Lisa's and Jared's Birthdays!!!
February 23rd, 2008

On Saturday the 23rd of February I just happened to wake up and realize it was my 27th birthday! Yikes I'm getting old! Brian had to change the brakes on our car, so I took Vaughn out on some adventures! I decided I'd had enough with my extremely long hair, and set up an appointment to get it cut. Luckily I was able to get in when another person canceled. So here's Vaughn sitting in a chair right next to me while I get prepped for my haircut. I had barely cut his hair that morning, and he got a lot of complements on it. Vaughn, you handsome little thing!

So here's me in a "before" picture with my long braids. I was ready to cut it since it was getting so long that it was starting to give me headaches from the weight of my hair! I love having long hair, but sometimes you just need a change! (Why wasn't I smiling?!)

It was good that I came in braids because the lady said it was the best way to cut off hair anyway. She initially cut off 10 inches of the braid so we could donate the hair to Locks of Love. Then she had to trim and even things up, which took another 2 inches of hair. So in all I got 12 inches cut off! Wow!

And here's the finished product! Let me mention that I wasn't wearing any makeup, so that's why I look all white and pasty. But let me tell you that the second the lady cut my hair I felt about 20 pounds lighter! It felt WONDERFUL! I was so happy to have the hair gone. And we were there for about 2 hours and Vaughn was very well-behaved. We went home and he took a very well-deserved nap!

Later that day I was surprised and very happy when my very good friend Melvin Kuhni stopped by. It was quite a nice birthday present. We call him Grandpa Kuhni because he is family to us. We love him so much, and he is always helping us out of tight situations. Melvin is a very kind and loving person. We love you Melvin!!!

Right as Melvin was leaving we had a few family members starting showing up for a little gathering. We had just barely called people that day to see if they would want to get together, so it was all a little impromptu. But Vaughn was finally up for his nap, and decided to start off the party as being the center of attention. He wanted to show everyone how well he played the Star Wars Arcade. And I have to tell you, he was a TOTAL SPAZZ!!! He was shaking the ENTIRE time he was playing. He had everyone in stitches they were laughing so hard!

I was happy that Laura and her friend Jeremy were able to come. Ben and Emily were out of town at Emily's Grandpa's funeral. So I was glad to have Laura there to represent my side of the family! I LOVE hanging out with Laura because she is so much fun! And as you can see, I was very happy when she showed up!

Laura has a way of spicing up any party, and the above picture proves it. She is just a crazy girl! I always treasure these closeups of her.

As part of the entertainment I busted out the braids from earlier that morning and Brian had some fun trying them on. I think he looks quite handsome with darker hair!

Has anyone ever seen The Ten Commandments? We'll just label this picture as "Brian's Princely Lock!"

Brian didn't want me to show this picture, but I couldn't help myself. I think he looks great! And I was just so happy to be hanging out with him that night. I love you Babe!

I really love this picture of me and Jared. Here we are checking out pictures of the ultrasound we'd had earlier that week. I love Jared so much! He is literally the nicest guy you will ever meet. He is very genuine and very kind. And I feel so lucky to be able to share a birthday with him! It makes every birthday that much more fun!

After we had all watched Vaughn show off on the arcade for a while, we all sat down just to have an informal chat. Here's Julie and Linda enjoying some conversation with the boys...

...who happened to be sitting on an adjacent couch. It was fun to just sit and chat for a while!

I'll just interject here with a nice picture of the pie and cake that Julie made for the occasion. She made a coconut cream pie for Jared and a cake for me. Wasn't that so nice of her? I loved the pink cake and the cute little pink ring she put in the middle. Julie is an excellent cook, and she excels in making desserts. So it's always a real treat to have her make your cake on your birthday!

We actually caught Vaughn in the kitchen trying to eat the cake, so we had to set it out of his reach. I felt a little bad afterwards because he just stood there staring at it longingly. We finally decided he'd had enough, and knew it was time to blow out candles and celebrate.

Jared and I took turns blowing out our candles. But I was very lucky to have a helper. Little Vaughn loves to blow out candles, so here he is trying it solo at first.

Then I joined in, and together we were able to blow them all out!

You can't tell from this picture, but he was spazzing from the excitement of getting all the candles blown out. What a cutie!!!

Then we moved on to the presents. Julie gave Jared and I both a great big bottle of V8 juice. It was a blend of pomegranate and blueberries. And it was SO DANG GOOD! The Higginsons have a tradition of giving food for presents, and it's actually a great idea. We get things on our birthdays that we usually never buy for ourselves because they're too expensive. So that makes birthdays extra fun!

Linda did something out of the ordinary by playing Jared and I a song she had learned for the occasion. To my great delight she sat down and played one of the songs off of the movie Labyrinth, starring David Bowie. If you've never seen that movie then you should! It's fun and weird and a little gross (because David Bowie's in it and he's a little gross). But for some reason I love it! It was a staple for me growing up and continues to be that to this day! I'm just glad that Brian's family appreciates it as much as I do!

Brian and I gave Jared a pack of Dr. Pepper (caffeine free) for his present. Jared LOVES the stuff, so he was very happy to get it. I think the last time he'd had it was about three years ago when we gave him some for Christmas!

During the get-together we all started to get pretty hungry, so we decided to go out to grab a bit to eat. I really didn't want to cook dinner on my birthday, so this was another great present for me! We finally decided on The Village Inn because we had some great coupons for the place. So here's me and Laura really happy because it was later in the evening and we were finally getting to eat!

As I said earlier, Laura had brought her friend Jeremy along. So here's a picture of the two of them. Jeremy is a really nice guy. He is about 6' 2" and as cuddly as a teddy bear. He and Laura make quite a pair because she's about a foot shorter than him!

Robert was very entertaining at the restaurant. He was obsessed with the circa-90's "motor home border" as he called it, that was bordering the walls. He thought it was awful, and I did have to agree. But I had to admit I was more focused on the food that the decorations!

I don'[t know what we were talking about when I took this picture of Julie, but isn't she GORGEOUS?!?! I think she has the most beautiful smile. Anyway, I had to add this in. Julie is also one to be the life of the party!

Brian was really enjoying the conversation about the decor. But he was also trying to get everyone to decide on what they were going to order. Luckily with Brian's encouragement we all got our food ordered, and we had a blast! We all got great meals and enjoyed them thoroughly. And at the end I got a free piece of pie for my birthday! (Jared had gone by this time to celebrate with some other friends).

During all of this, Vaughn was quite content to sit and play with the jam packets that were on the table. He never really made a sound, except when he couldn't get one out of the holder and needed some assistance.

He took them and lined them up in a neat row, feeling very proud of himself. Once this was accomplished, he decided to let out some energy, and spent the rest of the evening running laps around the table. He must have circled our group about 50 or 60 times. It was hilarious! I had a great birthday, and I was so glad to all of those who showed up, even with such short notice! I love you all!

And here's one for the road...

I couldn't help myself!

Love, Lisa