Katie: Better late than never.

I've been meaning to post the family Christmas letter I wrote, but you know how I am...

December 2012

Beloved family, friends, acquaintances, and others,

I’m sure you are all aware of the rumors, or quite possibly, truths that are circulating about the world ending in 2012. (That’s this year.) And with the events that passed this November (obviously I’m talking about Hostess cupcakes becoming extinct)[1] I can’t say that I blame the believers. If this world is to end in the next short while, I feel it would be a shame for those of you that have never been blessed with the opportunity to hear me rap to miss that chance. Unfortunately I am not as crafty as Justin Bieber and don’t know how to make Christmas cards sing when you open them, so you will just have to read it and let your imagination take you away.

It’s the year twenty twelve and I just gotta say

That for Ma and Pops Vaughn there ain’t been a bad day.

They got Jakie comin home from preachin the word

He spent two years servin in Missouri for the Lord.

Homegirl Katie got her an education

Her sweet rap skills will soon be sweepin the nation.

Jennick’s livin in Provo, so tyte

Jenni teaches school while Nick works at nite.

We got F.r.e.d.d.y B and J-Dawg Jill living it up in Chi-town

Fred gets his lawyer on while Jill holds the fort down.

O-Cal B and LizzyLu M

Are our new favorite bebes, I give em a 10.

We gotta whole lotta reasons for some celebration

Keep perusing this letta for an explanation.

We out.

Keith is still working for the same company he has been for a really long time. I still don’t really know what he does but he travels a lot so I like to tell people that he is the Minister of Magic[2]. He still thinks that mom is the best thing that ever happened to him. He likes being a dad, a husband, and now a grandpa! He says that having grandkids is better than sports or muscle cars. However…he doesn’t have a muscle car and his biggest sports wish is that Bronco Mendenhall will get called on a mission. He lives in Arizona. Lisa lives there too. She likes to sew baby stuff and buy baby clothes. For the first time in a good while, she has all of her kids “home” and that makes her very happy. Except when we’re bad and lose our iPod or skip class. Which obviously we don’t do...

Jake came home from his mission in July. He served in the Missouri Independence Mission. Mom, Jake, and Katie went back to visit in August and then went up to Chicago so that we could see Scooter (or Oliver…whatevs.) It was a lot of fun and pretty neat to meet the people that he would write to us about. We also went to the “College Basketball Experience”[3] in Kansas City. He said that that is how he imagines heaven will be. Right now he is at Utah State studying business administration with a minor in ping pong. He says he is (finally) getting good grades and his favorite place is the library. Seems super sketchy to me. I had no idea where the library even was until my junior year.

Katie graduated from college. I know…we’re all surprised. She graduated in Recreation Management and is now working in Provo at a treatment center for at-risk youth as a behavioral health technician. She did her internship last winter at a ranch in southern Arizona doing the same thing… helping kids and being awesome. In January she and the rents went back to Texas[4] (finally) to visit and it was spectacular. She met a lot of really cool people while serving there and it was great to see them all again. She also got to work at scout camp as a river guide for a few weeks this summer even though her mom told her that she had to go to college instead (ridiculous, I know).

Nick and Jenni had a baby! Well…Jenni did. Eliza Mae Vaughn was born on October 5. She was normal size long and 7 lbs 13 oz. and the cutest baby niece I’ve ever had. She is a really good baby except for when she cries or I have to change her diaper. Nick is working a few nights a week at Winco so sometimes during the day I get to babysit her and I like that. She can do a lot of tricks, like out sleep a vampire and beat Hulk Hogan at the gallon challenge[5]. Jenni is teaching kindergarten in Santaquin, Utah. She is a good mom and a good teacher. Nick told me that he graduated from college in Biology, but I think really he just stopped going.

Jill and Fred hadababyeeeet’saboy (do you remember that commercial?...uhh. ok.) Anyway, Oliver Calvin Benson was born on June 23. He weighed 7 lbs 3.5 oz and was SUPER LONG. He has a lot of dark hair and I am planning on dressing him up like Harry Potter when they come for Christmas, but his parents don’t know that, so don’t tell. He has grown a ton since we saw him in August and he is the best nephew to grace this planet. He really likes Psych and hates Carly Rae Jeppesen. All you have to do is sing “Hey I just met you, and this is crazy” and he’ll scream louder than a pig that got its tail stuck in the gate. Fred is in his 2^nd year of law school at the University of Chicago. Next summer they will be moving to Washington DC for an internship. Jill finished her first quilt ever.

Well, those are the highlights of our year. I would tell you about all the other cool stuff we did but obviously “ain’t nobody got time for that.”[6] I will tell you this… If you go to the Grand Canyon, the ‘free buses’ are not tour buses. Can’t see anything from them. Lesson learned: Next time let Mom and Grandma plan the itinerary.

We hope this letter finds you and yours healthy, happy, and well. We are grateful for our family and friends that make such a difference in our lives. We would be lost without you.[7] And we are especially grateful, at this time of year and always, for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

At this time of year it is always a blessing to pause and think about what is really important to us and what matters most. Friends, family and faith are the things that we will always have and always cherish. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a great new year. God bless.

With love,

The Vaughn’s

Keith, Lisa, Fred B, Jill B, Nick, Jenni, Katie, Jake, Oliver B, and Eliza

[1] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-57550880/twinkies-maker-hostess-going-out-of-business/

[2] The Ministry of Magic is the government of the magical community of Britain in J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series

[3] The College Basketball Experience featuring the National Collegiate Hall of Fame is a 41,500-square-foot fan interactive facility

[4] Texas Fort Worth Mission

[5] The act of chugging a gallon of milk in a short amount of time

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udS-OcNtSWo

[7] Balto, my favorite movie