Family Reunion at the Lake

This past weekend, the Vaughn side of the family gathered at my parents' lake house for a fun getaway. This is the second or third year we've all gotten together at Grand Lake and was even more fun and more chaotic than ever! Each year we add a few babies to the picture and this year was no exception. We had Claire and Jacob for the first time, not to mention the other kids have grown up so it is one loud house when everyone is there. Of course, that's what makes it fun. That and boating, tubing, skiing, swimming, golfing, croqueting, bocce balling, golf cart riding, eating, eating, and more eating. We managed to fit all of these things in before the sun set and even managed a mid day nap each day for the kids and some adults. :) After the sun set, it was more bocce ball and card/board games. I just loved being with everyone and apparently my kids did as well. Graham commented on Sunday that he was "really, really sad" because he was leaving the lake house and Jack has mentioned numerous times that he would like to live there permanently.

Moments from our trip that stood out above the rest:

- Graham's injuries, including one severe knock to the head that scared the living daylights out of everyone within earshot. We were sure he had cracked it open or that he had a concussion but of course my hard headed guy cried for only about two minutes before declaring, face still covered in tears, that he was "all better!" and subsequently summoning Cody to begin running/wrestling again.
- Jack tubing. Jack is not my daredevil child so all things that can be done behind the boat scare him a bit, but he did get out there on the tube this weekend with Aunt Hayley and I am SO proud of him!!
- Playing Garbage with Mumo, Hayley, Nick, Randy, and Nancy. Mumo taught us to play this game when we were little and it is always a hit. I was so happy to spend time with her and play our favorite game. How Nick managed to win is beyond me though! :)
- Cody tubing. That kid is very resilient and brave and I'm surprised he still has both arms!
- Charlie and Graham sharing. Both boys really love Lightning McQueen and it was so sweet to watch them playing so nicely in the pool and taking turns with their "favorite taracter!"
- The kids spotting a dolphin in the lake, a parrot outside, and a monkey in a tree. I can't say that I saw these things myself...
- Playing Catch Phrase with Mumo, Papo, Mom, Dad, Judy, Nancy, Randy, Collin, Cody, Hayley, and Nick. There was definitely some hilariousness happening.

Can't wait for next year! We'll definitely be adding two babies and hopefully Daniel, Adrienne, and Brooklyn will join us as well!














Update with more pictures:

Cousin Brooklyn's Visit!!! (oh yeah, and Uncle Daniel and Aunt A...)

It was so nice to have Daniel and Adrienne come to town this past week and bring our sweet little Brooklyn to see us! After her health scare, we were all anxious to hug her and kiss her and give her tons of love and luckily that's pretty much all we did during the five days they were here! It was fun not having many plans but just hanging out at BB and Grandad's house swimming and letting the kids play. I don't know how we'll last another six months without seeing her so Jack is praying for Uncle Daniel to start a job search in OKC. :)

Independence Day

We had a wonderful fourth of July this year! It started off on Tuesday evening when we received the awesome news about our niece Brooklyn, that her EEG came back clear and she doesn't have IS, the neurological disease the doctor suspected she might have. I have never felt so thankful and relieved in my entire life. We had been very concerned and prayerful for several days while we waiting and it was such an answer to prayer to hear that she won't struggle with that debilitating condition. It also meant that she and my brother and sister in law would in fact be able to come visit us as planned and that was great news as well!

Tuesday evening, we met some friends for the Yukon fireworks show. It was such a great time! It was nice to be able to do that the night before the fourth so that the kids and Randy could sleep in on the holiday. Also, Yukon's display was wonderful and the crowd was just the right size- enough people to feel like a celebration but not enough to make the traffic horrible on the way out (like the Edmond fireworks last year, ugh!). Jack and Graham loved playing with Austin and Sophia while we waited for it to get dark. They ate snacks, ran up and down the big hill, and chased each other. When it got dark, we gave them some glow sticks and that was a big hit! The kids loved the fireworks show. I was concerned that Graham might be scared but he was giggling and squealing with joy the whole time. The big boys liked to shout out, "Greeeeeeeen!" every time they saw a green one, since that is their favorite color. Graham chimed in by yelling random colors which didn't correlate with the fireworks at all.

The next morning, the kids slept until 10:30am and we all got ready and headed to BB and Grandad's for a day of swimming and grilling out with family. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed spending time with everyone. Here are some pics, including my FIRST belly pic of the pregnancy, taken at 27 weeks and 1 day:

Lions and Zebras and Tigers, oh My!

The boys went to a sweet friend's circus themed birthday party the other day and they had some fun with their party favors once they got home! :)