Rob and Donetta

Donnie and Marie

2012-02-07T11:22:00.001-08:00

I finally got to go see Donnie and Marie . My sweet husband drove us and our dear friends the Marlers to Las Vegas. We had tried twice to go. The last time the show cancelled the night before my flight to Vegas--with Rob already there on business.
Anyway, the show was great. We had good seats, but the show room was not huge.
Marie really has a wonderful, mature voice that is amazing. They put on a great show.
I now know more trivia than I need to know about Donnie and Marie, but it was really fun and well worth the trip.

Belgium

2011-11-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

We just had a great trip to Brussels to visit Jacque. I won't bore you with all the trip details, but I had to post one picture. Jacque gave us the tour of Brussels which included a very nice park. Yesterday when I watched the amazing race, I was surprised to see that this very park in Brussels was the pit stop for the race.
Yes, I am obsessed with the show, but I thought it was kinda cool that we had just been there.

IF YOU BUY IT THEY WILL COME

2011-06-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

This is our new motto.

So in keeping with our motto, we purchased a fun new Ranger. Unfortunately, with the cold and snow of Idaho, we have only taken one ride so far. But we hope it's great fun.
(We heard that there are missions where the couples get to ride around in their Rangers. I think we may put- Have Ranger- on our mission papers)

Screeching Eels

2011-02-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

We just returned from a trip to Hawaii. We stayed in a wonderful place where we had our own lagoon with volcanically warmed water. There were lots of fish in the lagoon, including several very large Coi that we fed everyday.

After several leisurely swims in the lagoon, my friend Kathy decided to snorkel. She was on the far side of the lagoon looking at the rock wall formations when a very scary eel poked it's head out of a hole in the rock, mouth open and teeth glaring. After discovering the "screeching eel", dips in the lagoon were less frequent and limited to the other end. Do you think the eel left his rock cave? I don't even want to know.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt

2011-01-29T11:51:00.001-08:00

I was with friends one week-end and saw this skirt in a second hand store. I am always looking for white temple clothing so it caught my eye. It had a stain, but I decided to take a chance and buy it, at an even more reduced rate. My friends were envious, but I thought--it's just a white skirt.

The stain washed out, so I wore it to the temple with just a plain white (but nice) T-shirt. I work at the temple on Thursday mornings when it is not very busy and there are not many people around. But that first time I wore it I got 6 compliments (raves) over my skirt. I was a little surprised. Then the second time, I got 5 compliments. Strangers were going out of their way to tell me what a darling skirt I had. I have worn it now 4 or 5 times and every time I wear it I get compliments on my skirt.

Then one of my friends had a daughter who was getting married. She wanted to wear the skirt. So I mailed it to her to wear on the special occasion, and she mailed it back. So it is officially a traveling skirt. I just want to laugh every time someone raves about the skirt, and if they ask where I got it --I love to tell them about my about my second hand, stained skirt that everyone loves.

Bubonic Plague

2010-10-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

This post if only for those who can stand to hear something really awful and disgusting. Here goes.
We have macadamia nut trees. So we have rats. And the rats decided to build nests in the macadamia nut trees. I felt it was my duty to get rid of the nests. So I took the saw, clippers, ladder, etc out to the grove and started cutting back the branches. At first it wasn't too bad, but when I got to the high branches, I had to stand underneath them and saw away, while all the dirt, decaying nuts, and bubonic-plague-infested rat poop fell on my head. It was so disgusting.
So, if I die suddenly, it will be because of the plague I contracted while dealing with rats nests. I will try not to infect others.
PS. Did I mention the horrible smell?

The Amazing Race

2010-10-06T18:02:00.001-07:00

I love the amazing race. It is a great show that is fun, original and just plain amazing. I have always wanted to be on the race-it would be so amazing (there's that word again). However, there are a few things you must be able to do before going on the race:
1. Drive a stick shift car
2. Read (you have to read the clue)
3. Be willing to eat or drink something weird
4. Be comfortable in water
5. Be willing to go somewhere high
6. Be physically fit- in other wards- its a race you have to be able to run.

This isn't a very long list, but you would be surprised at how many people are lacking in several of these areas. Unfortunately, that probably includes me. Heights are a problem. We just drove up to Sawtelle Peak in Idaho, and I was freaked out that we would go over the edge of the winding, narrow road. But the view along with the race, is worth it.

Saved by the Wall

2010-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

My husband likes to do woodworking. He was sawing a round board when it went whizzing (is that a word?) off of the saw, through his shop, through the shop wall, through a crawl space, and through the bathroom wall on the other side. Can you image the force of that wood if it would have hit a body---like my body or any other unsuspecting body that might be helping with a project in the shop? I don't even want to imagine it. My poor bathroom wall. I may never fix it-- as a reminder of how careful you need to be with tools.

Cupcake Craze

2010-07-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

California is finally joining the cupcake craze. I have always hated cupcakes, but thought I should give the new ones a try. I looked for a cupcake place near me and couldn't find one. Downtown San Diego is too far to go even for a cupcake. So today I found a coupon for cupcakes only a few miles down the road.
Let me recommend, the German chocolate, lemon with raspberry filling and chocolate cake pops. Now, I did have several, but they were mini-cupcakes. I'm sure that I will find reasons to go back (visiting teaching gifts, etc). It's a fun craze while it lasts.

Support BYU

2010-07-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

We are BYU fans. Everyone is our family graduated from BYU. We all have great memories. So to support BYU, we like to shop at the bookstore whenever we are in Provo. We were too poor to buy anything when we were students. We were lucky if we had money to share an ice cream cone at the cougar eat (which basically is no longer, but that's another story).
My latest purchase (after my cute trailer hitch cover and license plate holder) is a BYU drinking cup. It was time to give up the water bottles, help save the environment, and purchase one more item at the bookstore.

My Ultimate Quilt

2010-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

I like to watch a cooking show called America's test kitchen. My daughter-in-law Lisa told me about it. They test everything and come up with the ultimate recipes. Now everytime I try a new recipe, I tell my husband that it's the ultimate. So, I am now into making the ultimate of whatever I do.
So here is my ultimate quilt. The ultimate because of all the hand work. I probably won't do that much embroidery ever again.

Retirement Job in DC

2010-01-07T20:07:00.001-08:00

I found the perfect retirement job for my husband in DC. There is a beautiful piano in the lobby of the White House. Someone was playing it on my visit there. My husband could do that. He just needs to brush up on a few show tunes, and we are in at the White House.

White and White House

2010-01-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

I got to go to the White House for the Christmas tour. It was fabulous, but cold. Here are pictures of us going in and coming out.

The decorations were fabulous. I kept asking "Why doesn't my house look like this?" Oh, yeah, I'm not a professional decorator. Any way, I especially loved the white chocolate white house. The main Christmas tree, along with all the others, was gorgeous(as long as you didn't look too close at what was displayed on some of the ornaments- Does Brittney Spears represent California?)
Then the white (snow) started, my flight home got canceled, my re-booked flight home three days later got canceled, and finally my re-re-booked flight got me home two days before Christmas. DC really shuts down when it snows. This is the view from Jacque's balcony.

So my quick jet-setting trip to DC turned into a White House delight and white-out delay.

Blue Ridge Mountains

2009-10-23T19:58:00.001-07:00

I recently took a family history trip through the State of Virginia. It is beautiful in the fall. I loved the Blue Ridge mountains. The picture is overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. So gorgeous.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

2009-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

For the past 20 years, we have enjoyed great trips to Lake Powell. It is a magical place. It is gorgeous, and we have many wonderful family memories. And now after 20 years I have learned something new. I can wake board. Yes, at my advanced age I did it and enjoyed it. The picture (proof) of me wake boarding was disappointing at first because you can barely see me. But now I realize that it is the perfect picture. I look great (small) and I have majestic scenery behind me. It doesn't get any better than this.

Copy Cat

2009-08-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a copy cat. Adriann bought a darling black seatbelt purse several years ago. I have always thought it was great. So recently, I researched the bags and found a Harvey's store in Orange County. I bought a red one, and my friend Irene bought a yellow one. I love it.

So then, I go to Utah and Adriann is making darling accessory flowers for your hair, purse, belt, etc. So she made me a gorgeous flower for my purse and many for my hair. Yes, again I copied her. What a great daughter. When I was young, I hated it when my sisters would copy me. Just ask them (not some of my better days). So thank you Adriann. Isn't my purse darling?-- and yes that is a very cute flower in my hair--not something growing out of my head like my husband suggested.

Man with Black

2009-07-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

As the previous post states, my husband has just purchased a new car (performance vehicle). Since he seems to have a thing with black, he wanted a picture with all his black toys. So here we have it--except for the boat that is only partially black so I decided that it didn't count.

PERFORMANCE

2009-06-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have been discussing the possibility of his getting a new car. He has had his Mercedes SUV for almost eight years (a record for him). We decided that since his equipment will now fit in a trunk, we could get a nice sedan instead of another gas hogging SUV, for his work and to travel in. I thought it sounded very logical, sensible, and cost efficient. I forgot about one little thing--PERFORMANCE. Performance is the priority for any "man" car. And guess what?? Performance and saving money don't EVER go together. What was I thinking? Needless to say, we bought "PERFORMANCE"--so now we have a new sedan but that doesn't get great gas mileage but can go from zero to who knows what in a very few seconds. So-- we won't be saving any money--but he will be enjoying the ride.

Moose obsession continues

2009-06-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, my obsession is continuing. After a trip to the cabin--where I purchased Moose pj's, a moose tapestry wall hanging, and found moose tracks right outside our door. I also hung a moose shower curtain, a moose picture from the internet, and moose name plaques for Natasha and Rocky. I saw a lot more moose items in the stores in West Yellowstone than I have seen in past years. I think everyone is following my Moose trend.
The picture is the moose track we saw outside the cabin. It can be verified as real by the moose books I bought showing what a typical moose print looks like. OK- I am obsessed.

Lost in Hawaii

2009-04-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hawaii is a small island. You can't really get lost--because if you just keep going you will circle around and end up where you want to be- in theory. So technically we had no lost travelers-just long circlers. What an adventure.

Aloha

2009-03-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Despite earthquakes, tsunami warnings, jelly fish invasions, and lost travelers--we had a great time in Hawaii. It was probably too much about the eating- maccadamia nut pancakes, coconut shrimp, macadamia nut chocolate pie, and wonderful Hawaiian burgers. But the sisters did all snorkle- a first for Dixie, La Rae and Sandra. What a great vacation.

Fooled by the Sun

2009-02-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

I recently returned from a great trip to upstate New York to visit my grandchildren. I enjoy getting outside during the day, but it is very cold there. I would see the sun come out, get excited, bundle up, and head outside--only to be hit with the bitter-cold air. Why does the sun fool me like that? You would think that I would learn that bright does not mean warm. That sun is pretty tricky if you ask me.

Peaceful Setting

2009-02-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

You know how life gets crazy sometimes? We get caught up in all sorts of activities- good and not so good- and life moves quickly by. So I have been thinking about peaceful places where I can relax and renew my spirit. One of those places is our cabin. Sitting outside, listening to the wind blowing through the aspen trees, putting my feet up, enjoying the sun on my face. Ahhh.....
I think we all need more of those places and moments.

Merry Christmas To All

2008-12-23T00:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

We have been keeping in touch with people this year through our blog. Adriann came to visit and helped me set it up. Yes, mine is boring because not much happens around here—but I love to read my children’s blogs. And it is fun to go to the links for other family members and friends. Our blog site is rdvaughan.blogspot.com.

We have had a good year. We made several trips to visit children (always fun to be grandma and grandpa), helped Adriann and Shane move to Louisiana (muggy and buggy), had Grace and the kids for the summer (finally I had kids to swim with everyday), and had the missionaries move into our downstairs (just temporary).

I have been doing a lot of quilting. I love my quilting machine. I went to a beach house in Cayugas this summer with my friend Irene, and we stopped at quilt shops all along the way. I have always loved sewing- I have to get my fix in almost every day. I also got a huge change in my church calling this year. Nursery. Can you believe that I have been serving in the church all these years and have never worked in the nursery before? I have 12 darling kids so I am learning fast, working hard, and having fun.

Rob is still making cradles. He is finishing one for Macc and Lisa. He always enjoys trying something different, and I get frustrated that he just doesn’t stick to a pattern—so I am not a very good helper. Rob is always very busy with our business. He also wrote a handbook for monitoring and still teaches classes several times a year. He also got a new church calling. After being in the stake for about 15 years, he is now Young Men’s President. He loves working with the boys again.

Our children are doing great. We all descended on Macc and Lisa’s home in Ohio for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to have all 20 of us there together (thus the family picture). Macc and Lisa were wonderful and had everything (sleeping, eating and playing) really well organized. We have been so blessed with wonderful children, spouses, and grandchildren.
Macc and Lisa are expecting the arrival of a baby girl in January. Lisa is looking radiant. Macc just got a big promotion at work and was able to come to San Diego in May to take Rob to the US Open in Torrey Pines. Andy and Jenna accepted a job with an ENT group in St George starting in July. They have been in Virginia for 9 years, so this will be a big change. Finally, we will have children living in the West.

Grace and Ron are still in upstate New York. Ron got home from Iraq in October, and was immediately put in the Bishopric. They are enjoying being a family again but Grace is still on her own during sacrament meeting. Jacque got to travel for the President to Thailand and New York City this year. She also went to a conference in Paris—so Grace and I tagged along. France was wonderful and my daughters were very fun. Adriann and Shane (and little Ivy Lou) moved to Louisiana in May. Shane graduated with his Doctor of Audiology and got a job there with the VA. They have a cute home and are getting used to gumbo and crawfish.

We took some fun family trips this summer to Lake Powell and our Two Moose Caboose (cabin). We are so blessed to be able to travel and enjoy family and friends. We recognize the Lord’s hand in so many areas of our lives each day. We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and great, happy New Year.

Love to all, The Vaughans

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today, December 11, is Donetta's birthday! This is Adriann posting, by the way. I helped Mom set this blog up and therefore remember remember her password! Perhaps she'll change it after reading this post. But I knew she wouldn't do anything for her birthday, so here I am announcing it to the world. Please leave a comment and wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday! Love you mom!

A job well done

2008-11-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a project for about 6 months. I wanted to get rid of the old florescent lights in my kitchen ceiling. First the lights came down, that was easy. They the electrician came and put in new lights (9). They the electrician had to come back and put in 3 more lights over the stove area, and of course make more holes. Then the drywall guy had to come and patch the holes. In the mean time, I had changed my mind about what I wanted. I decided to do moulding. So the drywall guy finally came, I painted the ceiling and the moulding, and then we tried to figure out how to put up crown moulding on an angle. Too complicated for my brain, but we did it. I am finally happy. But what alot of work for a ceiling.
So if you come to my house, please look up.

Two Moose Caboose

2008-09-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Now before you think that I am obsessed with Moose--wait I am obsessed-- I have a moose sticker on my car and now two moose (Rocky and Natasha)(yes, I know the moose in the cartoon was bullwinkle) in our cabin. This summer we also saw the local Moose that hangs around our cabin. Grace got a pretty good picture of him. What a fun Moose summer.

Bonjour to everyone

2008-09-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I went to France this summer. Jacque called me two weeks before a conference she had to go to in Paris and invited me to go. Of course I said no. You can't go to Paris at the last minute in July. It would be very expensive and I am really frugal. However, since my husband refuses to ever go to France, and he offered to give me some of his fun money to go --I did it. I can't believe it. I went -- I had a great time. Grace went too. Besides being robbed - do I look like a target?-- it was really wonderful. France is beautiful, Paris is exciting, and my daughters were fun. So been there, bought the T-shirt.

Nuts anyone?

2008-06-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

We have 5 macadamia nut trees. I have ignored them for 8 years and just let them fall to the ground and have the gardener rake them up. This year we had a great crop of nuts, so I decided that I would harvest some nuts, dry them for a few weeks, and have great nuts for cookies and things. So I started collecting a few each week, then a big container full each week, and finally I became obsessed and was collecting them practically every time I saw one fall (you have to let them fall to the ground). Fortunately, I have a downstairs kitchen where I can store them. Next I have to buy a special nut cracker so I don't have to sit on the cement floor with a hammer to crack them (the shells are really hard). And finally, what can I do with hundreds of macadamia nuts. They are great in cookies, I know, but there has to be something else I can do with my nuts. Anybody got any good recipes?

My Newest Challenge

2008-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, I got this great new car at Christmas. Unfortunately, it is smarter than I am. I can't seem to find and keep a radio station, the windshield wipers keep going on randomly, I couldn't understand why my mirrors kept moving until I realized that they were back-up mirrors, and when my phone rings the car answers it (which is cool) but I can't figure out where I'm supposed to talk into. We will be taking a couple of long trips this summer. Maybe then, I can sit with the book and become smarter than my car.

Remembering our Triplets

2008-04-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

We were blessed with three beautiful triplets in June of 2006. Unfortunately, we only had them for a few hours. We are looking forward to the wonderful day when we can get to know them and be with them. Recently, I finished another wall frame with pictures of the grandchildren. Rob commented that we needed something for the triplets--so for Rob's birthday, his Mom had this beautiful wall hanging done (thanks to our nephew's wife Dawn) as a reminder of our beautiful grandchildren. We love it. She did a great job, and we are really grateful. It completes our grandchildren wall.

Sisters

2008-04-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have 4 sisters. When we get together it is fun even though we are a very conservative group. We were together this last week-end for a nephews wedding. Between the luncheon and the reception we had some time on our hands, so we went to the mall. After wandering around, Dixie saw a nail salon with spa pedicures for $15. That seemed like a deal, so we went for it. La Rae had never had one and has very sensitive feet, but we dragged her into it. (Sisters are good at pier pressure) I thought it was great but we weren't prepared--we all had closed toed shoes. After paying for a pedicure we didn't want to ruin our nails by putting our shoes back on, so we walked through the mall wearing the neon throw away sandals that they give you. When we got to Pennys we picked out sandals (all matching--one get one free sale--another deal) and left the mall with gorgeous toes and new sandals. We documented the adventure (yes, that is about as adventurous as we get) with a photo. Aren't sisters fun.

The Group

2008-03-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

I guess you could call 5 children a group, possibly a plethera. Anyway, we recently had all the children home for the week-end of February 8th for a temple sealing. We shopped, ate at In-n-Out, and rented a big van to drive to the LA temple together so we could spend as much time together as possible. What a great week-end, although short. We didn't even mind 7 trips to the airport just getting everyone here and back home again. What a handsome group.

Decisions, Decisions

2008-03-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

I bought my husband a moose head for Christmas. Yes, a moosehead. My brother shot it and a friend is mounting it. I thought the gift was going to be different and easy (just write the check). However, there are moose decisions to be made. Which way should it face? What about the ears? So, I am enclosing a picture if anyone would like to give a moose opinion.

Blogging?

2008-02-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

I want to do this, and I want it to be wonderful but ... I don't want to be very creative. So, we'll see what I end up with!