My family has been very close and although I love all my aunts and uncles I think I am closer to those on my dad’s side. Throughout my childhood they were geographically closer (sometimes even in the same neighborhood) and they were the ones I would visit more often. However I have memories and am fond of all of them.
Uncle Nels and Aunt Colleen
They have always been so welcoming to us when bringing us into their home. They have a beautiful house, but money is never thrown in your face and I love that. I love to hear them teasing eachother and Nels does this thing where he makes this cute face and laughs. It is funny. We go and spend Thanksgiving with them each year and it is always fun to visit them. Colleen has been a fun addition to the family. She is boisterous and loud and there is nobody like Colleen. I love being greeted with a hug from her and how she is always trying to make sure we are going to drive home safe. She is wonderful. Nels is a joy to be around. He is funny and he is also a caring person, always willing to help. I love to hear about his protection of my mom as she was growing up or to hear her stories of her and Nels. I know he took care of my Mom and that means a lot. I always loved camping trips with their family and going shopping with Colleen and Mom. They are both very down to earth and great people.
Uncle Charles and Aunt Suzanne
For a little bit growing up I thought that Charles was this mean uncle who didn’t say much. Little did I know haha. He is so funny. I love to hear him and Nels get together and hear the two of them just feed off of eachother. They are very funny. They are also funny when they pick on Colleen. Suzanne is a sweetheart and she always seems to say nothing but kind things to those around her. She is always giving compliments and finding something nice to say to you. One of my favorite memories with Suzanne was when I was quite a bit younger and my cousin Emmi and I went to help Suzanne work at an auction. Suzanne let us tally up everybody’s votes and take their totals of what they owed. It was a fun experience!
Uncle Jim and Aunt Kristina
I feel bad because I don’t know them as much as I would like. I always remember Uncle Jim for his laugh. He always has fun and adventurous stories to share. It was a pleasant surprise to run into him at the hospital as he was one of the guards watching over our patient. I remember growing up thinking Kristina was so beautiful. She always had the darkest hair and had her makeup just so. To me she was very glamorous. She now owns a shop in the mall where she sales a lot of her stuff, I have swung past a couple of times, but haven’t ever run into her unfortunately.
Aunt Tina
One of my memories with Tina would have to be when she taught Emmi and Me a dance to go with Christina Aguilera’s genie in a bottle song. We made her do that dance with us for everybody. She would do it too. She never told us that she was too busy or anything. She and my mom were pretty close growing up and I enjoy hearing their stories as well.
Aunt Ida
Ida and I had some fun times for sure. Ida taught me when I was pretty young the hand game of Say Say Oh Playmate. She was always teaching me things like that. I remember when I had first gotten my driver’s license and she let me drive her car to Billings. Haha I made her pretty nervous. She was always willing to let me borrow her car. She was also my size for a little while and so I got to borrow her clothes a lot of times as well. I had fun memories with Ida. She was my crazy aunt. Haha.
Uncle Mike and Aunt Geri
I love looking back as I was growing up and remembering what the Vaughan uncles would include us in. Uncle Mike and Aunt Geri let Barrett and I be part of their dates. I remember Mike taking us and walking us to the apartment Geri lived in, a couple blocks away. He would have us hide under the stairs and “be very quiet” so we would be a surprise for Geri. She would come down the stairs and although I know after several times she knew we were there, she always acted surprised to see us. There was one date I remember where they took me to Gibson park with them. I remember sitting on Geri’s shoulders and eating this sour fruit roll up thing as we walked around Gibson Park. As I look back now I really appreciate them letting us be a part of their courtship. Thanks you guys! When I went to Utah for Lauren’s birth I was so impressed by our diligent scriptures and prayers before bed. Mike just showed such a love for the scriptures that it impressed me. He has always helped to strengthen my testimony through his example as I got older and I remember times of sitting with him in sacrament meeting and him teaching me stories through his drawings. Mike has always been famous for his milk shakes that can often be chunky haha. Good times! I remember Geri being big into making us ornaments each year for Christmas. She makes beautiful ornaments and as we still put them on the tree I am always grateful for the time she took on them. Love you guys!
Uncle Jeff and Aunt Katie
I was trying to decide which Aunt I should write about. Only kidding Jeff! I have many memories with Uncle Jeff. I remember going to his apartment on fifth avenue and we would spend the night. We would also watch Star Wars and play Candy Land. I remember when Barrett and I got that game for Christmas we were so excited and we never got tired of that game! I remember Uncle Jeff becoming Uncle Fester. Haha and watching Mom help Jeff to become bald. Even though I was young I remember going to Canada for a wedding and staying in the trailer park that had the candy store. I remember helping to put whipping cream on Jeff’s teal colored car. I especially remember doing the dances with Jeff. We always had a great time. I remember one time when Barrett, Jeff, Steph, and Me went to Hardees after a dance. We laughed so hard that night. It has got to be one of my favorite dance memories. I would also go to the out of town dances with Jeff and those were times that I got to bond with him. We got to talk a lot during those times. I always enjoyed our visits. We started Sunday dinners at Jeff’s and we still continue that tradition. I always enjoy visiting the family and knowing that my family is that close. It is something I will never take for granted. I kind of feel bad for Aunt Katie because I think she is the only aunt I didn’t get close to in the beginning. I didn’t really give her the time of day when she and Jeff first started hanging out. It took me quite awhile to warm up to her, but she was and is somebody I could always talk to. I remember having a tough time when I was in Missoula with Jeff for a dance. Katie was pregnant with Parker at the time, but she and I went to this deserted hallway and we just talked. She let me vent about everything and really helped me out. I think that is when my perspective started to change and I started bonding with Katie. I could trust her and I was realizing that she really is a very caring person. Plus she loves scrapbooking and Michael Buble—need I say more. I still talk to Katie and I love having her as my aunt! Katie has a good sense of humor. She is also very kind. Katie is awesome because when I needed to cry she would cry with me. Haha. It has been neat too because she and I have learned that we actually have a lot more in common than we realized. It has brought us closer. I also think Katie is very talented in her letters and journaling. She always writes beautiful journaling with her scrapbooking and I enjoy having her around me. I love you guys!
Uncle Chris and Aunt Kristi
Uncle Chris definitely brought fun memories into my childhood. He was the young uncle when i was growing up. I remember him always being so funny. He would jump on the trampoline with us and I remember one Halloween when Jeff and Chris decided they would tell us ghost stories on the trampoline. Chris told us about Bloody Mary. We didn’t believe him and he told us, “I said Bloody Mary nine times and then I ran out because I was scared.” We were like, “yeah right.” Then I remember Jeff told us a story about some guy named Ebenezer or something like that and he lived on the top of this hill and how everyone was mean to him and the kids would put a bag of poop on his porch and he would always step in it. These kids started disappearing and Ebenezer liked this woman and in the end of the story he was in the woman’s house and she HAD MONSTER ARMS AND SHE WAS CUTTING UP THE LITTLE KIDS! Jeff had yelled that part. We decided he told the scariest story. He was like, “No Chris’s was scary. It scared me.” I remember another time when Chris and Jeff babysat us—you guys were little stinkers! We were going to get pizza and I was trying to figure out everybody’s middle names. They had me convinced that the names were David Sprinkles Vaughan, Jeff Cupcake Vaughan, Mike Bubblegum Vaughan, and Chris brownie Vaughan. Little jerks! When we got pizza I got a taco pizza. There were sausage pieces on there and they were telling me and Barrett that it was rabbit poop! Haha. I don’t think I ever ate Taco pizza again and now whenever Grandma DiAnn does I always laugh at my bully uncles. I remember Chris taught us to jump from the garage onto our trampoline. I also remember him jumping on the trampoline when it was snowing outside. His feet got cold so he took these big fleece purple gloves and put them on his feet. We laughed because he looked like a monkey. I remember him holding Barrett and “shampooing his hair” by moving his feet with the gloves on, like he was washing his hair. It still makes me laugh. I remember Chris going on his mission and when he came home I remember waiting at the airport being so excited to see him. I remember sitting up in the attic in his room with him and drawing pictures for him to send to New Zealand. His room always had colored lights across it and big Christmas balls hanging from the ceiling. He was always big into biking and I remember him taking us biking and to Dairy Queen. I remember him going swimming at the Natatorium with me and Barrett and also going rollerblading with us to the CMR Museum parking lot. He was always fun! He also taught me to jitterbug whenever he would come into town from Idaho. He also taught me to be loose when dancing “so you don’t get hurt when you dance with a guy that doesn’t know what he is doing” I always thought of Uncle Chris whenever I had to dance with one of those guys and I was always grateful that I knew what to do. Uncle Chris also always let me meet his girlfriends. I got to decide if I liked them or not. It made me feel important. Aunt Kristi is the absolute perfect match for Uncle Chris. I remember when she first came to visit us. She was absolutely beautiful and so much fun! I still remember the New Year’s Eve dance with her and her leather pants. She was actually the person who got me into scrapbooking and I will always thank her for that because I LOVE it! Kristi always went the extra mile with me, sending me a note here or there but she always made me feel loved, she always let me know that she was thinking about me. I always love hearing from her and she is just fun to be around. She and Chris are pretty funny together too and I think they make a great pair. I love you guys!
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