von Niederhausern Family

There’s nothing like the Cache County Fair to make you want to get out the cowgirl boots and let out a “Yee Haw!” For the past two summers my siblings, Cat, Sarah, and this year Jake, have entered lambs into the fair. The whole process of raising the lambs and showing them at the fair is fascinating to me. You should see the judge pick the top lamb in the class. I guess it’s all about the back…how straight it is and how much back fat there is. My sister Catherine’s lamb won a first-prize ribbon this year. That means $11 for Cat and a blue ribbon! Ava and Lauren also had the time of their lives riding the big rides with Ellie and their von cousins, eating pizza and cotton candy, all the while sweating in the blazing hot sun. It was such a great day at the fair!

I am so glad Steve is spontaneous. Because he was starting his new job at Utah State and could arrange a few weeks of no work, he suggested a family vacation. After I returned home from Ohio on Monday evening, we repacked all our suitcases and left Tuesday morning for the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Disneyland. We owe a million thanks to our good friend who got us buddy passes on JetBlue. Anyone who has not flown JetBlue needs to check it out. The seats are so roomy, everyone has their own TV (which was a highlight for Ava and Lauren), and you get unlimited snacks.

After the flight we arrived at our hotel and took much needed naps. We then went swimming at the pool. Lauren had everyone laughing and commenting about how daring she was. She loved jumping off the side of the pool into Steve’s arms over and over and being submerged all the way underwater. She was happiest when water was covering her whole face. She kept saying, “I need to swim, I need to swim” and pushing my hands away in water that was 5 ft. deep. One guy described her perfectly, “supercharged.” On wednesday we had our first day at Disneyland, and honestly, it was magical. The weather was perfect, Ava and Lauren have never been so happy, and the greeters and music playing at the park made us feel like we should skip in and be transformed into royalty. Thanks to RideMax (a must if you are going to Disneyland) we got in eight rides, saw Mickey Mouse and went to two princess story-times all before 1:00 p.m. This allowed us to go back to our hotel and rest up for the Parade of Dreams in the evening and the Finding Nemo ride afterwards. We had close-up seats for the parade where we literally could have touched the characters, thanks again to RideMax. Thursday we waited in line so the girls could get their pictures with Cinderella, Snow White, and Jasmine. Then we went to California Adventure to see Play House Disney - Live on Stage and Disney’s Aladdin - Musical Spectacular (a must see). That night we ate at Buca di Beppo and Ava said it was her most favorite restaurant in the world.

Friday we headed to San Diego and ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger. During lunch Lauren made friends with four different strangers who sat down next to us. She would always start out by saying “What’s your name?” and then carry on entire conversations with them. She is definitely our extrovert. That night we ate at my favorite restaurant in the world, Anthony’s Fish Grotto. Steve and I ate there on our honeymoon and it’s so divine. 

On Saturday we went to Sea World and met up with my friend Kristi Jones and her little girl, Ella. We fed the dolphins, saw the Shamu Show, Pets Rule with dogs and cats, the Dolphin Discovery Show and the Clyde & Seamore sea lion show. Then we left and went to the beach. Lauren zonked out in the car, but Steve and Ava had a wonderful time playing in the sand and dipping their toes in the ocean at Mission Beach . To end the day we went to dinner with Kristi, Dan, and Ella at the Pier Cafe in Seaport Village. Sunday we found a sacrament meeting to attend and then flew back to reality. 

I love my family so dearly. We had such a great time together laughing, playing and seeing the sights. This family vacation will always be a bright spot in our memories.

Heaven on earth is a sunny Saturday that includes work and then a family date. It is so satisfying to me to have our family work and play on Saturdays. After our work and a nap we headed to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. We saw the largest lobster I have ever seen. I had to keep going to back to look at it because I was so amazed. It weighed approx. 40 pounds. I won’t lie, I was probably so enthralled with it because I was dreaming about eating the poor thing. YUMMY! They had stingrays and jellyfish you could touch, and an octopus that didn’t do much. Afterwards we ate at the Olive Garden. What a heavenly day!

We can’t believe Ava already turned four! This has been an emotional milestone for Ava. Having the flu along with the stress of a big day created many ups and downs, so there were many tears mingled with the smiles today. While I was combing her hair to get her ready for her big family party she was crying away and I asked her what was wrong. She cried, “I just want to be three again.” After a waffle breakfast, Ava and Steve went skiing. Then we had a big party with the whole gang. One of the highlights of the party was Tim playing his guitar while Ava, Lauren, and Ellie danced around the room. After everyone went home, Steve built a huge blanket tent in the family room and we watched a movie and slept in it. Both Ava and Lauren fell asleep in the blanket tent with new bracelets on because Ava is such a kind and considerate sister. She is also our artist with Steve’s creative genes. We love her and can’t wait to see what this next year has in store.

Merry Christmas once again from the vons! We are in shock over how fast time flies. A year goes by in the blink of an eye; actually it seems shorter than the blink of an eye, if that’s possible. We are grateful to receive your updates and letters so we can know about what is going on in your lives. Here is what is going on in our neck of the woods:

Just last week Steve finished his graduate degree coursework in Instructional Technology and continues to work at Utah State. You might not have any clue what Instructional Technology is. To sum it up, it gives Steve motivation and skills to program our Christmas card rather than send it by mail. He will now begin looking for work, and we are excited to see where the next season of our lives will lead.

Rachel has been busy keeping the emotions of four women in check (Ava, Lauren, herself, and Grandma Morris). If our next child is not a boy (this is NOT an announcement), Steve would like to get a dog… someone who won’t get emotional while wrestling with him. In her spare time Rachel enjoys coordinating the rental and development properties we are working on. She has also thoroughly enjoyed teaching her niece and nephew piano lessons for the past four months.

Ava is going to be four in February. She began preschool this summer at Utah State University and loves seeing Steve on campus. She also recently fell in love with High School Musical and frequently invites Gabriella to have dinner with us. Some other things Ava loves: cooking, drawing, writing, painting, singing, reading, and being Lauren’s second mommy.

Lauren is our thrill seeker and we call her our sugar and spice girl. She continues to be so friendly and cuddly yet stubborn and opinionated all rolled into one. She keeps us laughing with all of her charm. Things Lauren loves: singing, reading, swimming, being tossed or thrown high in the air, taking care of her baby dolls, and pretty much anything Ava loves.

Due to popular demand from last year’s Christmas video jingle, we decided to make it an annual tradition. This year’s duet jingle will give you a few good laughs as you get a taste of the girl’s personalities.

We feel truly blessed beyond what words can express. Thank you for enriching our lives with your friendship and support. We are so grateful for Jesus Christ our Savior. May you have a wonderful upcoming year filled with the Spirit of Christ each day.