HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Yes, I've been a slacker the last month, but we've been busy! And hasn't everyone else?
So I guess we'll start with the beginning of December!
After many years of dried out Christmas trees within three days of purchase, we finally succeeded in keeping one "alive" long enough to celebrate Christmas! (We found that the tin can we'd been using to prop up the trees was poisoning the water! Go figure!) Here's me and Vaughn (Brian's taking the picture) in the middle of decorating the tree.

On the 14th of December Brian and I went to his work party. (If if haven't written before, Brian took a new job with a local film company). They served prime rib, salmon, creme brule (sorry about the spelling) and other amazing foods. Here's me trying my first taste of the prime rib. It was AMAZING!!! We made gingerbread houses as part of the activity for the night. I thought we took a picture of ours, but I guess we didn't! Rats, it was cute! We also had a white elephant gift exchange. I really wanted to keep my gift, but Brian was pretty decided that he didn't want a puppy!

(I had to add this one of Robert, Brian's brother, in a pink wig). Sick and wrong. Sick and wrong!









On December 15th we drove up to Boise for Brian's grandmother's funeral. Grandma Higginson was 90 years old when she passed away the week before. We were able to visit her and we were actually the last people, besides her son and daughter in law, to see her conscious and alert. We felt very honored to be able to have that experience. She also got to see Vaughn and she even talked to him, which was very special too.



We stayed with Michael (Brian's brother) and Marci (his wife) that weekend. The morning of the funeral they got up and fixed us a wonderful breakfast with hashbrowns, french toast, pancakes, sausage and eggs....Marci's famous eggs, as her kids call them. They really know how to treat their guests! Not to mention that just before we headed back down to Provo the next day, they cooked us steak and salmon for lunch. It was the best steak I've had in a long time!




Right after breakfast we threw our youngest kids in the bath together for a quick rinse. On the right are Mike and Marci's two youngest, Ashlynn and Dallin. Vaughn is on the far left. They look like they could be his siblings don't they? I wish Vaughn had been looking up when we took this picture, but he wouldn't! He was too excited to play in the bath. But Dallin especially looks like he could be Vaughn's brother. Weird isn't it?



This one is of Brian and Vaughn with Brian's cousin Leslie and her son Aaron. Isn't Leslie GORGEOUS? I've always thought that! And her son is ADORABLE too! Here's a funny little story; When I was dating Brian I met Leslie for the first time and I was really jealous of her until I found out she was Brian's cousin. I was afraid that because she was so cute that he would want to date her instead! I was very relieved that she turned out to be his cousin! Leslie, you're the best!















This one on the left is of Heike. She is David (Brian's brother) and Heidi's (his wife) youngest girl. You pronounce her name HI-Kuh. Isn't that cute? Anyway, she is a "doll baby" as we call her. We also call her Tinkerbell because she is SO CUTE! This next one on the right is of David (Heike's dad) and
Vaughn having some fun at the funeral luncheon afterwards. David was really great to play with Vaughn. We think Vaughn took a special liking to David too!













On the left here is Brian's dad feeding Vaughn at the funeral luncheon. Vaughn wasn't feeling well and hadn't really eaten a lot for several days. But Brian's dad got him to eat quite a bit of food, and we were so grateful to him for doing that!
Then on the right is a picture of Brian with Big Jim as we call him. He is Brian's sister Rebekah's husband. He used to play football for BYU. He is so awesome! That evening after the funeral we all, meaning most everyone on Brian's side of the family who lives up in Boise, went over to Jim and Bekah's to watch Scrooge and drink egg nog. It was quite a sight. We had almost 20 kids there and at least 10 adults. It was a madhouse, but it was a ton of fun too. Jim and Bekah have a tradition of drinking egg nog during the part in Scrooge where the ghost of Christmas present gives Scrooge a drink of the milk of human kindness. I think egg nog is a pefect drink to represent that! It's so tasty and thick and rich.

Vaughn was an exceptional baby on the ride up and the trip back. He barely fussed the entire trip and he slept most of the way home. On our way home, which is about 7 and 1/2 hours for us because our car is slow, we only had to stop once to let Vaughn get out and run around. He was so excited to play and he also wanted to take a try at driving. Here is Vaughn very happy to be at the wheel for a change instead of the back seat. And for those of you who think we're terrible parents, the car was parked in a rest area at the time! We got home safely and quickly because road conditions were great. We were blessed.

The next few days we were very busy getting ready for Christmas. My (Lisa's) Mom and Dad got into town on the 19th after a few delays along the way. Their transmission blew about a mile or two down the road from their house as they were getting on the freeway. You'll have to talk to them about the whole situation. It was nuts. But anyway, they got here safely, and on December 23rd, we all went to Ben (my brother) and Emily's (his wife) house for an Oviatt Christmas gift exchange. Each year we put our names into a hat, and then we each draw a name to see who we have for Christmas that year. Now that we've all moved away from home, my Dad just does it and lets us know who we have. It's really fun because our tradition is also to get used or homemade gifts, so it's a lot more fun to shop and to be creative.

This is Laura's reaction when she opened the gift I made her. I made her a scripture case to hold her scriptures. I guess maybe she liked it! Brian helped me to pick out the fabric for it. (I trust his artistic eye much more than mine). I'd rather just sew than try to pick out the best color scheme.













Vaughn got a little bear that sings the ABC song and also does a counting song. Vaughn absolutely loved it! He now sleeps with this bear every night. In fact, last night, in the middle of the night, Brian got up to get Vaughn because he was crying. When Brian went into his room, Vaughn was standing up in his crib holding the bear. Brian said he looked adorable! I wish I could have seen it! Vaughn also loves to dance to the ABC song when we push the bear's hand to play it. It was the perfect gift for him!





















On the left here Ben is holding a shirt that my parents found for Emily. We all laughed really hard because Emily is a redhead, and she is perfect too! I've written about her before, but Emily is one of the most talented women I've ever met. Bubby is lucky to have her!

I love this picture of Brian. The reason why I love it is because he is holding part of the present that Ben and Emily gave to us....a bread loaf pan. I have never seen a picture of Brian looking so happy, except on our wedding day. I think his true nature is starting to show. What makes this pan so cool is that they engraved our last name on it and also a cute pear design. I thought it was really cool! Ben and Emily also gave us some glass canning bottles, which I really needed because I've used all of the ones I had to put up food. Now I'll have more for my next canning project! (Sidenote: isn't Brian hot?)






Here's my dad, or Poopa as I call him. Here he is playing with Ben and Emily's daughter Autumn. She got this umbrella as part of her Christmas presents from Poopa and Momma. I thought this picture of them was absolutely adorable. I think Autumn was showing Poopa how it worked. Autumn called it a paragua, I hope I spelled that right. It means umbrella in Spanish. She is amazing.








This cute little thing is Prarie, Ben and Emily's youngest girl. She smiles the most out of any baby I've ever seen. She is so fun to be around! Momma and Poopa gave Autumn a big bouncing ball, and this next one is of Prarie riding on the thing. Adorable!













Christmas Eve was spent over at Brian's parents' house in Springville. We spent Christmas day there as well. We woke up relatively early to open presents. Brian surprised me with a rotary cutter set and a cutting mat, (used in sewing). I surprised Brian with a book called Star Wars Chronicles. The thing is huge. It's over 300 pages and about 11" by 16". It's the most extensive book about the making of the original Star Wars movies. I think Brian really likes it because I never see him anymore...he's always reading it! Just kidding.

We opened presents and then headed over to Brian's sister Amy's house for a big Christmas breakfast at around 11am or so.











Amy provided some deluxe bacon for us. Here's me cooking some. We also made eggs, sausage, waffles and a really nice juice drink. It was deluxe! Above is a picture of our little neice Alex holding Vaughn. She is very sweet to Vaughn and has a touch for making him laugh. Vaughn really likes Alex too. We had quite a bunch over at Amy's house for the rest of the afternoon. Amy's husband Brenden brought out the snowmobiles and gave people rides. Brian also brought out his little motorcycle and people rode that in the snow. Vaughn and I went back to Bri's parents' house for a nap, and then Brian joined us a little later with the rest of the family.

Here is a picture of some of the little kids that were there. It seems that whenever we get together there are always so many kids around! It's a lot of fun though. Vaughn especially loves the interaction. I think at Amy and Brenden's house we had 8 kids there. That's no Scrooge and nog fest in Boise, but it's still a good number. If I didn't mention this before, we also went over to Amy and Brenden's house and made snowflakes by cutting paper with scissors, just like we used to do in school. Anyway, it was a blast! And I'll tell you what, I never seen such cool snowflakes as Amy and her kids make. They're amazing!

Here are a couple of snowflakes Brian and I made. Mine is on the left, Brian's is on the right.














The next day, the 26th of December, my mom and Dad and my sisters Lindsey and Laura came over to open the rest of our gifts with the Oviatt family. Ben and Emily were getting ready to go down to Texas for the rest of the Christmas vacation. So here is Brian and Vaughn and Momma getting ready to open their presents from Laura. Laura made a big bowl of puppy chow for each of us. We've asked Laura never to make puppy chow again because it was SO GOOD that I must have gained 5 pounds in one night eating it!

Here is Laura and Vaughn. Laura is holding the blanket she crocheted for Vaughn. Isn't it beautiful?!?! And for the record, I know how long it takes to crochet something like that! It takes forever. But it is worth it. Just to let you know Laura, Vaughn has to sleep with it every night now. And the other day when we got him up from his nap, he pointed at it and insisted on taking it into the front room with him while he watched his show.






Laura also gave Lindsey her StrongBad hat. Lindsey about flipped out and fell off the couch.





These next two are of Poopa trying on his Christmas present from Momma, a wrap around towel for when he gets out of the shower. Poopa decided to do a little dance in it for Momma. I guess this is what happens when you become empty-nesters.













By the way Poopa, you look pretty good!





Brian is going to kill me for putting this picture in, but I had to tell everyone about this car calendar. My parents have started a tradition of giving Brian a car calendar for Christmas. Every year just before Christmas my dad makes a similar phone call, trying to ask me if it's okay to give Brian a certain gift, without telling me what it is. I already know what it is, but it's cute to play the game anyway. Brian and I really enjoy going through the calendar and reading facts about the different cars they have on each page. We've even played a trivia game with it. Thanks Momma and Poopa from both of us!







Momma and Poopa also got Vaughn this adorable dragon suit! We just about died when we saw it. And then when we finally got it on Vaughn we died again! Vaughn loved it and did some dances in it while he kept flapping his hands up and down, over and over again. He had a lot of fun. The suit was just barely too small for him, but that's okay! We'll use it for our next kid. I think it is so cute! Thanks Mom and Dad!











I had to throw this one in right now. This is of my sister Lindsey holding Vaughn. And I have to say this too....LINDSEY! YOU'RE A HOTTIE!!!! Seriously! You are so fine! Lindsey went back with my Mom and Dad after finishing her first round of college up at my old stomping grounds...Ricks! But now it's BYU-Idaho. I'm so proud of her! And it's no wonder she had so much fun up there...you're hot Linds!








Momma and Poopa brought me two things from my childhood for Christmas. The first was a Snoopy Snowcone Maker that I remember using when I was about 5 years old and we lived in a little house in Salt Lake. They found one at a thrift shop in Urbandale where they live. I cried when I opened it. I thought it was great! Then the other thing they brought was my old rocking chair that I used to have when I was just a little girl. That thing is at least 20 years old, and saying that makes me feel really old! When Mom and Dad brought it out I started bawling. I thought this chair had been given away a long time ago, and I had been very sad about that. But this was the most wonderful surprise. Vaughn is the perfect size to sit in it. And I'll tell you what, he loves it! He will point to it while we're in his room so that we'll bring it out for him so he can watch his favorite cartoons while sitting in it. It's adorable! His legs aren't quite long enough to touch the ground when he sits in it, but that doesn't stop him from getting into it all by himself!
We keep finding him in his room just sitting in it and rocking back and forth. I am so grateful to have something so special from my childhood that my own children can use now. Thank you so much Momma and Poopa!

The last few days after Christmas were spent hanging out and then Momma and Poopa and Lindsey headed back to Iowa. We were able to have a few nights where we got pizza and watched movies and just hung out. And those evenings meant so much to me! Poopa and Momma also helped me to run a few errands, which I really appreciated. It was a wonderful trip, and I can't wait until I can see them again!

For New Year's Eve we went over to Brian's parents' house for a while. We weren't there for very long because both Vaughn and I weren't feeling very well. Vaughn had been throwing up for the last few days, and I was starting to feel like it to. But we did have enough time to snap a shot of Vaughn and Uncle Bob (or Uncle Buns as we call him). Vaughn was wearing the new winter hat that Poopa bought for him. We were so grateful for him to get it too because he really needed it!
Brian and I tried to stay up until midnight. We read books together and tried to keep each other up, but it was useless! That's what happens when you get to be old! We both fell asleep! Brian came into the bedroom at two minutes to midnight and woke me up, and then we said Happy New Year! and then went back to bed! Poopa had bought us a bottle of Welch's carbonated grape juice to celebrate with, but we never got to it until we had our New Year's dinner the next night!

Our next-door neighbors went ice fishing New Year's Day, and that evening they gave us a call and asked us if we wanted some fish fillets. We were very grateful to have them since we don't buy fish a lot because it's too expensive! They gave some trout, and we just breaded it and fried it up in a pan. It made an excellent dinner...especially with the Welch's sparkling grape juice for our drink! And yes, I put this picture in to prove that it really was grape juice and not champagne!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. We hope you were able to spend time with your families and friends. And we also hope that you will have a wonderful New Year ahead!

And here's two more for the road.......


































Love, Lisa