The Higginsons

2009-07-18T22:20:00.040-06:00

October 2008

It has been so long since I've posted anything that I've decided to sum up each month until we're current again.

10-2-2008

Brian rarely comes home for lunch because he works in Orem. It's about a 20 to 25-minute drive from our house, so it's not really practical to try to make it home for lunch and be back again in one hour. But I think on this day Brian was working in the Provo area. I was excited to see him during the day for once! So we "celebrated" this unusual event with an out-of-the-ordinary meal.

I cooked thinly sliced chicken in taco seasoning, and paired it with shredded lettuce, chopped cilantro, cheese, homemade tomatillo salsa and homemade regular salsa, and of course, corn tortillas. Brian was in heaven. And just so you don't think he's too weird, he put that giant piece of cilantro in his teeth on purpose.

I think having Brian home for a little while during the day put Deano in a good mood. Here he is looking as plump and gooey as ever.

10-10-2008

Laura came by later the next week for a quick evening visit. Whenever Laura walks into our house she somehow takes all the stress away and everyone feels better. Vaughn of course is the first one to hug Laura. She really has no choice considering he runs to her and jumps up into her arms!

I think this time Vaughn had just woken up from a late nap, so he was still slightly grumpy and didn't really want to talk to anyone. But he still let Aunt Laura hold him, and she loved it!

And speaking of naps...the next few pictures are from earlier in the day just before Vaughn was supposed to take his nap....

Just for fun I put Deano in bed next to Vaughn. Vaughn was so excited to have Deano next to him that he almost didn't dare to breathe in case he might upset the Deano.

Vaughn's excitement couldn't be held in though, and eventually a giant grin spread across his face.

Vaughn eventually decided it was safe enough to move his finger to his mouth.

Deano really had no clue what was going on. Either that or he was too distracted by the camera to really care whether or not Vaughn was moving or spazzing.

Finally Deano noticed Vaughn (well, actually Vaughn's Spiderman doll) and Vaughn decided it was time to make first contact with the Deano.

Deano watched intently as Vaughn showed him some cool Spiderman moves.

Deano eventually started to freak out and had to be moved to his own bed, but Vaughn was still happy as a lark for having had a few moments with the Deano. And here is Vaughn giving the camera a great big smile.

Vaughn is especially attached to this Spiderman doll, as you can tell. And the only reason I call it Vaughn's Spiderman doll is because that's what Vaughn insists I call it. One time I made the mistake of calling it the Spiderman action figure and Vaughn immediately said, "Mom! It's no, no is action figure, it's Spiderman DOLL." I learned my lesson very quickly and it has been called Spiderman Doll ever since.

10-19-2008

We always enjoy it when Brian's sister Linda and her husband Danny come to visit. They had three adorable children. Their second-oldest and only girl is named Lorna. By the way I love that name. Lorna is a darling girl with a giant heart, and she took immediately to Dean. Here she is with her adorable smile and Popsicle-stained chin!

(I'm not quite sure what Deano thought about the situation though!)

10-20-2008

The next day was spent back at Mom and Dad Higginson's house to make sure that Vaughn and Dean got as much time with the kids as possible.

Above is Kalel, Danny and Linda's oldest. And just as a little side note, Linda and Danny named him Kalel way before current Hollywood actors decided to resurrect the name. We call him Kal for short, and the name fits perfectly.

Little Alvin is a chipmunk at heart. He is a full-throttle kid. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him in any other mode than "insanely active." He is go go go all day long until he basically drops from exhaustion. I feel for Linda, and I admire her. She is a wonderful mother. And Alvin is so dang cute that you just want to squeeze the little chipmunk until he pops!

Vaughn absolutely adores Kal, and to prove his adoration, Vaughn actually let Kal hold his Spiderman Doll AND take a picture. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I knew you wouldn't unless I put up the picture.

Alvin has the cutest button nose and the biggest brown eyes in the universe. I think Grandpa took this picture of him while he was trying to escape being dressed after a bath. I don't think I could take it if I had those big brown puppy dog eyes looking up at me all the time. Too much cuteness in one bundle!

Back to Spiderman. I asked if I could take a picture of Vaughn, but he wanted to make sure that his Spiderman Doll was in the picture. If you look closely you can see Vaughn looking to the side, directly at the camera to make sure Spiderman Doll was front and center.

Once Spiderman Doll was photographed, Vaughn paused for a moment for a shot. But his thoughts were far away, thinking about how cool his Spiderman Doll is. And...

...he decided he wanted Spiderman Doll back in the picture. I hope he doesn't grow so attached that he has to take this doll to college with him or something. I do fully expect though that he will want to sleep with this doll every night until he's 18 or moved out. Either way, I'm going to make sure we keep this doll forever. It will be really fun to pull it out of his remembrance box later on in life and see the look on his face. (This is assuming at some point he'll let the doll out of his sight or grip).

10-23-2008

I bet you didn't think I would ever have a supermodel spread on this blog. But here it is! This GORGEOUS woman is the one and only Linda, Brian's sister and my sister-in-law. Now you can see why I was so jealous of her before I knew she was Brian's sister. I knew I didn't have a chance if I had to compete with this Miss Universe!

Linda is, as I've already said, GORGEOUS! She reminds me of sunshine. She is the epitome of the "California Beach Babe" mixed with the wholesome "girl-next-door."

Did I mention GORGEOUS?!?

She has the longest, thickest, most luxurious hair I've ever seen on a human being. She also has the most perfect teeth and lovely smile in the world.

Linda is a woman of many talents. She is an all-around athlete and she excels in gymnastics. (I'm pretty sure I remember Linda doing a cartwheel only a month after Kal was born). Linda has a beautiful singing voice. Her voice reminds me quite a bit of Karen Carpenter's. She is an expert seamstress. She designs her own swimsuits (50's style) and sews them. She has made all kinds of gorgeous dresses, including a spectacular empire-waist dress. She also designs incredibly cute shirts, shorts, pants, kid's clothing and Halloween costumes.

Linda is also an exceptional cook, a great dancer, a pianist and a wonderful mother. And most importantly, Linda is one of the most loving and understanding people I've ever met. She has the ability to truly forgive and to really understand people. She is a truly Christ-like person, and I am grateful to know her.

I love you Linda!

10-27-2008

This day started out like any other. I was in the kitchen getting breakfast for the boys and Brian had just barely walked out the door to go to work. It was a Monday, so of course something was bound to happen...

About five minutes after Brian left, the kitchen floor began to rumble. I thought maybe construction was going on outside, but that was ruled out quickly when I heard a giant rush of water. I knew instantly that our sump pump had failed and that the basement was flooding.

It probably seems a little odd to think of a basement flooding in desert country, but it happened! The city sewage system backed up and flooded the basements of several houses on our street, and ours was one of them. In the time it took me to call my next-door-neighbor and my in-laws, our basement had three or four inches of water in it. Yikes! The above is of Dad Higginson standing in our basement after we got all the water pumped out.

Dad Higginson got here first and then my neighbor Dawn quickly arrived on the scene. (Those are her feet above). While Dad worked on getting the water pumped out of the basement with a shop vac and buckets, Dawn and I quickly unloaded everything that was in the water or close to being in the water. It was a nightmare! The water went up to the first step leading into the basement.

All of our food storage was down there, so you can imagine how upset I was. I had tried to make sure that anything close to the floor was in water-proof containers. I had also put many things on pallets and shelves. But when you deal with water, and especially sewage, ANYTHING made out of WOOD has to be THROWN AWAY. There is no way to clean it. SO...all of our wood shelves had to be tossed.

This is what our back yard looked like after emptying the basement....

....keep going....

...this too. And yes, that is the Utah Disaster Kleenup truck sitting in our back yard. They had to come in and spray down the basement with high-powered, super hot, disinfecting solution. They santitized the walls, the floors, the steps, and anything that was plastic that was touching the water. Everything else had to be thrown away.

10-28-2009

Disaster Day 2

I had stored canned goods and bottled goods up off the floor, but the water got to them anyway. Disaster Kleenup said I had two options....throw away everything, or disinfect everything that was in glass or cans. I chose option 2 since I wasn't about to throw away all that food! So I set up a washing station which included tons of hot water and CLOROX.

Brian's parents took Vaughn and Dean while I spent the next 8 HOURS washing....
My neighbor Dawn came over again and helped me wash for I think 2 hours. Then my wonderful sister Laura came over and helped for 4 hours. Without Brian's parents, Dawn and Laura, I would still be washing and disinfecting everything! After scrubbing everything until my hands were raw, I had to re-label everything as well. Laura and I enjoyed this part because we were already delirious from the sun and Clorox, and the permanent markers only added to the delirium. We wrote little jokes here and there on different jars or containers. It has been pretty fun since then to read them as we've used up the food.

(If you look closely you can see bottled turkey, hamburger, zucchini relish, tomatoes, grape juice, peaches and salsa. So you can understand why there was NO WAY I was going to throw hundreds of hours worth of work away!) Brian's brother Jared also spent most of a day helping me to get new metal shelving picked up, put together and in the basement. Then he helped to load everything that was clean back into the basement and organize it. It was intense.

So.....Here are a few words of advice....

#1 ONLY USE METAL SHELVING TO STORE THINGS ON!!!
(Metal shelving can be cleaned and sanitized, wood shelving cannot!)
#2 STORE EVERYTHING AT LEAST TWELVE INCHES OFF THE GROUND
(on your metal shevling)
#3 STORE EVERYTHING IN PLASTIC, WATER-PROOF CONTAINERS!!!
(If I had stored everything in plastic containers, only the containers would have needed to
be sanitized, and Disaster Kleenup would have done that!)

And last but not least....

#4 Have some waterproof boots and gloves on hand, and not in your basement!

10-29-2009

The end in sight, and a hot meal in out bellies!

After almost 48 hours without sleep, I was incredibly grateful to go out to eat. My parents (I love you Momma and Poopa) offered to pay for a few meals and it was so great! We went to Bajios which is a fantastic Mexican restaurant here, and it was a much-needed break. Here are Vaughn and Brian enjoying the atmosphere.

If I tell Vaughn to smile he tries really hard and winds up looking like he's hurting. It is adorable.

I was so grateful to be out of the sun, away from the Clorox, and in a place where I could sit down and eat. It was awesome. And it was nice to just be able to sit and play with Vaughn too. He and Deano had really missed us. There's nothing that brings family together like sewage back-ups and Mexican food! (I'll let you think about that for a while!)

Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us! Your labor was priceless!!!

I'll leave you with my favorite picture of Linda...

Love, Lisa

2009-04-01T10:47:00.002-06:00

SEPTEMBER 2008

September started out for us with a fun trip up to Boise, Idaho, where most of Brian's other siblings live. We stayed with his brother Michael, Michael's wife Marci, and their five children. We were very grateful to have the opportunity to stay with them. Brian and Michael have always been close, and it is fun for them to "go do guy stuff" whenever possible.

The morning after we arrived, we hit some yard sales around the area. It is always a tradition to go to the garage sales because they have MUCH better deals than down here in Provo. And it's fun to go with a few families. It makes the hunt much more fun and you also get a better chance of getting what you want because everyone is looking out for everyone else. ANYWAY, at one yard sale, Aunt Julie found Vaughn a 25-cent Spiderman Costume. We also got him a 50-cent Spiderman winter coat. Unbelieveable!!! So the second we got home, Vaughn begged to put it on. And here's Brian holding Vaughn as he ascends the kitchen wall!

After climbing for a while, Vaughn took a quick break to look at his new suit. You can't tell here, but Vaughn is really smiling through that mask.

What should I call this one? "A Proud Papa"? I don't know.

The next afternoon, September 7th, we went to Jim and Rebekah's house for a little get-together.

Before we went though, Heidi (married to Brian's oldest Brother Dave) brought over bike for Vaughn to use. Vaughn was in HEAVEN!!! Than's what's so great about not having the first grandchildren...you get hand-me-downs like crazy! Brian is always so excited to teach things to our boys, and especially anything dealing with sweet rides!

While we waited to leave from Jim and Bek's, Brian's brother Michael took a chance to hold little Dean. He amazing drifted off into sweet dreamland, and I think it pleased Michael when he realized he had "the touch" too.

Later on at Jim and Rebekah's house, Dean was greeted by a bunch of his older cousins, all wanting to hold him. At this time he was the youngest grandchild in the family, and that gave him automatic attention galore! Maren got to hold Dean first, and she was a little shy as I tried to take a picture of her. Maren has always been a very responsible, mature young woman. I remember when we lived in an apartment basement underneath her parents, Maran would come down to our apartment and help me do dry pack canning. And this was when she was only 4 years old! She loved to help me cook. I have many fond memories of spending time with Maren. I only wish we lived closer so that we could continue those memories! Maren looks so grown-up here. It's hard to believe that she's not the 3 and 4 year-old cutie any more, but a young woman. Time really flies!

At Jim and Bekah's we had a little cookie party. Each family brought a different type of cookie or treat to share with everyone. Here are Brian, Michael and Robert, three nice brothers chowing down on some "delicious yum-yums" as Robert would say in a robotic voice.

This is David, Brian's oldest brother. He is actually a really nice guy and was pulling this intimidating face to tease me. David and I have this game that's been on since Brian and I got married. Dave and I find ways to scare each other, trick each other, or any form of a joke that we can use on each other. One time when I had fallen asleep in the car on the way back to the apartment we lived in under them, Dave tried to scare me to death. Brian had just pulled into the driveway, and I was barely coherent and still mostly sleeping. It was late at night and I was too tired to get out of the door and go into the house, so even I took a second to debate sleeping in the car! Then all of a sudden I hear a loud smack on my window and I jumped and looked over to find a man wearing a werewolf mask and growling. It didn't phase me because I was still mostly asleep. Dave was so let down. Sorry Dave!, but it was a well-thought-out plan!

Back to the party... That morning Aunt Julie had help all the nieces do their hair so it would look extra nice for church. So here are some of the styles they came up with! These two were by far my favorite!

Our nephew Michael James was inside for a bit of the party, and when I went to see why, I found him holding a coral snake. "Her name's Celia. I named her that myself." he said. I love it when kids have pets, and any kind at that! I would love to get a puppy for Vaughn or some fish. Heck, how about a monkey or a giant boa constrictor? I have to admit, I would LOVE to have two dogs: 1) A Great Dane and 2) A Pug Dog.

Dean spent some time just relaxing and enjoying the conversation. The poor kid had been through so much already with his digestive problems. It really helped him to be distracted by so many nice people and so many adoring cousins. He was much more content on this trip.

We eventually wound up inside Jim and Bek's house for some fun conversation. Dad Higginson found himself holding a very energetic Alvin. Alvin is Danny and Linda's youngest, and Linda is Brian's sister. Alvin was all over the place until he found the pen's in Dad's shirt pocket and then like magic, he calmed down enough to be held. That cutie!!!

Vaughn found a fun game and tried as hard as he could to tempt Kal (Danny and Linda's oldest son) to come and play it with him. Vaughn has always loved playing with Kal, and it's because Kal has always taken Vaughn under his wing and been a very kind older cousin and friend to him.

I just wanted to show you again just how cool of a job Julie did when she did all the girls' hair that morning for church! This was definitely my favorite style, and our cute niece Aubrey was sporting this authentic design!

Monday the 8th of September was a clearn, beautiful day. Michael and Marci's youngest son Dallin had not been able to be at Vaughn's birthday party back on August 12th, so he wanted to give Vaughn his birthday present before Vaughn went back to Provo. Dallin gave Vaughn a pair of feet that fit over the top of his shoes. The feet looked exactly like the feet of the stone guy from Fantastic Four.

Dallin kept close tabs on Vaughn to make sure he was walking okay. One of the feet kept slipping off of Vaughn's foot....

.....so Dallin fixed the problem by wearing it himself! It was ADORABLE to watch those two boys walking around, each with "one 'foot' off and one 'foot' on." They made quite the pair! Dallin was happy to have helped with Vaughn's walking problem, and Vaughn was happy to be hanging out doing "guy stuff." Aren't they so cute in this picture?!?!

Dallin is quite the character, and he tried to get Vaughn to come out of his shell a little bit more. Vaughn just looked at Dallin with the smallest hint of a smile. Vaughn is so easily embarrassed, and he would rather watch people most of the time than get crazy too. Eventually though, Dallin won Vaughn over and they both had a great time letting all their energy out. I LOVE that Dallin!

Monday September 10th was spent at home unpacking and getting back into the swing of things. Vaughn however, decided to work on some new Spiderman moves. And why not? He now owned an authentic Spiderman suit, and he had to know how to use it properly. So here's Vaughn doing the best "Spiderman Stretch" he can. He's quite limber. He gets that from me. I was still able to do perfect splits and pull my leg up behind my head when I was 5 months pregnant with Dean. I wonder if I'm part spider too?

Thursday, September 11th was a busy day. First of all it was the 7-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It is a day that I always hold in reverence. Brian and I watch news reports from that day, look up new reports and just talk about it. We don't want to forget those who lost their lives, those who risked their lives to save others, and those who caused the deaths of so many. We often talk with Vaughn about the importance of freedom and liberty, and the right and obligation to defend ourselves against those who would take it from us.

I can't remember if I decided to make apricot jam that day or not. I probably did to help keep my hands busy while my mind was going over the past events. So here's the finished product! Unfortunately, I was so distracted that I accidentally added lime juice to the jam instead of lemon juice. They come in a very similar bottle out here! I was very disappointed because it totally changed the flavor of the jam, but I couldn't throw it out. Not after all that work! So I labeled it "Funky Jam" with the hope that someone would be daring enough to try it some day.

September 11th is also a day that we celebrate some birthdays. Brian's sister Julie was born that day, and so was Melvin Kuhni (a dear friend who is like a Grandfather to me). I always call or visit Melvin, and then we go to Brian's parents' house to have a party for Julie. I don't know why I don't have pictures of Julie's party that evening, but I do have a cute picture of me and little Dean. That poor little guy was trying as best he could to enjoy the fun, even with his upset stomach!

The next week, on Thursday, September 18th, I found myself in a rather unusual situation. I had gotten up that morning and started to bottle some grape juice when I received a phone call from my sister Laura. Poor Laura had gotten her wisdom teeth removed that morning (unbeknownst to me) and was stuck at the outpatient center with no ride home. I could barely understand what she was saying because she was just coming out of the anesthesia. I called Mom Higginson and she came to the rescue. She took Vaughn and Dean while I got Laura, picked up her medicines, some ice cream and popsicles, and brought her back to my place for some recovery time.

Poor Laura was in so much pain, and the left side of her face wound up swelling a good amount. This is Laura before the pain medicine set in......

....and a much happier Laura after the medicine kicked in! Laura, I hope you're not going to kill me for posting these pictures! I'll try to find pictures of me when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I looked like a chipmunk with the mumps on steroids!

I was able to finish the grape juice that day inbetween taking care of Laura. The grape juice was made from white grapes and pink grapes. It's not as good as Concord grape juice, but when you mix the two of them you can't tell!

Laura stayed with us for several days after her surgery. It worked out very well for the both of us, and the boys loved having Laura there as well. Laura took every opportunity to help little Dean relax.....

....but sometimes Laura couldn't fall asleep until she had stared at Dean for a while. I don't blame her! THANKS LAURA!!!!

While Laura was with us I also decided to tackle bottling peaches. What was I thinking?!?! But I finished the job and wound up putting up 77 quarts or so. Half of them went to Melvin Kuhni because I bottle for him. He is always so gracious to buy the peaches, and I pay him back by putting them up for him. It works out perfectly for the both of us!

Vaughn enjoyed hanging out with Laura, watching a show every now and then. Here he is relaxing with a special shake made by me, just for him! He asked me for a shake in the funniest way! He said, "Mom, I wanna shake..." and then stood there shaking his body! I love it!!!

Monday, September 22nd dawned clear and peaceful. I just knew it was the day for gathering our beet crop! So I took Vaughn and Dean out to the garden and we took one last picture of our beet crop and proceeded to harvest the beets.

Here's a closeup of some of the beets. It's pretty interesting to me that ours like to grow mostly above the ground. I don't know if this is normal or not. But I have seen beets that are long and skinny and grow underground.

Vaughn worked hard to help me pick the beets.

So I made sure he took frequent drink breaks. What a darling boy!

Tuesday the 23rd was the day we put up the beets. I LOVE to go to Brian's sister Amy's house to bottle with her. She is fun, energetic, quick-witted and spontaneous. She makes bottling so much fun! And Vaughn loves to go to play with his cousin Sammy.

Here's Amy helping to get the beets trimmed and ready to bottle.

And this is me (much later that day) taking an ice cream break. Amy is always great to provide fun things to eat while we bottle.

I don't remember exactly how many jars we put up, but this shows at least some of what we did. It's always nice to see the finished product. I think though that we wound up over-processing the quart jars and the beets turned very light in color. Next year we are going to try putting them in pint jars to see if that will work better. I think you process them for less time, and that might help the beets to retain their rich color. Otherwise we'll just have to pickle all of them, but I don't think Amy likes pickled beets.

Earlier in the week, Brian's dad went to a giant sale held at our local university, Brigham Young University. They hold one yearly and sell older electronics to help to pay for getting newer electronics. Dad picked up a computer for I think $25.00, including the screen and mouse and everything, and delivered it to Vaughn as a post-birthday present. We were shocked, grateful and very excited for Vaughn!

Vaughn had gotten a learning game for his birthday, and once we got it set up, he took to it immediately. He LOVED IT! So a great big THANK YOU to Mom and Dad Higginson!

And here's a picture Dad Higginson took of Dean some time in September. Dean wasn't uncomfortable (his stomach was giving him a break) and he was VERY happy!

Love, Lisa

2009-02-18T09:25:00.002-07:00

August 16th - August 31st, 2008

Before I begin explaining what we did in August of last year, I must explain how our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is organized. First of all I'll give a basic visual aid that might help.

FAMILY - BRANCH - WARD - STAKE

The most basic unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the FAMILY. The family is the fundamental unit in the Church, and home is the most important place for gospel learning. No other organization can take the place of the family. The Church's purpose is and will always be to support and strengthen families and individuals in their efforts to live the gospel. (This is quoted directly from the Church website at: www.lds.org)

FAMILIES are organized into CONGREGATIONS that meet together frequently for spiritual and social enrichment. Small congregations are called BRANCHES. Large congregations are called WARDS. Then the wards and branches are divided into STAKES. There are usually 5 to 12 wards and brances in a stake, depending on the geographic area and number of people all together.

I belong to the Slate Canyon 4th Ward, which is a part of the Provo, Utah Stake. I hope this all makes sense! SO....each year in August our entire Stake gets together and has a giant Stake Party. There are hundreds of people there, which makes it a really neat event. Every year the Stake Party also has a theme, and this time it was the August 16th Stake Fiesta!

We have a great number of Latino families that have moved into the Provo area, so having a fiesta was a great way to get to know more about the Latino culture. As part of this Stake Fiesta, we had authentic Latino food and authentic Latino entertainment. While we ate dinner, we were accompanied by a band that was really great!

Vaughn was having the time of his life listening to the music and eating the food. You couldn't tell it from this picture though! I tried to get him to smile, but he wanted to finish his watermelon, so this was more of a grimace than anything. You can't tell here, but he had watermelon juice all over his face and shirt.

As I said before, there were hundreds of people at the party.

And I couldn't get a good shot of how crowded it was and how long the food lines were....but these will give you a small idea.

As part of the entertainment for the kids, there was a giant waterslide down the hill. Vaughn wouldn't go near it alone, so Brian and I took turns waiting in line with him. The funny thing is when he finally got to the top, he REFUSED to go down!!! I tried to encourage him. I even used a little force, but he utterly refused. And I utterly refused to go down with him because I had just had a baby!!! At least we had a fun time waiting in line, watching the other kids go down and crash at the end!

The Monday after the Stake Fiesta, I decided to put up the beets in our garden. We had a nice beet crop, and I was really excited to pickle the beets for Momma (my mom) and for two elderly men I know in our neighborhood (Melvin Kuhni and LaVon Fife). And I know it's probably a little weird, but I like to take pictures of the produce I get from the garden. It helps to remind me of the reward I get at the end of ALL THAT WORK!

Here is a closeup of some of the beets. Beets have an almost purple color inside. And here's a warning! If you eat beets they will turn red everything that comes out of you! So don't freak out when you go to the bathroom after eating beets and see red in the toilet. (My neighbor thought she was dying and went into the doctor. They both had a good laugh when they figured out she had eaten beets earlier that day!)

Below is a picture of the various sizes of beets I picked from our garden. The largest one was just as wide as my hand, and I have big hands!

Pickled beets look quite different from regular bottled beets. Pickled beets turn a beautiful dark purple color due to the ingredients used to pickle them. They are so pretty to look at that I always keep one jar for decoration purposes. I'm not a huge fan of beets, but the people I love are! I am always looking for ways to thank those who have helped me throughout the year, and this is a perfect way!

Here's a good look at how beautiful that dark purple color is!

On Thursday, August 21st, I picked the first cantaloupe from our garden. It looked beautiful and tasted perfectly sweet and delicious.

That day I also decided to make salsa with the abundance of produce we had. I love to garden, and I particularly love how fresh produce looks and tastes! The onions were no exception!

I particularly love to photograph the vegetables I use to make salsa. There is something so pleasing to me about the colors. So here is everything washed, trimmed and ready to make into salsa!

I got a small food processor when Brian and I were first married, and it has been infinitely useful, especially when I have made salsa. It cuts the onions and peppers into the perfect size, and also makes the salsa uniform. I don't particularly like large chunks of anything in my salsa, but I also don't like it pureed.

You can see how the consistency of this salsa is pretty uniform. My favorite ingredient in this homemade salsa is Cilantro. (Sorry Leslie! I'll have to make some for you without the Cilantro!) I don't remember who introduced me to the stuff, but I can't get enough of it! It is an excellent addition to any salsa, and it is also fantastic in a lot of dinner recipes I use now. Brian is also a huge fan, so that helps!

And here is the finished product. I was able to get 84 pints of salsa just from one-days picking from the garden. That's quite a bit, considering we don't have an extremely large garden! I have been known to eat an entire pint of salsa a day during summer months. It is so refreshing and full of good stuff. I have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner...just chips and salsa. Yum!!!

The next day Brian's sister Amy dropped by with her son Sammy for just a little bit. Vaughn immediately asked if he could play the "game-game" with Sammy, which meant playing Brian's arcades. Sammy and Vaughn had the time of their lives. There is a mystic bond that occurs when two people play vintage arcade games together. I can't explain it...it just IS. :)

Sammy was taking a turn on the Ms. Pac Man arcade, and Amy got really into it. She was so excited for Sammy to get to the next board, that she found herself helping him! I had to take a picture just for Amy. She actually got more into it than Sammy did! Arcades transcend time and space. They are perfect for any gender, any age. (I'm not really this weird. I just like to hamm it up once in a while!)

In 2008 we were on a later Sunday church schedule, which meant we attended church from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. It's a lot harder when you have kids, especially young kids, since it's during their nap time. But the mornings are cosy and fun. Every Sunday Vaughn would wake up and come and lie in bed next to us and we would talk with him and tickle him. And since Vaughn had a new brother, he was particularly excited to be next to him and hold him, as we usually had Dean in bed with us.

Vaughn loved to just lie next to Dean and let Dean touch him. Vaughn was also VERY tender with Dean, giving him hundreds of kissing and hugs. Each time Dean touched him, Vaughn would giggle and smile. There is just something about a newborn!

I guess Dean wasn't exactly a brand new baby anymore, but he was still acting like one! Dean had a lot of digestive problems, so he was up at least 6 times a night. His average was around 8 to 10 times a night, but you couldn't tell from this picture! He seemed perfectly normal. I guess if I had taken a picture of me it would have been much easier to see the toll it was taking!
He had quite the content expression here, didn't he?

Back to the garden! Our second cantaloupe was ready just three days after our first one, and it was just as tasty as the first! There's nothing quite like a chilled melon. We're not very successful when it comes to growing watermelons, but cantaloupe does pretty well. It is always a treat for us to eat, especially when it's really hot outside!

That evening, Sunday the 24th, we decided to get out of the house and get some fresh air. I was almost delirious with the lack of sleep I had with Dean, but I also needed to get out. So we took Vaughn to a local park and enjoyed a perfect late afternoon and evening. Vaughn was ecstatic! He LOVES going to the park to play, and he made the most of every minute!

Vaughn is a very cautious kid. He is so cautious that sometimes I worry about him. He wouldn't go across the monkey bars without Brian right there next to him. But the great thing about Vaughn is that once he has analized the situation and made a very cautious and careful attempt, he goes full-steam ahead.

Here I am holding little Dean. It must have been quite a shock for him to emerge out of the house into a world of bright colors, sunshine and yelling kids!

Here's Vaughn again, this time crossing the bars with more enthusiasm. I have to say that I do see Vaughn's desire to study out situations as a strength. I'd rather that be the case than him not think about things!

I don't know why Vaughn is making the most grumpy face of all-time here. He was actually extremely excited. I guess I just caught him at the wrong moment. He was very proud of himself for hanging there alone. Maybe he was upset that Daddy wasn't there with him. What a cutie!!!

After the park we decided to drop by Julie's condo. She had a small trampoline out, which Vaughn took to immediately. He and Julie jumped on it together for quite a while, and he held her hands and giggled the entire time.

Julie's roommate Michelle was there, and she loved taking a turn holding Dean. He was happy to be in her arms, and proved it by drifting off into dreamland.

Two days later, on Tuesday the 26th of August, we picked out third cantaloupe, along with some nice zucchini and a good number of tomatoes. There's nothing like a fresh tomato cut into thick slices and seasoned with just a little bit of salt.

Laura came over to visit just as I was getting some lunch for Vaughn. He was very excited to see her and busted out a cute smile.

Laura took the opportunity to hold little Dean, and he immediately calmed down and drifted off to sleep. Aunt Laura has "the touch." Every single time she comes over to see Dean, all she has to do is get him in her arms and he relaxes. She sings a little sone and he turns to butter. I don't know how she does it, but I love it! And Dean doesn't just relax, he goes into this coma-like sleep. Since he doesn't really sleep at all the rest of the time, I am so grateful!!!
Laura is my guardian angel. She is so good with Vaughn and Dean and she has this way of calming them down. She also helps me to be calm with the kids. I love it! You're the best Laura!

And here's one for the road.....

Thanks Laura!!!

Love, Lisa

2009-02-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Vaughn!!!
(August 12, 2008)

August 12th 2008. My baby has finally grown out of the toddler stage and is now a big boy with a little brother to teach the ropes to. Here is a picture of Vaughn taken on the evening of his 3rd birthday. I must say he is quite handsome!!!

We decided that for Vaughn's birthday we would take him to a place called The Bean Museum. No, it isn't a museum that explains the history of beans. It's an animal museum named after a guy with the last name of Bean. So this snake is what we encountered when we first walked in the door. We waited in a relatively short line to get the chance to see it up close and touch it. Vaughn was VERY apprehensive for obvious reason. Who wouldn't be scared of a 20-foot Boa Constrictor?

I guess I wasn't. But that's only because I'd had previous experience with giant snakes when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. I was on a field trip that included seeing a giant snake for some reason. I got chosen along with two or three other kids to let a giant Boa Constrictor slither all over me. It was one of the weirdest sensations I've ever experienced. I guess the instructor was counting on the thing NOT constricting and squeezing the life out of me. So here I am trying to convince Vaughn that he could touch the snake.

Eventually (and I mean after we had toured part of the museum and gotten back in line to try a second attempt at touching the snake) Vaughn got up enough courage to barely touch the snake with the ends of two fingers. I guess he figured this was the safest approach. What a cutie!!!

After (barely) touching ONE snake scale Vaughn somehow became fearless. We left the snake line and found a giant Grizzly bear. Vaughn transformed into a ferocious creature and here's the picture to prove it. Doesn't he (I mean the bear) look scary?!? Did I mention that this museum consists mostly of stuffed animals? (And no, I don't mean the cuddly cute kind you can get in a store!)

Vaughn was very happy to find another bear exhibit, and this time he put away the man-eating bear in himself and let a cute grin come out. Doesn't he look proud?

The zebra exhibit was right next to the lion exhibit. I think I took a picture of the lions, but for some reason I couldn't find it on my camera. Oh well. I'd probably be too scared to look at it anyway. There is one lion there in particular that scares the living soup out of me. All I can imagine is that sucker coming for me and ripping my head off. Yikes! So for your sake and mine, here's a not-so-scared me carrying a one-month-old Dean.

Vaughn quickly found a display with a giant spider. Have I ever mentioned that I am deathly afraid of giant spiders? This one was actually mammoth-sized in my view. I could barely get the courage to take a picture of Vaughn pointing at it. Vaughn is of course obsessed with Spiderman, so any kind of spider, whether living or dead is very cool to him. A pane of glass stood between the killer spider and my son. It didn't matter to me that the spider was dead. I wanted so badly to tell Vaughn not to go near it!!!

There were tons of animals to look at, from wild buffalo to prairie dogs. But this monkey particularly caught my eye for some reason. I think it was the huge nostrils at the end of an elongated snout. Almost pig-like, don't you think?

The rhinoceros is definitely one of my favorite exhibits. Did you know that as a general rule the rhino is a VERY ill-tempered animal? He likes to keep to himself as much as possible. And when he lies low to the ground or hides in weeds or bushes, it's a sure signal to keep away! And did you also know that those aren't really horns? They're actually very hardened fibrous growths! You could have fooled me!

This might be my most favorite of all the exhibits....the Jaguar! I have a collection of old Disney nature shows called True Life Adventures. My favorite of all of them is the one about jaguars and is called The Jungle Cat. I have always been fascinated with the jungle, and a cat living in the jungle is even better! Did you know that jaguars spend quite a bit of time in water? There is a lot of water in a jungle, and the jaguar has to hunt prey that uses water as a protection and an escape method. A mother jaguar will take her young to a swimming hole and actually teach them to swim. I've also seen footage of a giant male jaguar (panther) catching and killing a fish and a crocodile! That's nuts!!!

Needless to say we really enjoyed the experience at the museum! And now onto lunch!

Vaughn loves Chinese food, so after a long tour of the museum, we took him out to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Yes, I take pictures of food, so what?! It helps me to relive the moment. It's like tasting it all over again! (We don't eat out much!)

After a hearty meal Vaughn was given the customary fortune cookie. I wish I could say his fortune was something incredible and mystic, but in reality it was so boring that we just threw it away. It was something like, "...you are true to yourself...." BORING!!! I mean come on. They used to actually somewhat predict the future. (You can tell this really means a lot to me).

I guess it didn't bother Vaughn too much to not have a cool fortune. He was very happy with his meal and his smile proved it!

Late that afternoon, after recovering from the museum and eating out, we made our way over to Brian's parents' house in Springville. Some of Vaughn's cousins were there to meet him, and they immediately went out to play on the new swing set/playhouse that Brian's parents had purchased. Vaughn was totally delighted when his older cousin Alex let him sit on her lap and they did a two-person swing!

I was so happy that Emily brought Autumn and Prairie over as well. (Bubby was sick that night). Autumn and Prairie really enjoyed playing in the playhouse as well. They built the playhouse in their backyard right in front of a window so you can just sit inside and watch the kids from the TV room. It makes it so handy when you just want to relax. It's also fun just to sit there at watch the kids play. Kids have so much energy!!!

We let the kids get out as much energy as possible. Then Dean let out a wail, almost as if to say, "Where's the cake and ice cream? Where are the presents?" So we called the kids in for the party! Actually, this is one of the saddest pictures I've ever seen. This is how poor Dean spent the first six months of his life...miserable! I'm so glad that we finally figured out how to help him and he is now eating well and feeling so much better!

It was very obvious that we had to have a Spiderman theme for Vaughn's birthday. I don't usually like the cake designs I see in stores, so I opted to design my own Spiderman for the top of the cake. I picked out a face a liked, printed it out and used it as a guide for decorating the cake. I was really happy with how it turned out, and most importantly, so was Vaughn!

When we called all the kids in, they all came and sat around the island with Vaughn. There were Spiderman balloons, a Spiderman tablecloth, the Spiderman cake.... Vaughn couldn't help but shoot a Spiderman web from his wrists. It was the only way he could express his excitement!

We decided to open presents first because Amy and her kids had to leave. So McKay excitedly handed Vaughn the present he had brought for him. I love the look of anticipation on McKay's face as he waits to see how Vaughn will react.

Vaughn actually was so excited about this Star Destroyer that he didn't want to open any other gifts! (Vaughn doesn't let excitement show in his face when he's really excited. He concentrates and spazzes). Here's McKay showing Vaughn how to push the buttons that make noises. It was a great gift that Vaughn still enjoys playing with!

I was in Wal-Mart and saw a pair of Spiderman shoes that lit up when they touched the ground. I had to get them for Vaughn, mostly because they were on clearance! The first thing Vaughn did when he saw them was point to the spider webs on the side. (Vaughn has decided to greet people now by stomping his right foot down to make his shoe light up. He doesn't have to utter a word. You wouldn't believe the number of people that have stopped to ask him about his shoes. I've met more people in the last several months since his birthday than in the last several years combined!)

Autumn and Prairie brought some very special gifts for Vaughn. I also can't find the picture of the drawing that Autumn did for Vaughn. It had Donald Duck on it, and it was so precious! We put it up in Vaughn's room where he could look at it whenever he wanted. Here is Prairie very anxious to see Vaughn open their present to him!

You can see Vaughn holding Autumn's drawing and they also gave him some Otter Pops. Those are the BEST on a hot summer day, and Vaughn asked if he could have one right away. I had to try to explain that they needed to be frozen first!

THIS is the look that Prairie gave when she saw the Otter Pops! I LOVE IT! She loves Otter Pops, as is obvious by looking at her expression. She also gave a little scream to go along with her cute look!

Autumn had a more reserved approach as she watched Vaughn read her card and look at her drawing. I loved seeing the satisfaction in her face as we all took turns looking at her great drawing. Autumn knew Vaughn liked Donald Duck a lot, and took great care in designing the card for Vaughn. Thanks Autumn!!!

I have no idea what Laura was saying to Autumn here, but I really liked the expression on Autumn's face, so I thought I'd add it in here!

Next Vaughn opened his card from Grandpa Poopa and Momma Isis. Contained inside were some truly awesome treasures for Vaughn. (How do grandparents know how to spoil their grandkids so well? It seems to come naturally to them!) Vaughn couldn't believe his eyes when he saw this GIANT "Spiderman Black" (as he called it) sticker.

Brian tried to explain to Vaughn that he really was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
(I think Vaughn was in a little bit of shock.)

It took a minute or two of staring, and Vaughn finally let the excitement show ever-so-slightly in his face. If you look closely you can see just a tiny hint of a smile there!

Then of course, Vaughn had to show everyone his new sticker. It was so cute!

If Vaughn was slightly shocked when he saw the "Spiderman Black" sticker, he was in definite shock when he pulled this one out! Yes, that is a look of pure anticipation on his face. He couldn't wait to see what was on the other side.

And here's his reaction to seeing all those COOL Spiderman window decals! What an awesome present Momma and Poopa! (And by the way, Vaughn LOVES to put these decals EVERYWHERE. We watch many a movie with the decals on the TV screen. He loves to put them there because it makes the decals look like they're moving.) Oh! Momma and Poopa also included some balloons in with the stickers. We used them to decorate for the party. Thanks Momma and Poopa!

Grandma and Grandpa Higginson also gave Vaughn a gift, but for some reason I don't have any pictures of it. They gave Vaughn some containers of Play-Doh and an interactive learning CD to play on the computer. Vaughn has spent MANY hours playing with both since then!!!!

And finally we move on to Vaughn's last gift. Brian was really excited for Vaughn to open this one, because he took a lot of time to get it made for him!

Yes...that's a giant poster of the front of the 200th issue of The Amazing Spiderman comic book. Again, Vaughn doesn't show a lot of facial expression when he's super excited. And he was definitely SUPER excited when he saw this poster!!! He could barely allow himself to touch it he was so excited. In fact....

....when Brian held the poster up for Vaughn to get a good view of it....Vaughn gave him this look! It was as if he was saying, "Are you kidding me?!?!" It was a perfect reaction!!!

Laura had to leave right after that, so we got a quick picture before she left. I really like Laura's hair with the bangs like they are here. I think I need to take some hair-styling tips from Laura because (as you've already noticed) my hair looked horrible! I think I need to be on Oprah on one of her extreme makeover shows. Can I just saw that Laura is GORGEOUS?!?! Two of my favorite features about her are her bright eyes and her perfect teeth. Yep. I've got a supermodel for a sister.

We decided to end the party with cake of course. And before we cut into it I was able to get Vaughn to take a picture holding his cake. It was a great gift to me to see him so happy about his cake because I had worked so hard on it!

I couldn't resist putting in this picture of Prairie! I adore that girl. I get the biggest kick out of her mannerisms. She totally attacked her piece of cake and I love her for it! (For some reason this reminds me of a certain gal named Laura when she's eating a Hostess cupcake!)

After cake and ice cream we let the kids each pick a balloon to play with. The kids spent a good amount of time in the kitchen hitting each other with the balloons and letting out screams of pure joy! It was the perfect way for them to get out all their energy without killing each other. Balloon fights are really fun because there's always that chance that a balloon will pop and scare the socks off of everyone!

I'll leave you with three of my favorite pictures from that evening. The first one is of Prairie, that little cutie! If I remember correctly, she was just about to get her own balloon here.

Here's the same picture I put at the very beginning of this entry. Vaughn just looks so grown up here. I can't believe he's already three! I think this really captures his personality. What a handsome young man!

This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of all time. Autumn looks positively stunning here! She has grown into quite a beautiful young lady with a very sweet heart. I can't get over those eyes!

Thanks to everyone who made Vaughn's birthday such a great experience! Oh! I almost forgot to thank Uncle Jared for the awesome tablecloth and cool Spiderman balloons!

Love, Lisa

2009-01-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

THREE WEEKS OF FUN EXPERIENCES!!!
July 20th - August 10th, 2008

Sunday, July 20th was the day Dean was blessed. As Latter Day Saints we traditionally have the father of a new baby give that baby a blessing within the first few months of life. The blessing is much like a prayer, given or offered through inspiration. Each blessing is unique and very special. All blessings do have two common purposes however, which are to give the baby a name, and to also give encouragement to the baby in his or her life ahead. It is also common for immediate and extended family to attend these blessings. We were very delighted to have many family members come to Dean's blessing. Above is a happy Aunt Laura holding a tired little Dean! And for some reason the camera angle was really weird and made Dean's head look extra tiny. Sorry Dean!

After church, and before a small luncheon we held over at Brian's parents' house, some of my extended family came over to our house to visit for a little while and hold the new baby! We all sat in the living room and just enjoyed talking with each other. Here's Momma working on the very cute baby blanket she made for Dean. I love the colors!

From left to right in this picture are my Uncle Gary, my Aunt Kelly and my brother-in-law Dustin (Lindsey's husband). All three of them were trying not to encourage a group of girls that happened to be sitting across the room and giggling out of control! And....

...here they are! (Aunt Kelly's mother is on the far left). Whenever we get together with my cousins two things inevitably happen: 1) There are many HILARIOUS jokes made and 2) We wind up laughing so hard we want to throw up! And actually, Uncle Gary is the biggest culprit in making this happen. He likes to pretend he's not the cause, but he really is the biggest "jokester" teddy bear I know besides my dad. Uncle Gary's sense of humor is extremely witty and very weird! Example: one time at Thanksgiving one of his daughters came to sit down at the table and join the conversation. Uncle Gary looked up and said (about a sit it the middle of her forehead), "What's with the third eye?!?" His daughter rolled her eyes, as did Aunt Kelly, and then his daughter punched him in the arm! Then Aunt Kelly said, "It's no wonder they've turned out the way they have!" Uncle Gary is the biggest tease I know next to Poopa!

My youngest sister Lindsey and her husband had also come down from Idaho to attend Dean's blessing. I was so happy to see them there, as I don't get to see them very often. Lindsey and Laura were so sweet, showering Dean with hugs and kisses. I have to admit, there is nothing like holding a new baby. They are just so tiny and helpless and precious! You just want to protect them at all costs! We had such a good time with our family that day! Thank you all for making it such a special day!

The next day, Monday the 21st of July, Brian had a family reunion up in a canyon above Ogden, Utah. I didn't think it was a good idea to take a new baby there because it was a camping reunion. But I was sad not to be able to go. I was glad though that Lindsey and Dustin decided to stay longer. They came over to my house for a visit, and as you can see, Dustin very kindly sat down and started shelling peas! Between him, Laura and Lindsey, I got a ton of peas shelled! I told them they all did a "shell of a job!" (Yes, I know it was a bad joke)!

Dustin and Lindsey had to leave later that afternoon, but before they left, Ben and Emily called to invite everyone out to lunch at a restaurant called The Bombay House. I've never been one to enjoy Indian cuisine, but I'm telling you, this place was AWESOME!!! It was so dang good! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves eating great food and visiting with each other. And I have to say, I think Ben and Emily are so cool. They really do a great job at giving their kids a well-rounded upbringing. They are always doing the coolest things!

Little Prairie was so tired that she couldn't take it anymore, so Ben put her on the floor and she fell fast asleep! It was so funny to see her sprawled out like that while we were all enjoying this fabulous Indian cuisine! I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" to Ben and Em for being so generous and taking us all out. It was a lot of fun and some great food!

A few days later on July 24th, Brian and I had an unusual opportunity to go to an outdoor concert up in Orem. One of Brian's bosses had some VIP tickets that he wasn't going to use and gave them to us! We got VIP passes to a dinner before the show began, and we also got to take photos with the group that was performing. And that group happened to be......ABBA!!! They weren't the real ABBA, but they were from Sweden. And they are the only group in the world given the full rights to wear the clothing designs that ABBA wore, and to sing all the ABBA songs. So it was pretty much like seeing and hearing the real thing! Here we are in the blistering heat, waiting for the concert to begin! (Brian may look a little annoyed in this picture because of the next picture....)

This next picture shows nobody performing! It was really weird, but they did so many weird introductions and announcements and odd gimmicky type things for almost an hour while we waited for the group to come on. And right when we thought they were going to come out, the announcer got back up on stage and said we would take a short 15 minute break before the show began. Brian was ready to poke his eyes out! But eventually the group came out, and they did a GREAT JOB!!! They sounded almost exactly like ABBA! They even had one of the original guitarists there who had toured with the original group. They also had all the dance moves and quirks down for each member. It was really fun dancing and singing and enjoying a blast from the past. P.S. We weren't allowed to use photography or video cameras of any kind during the performance, so sorry we couldn't show you what we saw while they were performing! It was a nice night, and a ton of fun with a hot babe!

Moving into August....On August 4th, (I think that was a Saturday), Brian was really enjoying the warm weather. He was itching to be body-boarding off the coast of California. Unfortunately, those beaches happened to be too far away at the moment, so he opted for the next best thing....a kiddie pool and an adorable son! Vaughn was so excited to finally get his Daddy into the pool with him!

Brian took great delight in showing Vaughn how to properly spray the water hose in water combat situations. Those two must have been out there for a few hours just splashing around and being guys! When they came into the house however, their fingers and toes looked like perfect prunes, so I knew it had been longer. I was so grateful though for Vaughn to be able to have such a fun time with his daddy.

When I was about six or seven months pregnant with Dean, I forced myself to plant a garden. I knew that I would regret it if I didn't. My next-door neighbor, who happens to be a great friend, told me that I'd go nuts if I didn't have a garden. She knows me very well, and I was glad she gave me a little push. But, I did something different this time. I laid out landscaping fabric BEFORE I planted to keep the weeds out. And do you know what? IT WORKED GREAT!!!! I will ALWAYS use landscaping fabric from this point on! A sweet older couple that lives down the street from me recommended I do it, and boy did it pay to listen! I only had to weed a handful of times, and for just a few minutes at a time. And I harvested a LOT of produce!

Above I have onions, potato plants, tomato plants and a few pea plants that are barely visible. It's funny because we had a very odd year as far as weather, so everything BUT the tomatoes produced well. In fact, NOBODY I talked to in my neighborhood got tomatoes this year EXCEPT my next-door neighbor Dawn. I was lucky that she happened to plant about 24 tomato plants, because that was really my only source of tomatoes for almost the entire summer.

To prove how ridiculous our tomato harvest was, I have pictured above our first tomato. I think I picked it just after the first week in AUGUST! That's ridiculous! And, it happened to be one of the most pathetic-looking tomatoes I've ever seen. The year before I remember picking 40 tomatoes at a time, so this was definitely a disappointment. But like I said, my neighbor Dawn was extremely kind and let me get at some of her tomatoes. One thing I did learn though is when your tomato plants have green tomatoes on them, but they won't ripen, DON'T water them for several days. This forces the tomatoes on the vine to ripen! After I tried that with this year's crop, I began getting some great results! If you look up at that tomato one more time, you'll notice a few cracks at the top of the tomato. This means that the plant got too much water too fast. We had a very wet season this year, so that's why I didn't get as many tomatoes as I wanted! Better luck next year!

On Sunday, August 10th, just two days before Vaughn's 3rd birthday, we decided to go out in the evening for a trip to a local park. We had never been to this park before with Vaughn, and it was quite a delight to see him play and interact with the kids there. He was actually very nervous at first, and took his time getting up enough guts to walk across the bridge. However, as he was in the middle of the bridge, an older kid who weighed a lot more than Vaughn ran across the bridge, and poor little Vaughn got so scared! He grabbed the side rail as fast and he could and stood there for a little bit, trying to calm himself down! I've never seen a kid that is so apprehensive and careful when being exposed to situations for the first time. But eventually Vaughn got up enough courage to finish the trip across the bridge!

After that initial experience, Vaughn made a Bee-Line for safe and solid ground. I couldn't blame him. You should have seen me and Brian sitting on the park bench giggling at him!

Vaughn decided to play it solo for a while as he decided if he would try to mingle with the other kids again. And.....

...luckily he saw the other kids going down the giant slide! Vaughn really wanted to go down, and most of the way up the stairs he looked back at me for encouragement. Eventually, Brian and I realized that Vaughn wasn't going to take another step without one of us there...

...so Brian went up with Vaughn. It was so cute to watch Vaughn get excited as he saw his Daddy coming up to be with him! I just wish I could have gotten a picture of it!

Once Brian and Vaughn had made the trip up to the slide, and then down the slide together, Vaughn was totally fine. He turned into a regular monkey child and ran all over the play equipment, swinging from things, jumping on things, and interacting with other kids. And I'll just point out that when Vaughn is really excited about something, he usually doesn't smile! As you can see in the above picture, he gets a stone-faced look like he's concentrating really hard! In reality, he is holding in all of his energy and eventually releases it by jumping up and down and shaking his arms. Only once in a while will he crack a smile as he's doing it! We like to call this entire process "Spazzing."

Our evening wound up being extremely pleasant. Little Dean, who was almost two months old at this point, was very calm and peaceful. I enjoyed just sitting there with him in my arms and watching Vaughn play. Brian and I also enjoyed some nice time to just talk together. Just as we were getting ready to leave, the sun began to get lower in the sky, and it provided a beautiful goodbye for us!

Love, Lisa

2009-01-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

JANUARY 2009....

[Yes....it's been SIX MONTHS since I last published a blog entry! I can't believe it's been so long! But I do have a good excuse...a baby with digestive problems that couldn't sleep for the first six months of his life! It took us literally six months, about 100 doctor visits, and trying seven different formulas to finally figure out that Dean has a problem digesting proteins found in cow's milk, dairy products and other common foods. He has had such a hard time his first six months, crying almost constantly and not sleeping. And that means that I haven't slept either! Dean spent his first four months of life napping for no more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and only doing that from two to six times a day (that means every period of 24 hours)! He was literally sleeping at most only two hours a day!!! I honestly don't know how he's been able to grow at all!

Over the last two months Dean has slowly begun to sleep more as we have been able to get him on a formula he can digest. And now at 7 months, Dean can sleep between two to four hours at a time, but usually sleeps about two to three hours at a time. It has been a very trying experience to say the least. I don't know how we've all survived it! But, I think we've finally gotten Dean on the right track, and things are beginning to look up. Towards the beginning of December there was a night where I actually slept for four hours straight! I couldn't believe it! So that's why I've neglected my blog. I just haven't been able to do anything but take care of the kids! Hopefully as Dean continues to grow, his cute little digestive system will mature, and he will sleep better, which will give me more opportunities to update the blog! And speaking of the blog, I'd better get cracking before that cute little boy wakes up again.....!]

GREAT GRANDMA OVIATT'S VISIT, and
TIME WITH MOMMA ISIS AND AUNT LAURA
July 6th - July 19th, 2008

On Sunday, July 6th, we were VERY HAPPY to have Great Grandma Oviatt come down for a visit. It was quite a special occasion for two reasons...first was that Grandma got to see Vaughn, and second was that Grandma had made the trip down to see us. We were so grateful!
Here's Grandma, Dean and me enjoying some time together.

Dean was totally loving be held by Grandma. You can see him stretched out, and Grandma just making him all the more comfortable by wrapping the blankets around him!

Another cute shot of Grandma and Dean...

Grandma was very thoughtful to also make Vaughn feel special during her visit. She had brought a very cute outfit for Dean, and she also brought a special gift for Vaughn! Here's Vaughn opening it!

Grandma had gotten Vaughn a truck!....The PERFECT gift! It also had a little car to tow around. Vaughn went to playing with it immediately. I really enjoyed Grandma's visit because we got to talk for quite a while. We just sat there while she held Dean and had the most relaxing time together. Then I took Grandma out to the garden to show her how well it was growing. It was a very special afternoon for me, and one I will always cherish. I love you Grandma!

A few days later, Momma was over just visiting with me, and she pointed out to me the ADORABLE position Dean was in on the couch. Momma has a very good eye for photo opportunities, and of course I couldn't pass this one up! He was just this tiny ball of cuteness!

Momma had her hands on Dean in this picture, which showed just how small little Dean was! It's amazing how tiny babies are when they're born. I'm grateful though, because it's pretty tough to get a small one out! I can't imagine trying to push out a toddler-sized baby! Yikes!
About this picture....I just have to say Anne Geddes anyone?

On July 12th, which happened to be Momma and Poopa's anniversary, Momma and Laura were over for a little while. I thought it was pretty sweet of Momma and Poopa to sacrifice spending their anniversary together so that Momma could be in Utah for a visit. It really meant a lot to me to have Momma there to spend time with us. Back to Momma and Laura coming over....
Our pea plants had really been producing pretty well, and Laura saw the big mound of them and offered to shell them for me. I was SO GRATEFUL!!! It's exciting to shell your first few pea harvests, but after a while it gets a little old. So having Laura help me was so nice!!! Thanks Laura!

Here's Laura hard at work shelling the peas. With that ARMY shirt on, Laura looks like she's in boot camp and I've punished her with shelling peas instead of the usual peeling potatoes. But she looks happy enough!!! By the way, I LOVE Laura's smile. It's just so perfect!

While Laura and I shelled peas and talked, Momma enjoyed spending the time holding Dean.

Momma said how great it is to be a grandparent because you get to do all the fun stuff. You get to hold the babies and play with them and spoil them, and then when they start to cry you can just hand them over to their parents! I definitely think she and Poopa have earned that right! Momma has "the special touch." Dean was in pure heaven!

For some reason I have a full week's gap in between photos here, so I'll just skip ahead a week. Here's Laura with Dean at our home a week later. She looks so happy in this picture! Laura has been so great with Dean. She also has "the special touch." I don't know how she does it, but she can get Dean to fall asleep within about a minute. He just seems to melt into a ball of goo when he's in her arms. He is so relaxed! I know how he feels though. Laura likes to play with my hair sometimes, and the second she touches my head, my whole body instantly relaxes. I think Laura might have some magical powers she's not telling me about.

This has to be the one for the road.......! (Are you seeing the same double chin I'm seeing?!)

Love, Lisa

2008-07-12T11:15:00.001-06:00

MOMMA & POOPA OVIATT MEET DEAN!!!!
June 29th - July 1st, 2008

The day after we went to the China Light with Brian's family, we met over at my brother Ben's place for a family gathering. Ben's birthday was the next day, so we were kind of combining that with our gathering. Momma and Poopa had just gotten into town, and they were very excited to meet their newest grandchild. Momma got to hold Dean first, and she looked beautiful!

I thought it was pretty cute when Dean seemed to crack a smile.

I tried to get a picture of Poopa holding Dean, but I wound up standing in the light, and Dean was wiggling too much. Sorry Poopa!

But at least this one turned out. I LOVE this picture of Momma, Poopa and Dean! It reminds me of happy times growing up as a kid. I always felt very safe with my parents around because they made me feel that way. They were not only good parents, but good friends to me. Dean looks like he's in heaven.

Autumn and Prairie wanted to take turns holding Dean. Autumn looks so grown up in this picture! I can't quite put my finger on who she reminds me of. But I will say that I LOVE Autumn's hair when it is pulled back like this. It really brings your attention to her pretty eyes.

Prairie had just gotten a CUTE haircut, so when she smiled like this I just about died. She was very careful with Dean. She was so excited to hold him, as you can tell from the picture. Brian and I had to look at each other and grin when we were watching Prairie with Dean. What a CUTE KID!!! You did good Ben and Em!

Here's Poopa, Autumn, Prairie and Dean. I think at this point Poopa had to play referee for a minute because Prairie and Autumn both wanted to hold Dean so badly. It's hard for me and Brian too, although Vaughn usually wins out over both of us!

After a little while, Autumn took Vaughn under her wing and they went off to play together. Vaughn really liked having Autumn show him the ropes. Autumn is very patient with Vaughn.
It was cute to see them getting along so well together.

Poopa tried and tried to get Vaughn to sit with him, but Vaughn is a very shy kid. It takes him a while to warm up to anybody, especially someone he hasn't seen in a while. We were lucky to have him get this close to Poopa! It was a nice evening visiting with everyone, and extra special since everyone got to be together.

On Sunday after Church, Vaughn and I decided to shell some peas we had picked from our garden. It has been so much fun to go out to the garden with Vaughn this year and pick fresh peas. We have found that he loves to pick the peas as well as shell them AND most importantly, he likes to eat them!!!

As you can see, Vaughn couldn't keep himself from touching the peas. I couldn't even have them on the counter long enough to take a few pictures without him getting into them! I love that his little hand got in this picture!

Here Vaughn is, finally content in his high chair, shelling peas. ADORABLE!

I love how he concentrates on getting the shell open, and very carefully picking out each pea. Who'd have thought he would enjoy it so much?!

Just another picture I liked!

On Monday, July 1st, Poopa came by with Momma to say goodbye. Poopa had driven Momma out so she could stay for a visit after Dean was born. Then Poopa would go back to Iowa and return a few weeks later to pick up Momma and be here for Dean's baby blessing. Poopa had found a few really neat things at Goodwill out in Iowa, and wanted to give them to us before he went back home. Here Brian is checking out the AWESOME double stroller Poopa found.

Momma had a few cute presents that she let Vaughn open up. One of them was this adorable little bunny that made kissing sounds when you pushed it's tummy. Momma also got Vaughn a little bottle so he could feed the bunny. Vaughn really enjoyed doing that because it was just like me and Brian feeding Dean!

Vaughn was playing with a marble game while Momma and Poopa were here. Vaughn was a little nervous when Poopa came over to check it out. I think he wondered if Poopa was going to somehow take it away from him. It's funny what little kids think sometimes. But...

...Vaughn's worry turned to delight when Poopa made the marble do some cool tricks. It was so cute to see them interacting together! It was so nice to see Poopa for those few days, and to also know that he would be back soon!

I'll leave you with a few pictures that were taken that same morning before Momma and Poopa came over. Here's Vaughn and Dean next to each other in our bed. One of Vaughn's favorite things has been to come into our bed in the morning right after he wakes up and "hold" Dean. Vaughn is a very affectionate, tender and protective older brother. I can see Vaughn and Dean being best buds. Dean obviously loves having Vaughn as a big brother!

And here are my guys...
P.S. Vaughn was trying to be as still as possible so Dean wouldn't get upset and he would be able to hold him as long as possible!!! What a nut! You can see how much he is concentrating. I love it!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-11T08:57:00.001-06:00

Dinner at the China Light Cafe
Saturday, June 28th, 2008

The weekend of June 27th - June 29th, Brian's sister Rebekah, her husband Jim, their kids, and also Jim's parents were in town for a family reunion. Naturally we wanted to get together with them, so we all decided to go out to eat together at the famous Chine Light Cafe up in American Fork. The food is well worth the drive! Above are Jim and Rebekah and their kids, as well as Jared, enjoying their meal.

Jim's parents and Mom and Dad Higginson decided to sit together. Jim's father can make anyone laugh, and his mother is GORGEOUS, not to mention the nicest lady you'll ever meet! Jim inherited his father's sense of humor and his mother's good looks and kindness.

Brian, Vaughn, Julie, Robert and I all ate together. It was really funny to try to divide the food up between us all. For some reason, Brian kept thinking that it wasn't being divided fairly, and was making a fuss. At one point, Robert imitated Brian and it was so funny even Brian laughed at it! I told you, the food is really good. I think they "put an addictive chemical in it that makes you crave it fort-nightly!" (That quote was for Laura!) It's no wonder Brian was so worried about getting his share. But we wound up having a really fun time and eventually everyone got enough to eat!

Here's me and Brian looking very tired! It's no wonder since little Dean had only been born two weeks earlier. I'll also mention that he was really struggling digesting things, so he barely slept at all! He kept a schedule of literally being up every hour on the hour. I don't know how he or we managed to survive! You can see how exhausted we were!

Vaughn was more interested in playing with the ice cubes in his cup that eating, as is evidenced by the giant water stain on his shorts. He did however, pause to sort of smile for the camera, but got distracted by Aunt Julie...

...Aunt Julie was trying to make the same face Vaughn was, and seeing the two of them was quite a sight! I'm surprised we were able to keep the food from shooting out of our mouths because we were laughing so hard! And by the way, doesn't that food look so delicious?!?

And in keeping with tradition, I have to take a picture of the scary dragon with light bulbs for eyes. I'll also mention that the plastic has never been taken off of this dragon. It keeps the dust off, but makes it look so tacky! But that is what we love about this place!

Thanks Jim and Bek and kids, and Jim's parents for a really fun outing! We love you!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-10T10:37:00.001-06:00

A VERY RESPONSIBLE BIG BROTHER
June 23rd - June 26th, 2008

On Monday, June 23rd, Dad Higginson stopped by to pick up Vaughn so he could spend some time with Mom and Dad that day. Vaughn convinced Dad that before he left, he needed to play a quick game of Dominoes!

I wound up going with Vaughn, and actually staying over at Brian's parents' house for several days because Dean was struggling with some eating and sleeping problems, and was up every hour at night. Brian's mother would watch the kids while I took a nap, and it really helped! So here's Vaughn a few days into our stay, concentrating very hard while he held Dean all by himself!

He did eventually let himself crack a small smile!

Here's Vaughn a few days after that. He saw Dean's binkie fall out....

...then he went to find it....

Once he found the binkie, he tried to find Dean's mouth.

And of course, Dean tried to block the incoming binkie!

But Vaughn won out....

...and Dean accepted the help.

And Vaughn was very proud of himself!

And he kept checking to make sure that darn binkie stayed in!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-08T08:47:00.000-06:00

Some Brotherly Bonding
June 22nd, 2008

On Sunday, June 22nd, Brian had taken Vaughn to church while I stayed at home with little Dean. Dean woke up from a nap bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, so I decided to try to take a few pictures of him.

I couldn't believe that he was actually opening his eyes and keeping them open!

Here he is showing only one of him dimples. I failed to mention in the last few entries that the nurses at the hospital called him "Dimples." He really does have very cute dimples!

Vaughn and Brian got home soon after our little photo shoot. Vaughn immediately went to Dean, and tried to get him to play with him. Here Vaughn is "talking" to Dean and planning out their game strategy.

First on the list was pulling a few faces. Vaughn went for the open-mouth face, and after watching carefully, Dean followed suit!

Then Dean pulled a fast one on Vaughn and stuck his tongue out at him! Vaughn found this very amusing!

Then Vaughn thought he would show off and try to block the camera! Dean cheered him on saying, "Nice one Big Bro!"

Afterwards, Vaughn really wanted to take Dean on a walk. So we put him in the stroller and let Vaughn push him to the front of the yard.

We are still amazed at how tiny Dean is compared to his big brother!

Once he got to the front yard, Vaughn begged his daddy to take them on a longer walk. And since it's so hard to say "no" to two cute faces...

...Brian was more than happy to oblige.

And here's one for the road...

Can anyone say, "Professor" and "The Dean's List?"

Love, Lisa

2008-07-07T15:40:00.000-06:00

AT HOME WITH A NEW BABY

June 16th - June 21st, 2008

We had until 10:00pm to leave the hospital, and we decided to wait until then to go. Just before leaving we took one last picture of Brian holding Dean.

And then also just before getting in the car, we got a shot of me with our post-delivery nurse Rebecca. She was also really nice, and very helpful!

Dean looked SO TINY in his car seat! He almost didn't look real!

The next morning came after a long night with many feedings. Vaughn was up bright and early. He came into our bedroom, and the minute he saw Dean, he seemed to remember that he did in fact have a new brother. He immediately climbed up into bed next to him, rested his hand on Dean's head and smiled.

And then the two of them slept for a little longer!

The next day Bubby dropped by with Autumn and Prairie to give us some homemade cake that Emily had made. Emily wound up coming a little later because he Yoga class was cancelled. Here's Bubby holding little Dean.

Autumn wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hold Dean or not. So Bubby just took some extra time with the little guy.

Prairie however, wanted to hold Dean the second she walked in the door. Here she is testing the waters with Brian.

And of course, Brian was more than happy to let her touch Dean. It was nice to see them, and Emily, the cake was delicious!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-06T10:49:00.001-06:00

A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!
June 15th, 2008

Brian may not look that excited about celebrating Father's Day, but he was! He was just really tired! We both were after being up most of the night with a new baby! When I asked Brian if he was enjoying his Father's Day, he said, "Of course I am! I have the best Father's Day present ever!"

And of course, he was speaking of our new son (although he did also like the box of chocolate-covered doughnuts!) And even though it took us until almost 10:00 that night to decided on his name, I'll tell you now. We finally decided to name him:

Dean Arthur Higginson

Here's a side view of little Dean. As you can see, he was born with dark hair, and a good amount of it! He also had very dark eyes, which haven't changed yet! We could have a brown-eyed boy on our hands!

I thought this was a cute picture! What a face!

Later in the afternoon on Sunday, Brian brought Vaughn over for a visit. It was Vaughn's first time seeing Dean, so I was anxious to see how he would react. I had nothing to worry about though. The moment Vaughn saw Dean, he crawled up into the hospital bed and smiled and tried to pat his head and hug him. It was ADORABLE!

Here's Vaughn hugging Dean, and I'm kissing Vaughn to reassure him that he is still important and loved. I didn't want Vaughn to feel left out at all!

Vaughn immediately asked to hold the baby (by holding out his arms) so we let him! Vaughn was very tender, and to prove his love for his new brother, he planted a tender kiss on his head...

...and then gave him a very tender hug!

Vaughn was SO HAPPY to finally have a new little brother!

Shortly after Brian and Vaughn arrived, Brian's family arrived to welcome our new addition! Mom and Dad Higginson came with Robert Jared and Julie. Brian's sister Amy also came with her kids Riley, McKay, Alex, Kimball and Sammy. My sister Laura also arrived a little later! It was definitely a full house!

When Sammy caught his first glance of Vaughn, he went right for him and tried to hug him. Vaughn didn't know what to think, so he ran for the nearest pair of grown-up legs he could find, which happened to be his Aunt Julie's legs!

But after a few minutes, and after being released from Sammy's clutches, Vaughn warmed up to everyone and busted out....The Claw. This is what Vaughn does when he's comfortable and happy. What a weird kid!

Dad Higginson began taking pictures the moment he arrived. And it wasn't a moment too soon, because some very cute things began to happen!

Vaughn climbed up in bed next to me again to establish whose baby brother Dean was. Vaughn was so cute!

He wanted everyone to know that Dean was his! He was so happy just sitting there holding Dean. It was so precious!

Here's me holding little Dean.

You forget how tiny they are! Vaughn seemed like a giant compared to Dean!

Kimball and Sammy were the first of the kids to approach Dean. Kimball, with her very tender heart, wanted to hold him right away!

But we gave Mom Higginson first dibs!

Next was cute Amy. And for Father's Day she brought Brian some beautiful flowers from her garden.

Here's Brian holding his bouquet. He looks so handsome!

Alex did a great job of holding Dean too.

I've always loved her puppy dog eyes. What a knockout!

Kimball's turn finally came to hold the baby, and she was ecstatic!

McKay was a natural at holding Dean. He looked like he'd done it a million times!

And here's Riley observing all the goings on.

With Vaughn finally comfortable with the kids, Aunt Julie had free legs to move about. This gave her a chance to hold Dean too!

Uncle Robert enjoyed a few moments with Dean as well!

Laura had been right outside our room when Dean was born. She was the first to see him out of any of our family! I'll mention too that she was wonderful to run and get me food after Dean was born because I was starving! She was a life saver! This picture of Dean reminds me SO MUCH of Vaughn when he was a newborn.

Dad Higginson took the time to take a few pictures of me, Dean and Brian.

Dean is sure giving a funny look here!

And I was so glad that he snapped this one of me and Laura. I love it! (Laura, you look dang good here!)

I'll end with a couple of my favorite pictures. The first is of Mom and Dad Higginson. This may very well be my favorite picture of them of all time. It is adorable!

And of course, here's one for the road that you've already seen, but must see again!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-05T09:28:00.000-06:00

OUR NEW BABY BOY!!!
June 14th, 2008

Saturday, June 14th, began like all other mornings we've had recently. But then around 8:30am my water broke. Just to make sure, I laid down on our bed and coughed (a trick the nurses told me about). All of a sudden a ton of liquid came out, and I knew that my water really had broken! That meant "today was the day!" So Brian and I rushed around the house packing last-minute things and getting Vaughn ready to go to his Aunt Julie's house for the first part of the day. We got to the hospital around 11:30am, and here I am, ready and waiting!

I was induced after a while because I hadn't progressed at all. Then later on in the day, Julie brought Vaughn to visit. Vaughn knew something was up, and really wanted to be by his mom. It made me feel really good. He climbed into hospital bed and laid next to me and hugged me. He seemed a lot older to me somehow.

He wasn't in any hurry to get down, so we just hung out there together for a while, talking about how he would have a new baby brother by the end of the day (hopefully!)

Isn't Vaughn handsome?! So he and Julie stayed for a while, and then around 8:30pm they left for Brian's parents' house. Just before 9:00pm the nurses check me and I had progressed to about a five. They told me that since I had already had a baby, I might move very quickly from this point. Then about 40 minutes later they came to check me again, and the baby was only an inch away from coming out!!! Yikes! I had progressed from a 5 to +2 in less than 40 minutes! So the nurses hurry and called the doctor, and told me to keep my legs together, or the baby would come out! The doctor came right away, and barely got there in time! I began pushing at 9:49pm, and TWO MINUTES LATER, 9:51pm, our son was born!!! He was 7lbs 6oz and was 18.5 inches long. I'll also remind you that he was almost two weeks early!

And here is his very first picture! We hadn't decided on his name yet, so we didn't know what to call the little guy!

Here I am having a very emotional moment, and trying to feed the little guy.

Here's the proud Papa, holding his new son!

Here's a better picture of Brian, and it's too bad the little guy was covered up.

Here I am with the nurses who helped me. Ashley is on the left and Elizabeth is on the right.

Here we are with Dr. Gregory Gordon, the doctor who delivered our son.

And here's a cute picture of Brian with us as well. I'll just mention that the doctor barely had time to dress before the baby came out! And to prove who was really in charge, the moment he was out, our little son decided to pee all over the doctor! Dr. Gordon thought it was pretty funny!

Brian went with our little guy down to get his shots and get cleaned up while I was getting taken care of upstairs. I think he looks A LOT like Vaughn did here.

And here is another picture after he's had a bath and is nice and clean! I'm not telling you his name right now because we wound up deciding on it the next day! So, until next entry!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-04T11:06:00.001-06:00

Fun With Aunt Laura and Daddy
June 1st - June 13th, 2008

On Monday, June 2nd, Laura came over to spend some time with Vaughn. They busted out Vaughn's race track and played with that for quite a while.

Then of course they had to wrestle. I'm never sure who wins these wrestling matches, but I do know they both have a LOT of fun!

About a week later on June 10th, I had fallen asleep next to Vaughn, trying to get him down for his afternoon nap. Brian came home early from work to find us both asleep, and couldn't resist taking a picture!

The next evening Brian went outside with Vaughn to play in the front yard. They brought out Vaughn's cap and a ball, and Brian talked Vaughn through playing catch.

Vaughn would hold the hat, and then Brian would throw the ball into it. Vaughn moved the hat if it needed it, in order to catch the ball. It was so cute!

Here's Brian giving Vaughn some encouragement.

And then they would switch, and it was Vaughn's turn to throw the ball to Brian. They did this for a long time, and Vaughn had the time of his life! It was so cute to watch them together!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-03T13:34:00.001-06:00

Kelsey Oviatt & Jameson Jenkins' Wedding
May 31st, 2008

Saturday, May 31st, was a bright, sunny day....perfect for my cousin Kelsey's wedding. We got ready and headed up to Salt Lake City to see them married in the Salt Lake Temple. Lindsey's husband Dustin had arrived the night before, so it was nice to have them both there. Above is Dustin, Lindsey, Uncle Gary (Kelsey's father) and Laura enjoying a good joke. My Uncle Gary is one of the funniest men I know. He ALWAYS has something funny to say, and he ALWAYS looks like he's just told a good joke. He keeps us all in stitches.

After the wedding ceremony, we waiting outside the temple for Kelsey and Jameson so we could take some pictures. Here's me and Lindsey. I can't believe how chubby I look! Yikes! Lindsey, you look hot!

I loved the shape of these trees that were on the temple grounds. I have no idea what kind they are, but I'm going to find out and plant them in front of our first house!

Here are Bubby, Hannah and Laura waiting for the bride and groom.

Grandma Oviatt and my Aunt Carri were enjoying some conversation. Grandma was wearing a new dress suit, and she looked fantastic in it! It was a light, sea green silvery color, and it looked so good!

Autumn and Prairie were wearing some new dresses that Emily's mother had made for them. Here's Autumn wearing hers. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of her!

Brian and Vaughn were hanging out together while I sat and rested, since I was having contractions. Brian was great to watch Vaughn all day long, carry my bag everywhere, and just make the day easier on me.

Vaughn loves his daddy so much. I wish the lighting had been different here, so they didn't look like raccoons! What a cute pair!

Laura had fun hanging out with Hannah (Kelsey's youngest sister). Hannah had on a really cute dress for the occasion.

I thought this was a cute picture!

Finally the bride and groom emerged, looking great!

And of course...
...they had to steal a kiss!

Kelsey looked like a dream, and that's probably why Jameson was smiling so much! Congratulations you two!

After taking some pictures, we all headed over to a clubhouse for a luncheon that was put on by a nice Tongan family that were friends of Kelsey's parents.

As part of the meal they cooked a pig! It was wasn't so easy on the eyes, but it was very tasty!

We were all VERY hungry and tired. Here's Brian enjoying his meal.

Vaughn seriously debated whether to eat or just fall asleep.

As you can see here, he was just about to do the latter.

Here's everyone enjoying their meal together. It was a nice day, and a beautiful wedding. Congratulations Kelsey and Jameson!

Love, Lisa

2008-07-02T21:59:00.000-06:00

LAURA'S GRADUATION CELEBRATION

May 29th, 2008

My sister Laura had been attending Massage Therapy School for the last several months, and Thursday, May 29th, her graduation day, had finally arrived!!! We were all very excited for her, because she had worked so hard for this! Lindsey had come down from Idaho for the occasion, and Ben and Emily and their kids were there, as well as me and Brian and Vaughn. We waited through the speakers, and finally the line formed and the students' names were called out. Just like in any graduation ceremony, they walked forward and were handed their diploma. Laura was so dang excited to graduate, that she got her diploma and just kept walking! We had to call out to her and ask her to go back for a photo!

What stunk was that my camera didn't focus...but at least we have a picture of Laura getting her diploma! What a nut!

Once every student had received a diploma, and the ceremony was over, it was time to go and congratulate Laura. Prairie was the first kid to give her a hug. And naturally Laura was all smiles. Who wouldn't be?

Laura couldn't contain her feelings about how cute Prairie was, as you can see in this picture.
I felt the same way she did. How dare Ben and Emily produce such an adorable kid!

Next came me and Vaughn. We tried really hard to get Vaughn's attention to focus ahead, but I think he was distracted by some cute blond! Doesn't he look handsome?!

Here he is trying to smile again for the photo. Laura and I were just laughing at him.

We got the kids together for a picture as well. Autumn seemed to be fine with it, but it looked as if Vaughn and Prairie had better things to do. I think they were exchanging looks here, wondering why they had to do this!

Maybe they were tired? But they were still very cute!

After the ceremony, Bubby was going to take Laura out for dinner to celebrate her accomplishment. He also offered to pay for Lindsey. I was going to go and get something very small just because it was a more expensive restaurant. But when we got there, Bubby announced that he was paying for me too, and that we could have whatever we wanted. I was a little embarrassed, and very touched. Here we are with Bubby, really enjoying ourselves at dinner!

The evening quickly progressed into a very fun event. I think this is just after Laura or Lindsey had told a somewhat shady joke, and as usual, I was the one who was shocked! Lindsey looked so pleased! We had THE BEST time cracking jokes, bantering and just being kids again. It was one of the best nights I can remember in the last 7 years.

Here's Bubby and Laura enjoying their food. Bubby was holding these fried cheese ball type things that were DELICIOUS! I could have eaten just those for my meal!

Here's Laura in true character, in the middle of eating her chicken wing. Laura is the only person I know who can enjoy food this much.

Can't you just feel the excitement?! Her taste buds must really be having a party!

This is probably my favorite picture EVER of Laura. This is EXACTLY how Laura reacts when there is chocolate to be eaten. She prepared herself for dessert by positioning her napkin in such a way that she could totally focus on eating and enjoying herself. I LOVE YOU LAURA!!!

I thought this picture of Bubby was so cute! Here he is ready to pay the bill, and smiling from ear to ear. He must not have been thinking about the bill, but about the wonderful food and fun time we had that evening.

After we had all eaten ourselves silly, we tried to walk out to the car. On the way, Bubby complained about eating too much and stuck out his belly. I told him, "Nice try, but no cigar." So of course, we had to take a picture to see who won out. I'll let you be the judge. (Just remember I'm pregnant!)

Isn't Bubby adorable?!?! I just have to thank him and Emily for making that evening possible. It truly was one of the happiest times I have ever spent with my siblings!

I'll end with a picture of some chives I cut from my garden that morning.

Love, Lisa

2008-07-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Marci's Birthday & Memorial Day
May 20th - May 26th, 2008

On Tuesday, May 20th, we were back at Brian's parents' house to spend some time with Michael and Marci and kids. They had taken a lot of video of their time in Tonga, so we went to watch some of it and see what they experienced in part. Laura came over too, and that made it even more fun! Here we are watching part of the video.

Jared was there too, ready to strike a pose.

I thought it was cute to see Amy and Julie sitting next to each other, sharing the comfy chair!

I don't know who took this picture of me, but I was in the middle of breathing through a contraction when they did! I had been having more frequent contractions, which meant the time was getting closer for the baby to arrive. I just wanted to know when!

The next day, Tuesday the 21st, was Marci's birthday. On their way back to Idaho, they stopped at our house, and we had a little birthday celebration waiting there for Marci. Vaughn had barely fallen asleep for his afternoon nap, but he immediately woke up when he heard the kids' voices. So he ran out in his diaper and was ready to play. That is very unusual for Vaughn, who is extremely modest, and get embarrassed easily.

Here's Marci opening a cute card from Mom Higginson.

And we gave Marci some of the home-bottled goods I do, like hamburger and apple pie filling. I know it sounds weird, but remember, Higginsons like to give food for birthday presents! Marci seemed to really like her gifts!

I thought Jared looked very handsome here!

Before leaving, Brian had to show Michael and the kids a few of the arcades he had been working on restoring. They were all naturally very excited to see them....

...but most excited to play them! Luckily Vaughn was willing to share "his" arcades with his cousins! Vaughn really does think they're his!

On Memorial Day, we all headed up to Brian's Aunt Margaret's house in Ogden. It is a yearly tradition to go up there to see Brian's mother's parents' graves, and to have a fun get-together with Mom's side of the family. So here we are gathered together in Aunt Margaret's and Uncle Larry's house.

Julie was kind enough to strike a pose for the occasion! Thanks Julie!

Here are Jared, Robert, Brian and Jen (Brian's cousin-in-law) having some fun conversation.

The kids always enjoy jumping on the trampoline they have set up in the back yard.

Robert decided to also strike a pose. Vaughn was trying to catch up with Robert because he wanted to play with him. How cute! I wish I had more pictures of that day. I guess I didn't take as many as I thought!

Love, Lisa

2008-06-27T21:09:00.001-06:00

Robert's Birthday
May 19th, 2008

If you haven't realized by now, May is the month of birthdays between Brian's and my families. It seems like the entire month is one big birthday party. I think there are at least 10 birthdays that I can think of off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are more. So naturally, this entry is about another birthday....Robert's! Julie was gracious enough to make a really special treat for the event....her apple and cherry streudel. (I don't think I spelled that right).

I thought it was a cute idea to put the candles on it like this. Doesn't it look fantastic?!

We'll just move right into the part where Robert opened his gifts. Here he is opening our gift to him. I was very anxious for him to see what it was, since it was a bit of a gag gift. Michael and Marci's boy Dallin is sitting on Robert's lap.

Robert was ECSTATIC to discover that his first gift was probably going to be the best of the night..... (kidding)....

....and it happened to be SPICE WORLD the Movie!

Michael and Marci were confident that their gift would be cooler than ours....

...and it was! They had brought a beautiful shell back from Tonga for Robert.

He was of course very excited, and very pleased about it! It really was gorgeous!

Julie also had a wonderful gift for Robert...a giant drawing pad made of really good drawing paper. (All the Higginsons are blessed with an ability to draw. I'm quite jealous of them!)

Michaela, in an attempt to entertain Vaughn, decided to decorate him with a bow. I think it was really because he was as cute as a present. Vaughn however, did not find the situation as amusing as Michaela did!

In fact, wouldn't you say he looks a little perturbed?!?! Michaela and I however felt the same way....that Vaughn couldn't have looked any cuter!!! What an adorable picture!!!

Roberts friend Scott (on the left), Heather (on the right) and Christina (not shown), also showed up for the occasion. Here Robert is opening a nice card from Heather's parents.

Heather and Christina gave Robert a very nice wallet....

...and a muscle man T-shirt. I can't remember exactly what was written on the front of it, but obviously from the look on Robert's face, it was really funny! It was a nice gathering of family and a few friends that evening. And it was a lot of fun to celebrate Robert. He is quite the guy!

You already knew I was going to show this one again! It was impossible not to!

Love, Lisa

2008-06-04T23:24:00.000-06:00

Danny & Linda Move Back to Idaho,
Michael & Marci Come Home From Tonga

May 16th - May 18th

Friday, May 16th was a sad day for us, as that was the day Danny and Linda and their kids left to move back to Idaho. They had been living at Brian's parents' house since January while they looked for a home here in Utah. But things never worked out, and so they decided to go back to Idaho. I think The Lampateeze knew something was up, so when we walked in the door, he went right for Vaughn and hugged him.

The Lampateeze wasn't interested in letting go any time soon, and Vaughn got a little distressed. If you look closely, you can see Vaughn holding some one's hand.

I'm sure it was Mom Higginson who was holding Vaughn's hand, now that I think about it. This is the back view of the two of them. ADORABLE!!!

Brian's sister Amy was there that morning, and she had brought over Brian's birthday gifts since she hadn't been able to come to the party the night before. Brian was very excited about his gifts, which included Bugles and pudding! Yum!

The next day, Saturday, May 17th, Brian headed over to his parents' house again to help his dad work on completing a new playhouse he had just bought. I LOVED this picture of Dad Higginson, because I've never seen him wear a cap before! I think he looks really great in it! Here he is looking through the instruction manual, which happened to be about 100 pages long!

Here's Jared and Brian waiting for the instructions from Dad.

I LOVE this picture of Mom Higginson because it is the only picture ever taken of her resting. Mom NEVER rests. She is always helping other people, and as you can see, she's even talking to one of her kids while she's trying to rest here. But at least she's lying down on the couch! It made me feel good to see her at least trying to relax!

Here's Brian looking extremely thoughtful while he takes a break from working in the heat.

Julie was over there too helping with the playhouse. Cute outfit!

Dad and the boys had to take frequent breaks to check on the instructions and make sure things were being built correctly.

And here's the guys all together (Jared, Dad, Robert and Brian) slaving away!

During all of this, Vaughn and I were at home trying to rest, as I was getting closer and closer to my due date. Laura called and asked to come over to say "Hi." Vaughn let her get cosy with him while he watched a cartoon before his nap. Laura was in heaven!

The next day, Sunday the 18th of May, we all got together for a big celebration, as Brian's brother Michael, his wife Marci and their kids had all just returned from Tonga after serving a dental mission there for 8 months. Mom and Dad Higginson had also recently gotten back from going to visit them there.

In Tonga you can't get many of the foods that you can in the U.S., so I made a big chuck roast for them for dinner. They were really excited about it, and luckily it turned out very tender!

And here's another picture of all of us enjoying the meal together! We were so glad they returned safely from such a long trip home!

The kids were all excited to see each other again. From left to right here are Michaela, Lincoln, Ashlyn, Aubrie and Vaughn. The first four and Michael and Marci's kids. They also have a little boy named Dallin. The kids were really cute all eating together. They also enjoyed the meal.

Love, Lisa

2008-06-03T09:28:00.001-06:00

Brian and Linda's Birthdays
May 15th, 2008

Thursday, May 15th, began like any other day, but soon turned into a day that was very out of the ordinary! The Lampateeze was found out in the back yard playing in the sprinklers as they were watering the lawn. He was in pure heaven! Dad Higginson snapped this shot of little Alvin.

The Lampateeze would walk up as close to the sprinklers as he could without getting totally hosed, but letting the water sprinkle just enough on the top of his head. He had this light dusting of drops all over his body, and it made him look like he had fairy dust all over.

You know when you begin the day like this, it's going to be a GREAT ONE!!!

Later that morning Lorna and Kal could be found with Aunt Julie in the kitchen. They were baking something, and I wish I knew what it was! They looked like they were having a real blast!

That evening we all got together for the double birthday celebration. It's crazy that two siblings share the same birthday. But I guess with nine kids, the chances are a lot higher! Here we are gathered around, ready to sing Happy Birthday and have them open their presents.

Linda began by opening a movie called Stowaway starring Shirley Temple. I have never seen it before, but she was excited about it. I don't think I've ever seen a Shirley Temple movie before.

Next was Brian. He got a giant bag of peanut M&Ms! Then he opened a vintage puzzle that his sisters had gotten for him at an antique store they had been to that day.

Poor Kal was found standing alone crying pretty hard at this point. I thought maybe he'd gotten hurt, but then Linda said he really wanted to help open some gifts. What a face!

Linda already had Lorna on her lap, so Lorna helped her open our gift, which was the movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken."

Then Brian opened a cute card from his parents. His mother made this card, and I wish I had gotten a more in-focus picture of it! Brian's mother wrote a very thoughtful note inside. When you get a complement from either of Brian's parents, you cherish it and remember it forever.

Kal was beginning to get desperate. He was crying himself into a real state of despair. I didn't realize how distressed he was.....

...until Dad Higginson showed me a couple of the pictures he had taken of Kal crying. They were so darn cute that I lost it and started laughing so hard! Kal was TOO ADORABLE!

Danny and Linda tried to calm Kal down by telling him he would get to help soon. It wasn't quite what he wanted to hear. Vaughn knew Kal was upset, so he went over and tried to distract him with some toys.

He moved the toys towards Kal very slowly, hoping not to upset him. Kal wasn't too excited to have Vaughn there, but he tolerated him enough to get distracted for a couple of seconds.

Then finally Linda brought out a present for Kal, since his birthday was soon too. This of course made Kal happy!

Here he is with Aunt Julie discovering that the package contained some train cars for his train set! Kal loves trains, so naturally this put him in the best of spirits.

Vaughn was still vigilant in keeping next to Kal, hoping to be part of the reason for Kal's change in mood from bad to good. I don't think Kal wanted Vaughn touching his trains just yet!

Robert's birthday was four days later, and since Danny and Linda would be moving back to Idaho before then, they decided to give Robert his present from them that evening. And Robert also got some vintage train cars! (Next to Robert is his friend Heather).

Heather took care to show Robert how to play with the trains correctly. Robert found great delight in this!

Linda also gave Robert a nice book about California (I think)! Robert loves anything to do with California, so he was really excited about it.

Then it was Linda's turn again to open a gift. This was was from Danny, her husband. It was just a piece of paper, so we were all anxious to see what was written on it.

I think Linda was a little in shock when she finally realized what was on the paper. It was a drawing of a ring that Danny was having made for her. It was to replace the wedding ring she lost! She was so excited!

Yet again, Vaughn was there to get everything on tape. Here he is taking pointers from his Uncle Bobby. He knows where to get the best advice!

Robert is always very patient with Vaughn. They were really cute sitting there together!

Brian thought he was done opening presents, but then I busted out a surprise gift! Here he is pulling the, "Lisa...I didn't ask for anything else" face.

After opening the box, and finally realizing what it was, Brian was very surprised and happy! He asked, "How did you sneak this past me?" "Where have you been hiding this?" (It was a device like an IPOD).

Brian's father had helped me to download music onto it, so Brian would be able to listen to it right away. So here's Brian's Dad pointing out how to access the different songs.

Brian doesn't usually like surprises, but he seemed to be very pleased with this one, and it made me very happy! He made sure to give me a big Thank You, and it made me feel so good!

He was excited to listen to the music I had put on there, because it was a collection of some of his favorite artists and groups! What a cutie! The night had been a success!

I told you, when you start out the day like this, it's bound to turn out to be a GREAT ONE!

Love, Lisa

2008-06-02T18:58:00.001-06:00

A Pre-Birthday Celebration & Some Cute Kids
May 12th - May 14th, 2008

On Monday, May 12th, we went out on a double date with Brian's sister Linda and her husband Danny. We went out to eat at The Golden Corral to celebrate Brian and Linda's birthdays, which happened to be on the same day, and happened to be a few days later on May 15th. We were really excited to get out, and to have our kids watched! Here's Brian and I before we began the feed! Brian looks VERY handsome! Maybe that's why I'm smiling so big!

Linda and Danny were all ready to eat, but were gracious enough to pause for a moment before indulging themselves. They are quite a pair!

Speaking of indulging...maybe they should have had a private table. I never thought a couple could be romantic over on onion ring, but I guess this picture proves me wrong!

Brian's true love, other than myself, is soft-serve ice cream. Here he is ready to enjoy his mountain of ice cream. I love to see him happy!

The next day we were over at Brian's parents' house to let our kids play together. We went out in the back yard after hearing Vaughn screaming. He wasn't hurt, but just excited about something. I walked out to see Danny holding a little snake he had found in the garden area.

The kids were scared of it, but also fascinated by it. I wanted Vaughn to not be so afraid so I tried to get him to touch it, and I think he eventually did. I remember as a little girl going to some zoo where they had one of the zoo keepers let us hold a huge snake. I don't remember what kind it was, but it was way bigger than the adults. They let me hold it and it wrapped around my arms and torso. The experience was a little scary, but it did give me a lot more confidence dealing with animals.

I can't remember if Lorna pulled this face when she was looking at the snake or not. What a cutie!

And of course, here's Kal cracking a smile as usual. He is such a fun kid! It's no wonder he has Vaughn constantly laughing!

I'll end with a few more pictures of Danny and Linda's kids we got a few days later.

Lorna has the prettiest face, and cute full lips!

And this is definitely my "one for the road." Yes my friends, this is The Lampateeze with his cuteness turned up as high as it will go. I can't take it!!!

Love, Lisa

2008-05-31T20:37:00.000-06:00

Mother's Day & Amy's Birthday Party
May 11th, 2008

We always really look forward to any holiday or special day during the year, because it generally means we will be seeing some of Brian's family. In this case, Mother's Day was no exception! We went over to Brian's parents' house in Springville to celebrate the evening, but also to celebrate Brian's sister Amy's birthday, which had been four days earlier on the 7th. That also happened to be Prairie's birthday! So right when we arrived, Vaughn dashed for the back yard and began playing with his cousins. His cousin Kimball grabbed hold of Vaughn and hugged him like crazy! I was lucky to get a picture of the two of them because Vaughn wanted to play and was trying to break out of her hold!

Kimball is a very tender and caring young girl, and she shows it a lot with Vaughn. I thought this picture very fitting for Mother's Day. I believe women (girls) are born with that sense of mothering....nurturing and caring for others. I think it is shown very well here.

And then of course, once Kimball got the mushy stuff out of her system, it was time to get a little crazy! Vaughn loved it!

Danny was outside playing with his kids while Linda took a break inside. I guess part of playing with Kal was to draw a chalk outline around his body. In the end it looked like the chalk outlines of bodies you find at murder scenes. But I'm sure I was the only one who noticed that. Kal thought it was great!

Danny and the Lampateeze....what a pair!

My sister Laura came over to help celebrate the evening, and when I tried to take a picture of her, Danny had to get weird. He loves to play practical jokes on people. Just look at his face....he is really in his element! He just can't resist being a dork! I like Danny though, because he keeps things interesting. I'm glad he feels that he can pick on me. I wonder what he was like as a kid?

I thought this was adorable! Laura is always great to play with the kids when she's over. She was having a great time drawing with the kids. Lampateeze took special interest in Laura's art. Why is he SO DANG CUTE?!?!

After a while of playing outside, we came inside to get ready to celebrate Mother's Day and Amy's birthday. I thought Alex and Riley (on the right) looked so cute here just enjoying time as sisters. And Laura was adorable entertaining the Lampateeze, while he clung to Linda!

Julie is a fantastic aunt and friend to Riley and Alex. They are always goofing around together. Julie has a gift with kids. Whenever our nieces and nephews come to visit, they all yell, "It's Julie!!!" when they see her walk in the door. And 99% of the time they call me Julie. It's definitely a complement!

Here's Amy and Brian having an involved conversation before we got the celebration under way. Did you notice the gorgeous cake on the counter that Julie made for Amy? YUM! Brian looks almost like a politician here giving a speech. What a cutie! I'm sure he and Amy probably were talking politics!

As you can see, the candles are lit in this picture, and that means we were singing Happy Birthday to Amy. I thought her expression here was very pleasant. Danny and Brian look a little uncomfortable singing in the background though! Lighten up you two!

And then came the presents.... Amy was great to let her youngest Sammy (Samuel) help her open her gifts. As tradition dictates, Amy received food for her birthday. Among the prizes were a bag of M&Ms....

.....a bag of Corn Nuts.....some Fiddle Faddle.....and I can't remember what else!

I guess all the food made the Lampateeze very hungry. Since he couldn't reach any of it, he went for the next best thing....Aunt Julie's arm. I wonder if she noticed that a piece of her arm went missing?

Vaughn just wanted some of that delicious cake! Just look at the poor kid's face! And speaking of cake....

...here's a better picture of the cake Julie made for Amy. Isn't it just fantastic?! Julie is an expert at making cakes and desserts. She really has a gift.

Once his belly was full of cake, Vaughn had some important things to do. One of those things was making sure to record the night's events. So he got out a little toy video camera and began to shoot the scene unfolding before him. What a pro!

I think Vaughn had taken some pointers from his Uncle Bobby (Robert, Bob, Buns and whatever other names we've called him in the past), because he looked like a natural!

He was even squinting his right eye while his left looked at the camera. What a nut!

I was glad Vaughn was there to help record things, because some important stuff was happening! It was time for Mom Higginson to open a few gifts we had gotten her for Mother's Day. Mom looked so cute here! She likes to avoid cameras at all cost, but she doesn't realize how great she looks.

Amy wrote a song about Mom and sang it to her for Mother's Day. It was quite the experience for all of us. Amy has a talent for writing music, and by the time she was done, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Here's another view of Amy while she was singing to Mom. I thought it appropriate that Dad accompanied her for the occasion. I don't think Mom realizes how much of an impact she has had on the lives of her husband, children, kids-in-law and grandchildren. I can't imagine a world without her. She is one of the most giving, thoughtful people I have ever met!

I thought I would add this picture in. Laura totally made my Mother's Day when she came over that evening. As you can see, Laura is one of the people that brings humor into my life. She has a way of cheering me up that no one else can do!

And this will be my "one for the road." I LOVE YOU LAURA!!!

Love, Lisa

2008-05-30T23:19:00.000-06:00

Fun with Aunt Laura

May 4th - May 10th

On Monday, May 5th, Laura came over to spend some time with Vaughn. Vaughn knows that when Aunt Laura comes over, a few things are always going to happen. 1st, there will be some wrestling ...and 2nd, Vaughn will get to play with Laura's cell phone. In this case however, Vaughn would get Aunt Laura on the ground and flat on her stomach, and then Vaughn would jump up as fast as he could and book it for her cell phone. Laura got a little suspicious that maybe it was her cell phone, and not her he wanted to play with!

Vaughn loves to take pictures with Laura's cell phone. I think she has more weird pictures of Vaughn than anyone on the planet!

During some of their wrestling time, I asked for a quick pose, and this is what I got! What the heck is Vaughn looking like that for?! And Laura, do I want to ask?

Okay....that's better! By the way....Laura called Vaughn's haircut the "Dumb and Dumber" look. When I saw this picture I regrettably had to agree. We'll have to do something about that hair!

Love, Lisa

2008-05-29T08:22:00.001-06:00

Hangin' With Julie, My New Sprinklers
& The Great Piggie Party

April 20th - May 3rd

On Sunday, April 20th, we went over to Brian's sister Julie's place for some fun. Julie busted out a really fun card game, which we played for a good part of the night. I wish I could remember the name of it because I want to get it! (I look really greasy in this picture because I had Aloe Vera all over my face and neck. I had gotten a sunburn the day before).

Here's Brian, Julie and Julie's roommate just before heading into the second game!

During the evening while we were playing cards, Vaughn found a new best friend in Julie's roommate Elise. Elise took Vaughn into the kitchen area and rolled cars back and forth with Vaughn for most of the evening. Vaughn was in pure heaven!

Here's Elise just before sending off one of the cars into oblivion! They would both roll their cars at the same time towards each other and try to catch them. Vaughn would basically throw his at Elise and laugh so hard when she tried to catch it. It was so cute to watch them!

Vaughn loved the game so much that he couldn't stop laughing. We had to stop the card game every few minutes and go and observe the two of them playing. We have never heard Vaughn laugh as hard as he did that night! Thanks Elise for being so great with Vaughn!!!

A few days later I was talking with my neighbor Dawn Houston about building some sprinklers in our front yard because I was having a hard time keeping it watered. Well, the day after I mentioned it to Dawn, I found her in my front yard working on building the sprinklers! I couldn't believe it! So of course I went out to try and help her. Here she is above with Vaughn keeping close tabs on everything!

I just thought I'd point out how dry the grass looks! Thanks to Dawn, we now have a nice, green front yard!

Also during this week, we held the Great Piggie Party. I'm just calling it that because I want to. We were over at Brian's parents' house again, and with Mom and Dad gone, we got a little crazy, but only after the kids had gone to bed. Here I am after having rocked the Lampateeze to sleep. It was absolutely precious holding that little guy! And it got me excited to have another little baby around. And like I said, once the kids were asleep....

....the Great Piggie Party began! Here I am just getting warmed up. I don't remember who it was that suggested we tape our noses up and take pictures, but the idea caught on very quickly and we all had to try it.

Here's a side view of my nose. Everyone was astonished at how pliable my nose is. It just seemed to disappear into my face. I was weirded-out by how stiff their noses were!

Suddenly I found my Piggie Groove, and then the real fun began!

Next was Julie's turn! We'll start out with her most reserved face. She looks so nice here!

Now we'll move on to Julie's more sassy pose. Doesn't she look like a Piggie Model? I swear Julie can look great doing anything!

I like to call this one "A Piggie in Headlights!"

Jared gave it a go next. His nose wasn't as pliable as Julie's so it didn't stick up as much. Jared still looks very handsome!

Here's a side view of the "Handsome Piggie."

Brian had the most un-pliable nose of the night. He just couldn't get the darn thing to stay taped up, so he had to hold it with his hand. I thought it was so funny!

Here's a good pose. He finally got his nose to get piggie!

Finally we come to my favorite piggie of the night....Brian's sister Linda! I don't know how she did it, but she got us laughing to the point where I thought I was going to go into labor! She was by far the most perfect piggie!

And here is the crowning picture to prove it! Linda, you are THE BEST!!!

The next Wednesday, Julie came over for a while to visit with us. It is always fun to have Julie over because the conversation never dies. She always has a cool fact to share, or a great insight into politics or world news. She is awesome! Here she is just chillin' with Brian.

Vaughn of course had to bust out his train set to show Aunt Julie. So we built a fun little track for him, and he spent a few minutes running the trains over it. Then of course he decided to play Godzilla and wreck it.

I think I'll end with this picture of Vaughn. I'm sorry to say it, but doesn't his hair look awful?!?! Time for a haircut kid! (But you're still pretty darn cute little buddy!)

Love, Lisa

2008-05-27T22:49:00.001-06:00

Mom & Dad Higginson go to Tonga, &
a Visit with Grandma Oviatt

April 13th - April 19th

On Sunday, April 13th, we drove Brian's parents up to the airport in Salt Lake City to see them off on their trip to Tonga and New Zealand. They went to visit Michael and Marci and their kids who were serving a dental mission in Tonga at the time. We were glad that we were able to drive them there and say goodbye, since they were going to be going for about three weeks or so.

Vaughn was of course very emotional because he doesn't like people to leave. I was emotional too just because Mom and Dad had been back from seminars for only a week, and then they were off again! I'm sure they left with mixed emotions...being excited to see Michael and Marci and the kids, but also wanting to be at home after traveling for over two months on seminars.

But it was also exciting for them because they would be able to see New Zealand, which is where Dad Higginson served his mission many years ago. They were also looking forward to seeing a display inside the New Zealand Visitor's Center that Brian had helped design for our church! We were sad to see them go, but also glad for the experiences that awaited them!

We were glad that Mom and Dad had asked us to drive them up to the airport because it gave us the perfect opportunity to take the evening to spend with Grandma Oviatt! We were excited to see her because it had been a while since we'd been to her new house. Grandma knew the perfect "toy" to get out for Vaughn....a piggy bank! But this was no ordinary piggy bank.

This piggy bank had a hand that would emerge from inside and take the coin and disappear with it! Vaughn was absolutely obsessed with it! He spent basically the entire evening putting coins in the slot and watching the hand emerge and steal them!

Here he is watching very intently. Grandma Oviatt got out a cup with change in it so Vaughn could have a good supply of coins to use. We all enjoyed watching Vaughn and also watching the hand at work.

And here's me and Grandma! I wish Grandma had been in front of me because my belly was totally overshadowing her! It made me look like a giant! And by the way, that color is great on you Grandma! Thanks for having us over!

On Monday, April 14th, we went over to Brian's parents' house in Springville for some fun. I decided to make enchiladas that night for everyone, and we really enjoyed it! (My sister Laura thinks it's really funny that I take pictures of food).

That Thursday, April 17th, Brian's sister Linda came over with her kids for some play time during the day. It is always a blast to spend time with Linda, and Vaughn loves to play with her kids, especially her oldest Kal. Above is Kal diving into Vaughn's toy box.

Lorna wanted to watch Sleeping Beauty, so we put it on for her. Of course Little Lampateeze wanted in on the fun, so we propped him up on the couch with a Pooh Bear and gave him a drink while he enjoyed the show!

I'll end this short entry with a picture of Vaughn watching the show as well. He was extremely tired and very near his nap time!

Love, Lisa

2008-05-25T18:29:00.001-06:00

GENERAL CONFERENCE, AN EVENING WITH JULIE &
THE LAMPATEEZE'S BIRTHDAY
April 6th - April 12th, 2008

On Sunday, April 6th, we had our last two sessions of Conference. We watched them over at Brian's parents' house again so we could be with family. We had a nice ham dinner over there as well. Above are Vaughn and Kal patiently waiting for us to scoop them up some delicious food for their starving bellies! (P.S. Vaughn LOVES Kal! That's probably why he was smiling so big!)

Other people (AKA Danny!) decided to wait impatiently for their food! Just kidding Danny! Danny loves to glare at me whenever I try to take a picture of him. I think he wants to appear to be tough. But really Danny is a very nice guy, and he has a great smile. He's always teasing me and likes to call me Vinnie. Don't ask! And yes, he is the father of the famous Lampateeze!

We were all starving, so the food was extra good-tasting. As Brian always says, "Hunger is the best sauce." I can't remember where he got that from, but it is so true! And it also helps that Brian's mother is an EXCELLENT cook! There's nothing quite like a Sunday dinner with Brian's family. We really enjoy the atmosphere, the company and the conversation. We are very lucky to be able to live as close to them as we do, so we can visit as often as we do!

Later on that day after the big meal and after Conference had ended, Vaughn decided to provide everyone with some entertainment. He decided to model a pair of Brian's shoes for everyone. He was walking like a perfect model, and giving that squinting smile, and it just about killed us!

It didn't help that he was wearing a onesie. What the heck?!?!

It also didn't help that he has very cute, think legs, and a handsome GQ look about him. It's like he had watched a professional modeling show and decided to reenact it or something!

We're going to skip to Friday the 11th of April. Brian's sister Julie came over that night to spend some time with us, and to watch part of a fun old Disney nature documentary with us. I had made some peach cobbler, so Julie brought over some whipping cream to put on the top of it. Well, Julie decided to really make it a party when she showed Vaughn that he could "spray" the whipping cream into his hands!

Vaughn was totally intrigued by this new discovery. Then Julie showed Vaughn how to eat the whipping cream right out of the palm of his hand. He paid extra attention to this!

Julie then proceeded to show Vaughn how happy it made her to eat whipping cream out of her hand. Vaughn started to show signs of smiling......

....and then he had to let a big smile out! He LOVED this new game!

So he decided to show Aunt Julie how well he could eat the whipping cream out of his hand. Aunt Julie watched very intently and showed lots of support for her new apprentice.

And in the end, even Vaughn gave himself a big hand for a job well done!

Aunt Julie gave Vaughn more whipping cream to practice with, and he was so happy he just stood there spazzing and smiling!

Aunt Julie was finally able to break away and sit down to enjoy some conversation with her brother and a nice bowl of peach cobbler. Yum!

The next day, Saturday, April 12th, we went over to Brian's parents' house to help them with some yard work they wanted to get done before they left on another trip. Brian was doing much better by then, and it was nice to get outside with him and help his parents out. Here we are clipping up some rose bush trimmings, to make sure we can fit them all in the garbage can.

While we did yard clean up, Vaughn and his cousins Kal and Lorna enjoyed playing on one of the islands in the front yard. It was a beautiful, slightly cool day, which made it perfect for yard work, and perfect for outside play.

Vaughn took a moment to pose for a picture. He has the most intense eyes!

Vaughn loved nothing more than to just push dirt around with Kal. He spent most of the time following Kal around and doing exactly what Kal did. Vaughn really looks up to Kal, and really enjoys playing with him. And Kal is always very kind to Vaughn, and likes to include him in whatever game or activity he is doing at the time.

I feel bad that I didn't really get any pictures of Alvin's 1st birthday! I don't know if I just forgot, or if I lost the pictures or what! But we also celebrated little Alvin's birthday that day. It was very cute! Since I don't have any pictures of that, I will end with this gorgeous picture of Lorna! Isn't she a doll?

Love, Lisa

2008-04-14T09:27:00.000-06:00

POOPA GOES HOME, MOVIE NIGHT & GENERAL CONFERENCE
March 30th - April 5th, 2008

On Sunday, March 30th, Poopa, Laura and her friend Justin came over to visit during the evening. Brian was feeling "more better" so we wound up all having a good time together. I don't know what it was about that evening, but we were all in a great mood, and Vaughn seemed to feed off of the excitement, because he was really "on one" the entire evening. Here he is with Aunt Laura obviously sharing a good joke!

We began the evening playing Tri-Bond, which is a really great trivia game. But Vaughn quickly took over and made Aunt Laura give him airplane rides until we were all dizzy! Vaughn loves to play with Aunt Laura, and especially to get airplane rides from her.

Laura is always really great to do this for Vaughn. My favorite is when she lets Vaughn get close enough to the ground so he can touch it with his hands, just like she was doing in the above picture. Vaughn loves this too!

In between airplane rides and horsey rides (which I will show you in just a second) Vaughn took the opportunity to show everyone just how fast he can run. He would wait by the front door until either Brian or I would say, "Ready.....set......go!" Then he would book it as fast as he could into the kitchen, where he would wait again for the go-ahead. I don't know where little kids get so much energy! It made me tired just watching him!

He would have kept up his running for the rest of the evening, but like I said before, Aunt Laura also provided some great horsey rides, which Vaughn could not resist!

Lately Vaughn has taken up to squinting instead of smiling, and the above picture is proof! He was really enjoying himself though!

Next on the list of fun activities was playing "hit the balloon and keep it in the air." Vaughn is obsessed with balloons, so this was a great game for him to play. Poopa also enjoyed getting in on this one.

Justin took the opportunity to show Vaughn how to shoot the balloon like a rocket. Vaughn very quickly picked up on how to do it, and to all of our surprise, he did the exact same thing back to Justin! It was really cute, and pretty impressive for a little kid! I love how Poopa and Vaughn have the same look on their faces!

As payback for being shot at, Vaughn attacked Justin with his hat and anything else he could find. Vaughn was laughing his guts out, and we couldn't help but follow suit! It was a really fun evening! Unfortunately Poopa had to leave the next day, but we were so grateful to have been able to spend as much time with him as we did. Thank you Poopa for a WONDERFUL visit and lots of fun memories!!! We love you!

The next evening, Tuesday the 1st of April, we went over to Brian's parents' house in Springville to get out of the house. Brian was still not feeling too great and needed some fresh air, and Vaughn needed to get out of the house and have some time to play with his cousins. So here are Kal, Vaughn and Lorna enjoying a little bit of ice cream together that evening. Vaughn and Kal were both surprised to see that they were wearing the same shirt. It was cute to see them together like that.

We spent the next few days still taking care of Brian and still recuperating from sickness. Poor Brian just couldn't seem to shake whatever it was that he had. So to get out of the house again, we went over to Brian's parents' place that Friday, April 4th, and watched a new Disney show called Enchanted. The kids got all cozy with their blankets and pillows and cuddled up next to each other on the floor. Vaughn had to be by Kal because they are special buddies. We all really enjoyed the movie, and Vaughn especially liked it. He even pointed it out in the following few weeks whenever he saw advertisements or posters for it around town.

The next day, Saturday, April 5th, was our Church's semi-annual General Conference. It is broadcast on local television stations here, so we all gathered over at Brian's parents' house again and watched it together. It is a wonderful time for us to receive guidance and inspiration from our church leaders. It is also a time to be with loved ones and share our feelings and impressions about each Conference session. Above is Brian's sister Amy holding her nephew Alvin (also known as The Lampateeze) just after he had gotten out of the bathtub. How come she was so lucky?!?!

Alvin proceeded to nibble on his towel while waiting for his mother to get his clothes together.

Then he full-on started eating the towel! Lampateeze is a very active little guy, and doesn't waste time getting to business. And if the business at hand is eating a towel, then he needs to eat a towel! May I repeat my previous question....why was Amy so lucky?!?!

Lorna took a relaxed approach to the wait for her clothing. She did however decided to wait in comfort and style, with her special blanket draped over herself. She has to have that blanket everywhere she goes. It is so cute that she finds so much comfort in that blanket! Vaughn hasn't attached himself to anything like that yet, and I have to wonder if he ever will.

There were two Conference sessions broadcast that day. Each lasted around 2 hours. By the end of the second session, poor Brian couldn't keep his eyes open and wound up falling fast asleep. I couldn't help but take a picture of him. I knew he was so exhausted from being sick for so long, and needed the rest, and he looked so cute with his mouth hanging open like that!

But then I think Brian's tiredness began to spread to other people in the room. Vaughn went out like a light, and then next to go was Grandpa Higginson. What could be more cozy that falling asleep holding Vaughn's warm little body next to yours? Brian and I are always flipping a coin to see who gets to hold Vaughn at the end of the day, because we know how precious it is to have him fall asleep in your arms. Grandpa was the lucky one that day!

Grandma (AKA Mom Higginson) was exhausted too, and wound up falling asleep in this cute position. She and Dad Higginson had returned from a cross-country seminar trip for Dad's work just the day before, and they were exhausted. The trip is over 2 and 1/2 months long, and involves lots of miles and lots of seminar stops, so it's not wonder both Mom and Dad fell asleep. I think Mom is adorable when she's asleep. She looks like an angel.

Julie, Amy and I were the only ones that stayed awake. I was glad to be able to hear the rest of the Conference broadcast. I prefer to hear it live like that because it has so much more impact that way. Julie looks so intent here. I really love this picture of her!

Later that evening, while Brian attended a special Conference meeting for the male membership of our church called the Priesthood Session of Conference, I took Vaughn out for a special mother-son date. We went to McDonald's for dinner and some time to play in the Play Place there.

Here's Vaughn squinting again instead of smiling. I think it's so funny, and I have no idea where he picked it up!

Vaughn had a really fun time playing on the slide there. He wouldn't go on the bigger slides, but preferred to play on the smallest slide there. It was as long as he was tall! What a funny kid! I think he played there because he got it all to himself, as all the other kids were playing on the big slides. But we had a great time together, and I really treasure moments like those!

Love, Lisa

2008-04-10T11:53:00.001-06:00

BRIAN THE INVALID, POOPA'S WHIRLWIND VISIT,
& HANNAH'S BAPTISM
March 23rd - March 29th, 2008

I don't have any pictures of our Easter Sunday because we were all at home taking care of each other. I didn't get sick really with whatever was going around, just tired. But poor Brian really caught something bad that weekend, and spent the next 5 straight days in bed. I had never seen him so sick before! I'm sure it was a nasty flu bug because he had fevers and chills, nausea and headaches galore. I have to admit I liked having him at home, but I'm sure Brian would have rather been at work and feeling better!

We were very surprised and happy when Poopa called us to tell us he was coming into town that weekend. He arrived on Thursday the 27th of March. It was SO GOOD TO SEE HIM!!! Vaughn doesn't get to see my parents very often at all, so he really tried to make a good impression from the beginning. Vaughn took Grandpa Poopa into his room right away to show Poopa "his" new Star Wars arcade. Yes, Vaughn has very calmly and quietly let us know that he is the rightful owner of any arcade that comes into our house. Poopa was totally amazed at how coordinated Vaughn was, and how well he played the game. Vaughn doesn't play our arcades very much at all, but he is a fast learner. He is definitely better than we are, and he's only 2 and 1/2 years old! I don't know whether to be proud of that or to think it's pretty pathetic!

The next evening Poopa offered to get pizza for dinner. We couldn't refuse, and even Brian was able to muster up enough appetite to eat with us. The poor guy was still feeling not-so-well, but I guess pizza is the best medicine for him. While we waited for the pizza to cook (we got Take-n-Bake from Papa Murphy's) Poopa, Laura and Vaughn played Yahtzee together. Vaughn LOVES to roll the dice, and luckily Laura and Poopa were very patient to let him help them.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!! I don't remember if a joke was told, or if they were just laughing at Vaughn's cuteness, but it doesn't matter. I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! Poopa looks so cute! And Vaughn is showing some major double-chin as Laura kisses him. Can life get any better?!?!

I have never met a person who enjoys their food more than my sister Laura. Let me explain that before it sounds really bad. Laura has the best facial expressions in the world while she is eating food she loves. Here she is showing us how a real woman eats her pizza. Laura is my favorite person to eat with because she makes me really enjoy my food too. I think that's why whenever I'm around Laura I want to go out to eat with her. She just makes it a really fun experience. My favorite is when she takes her first bite of the food and stops, rolls her eyes up into her head and sighs. It's just too much!!! I love you Laura!!!

Here's Brian, Vaughn and Poopa tanking down. The pizza was unusually good that night for some reason. I don't think it's because we were all hungry. It just tasted excellent. And Laura had us try a new root beer, and I wish I could remember the name of it because is was DANG GOOD root beer! Laura, if you read this and remember what it was called, please call me!!!

After the pizza dinner Vaughn decided to get in a little more play-time with Poopa. He got out his little music-making push toy and used Poopa's legs as a bridge to go under while he pushed it around.

Poopa was great to let Vaughn do that over and over and over..... I think Vaughn would have done it all night if Poopa hadn't gotten tired and gone to bed. Thank you Poopa for the wonderful pizza!!! Brian still talks about how good it was! And as a side note, Vaughn said the word "cheese" for the first time that day. I honestly think it had something to do with the magic of that pizza goodness!

The next day, Saturday the 29th of March was a very special day for my younger cousin Hannah Oviatt. It was her baptism day. Here she is with her mother Kelly and her father Gary. And it stinks that this is the only picture I got of her with her parents because for some reason I caught them off guard, and in between smiles while other people were taking their picture. They were smiling for every other picture, and they were all very happy that day. So just to let you know.....they were smiling! Hannah looked gorgeous in her baptism dress, and she was in a bright and cheerful mood that day.

After the actual baptism took place, I caught my Uncle Wane with his daughter Jessica playing around. Wane has the most quiet sense of humor. He doesn't show it off, but he is HILARIOUS! I just turned around, and there he was with a pair of pink shoes on his ears. What a nut! So I had to get a picture of him for the record.

Back at Uncle Gary and Aunt Kelly's house we had a nice luncheon. Hannah, Vaughn, Autumn and Prairie had a good time playing together while we all finished eating. Hannah brought out some bubble gum and started blowing bubbles for Vaughn. He became completely mesmerized with those bubbles. He kept asking Hannah to blow more bubbles so he could pop them.

She was very willing to do so, and to say "thanks" for her kindness, Vaughn gave Hannah a kiss and a hug after EVERY bubble she blew. He was so happy!!! And I just about died watching it all happen! Hannah has always been VERY sweet to Vaughn. She loves to play with him and watch over him whenever we are up there to visit.

I know I say this about a lot of pictures, but this could be one of my favorite pictures of Vaughn EVER. He was in pure heaven playing with Hannah and popping bubbles. He couldn't stop hugging her and laughing. I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!! And I think I'll end with that picture. How could I top it anyway?!?!

Love, Lisa

2008-04-01T09:09:00.001-06:00

FROM PARTIES TO PARTY-POOPERS!!!

March 16th - March 22nd, 2008

We began this week with a fun party over at Brian's parents' house. Brian's brother Robert busted out some old face-mixing equipment and invited a group of friends over to join in the fun. The equipment hooks up to any television set and allows you to take a still shot of one person's face, put it up on the screen, and then take another shot of another person's face and splice them together. It sounds weird, but it is one of the funnest things I've ever seen or done. It takes a bit of setting up, so we don't do it very often. But when we do, we all really enjoy ourselves because it is such a rare and HILARIOUS treat! It's just too bad I didn't take any pictures of some of the spliced faces! (SIDE NOTE: The above picture is of Vaughn laughing at some of the faces that were being put together).

This is a picture of Robert's friends Heather and Christina. They were flipping through some magazines trying to find faces to splice with. It's really fun to also take stills of bodies in magazines and then put your head on them.

Brian was the best at finding ridiculously funny poses of people in magazines. I don't think I've EVER laughed as hard as I did that night. And I am proud to say that Brian was the person everyone wanted to splice faces with. He really made the night fun!

Little Lampateeze took the opportunity that night to do some serious cuddling with Christina. He just went for her from the moment he saw her, and wouldn't be taken away. He doesn't usually do things like that, so it was really precious to see him. The best was when he put his head on Christina's shoulder and just laid there. We were all very jealous!!! It is the treat of a lifetime to be able to cuddle with the Lampateeze!

While we were all face-mixing we had to give the kids something to keep them busy, so Brian's sister Linda busted out some Popsicles. It was the perfect thing! Here's a shot of Vaughn and Kal just staring off into the distance as they enjoyed their Popsicles.

It was cute to have all the kids sitting up at the counter eating together. They were all interested in each other's eating habits. Here Kal and Lorna are seeing how much of their Popsicles are left compared to Vaughn's.

I think this is probably my favorite picture of all time because of the face Lorna is pulling. I don't even know how to describe it! I asked the kids to all smile, and this is what happened! I'm laughing so hard right now I can barely breathe!

Vaughn does not eat Popsicles, he licks them to death. I thought he looked very handsome here.

I just can't get over some of the faces Lorna was pulling. Maybe she was jealous that she wasn't invited to the face-mixing portion of the evening, and felt the need to prove how good of a face she could pull! Vaughn looked like he had been surprised by something. And Kal was the only one who looked normal.

Again, here's Vaughn just licking away while Kal and Lorna are really chowing down. You know how whenever the Dark Ages are depicted on television that people are always gnawing on huge drumsticks of savory meat? Well, that picture came to mind when I saw how Lorna was eating her Popsicle here. ADORABLE!

And then it was Kal's turn to pull a funny face. I think he was pointing out how all the red was gone from the top of his Popsicle, and how much he wished there was more of it! I'll add that Vaughn's tongue looks pretty adorable! It was a really fun night, and we were glad to be able to share it with family and friends!

The next afternoon, Monday the 17th of March, Laura stopped by to say "Hi." I love it when she just stops in for no reason. Actually, there is usually one reason she stops by, and that's to play with Vaughn! I don't blame her. If I had to go a day without seeing him I would probably explode. Here she is showing Vaughn how to take pictures with her cell phone.

Vaughn LOVES to take pictures with Laura's cell phone. Laura knows this, and it's usually the first thing they do together when she comes over. It makes Vaughn very happy, and it usually gets Laura a hug or a kiss from Vaughn! P.S. I LOVE this picture of the two of them!

The next day I got the gardening bug really bad and decided it was time to get the garden set up. My wonderful neighbor had tilled the soil the week before, so it was all ready to go! Here's how the garden area looked before I got working on dividing it up. Vaughn enjoyed just throwing dirt around and getting dirty!

I first divided up the area into sections using old railroad ties, 2 x 4s, large sticks, cinder blocks, and anything else I could find. Then I set up the sprinkler system that my wonderful neighbors had built for me the year before. Have I mentioned that I have WONDERFUL neighbors?!?!

Then I decided I would plant the beets and Swiss chard portion of the garden. I decided to first put down some landscaping fabric to help with controlling the weeds. It was the first time I had attempted this, so it took forever, and I think I could have gone about it in an easier way, but you live and learn I guess! So finally after many hours of work, the garden was divided, the sprinklers set up, and the beets and Swiss chard planted with landscaping fabric to block the weeds. Pretty good for a day's work! I'll mention that Vaughn was very helpful handing me seeds and fabric pins.

That evening we had a church party to celebrate the founding of our Relief Society. It was a very fun evening with a birthday cake made to represent each month of the year. We got to sit at the table that represented our birth month, and at my table was this red velvet cake! (My birthday is in February). YUM! I felt pretty lucky!

This is a yearly event that is held world-wide throughout our church. It is pretty important because the Relief Society is the oldest women's organization, and I think it also has the most members of any women's organization in the world. The Relief Society was founded on March 17, 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Initially 18 women were present when it was formed, and now the membership of this organization has hit 5.6 million women in over 170 countries around the world! Pretty impressive, huh?

The motto of the Relief Society is "Charity never faileth." I truly believe in that motto, and have experienced the blessings of having my sisters reach out to me in times of need during the last several years. It is a wonderful organization to be a part of. I instantly have friends of all different ages and backgrounds. I enjoy their friendship, their knowledge and wisdom. I also enjoy our activities together that leave me feeling enriched and uplifted. I am also provided with many opportunities to serve the women around me, and that is my favorite part of all!

During the evening we had a group of women read parts of a skit depicting the history behind the Relief Society, and how it has grown and changed throughout the last 166 years. It was very interesting and very informative. Quotes were taken from women that had lived in each decade or "era" leading up to 2008, and it really helped me to feel connected with the women who have belonged to this organization from it's beginning.

That Friday, March 21st, Brian and I celebrated our 6-year anniversary! It was so weird to realize we have been married for six years. It seems like it has gone by in the blink of an eye. But it also feels like Brian and I have always been together. Brian is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am forever grateful that he asked me to marry him. It is the greatest blessing in the world to be married to my best friend. And besides, he's dang good looking too!

Brian's sister Julie was very gracious to watch Vaughn while we went out to eat that evening. It was very short notice, and she jumped at the chance to help us out. Vaughn really enjoyed the time with his Aunt Julie, and didn't really want to go home when we came to pick him up. Can you blame him? I mean, Julie is really fun! And by the way Julie, you look great in this picture!!!

The night of our anniversary we decided to just grab a bit to eat and come home because we both felt really tired. We found out why the next day when Brian got very sick! He had been feeling a little weird by the time we got home from our anniversary dinner, and then by the next morning he was pretty ill. Brian never gets sick, so this was quite unusual for him. Here he is on our couch trying not to throw up! What a way to spend an entire Saturday!

I did my best to try and entertain Vaughn that day, even though I didn't feel great. But at least I felt better than Brian did! We got out Vaughn's train set and tried to come up with some new track designs. This worked for about 2 minutes, and then Vaughn realized his favorite play buddy wasn't joining in the fun. (That would be Brian).

So Vaughn decided to try to entice his daddy to play with him by lying on top of him and patting his face. Brian had a heck of a time keeping the ice pack on his forehead during all of this.

Vaughn tried everything from giving Brian kisses to doing weird dances in order to get Brian off the couch. He just couldn't get anything to work!

Then he resorted to "spazzing" on Brian. This would make even the strongest man's heart melt. Poor Brian kept saying, "Lisa. I can't take it anymore!"

This is where Vaughn finally started to realize that Daddy really wasn't feeling well enough to play. It just about broke my heart, and Brian's too. But eventually Vaughn settled for Mom, and we were able to keep ourselves entertained while Brian tried to rest.

I think I'll end on a positive note with this picture again. Do you see why we love this little guy so much?!? He is just too much to resist! We love you Vaughn!

Love, Lisa