.

Rhylan loves to go sing in the choir at church with Uncle Stanley.

Somehow Ava ended up with "baby" and she got to be in this picture.

I am pretty sure Taylor was pre-occupied and did not know that "baby" was missing.

Fountain City Baseball Tournament

2008-05-12T10:35:00.009-04:00

On Friday night we played basketball at Central Middle School. This was the last basketball tournament for the "Playmakers". The Playmakers won a close game with Wartburg. On Saturday, Jackson played with the same Rockwood baseball team that he played with last week in a double elimination tournament in Fountain City. They played three games on Saturday winning 2 and losing 1. So this meant that we would play again on Sunday. They ended up losing on Sunday. If they would have won they would have played for the championship right after their first game. Here are a few pictures of Jackson in action and then the other kids having fun with sticks and rocks. They had to find something to entertain themselves :) After the last game we went to eat at Wasabi's for Mother's Day isn't Jeremy so sweet. He said he hadn't bought me a gift so he thought this would be even better. I have been wanting to go there for a while now so this was the perfect occasion to go. Rhylan loved trying to catch rice in her mouth it was so cute (sorry no pics).

EATING and POTTYING - What a combination

2008-05-07T09:37:00.006-04:00

Rhylan has started this potty thing all on her own. She started telling me "Pee Pee Momma". So Jeremy thought we should go ahead a get her a potty and not really push it yet b/c at that time she was just 18 months old. When school gets out, I am going to buckle down on the potty training. So we bought her the potty and the big girl panties in the middle of February. When we are at home she potties in the potty but still wears a diaper when we so places. Yesterday while I was washing dishes I looked over and noticed she had took here cookie with her to the potty. It's kinda gross but cute at the same time :)

Taylor and Rhylan

2008-05-07T09:02:00.010-04:00

On Monday and Tuesday evenings Rhylan's cousin Taylor came over and played outside. The girls had a blast playing outside and with each other. They are 4 months apart. I am so glad that Will, Kristy, Taylor and baby boy (2 more weeks till he gets here, don't know his name yet b/c they won't tell us) have moved back to TN. We have so much fun hanging out together. Here are a few pictures of the girls playing outside. Look how CUTE they are.

These were taken before "Tay" (as Rhylan calls her) got to the house.

I was trying to get a good shot of Rhylan's pigtails.

She never lets me leave her hair up. She always has it took down by the time we get out the door to go anywhere. She left these in all evening long. She didn't take them until bath time.

It's hard to fit two little bottoms in a Cozy Coupe.

CUTIES!

May I take your order?

Do you want fries with that?

Rocks are so fun to play with. Aren't they girls?

Another Basketball Weekend

2008-05-05T09:27:00.009-04:00

This weekend was a pizza and sports filled weekend. On Friday both the boys had a basketball game at Wartburg. Jackson won and Colyer won, so afterwards we went to Partner's Pizza with the Tilley's to celebrate. On Saturday, both of the boys had 2 games a piece also at Wartburg. Jackson's team won both of theirs and Colyer's team lost both of theirs. After the ballgame, we grabbed some pizza again and headed to the drive-in to see Ironman. It was o.k. I am not really into those comic book superhero movies. On Sunday, Jackson was asked to play in a baseball tournament in Karns with a group of kids from Rockwood, so we packed the cooler and went. The results were not too good but the team received second place in the tournament. I bet you can't guess but we went to Gatti's for pizza with the Kindrick's after the game. Nothing like pizza three days in a row. The kids didn't mind but I was sick of it.

Jackson anticipating the pass and

thinking 2 points on the other end.

Jackson gets ready to get the rebound.

There's nothing like chili, chips and cheese at a basketball game.

Rhylan loving it and Delaney thinking my belly is getting so full.

We love it when there is a playground close to the gym we are playing at.

The girls love to play on the playground in between games and

even the basketball players.

Colyer gets ready to box out!

Bringing the ball down the floor kind of slowly.

This was during the last game so Colyer was getting a little tired.

Baseball, Baseball and More Baseball

2008-05-02T11:16:00.016-04:00

Colyer is ready to tag the runner.

He is just waiting for the throw from the pitcher.

Colyer gets walked again. It has been quiet the joke with Colyer

that every time he bats he either gets hit by a pitch or walked.

Colyer steals second.

Girls can hit too :)

Delaney patiently waits for a ball to get hit to her.

Sometimes that is very rare in 5&6 year old baseball.

Delaney and Rhylan walking to the ball field.

How sweet is that!

Jeremy coaches first as Jackson rounds first and heads to second.

Jackson was moving so fast I just barely got the tip of his helmet in the

picture. Look closely between the first baseman and Jeremy :)

Jackson gets ready to hit.

He tries to hit it to the grass every time

and he's usually successful.

Jackson playing first base.

Having fun outside!

2008-04-21T12:26:00.003-04:00

On Saturday we went and mowed Grandma Diana's yard. The boys enjoyed playing basketball of course and the girls rode their bikes. All of the kids enjoyed admiring the cows. Jeremy told them that he would give them $5 if they could touch a cow. No one was successful :)

Rhylan kept picking grass and throwing it over the fence to the cows. Suprisingly she was not scared of the cows at all.

Friday Night Basketball

2008-04-21T10:27:00.007-04:00

Jackson has been playing basketball with a travel team made up of kids from Morgan and Roane Counties. So for the past month our weekends have consisted of basketball tournaments. This week he just played on Friday and we played in North Knoxville.

Before the game Jeremy and I took the girls to the playground. These were the results!

THE BAD!

THE GOOD!

I hope this picture does not project what the future will be for the girls. :) Just kidding!

Egg hunting in Rockwood

2008-04-18T13:18:00.008-04:00

We did 3 different egg hunts. Here are some of the pictures from the egg hunt at Asbury Chapel. Delaney and Rhylan were the only ones who wanted to do this egg hunt. The boys were too busy playing basketball.

Rhylan is counting to see how many eggs she

found with the help of Aunt Peyton.

Rhylan and Delaney after the egg hunt. Rhylan loves her "sissy".

Delaney gets ready to grab the green egg.

Just getting started

2008-04-18T12:26:00.004-04:00

Everyone has been telling about how great blogging is so I am giving it a try. Stop back by to see new pics as I get them downloaded off the camera. Here is an old picture from Halloween. This was just to practice adding pictures to my blog. Aren't they a cute bunch!