Practically Next Door To The Vaughn 4

Back To Blogging!

2010-10-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah! The computer's back up and working, after having BOTH my work and our home PCs die in the same week some time ago. We got lucky and recovered all the information from the two, but I've officially learned my lesson and invested in an external hard drive. I'm happy to say that after a few months, things are starting to slow down, and I'm adjusting to a new schedule and a new routine. Time to get back into blogger-ville, so to start, here is an updated belly shot I took as I walked out the door this morning. I'm now at about 7 1/2 months, so the belly's growing every day!

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love this holiday? It makes me really miss growing up in Spokane and heading out to the lake for fireworks. Today we'll be road-trippin' it to my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Keven's before we continue on to Oregon to visit my parents for about a week. We should see tons of fireworks on the drive to Lancaster tonight.

Here's one of my favorite patriotic moments; I bet a lot of you remember this too. I just love how she makes us believe that she's singing full out, when really she is being so reserved in the beginning. Then "And the rocket's red glare" comes and she starts really belting it out, with a knowing smile after the line. Love it. Do you have a favorite patriotic moment, or a favorite song for the 4th of July? If so, what it is?

Camping Trip To Lake Arrowhead, Part Two

2010-07-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my love for cooking, we planned a great menu for our trip:

Light Arrival Dinner:

Cheesy Campfire Dip with Veggies and Grilled Garlic Baguette Slices (in the family cookbook)

Breakfast:

Aunt Cindy's Ziploc Omlettes (yes, it really works), Toast, French Pressed Coffee and OJ

Dinner:

Burgers with Crockpot Peach Cobbler for Dessert

The party planner in me is coming out, and I'm going to try to organize a first annual "Camping Cook-Off" competition-slash-fun getaway weekend with friends. Everyone would get assigned a different meal, and then we'd judge them on creativity, taste and presentation. The winner will get a goudy trophy and bragging rights for the next year, and all of us will get to enjoy a fun weekend with good friends and great food. Sounds like fun to me! It's just an idea right now, but I hope it works out for August!!

Camping Trip To Lake Arrowhead, Part One

2010-06-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the whole fam packed up the truck and headed to beautiful Lake Arrowhead for a couple days of camping. Dallas saw us packing up, and wanted to make certain that we didn't leave her behind:

Rolland was able to get three days off during the week to go. It worked out perfectly since by avoiding the weekend rush, the normally full-to-capacity campsite was relatively empty.

The next day we headed out to Lake Gregory for the day.

Bo especially enjoyed the lake:

We also made a GREAT camping menu... but that's another blog post I'll save for "Camping Trip To Lake Arrowhead, Part Two"!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is the special day in which the entire nations says to its fathers, "Thank you for all the important contributions you are making." Thanks to all the wonderful Dads in our lives! Check out some of our favorite posts from the Inspiration Page on some pretty remarkable fathers, you won't regret taking the time:

Dick & Rick Hoyt

Patrick Henry Hughes

Happy Birthday Peggy!

2010-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today is my lovely Mother-In-Law's birthday, and does she ever look great!

She said on Facebook that her co-worker's were helping her count down the days!

Wishing you all great things in this upcoming year, and hope this day will bring you an extra share of all that makes you happiest.

Updates From April: Stagecoach

2010-05-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Rolland and I LOVE when Stagecoach, a country music festival held just a couple blocks from our house at the Empire Polo Field, rolls into town. Stagecoach rolls through town right after Coachella Fest with a killer line-up of country super stars, and we always have a great time. This year we went on Sunday, thanks once again to the backstage passes we got from Chris and Janelle (thanks guys!).

We tailgated in the back of the Chevy during Heidi Newfield:

...then headed in for Jason Aldean. As we were walking in, he played one of our FAVORITE songs, Big Green Tracker.

I have been loving the song's lyrics because of late Rolland and I have been cutting out the fancy vacations and pricey dinners in an attempt to keep it simpler. I love the lyric, "as long as I'm with you, it really don't matter." (Love my husband if you can't tell.) I love She's Country too.

We spent some time backstage...

I was so excited about getting to see country icons Brooks & Dunn, who are retiring this year.

If you are a country fan, make sure to tune into CBS for their "Last Rodeo" tribute concert tonight. Towards the end of the night we made our way into the crowd to see from the front...

The night ended with Toby Keith. We love country and we LOVE STAGECOACH!!

Happy Birthday Jeanette!

2010-05-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday, so I asked Rolland to write a couple sentences for the blog on why she is so special. Here's what he wrote:

"She is ALWAYS there for me and loves me no matter what. She is

selfless. I mostly appreciate my mom's unwavering faith in me."

Happy Birthday from us, Jeanette!

We hope you have a GREAT day and an even better year.

My first Coachella Fest

2010-04-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Coachella Fest is a music festival held at the Empire Polo Club only a couple miles from our house with attendance of upwards of 75,000 a day.

I know when it's coming each year without looking at a calendar because our small town traffic instantly turns to a bothersome standstill and the person in front of you is driving a car with "COACHELLA OR BUST" written on the windows...

plus Jay-Z is making the windows of our house vibrate, which is keeping me up:

This is the one thing that I have never been able to get tickets for, as it's just too popular. Rolland has never wanted to go, saying it's just too "out there" for him. I don't know what he means???

So this year, thanks to Janelle (who is soley responsible for all the good tickets I've been getting of late), I finally got my chance!

Janelle had VIP backstage passes, and I have never seen so many celebrities in my life. It was very exciting. We saw around 15 in total, included Kate Hudson, Ann Hathaway, Abbie Cornish (the girl that plays Christie Roberts, the blonde American, in one of our favorite movies A Good Year), Kate Bosworth:

Plus the very cute Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalf:

We had a VERY fun time!

Congratulations to Monique!!

2010-04-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

Mo sent a text after saying, "Hard work does pay off..." Does it ever... what an accomplishment!

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Nike Women's Marathon: PART THREE

2010-04-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said for accomplishing a goal that really makes you stretch, reach past your limits and discover through some sweat and hard work what you're really made of. There aren't so many opportunities in life to really see what you have inside you when you dig deep. And I believe that for me, the times I have really grown the most is when I am, frankly, in over-my-head.

But I believe He's blessed us all with more strength than we can even know, and the only way to start to get in touch with that is to occasionally go past our self-imposed limits.

So my motivation for entering this lottery is that I want to see what I can do when I go past what is comfortable and to what is possible.

And yes, Mom and Grandma, I will buy a new pair of running shoes.

“Anything is possible if a person believes.”

- Mark 9:23 (NLT)

Nike Women's Marathon: PART TWO

2010-04-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Oh Mariah. You know me all too well. There we were, sitting at lunch a few weeks ago during my Arizona visit when it came up. A half marathon. See cough, cough, hold back sarcasm and nod in agreement from previous post. Mariah was instantly on to me. Having been my friend for many years, she instantly sensed my push back.

She though for a second, stewing, and then said something like, "You know we could try to do the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. But there's a lottery to get in, you know..."

She paused, and knew she had me. Then, the 10 little words that changed everything:

"...because they give you a Tiffany's necklace at the finish."

I smiled. Well played Mariah. Well played. "Actually..." I broke out laughing, "I'm pretty sure now that I think about it that I actually CAN do it after all!"

And that's how it started. We entered the lottery last Monday, and if we are lucky enough to be choosen in the random drawing, we will join 20,000 other ladies through Union Square to raise funds and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

There is a big expo around Union Square before, rumored to have massages and manicures abound. The race itself is said to be challenging but scenic, with lots of fun entertainment and encouragement, alongside women-centered stations such as "The Chocolate Mile" where you're given free chocolate from Godiva. Twist my arm. I can run up a hill for some chocolate.

The race is obviously targeted towards the ladies

but the guy's aren't left out. It's said to be about 80/20 women to men.

And if you make it through you get a custom-designed Tiffany's finisher necklace:

Tiffany's signature little blue boxes are stacked on silver platters and hunky Firefighters in tuxedos hand you your necklace upon crossing the finish line.

It will take awhile to see if we even get it, but for the first time, I am pretty darn excited about a very, very long run. And by excited I mean terrified, but in an excited way.

It also helps that it's for a good cause.

So in the end it's the blue box that got me to sign up, but it's not my only motivation. I'll talk about that in my next blog entry. Keep an eye out for my next post, Nike Women's Marathon: PART THREE. Until then, thanks for reading.

Nike Women's Marathon: PART ONE

2010-04-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a scary post. Never in a million years would I believe that I would so much as whisper the word M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N. OK, well it's a half marathon. But let's face it, half of 26 miles is still no simple task. That's right friends and families, Mariah has triumphed.

When she signed up for her first marathon in Carlsbad, she tried to hook me in to the torment that is distance running with her to no avail. Undeterred, she trained and finished HER first half marathon:

Now don't get me wrong, I like to run. In the same way I like broccoli. Not a yummy cheese and broccoli casserole or something exciting like that. I'm talking about when you steam broccoli, add no butter or salt and fill half your plate with the stuff because you know it's good for you. Similarly, I know running is good for me. I pretty much get my cardio out of the way like I choke down my broccoli: it's not really that bad and afterward I feel really great about myself.

The thing is, sports normally come pretty easy for me. Running has just never felt easy like the other sports, quite the opposite. I remember going out for every sport as a youngster - baseball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis and LOVING it. But I still remember the day in fourth grade my friends talked me in to trying out for the cross country team. I went the first day and about half way through I wanted to fall over and take a nap, told my friends they were out of their minds and vowed to never return again.

Now at 30, my total distain of running has subsided to a much more tolerable mild distain for running. I've also noticed that my positivity towards running seems to rise in exact proportion to the falling rate of my adult metabolism. Nothing gets you feeling healthier, faster than running if you do it safely. Every women I see who is in great shape inevitably spits out the same story: "I love to run! Ohhh, you have to start doing marathons. They're the BEST, you'll love them!!" Cough, cough, choke back sarcasm, smile and nod in agreement. Truth is, I want to be like these women. But it is major work for me. Mariah, never one to turn away from challenge, is always there to keep me motivated, as evidence by the contents of a package sent from her back in December:

I've tried to tell Mariah gently that the whole half-marathon thing is definitely a dream goal, but that I just can't imagine any thing, not a-n-y thing that could get me to shuffle 13.1 miles to a finish line.

I couldn't imagine any thing that could convince me to shuffle 13.1 miles to a finish line.

But Mariah could.

Stay tuned for the next post entitled Nike Women's Marathon: PART TWO.

And don't cheat by googling it!

Fashion Week and BNP Paribas Open

2010-04-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

March is the MOST beautiful month, and to top it off, there is tons to do this time of year in the desert. Being locals, we tend to get lots of complimentary tickets to events through work or friends, so attending some of the popular spring events is becoming a tradition.

March 18th we hit the BNP Paribas Open on Rolland's day off. It was a pretty warm day in the 80s, so we lathered on the sunscreen and soaked in some rays at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden . Having been to this event each year, you would think that I would have learned a thing or two about tennis, but you would be WRONG! This year, however, Rolland took some time to explain the rules to me so I was able to follow the quarterfinals between Ljubicic and Monaco. We had a great time hanging out!

Then on March 24th my friend Janelle had a couple tickets to El Paseo Fashion Week. We met up with her friends ahead of time at the cutest little patio restaurant inside La Quinta Resort called Twenty6. It was quaint and picturesque, a little hidden gem that not a lot of locals seem to know about. I've already taken Rolland there since and I can see it becoming one of our favorite hangouts for a quick bite. Next stop was to another place I'd never been, a little wine bar call Enoteca inside of Mama's Gina's. We split a beet salad which was great, and cheap! Our concierge at Marriott used to rave about the food at Mama Gina's, but I had always thought it was super pricey and only for the most special of occasions. I had no idea they had such great priced bar food during their ALL day happy hour seven days a week. Another great spot! After that, it was around the corner to the Fashion Week tent where we watched a few designer's present fashion from "around-the-world" (the theme of the evening). Fun night, a big thanks to Janelle!

Updates From March: Arizona

2010-04-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

March started with a trip to Arizona to be with Grandma during her recent surgery. Despite being there for something other than just fun, I still ended up having a great visit. On Monday, Grandma took me out to Mexican with some of my Grandpa Vehling's twin relatives, Bill and Bob Franklin, who I've never met. They were great fun and shared some amusing stories that left me smiling. Poor Grandma was under doctors orders to not eat a thing, so she had to watch while we all chowed down on chips and salsa and Margaritas. I let you in on a little secret though, she did sneak in one glass of wine, assuring us it was ok since she was allowed to have "clear liquids"!

As most of our family already knows, Grandma was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in the summer of 2008, a scary time for us all. One of the reliefs we had was her doctor, Dr. Roberts, who is simply stated one of God's finest. He spent so much time with her and with the family, explaining her next steps and taking time above and beyond the norm (especially now-a-days) to answer our questions. To make him even extra special in our eyes, my Grandma underwent kidney surgery to remove the tumor under Dr. Roberts' hand and is now completely cancer free. As we waited in Pre-Op for this surgery, we noticed Dr. Roberts (who was not involved in this situation) walk in to the waiting room and address his surgery-patient's family with the same care and personability he showed towards us. Amazingly, after he finished debriefing the family across the way, he walked over, sat next to Grandma and asked by name, "Now Pat, why are you here today? Everything ok?" I was FLOORED that this doctor remembered my Grandma by name. He even remembered me as her granddaughter and that I had worked in hospitality. Now if we could all do our jobs that well, and treat each other with such kindness, the world would be such a great place. In the meantime, I'll stand in awe of Dr. Roberts and try to learn from his example.

The doctors and nurses laughed as Grandma reminded them that she would also be needing a tummy tuck, with a wink. Anita also aiding in lightening the mood when she brought this book into the back room for group discussion:

The doctors did mention that Grandma's colon resection surgery would result in a loss of 10-15 pounds. There were no takers to switch places with her. The surgery was very successful, and in typical Grandma fashion, she is recovering well and already bored of being ordered to sit around and do nothing.

While out in Arizona I was also able to see former bridesmaid Mariah, who is going to be getting a special shout-out next week on the blog.

I also had a quick chance to stop by North Valley Gymnastics, where I got to see some old coaching friends and even bumped into some gymnasts I used to coach. Last stop for this trip was Oasis Gymnastics, where I was thrilled to see Janine Thompson, a role model of a coach and owner who taught me just about everything I know about gymnastics during my first year at Flames, and Bekah Gher, another favorite gymnast of the past who now trains with Janine and will be attending Boise State next year.

Bekah was our first kid to make a TOPs National Team, was a Region 1 team member at Level 9 Nationals and was in the first group we had that tested Elite, I believe all by about 13 years old:

Boise State is coached by Patty and Neil Resnick. I am so excited for Bekah to get to train under my gymnastics mentor and all-time favorite coach, Patty Resnick. She is simply the best. Congrats to Bekah, and to Oasis for getting her there!

Big Bear Ski Trip

2010-02-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Rolland and I were happy to be invited to Big Bear, about an hour and a half away, for our good friend Nick's big 3-0 ski trip and birthday weekend. There were three couples in total, and they found a cozy little cabin to stay at called Gypsies In The Palace:

The first day, all the beginner skiers (including Rolland) hit the slopes and did a great job staying mostly upright. I, however, took a couple nasty tumbles after I tried my hand at the beginner rail, similar to this one:

After I jumped sideways onto the rail, my feet swept out from under me and the side of my hamstring landed right on the metal edge. It hurt pretty bad, which I quickly contributed to wimpiness due in part to my recent 30th birthday. I told myself that I am not that old, and should be able to handle a little fall. So I did it again. Same result, but with a pretty good reaction from the nearby chair lift riders. Think the reaction made after a bad fall while watching America's Funniest Home Videos. Third time was a charm, but the first two falls were enough to leave an 5" in diameter black-and-blue reminder that I'm not as young as I used to be. Ouch!

Day two, Rolland and I went up with Nick and Brett. Rolland skied a half day, did great and then promptly hit the lodge to hang out while we finished out the day. Day three was just the die-hards - Me, Brett and Nick.

We skied a powder-filled half day, ending with a really fun unmarked run down the mountain through the trees. The whole group finished out the trip at a downtown Big Bear Mexican restaurant and talked about how it was such a GREAT weekend before heading back from the snow to our 70 degree weather and palm trees. What an enjoyable time! Be sure to check out all the pictures from the trip. Thank you Nick and Jessica!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Rolland and I had a wonderful and relaxing Valentine's Day. Despite deciding gifts were unnecessary this year, Rolland surprised me when he came home from work with flowers, chocolates and a very nice card. He's a keeper, but I guess we all already knew that.

Rolland requested his mom's taco soup for dinner, and we watched The Hangover (potentially apres peau post-Dehner/Hoyer wedding, see details in the next post). Overall, it was a nice and laid-back Sunday.

Hope everybody had just as sweet of a day!

Dehner/Hoyer Wedding

2010-02-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at Chris and Tera's beautiful wedding at the Hyatt next to the Golf Resort. Tera has a great eye - everything was tasteful and very stylish. She made a gorgeous bride.

They did a great job planning it and fun was had by all! My favorite part was the introduction of the bride and groom into the reception. Check it out!

Seeing Mo at UCLA

2010-02-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

From time to time at Rolland's course, golf clubs will get mixed up. When they do, Rolland will deliver the clubs back to their rightful owner, and I get a little road trip out of it. This time we were headed into LA for this very reason. When we checked a map, our destination was only a few miles away from UCLA. We gave Mo a quick call and got to take her and her very nice UCLA soccer-playing boyfriend Eder out to dinner in Hollywood. It was a lot of fun to see her, having not for quite a while.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back out to LA sometime this year to catch a meet. Here is a clip of her doing her thing at UCLA. It makes me happy to see, as she wanted to go there as long as I can remember. Being a pretty neat kid and my first Elite gymnast (in and of itself a huge learning experience) she'll always be special to me.

Chuck and Jeanette's Visit

2010-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

We were so happy to have had Jeanette and Chuck (Rolland's Mom and Stepdad) out for the month of January. Being so far away, it is great to have an extended stay to get to know my in-laws better. Jeanette and I spent most of the days cooking up a storm, and now are both on diets from our over-indulgences. If you haven't tried her Oreo Cookie dessert from the cookbook, it is a must try. We ate not one, but TWO pans of it!
The picture below is from our day trip to Rancho Cucamonga to Rolland's favorite place, Bass Pro Shop, to use some gift cards he received for his birthday (thanks Susan/Randy and Boosty!).

I think they had a great time out in the sunshine of Southern California, a welcome break from the snow of Michigan. Go figure though, we had record rain during their stay (four days straight, very unusual for out here). On a positive note, the mountains surrounding our area looked amazing packed with snow against the palm trees and flowers.

Bo also became extremely attached to "PaPa" Chuck during their stay, as he spoiled him with 2-3 forty-five minute runs through the open desert near our house every day, the first one around 6 in the morning! Bo became so smitten with Chuck, he would literally follow him around like a shadow where ever he would go. And if the door was closed, Bo would wait outside with his nose under the crack of the door until Chuck would reappear.

He acted very sad when they left. In fact, the first night after they got on the road, I went to get Bo to bring him to his bed and couldn't find him anywhere. I looked in the living room, our room, in the office, outside... he was nowhere to be found. Finally, I went past the guest room where Chuck and Jeanette slept during their stay, and this is what I saw:

Bo, Dallas, Rolland and I will be excited to have them back next year.

Rolland's 30th Birthday Surprise Party

2010-01-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, after a lot of planning and sneaking around, we pulled it off! It started pre-Christmas with the ordering of the invitations. The day they needed to go out, I had the addressed envelopes still wet with ink, the hot glue gun sitting on the kitchen counter from gluing corks, the invites stacked and cut up pieces of ribbon all over the office when Rolland caught me off-guard by coming home from work about three hours early. In a panic, I signaled to Jeanette (his visiting mom) by crossing my eyes and mouthing "help" while simultaneously saying cheerfully, "Rolland's home early! What a nice surprise!" Jeanette keep him occupied with chit-chat while I piled everything into a small box and walk/ran it into the guest room. When he asked me what in the world I was doing with a hot-glue gun, I quickly picked up a broken magnet from the drawer and with a smile said, "Just putting this back together dear." Now for those of you who know me well, telling even the smallest of white lies is not my forte. Rolland later said he thinks after this I'm a better liar than we previously knew. Ha! Here are the invites to the party, info was attached to the back with the ribbon:

The day of his big 3-0, the birthday boy, Chuck, Jeanette and I headed down to El Paseo. His mom had helped lure him there several days earlier by telling him she'd like to go back to "that little place" where we had taken them a couple years back (The Daily Grill, since out-of-business). In truth, we wanted to get him to beautiful little Cafe Des Beaux-Arts on El Paseo which has a great patio perfect for surprising him. So I waited until we were at the point of no return, then got on the iphone and made the phony call to the non-existant Daily Grill. I broke the news that we'd have to go somewhere else to a now irritated Rolland, who answered under his breath, "Why did this not get planned better before we walked out the door?" I laughed inside... if only he knew! We enjoyed a lovely breakfast out on the patio at Cafe Des Beaux-Arts, which Rolland picked after we "happened upon it":

Since the staff was in on the surprise, they did a great job of turning their usual impeccably quick service into a looooong leisurely meal. As we were waiting on the check, the Grapeline shuttle bus (see picture below)

pulled up next to the patio on El Paseo, horns-a-blaring, and out ran 10 of our closest friends, hooting and hollering, "Surprise!" and clapping away. The whole restaurant stopped and joined in on a round of "Happy Birthday" to an absolutely stunned Rolland. Mission accomplished!

Off we went on the bus to the Temecula wine country. We started at Weins, followed by a nice private lunch at Wilson Creek where they even brought out a little birthday cake. We ended the day at picturesque Falkner Winery followed by our last stop at laid-back Longshadow Ranch, known for their cool chocolate cowboy boots filled with port.

I'm so grateful to Davis and Becca from Brightwood Photography for spending all day with our rollicking crowd of aficionados (slash winos). They did a great job of capturing the day. You can check out all the images under our pictures, but here are some of our favorites from the day:

The Holiday Season

2010-01-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

The Holidays are a busy time for us Vaughns. My birthday is in mid-December, followed by Christmas, New Years, our anniversary and ends with Rolland's birthday on the 16th of January. With all those exciting events going on, I just didn't have any time to blog! So here it is... all of it...

OUR CHRISTMAS CARDS

I made these cute cards to match our blog with the help of Molly from
ViviDot, who inspired me with the adorable save-the-date magnets she had made for her sister a few years back. I love how they turned out, and they were a big hit!

FAMILY COOKBOOK

And as if the Christmas card project wasn't enough, I decided to put together a family cookbook for Christmas presents this year. It was a ton of work, but I was extremely happy with the result and hope that everyone enjoys them for years to come.

CHRISTMAS

This year my Aunt Cindy hosted Christmas at her and husband Keven's home in Lancaster. On the way out, Grandma hit a muffler on the freeway about 10 miles before getting to our house, subsequently blowing two tires. She was able to get the car in the shop before we packed up the truck for Cindy's (but still had to stay with us about a week on the other side of Christmas waiting for her little Buick to be back up to par).

Comically, I brought out Bo and Dallas, Cindy & Keven have a pup, Sheila and my parents brought their new puppy, Zack. I think the dogs may have had more fun than the humans. Dad made certain they got their dog park trip every day:

Rolland, having to work on Christmas day, drove out as soon as he got off and we opened presents in the evening. Everyone loved Rolland's new smoker when we used it to make some KILLER pulled-pork sandwiches, topped with homemade chipotle BBQ sauce & blue-cheese coleslaw. Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas with family, and Cindy and Keven did a GREAT job of hosting our rowdy crowd.

NEW YEARS EVE - HAPPY 2010!
Grandma was stranded at our house waiting for her car to be fixed, and Jeanette and Chuck (Rolland's mom & stepdad) flew in to town New Year's Eve. We made a great New Year's Eve meal of Teriyaki Steak, green bean casserole,Waldorf salad with cranberries and some leftover Ruth's Chris sweet potato casserole (see #4 on our favorite things).

OUR FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
I can't believe it's been a year already! Boy does time fly.

In lieu of freezing a piece of our wedding cake, we instead went back to my now favorite bakery, Exquisite Desserts, who did our wedding cake. They made us some cupcakes to share with our visiting family out of the same flavor as our wedding cake (pound cake with pistachio filling and fresh raspberries):

We celebrated by watching the Cowboys victory over the Eagles, followed by an overnighter to the Miramonte where we were married. Here's the beautiful view from our room, including the picturesque patio where we had gotten married a year earlier on the right:

We also went to a romantic dinner at Sirocco's Italian restaurant inside of the Renaissance Esmeralda, reknowned for their after-dinner coffee service, which lived up to expectations. They had extra attentive service and amazing food... we'll definitely be back. We were a little full, however, from the thoughtful fruit and cheese platter and bottle of wine which had been sent to our suite from The Miramonte:

The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the resort, a great start to our second year of marriage:

Last we headed up to the patio where we had gotten married before checking out. 2010:

A year ago in 2009:

COWBOYS IN THE PLAYOFFS

With all the hype after taking down the previously undefeated Saints, followed by two back-to-back shut-outs and a commanding first post-season victory in over a decade, I was certain it was our season. If we have to get beaten, I'm glad it was to Favre. He's a class act, and I'll be rooting for him to take the Vikings all the way. Then hopefully he'll retire and get out of my Cowboys' way!! :-D

Alison's big 3-0!

2009-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

Rolland took me to Sullivan's for a great birthday dinner!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

2009-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last week Rolland and I went to our first party this Christmas season... an ugly Christmas sweater themed one! It was a hoot, there were some hysterical outfits.

Thanksgiving Day Preparations

2009-11-25T14:33:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again, and I've put the pressure on myself to do my wifely duties and prepare a decent Thanksgiving Day meal. One fun tradition we will begin this year is our memory runner. I purchased a silver fabric pen, so at the end of the meal this year, Rolland and I will write down what we're thankful for on our gold colored table runner. Each year we will do the same, and we'll ask that our guests join in as well. We are looking forward to starting a sentimental tradition that will really mean something 10 years from now. In the meantime, check out our wedding china all set up and ready to go for it's first big debut. I've also added our turkey day menu so everyone can say a little prayer that I make it through all this. I'm doing most all from scratch. Mom has been answering her cell phone with "Thanksgiving Help Line!" all day! Ha!

The Vaughn Family
Thanksgiving Menu

APPETIZER
Cranberry and Peach Baked Brie

ENTREE
Greenberg's Famous Smoked Turkey
Three Potato Mash with Bourbon Gravy
New Orleans Sweet Potato Casserole
Home-style Green Bean Casserole
Pumpkin-Spice Bread
Mixed-Vegetable Stuffing
Waldorf Salad with Cranberries

DESSERT
Apple Crumble Cobbler
Homemade Cinnamon Ice-Cream

Weekend in Vegas

2009-10-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Rolland and I spent this last weekend in Vegas, and it was our first trip there together. We stayed a little off the beaten path at the Silverton, which is attached to Rolland's favorite place, Bass Pro Shop. I don't think Rolland was too thrilled when our first stop was shopping for me, but soon enough we were out having fun. It was a nice change of pace to get dressed up and go to Tryst at the Wynn on Friday night. I definitely can't remember the last time we've even been out past midnight, so it was nice to get to spend some time together, boggie down on the dance floor and get to experience the excitement of the strip at night. To sit down, you had to buy a bottle at a minimum price tag of $495, and my feet were killing me in my 5" heels. At one point, I disappeared to the bathroom were I sat down for at least 5 minutes. I was up early the next day for a great Region 1 gymnastics clinic that lasted most of the day. We spent the next night in the room with room service and the Michigan game (which they lost in OT). The next day was more clinic, and then we stopped at the seafood buffet at the Rio before making the 4 hour treck home.

Michigan Football Season Opener

2009-09-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

I just heard a quote, "There's only two times of the year. Football season, and waiting for football season." Well, break out the Michigan gear and get ready football fans, the season is upon us. This Saturday is kick-off versus Western Michigan.

I'm sure everyone has heard about the controversy surrounding the amount of practice time the players are getting, and if it violiates the 20 hour a week restrictions imposed by the NCAA on college athletes. Here's a quote from Jay Walker on ESPNU that pretty much sums up how I feel about it:

Why Practically Next Door

2009-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Rolland and I have family and friends scattered all across the country. Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Arizona, you name it. We both miss having family close by... being able to go to breakfast after church on Sunday or just hanging out and watching the game together on the tube.

It can seem tough to stay connected in the same way when you're hundreds of miles away and not just down the street. We hope this will be a way for our friends and family to be the next best thing... practically, virtually, next door. Close enough to know what we're up to, what's weighing on our minds, what's uplifting us, what we're in to and even have a little laugh together. We hope you all enjoy the new website! Stay awhile and have a look around...

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