Vaughn's first E's

Easter and Earthquake!

The night before Easter, we went to the evening church. We got to enjoy service with our friends, Alicia, Brian and Jayce. After service, we walked through the courtyard to check out the carnival festivities. They had balloon arches everywhere that Vaughn kept looking up to see. He's loved all the different colors. It was the first Easter since we started attending Radiant that I didn't volunteer. We decided to spend Vaughn's first Easter just with him.

On Easter morning, Vaughn was excited to see that the Easter Bunny came to visit him. We had to wait for a long time to go through his Easter basket though because daddy was a little sleepy and wouldn't get out of bed. Once he got a shower, our family gathered in the kitchen so Vaughn could see what goodies the Easter Bunny brought him! Vaughn got some toys, swimming trunks, bibs (as the Easter Bunny notices how much he drools), a car seat toy, book, a colorful pinwheel (his new obsession) and a Johnny Jump Up. His basket was so big, he was able to fit inside, so of course, I had to get pictures.

Dave left to go get our dinner while Vaughn and I stayed at home. Shortly after he left, he called to tell me he had been hit :( A woman rear-ended him without ever touching the brakes. Dave was fine, but the 4-Runner wasn't. A few hours later, Dave finally made it back home with some ham so we could enjoy Easter dinner.

In the afternoon, our family away from home (Nay Nay and Laura) joined us for an early Easter dinner. We had an "Arizona" version of the traditional ham dinner - grilled ham and pineapple kabobs. Nay Nay and Laura brought some other yummy food for our little dinner. Vaughn napped through most of the afternoon until we had to go wake him because of the earthquake.

Well, it wasn't an earthquake, but instead, aftershocks for an earthquake that happened in Mexicali. Regardless of what it acutally was, we were a little scared. We were halfway through our meal when we started to feel something. Laura made a funny face, and Dave told her it was just the air conditioner. Then I looked up to see the dining room light and large house plant swaying from side to side, and said, "that is definitely not the AC." Then, the blinds starting banging against the wall. It was freaky.

We all sat there staring at each other. Laura started to laugh and then said, "I'm laughing, but am kind of scared," as we could feel the ground beneath our feet shaking. It almost felt as if we were on a boat. Dave turned to me wanting me to go get Vaughn, now! I ran up and opened Vaughn's door to find him lying there wide-eyed. He must've felt the shaking, too.

Once we had the baby downstairs, all of the movement stopped. It was only a few minutes after we felt the earthquake when Dave got online to see what was going on. Sure enough, there had been a large earthquake near the Mexico, Arizona, California border and what we felt were aftershocks.

Uncle Dusty came over after the girls left since he was golfing all day. We all hung out and enjoyed the rest of the day together as a family. Dusty even got to see Vaughn try out his Johnny Jump Up for the first time. He was a little confused but totally loved it.

Vaughn's first Easter was an Easter I know that Dave and I will never forget and will retell Vaughn when he's older. Easter Bunny. Car accident. "Family" dinner. Earthquake. Johnny Jump Up. Rest. And of course, celebrating what Easter really means...that our Lord and Savior died on the cross for us so that we could be forgiven. What an amazing day.