I was wondering if anyone could explain the universe to me in layman's terms.

I've been reading about the Higgs boson on wikipedia but I find it difficult to follow. There are just too many unexplained terms.

Could someone explain how all of these things fit together in a relatively simple explanation of particle physics... Specifically how the higgs boson is so important and also how it relates to other particles like quarks, leptons, gluons, photons and atoms. Also, what does the higgs boson mean for science and why is it so cool?

Thanks!