Birthday Video

Here is the video from Grandma Shirley's big day...

 Grandma Shirley turns 100

Wordless Wednesday

Do you know how long a Century is??

One hundred years.  Yes, 100.

My great-grandma Shirley celebrated a milestone yesterday, her 100th birthday.

Do you know what they call people who are 100 years old? A centenarian. True story.

We are so lucky to have the ability to celebrate this amazing birthday with such a wonderful woman.

Grandma Shirley with her baby, Dick (my grandfather)

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again." - Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Happy Birthday Blessings Grandma Shirley!

Family

We have a new family member...meet Cruiser

 This is how he spends most of his time....sleeping.

Ron's grandfather, Ben, and his wife, Carol, came into town for the funeral.  We got a couple photos of them with the kids.  For some reason, I didn't even think to get a photo with Ron and his mom with them.  I struggle.

It was great to see them, obviously not under those circumstances.  They stuck around a few extra days because the weather didn't permit travel back to Nebraska.  We hope to not have to wait another two years to see them again!

Wordless Wednesday

Grandpa Pat

I haven't blogged for a while.  The end of 2012 was a hard one for all of us.
On Sunday, December 30th, we were having dinner to celebrate Ron and my mom's birthday, when I got a call from Ron's mother.  She told me that her husband, Pat, had suffered a heart attack and they were at the hospital.  I told her we would come straight away.  We loaded up and got there as fast as we could.  When we reached the waiting room, Pat's sister, Betty, told us that he was gone.  Shock.  Disbelief.  Sorrow.  Shock. We had just seen him a few days before.  Spent Christmas with them the week before.  He was not sick nor complaining.  Completely shocked.  He was only 49 years old.
Braison couldn't control his tears.  Lilian chose to go in with us to say goodbye one last time.

Patrick Allan “Pat” Bartosz, 49, of Middleton, passed away on Sunday, December 30, 2012.
Pat was born on October 15, 1963 in Riverside, California to Charles and Fujiko (Enomoto). He was the fifth of six children. In 1981 Pat graduated from Borah High School in Boise. Following high school he joined the Coast Guard in 1982 where he was a mechanic until 1986.

In October of 1997, Pat was blessed with the birth of his daughter, Sydney. In August of 2006, he married the love of his life, Sheryl.

His love of anything with a motor, fishing, camping, and his unmatched generosity were just part of what set him apart from the rest. Pat was always willing to lend a hand, play a practical joke, or shoot the breeze over a beer. You didn’t have to twist his arm very hard to convince him to go with, if you ever needed a fishing buddy, no matter what.

Pat is survived by his wife, Sheryl; his father, Charles, of Boise; daughter, Sydney, of Meridian; step-daughter, Jennifer Buseman, of Boise; step-son, Ron (Ashley) Buseman, of Nampa; grandchildren, Braison and Lilian Buseman, of Nampa; sister, Bonny (Ray) Johnson, of Belmont, CA; brother, Stan, of Boise; sister, Betty, of Boise; sister, Eileen (Todd) Tannahill, of Tracy, CA; two nieces, one nephew, and countless friends.

He was preceded in death by his mother, and brother, Stephen.

A memorial service with reception will be held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at the Cloverdale Funeral Home Reception Center, 1200 N. Cloverdale Road in Boise.

A private family inurnment will be held at Cloverdale Memorial Park in Boise.

Happy fishing Pat, you will be missed more than words can describe.

I was honored to be the one who officiated Pat's funeral.  It was a little stressful, but I am so glad that I did it.  He was such a wonderful, funny, caring, man that will be missed by so many.  We are comforted in knowing that Pat is forever fishing.

It's Christmas Time

We have had a busy, but fun Christmas.  It is a lot of work to get everything in that we want to, but in the end it is all worth it.  We went to see Santa on Sunday, the 23rd...after waiting in line for 2 hours, Lilian was tongue tied and couldn't decide what to ask him for!

 

That evening we had a wonderful meal and company at my mom's house.  My mother, John, BJ, Krista, Chloee, Payton, and the four of us enjoyed the night together.  I only got one photo, of the kids.

Christmas Eve we went to Ron's mother's for dinner and presents.  It was a great dinner and we were spoiled rotten!  The kid's got a new trampoline that they can hardly wait to be set up at home!

Kids with their Aunt Jen

Kids with their Aunt Sydney

After dinner, we went to my dad's for dessert and another gift exchange.  I didn't get any photos there, but I will post the ones my dad took when he sends them.
Christmas Day was quiet and nice.  The kids made the nice list and Santa brought a new bike for Braison and a new vanity for Lilian.

We took a couple photos to mark the holiday.

Grandma and Grandad stopped by for a minute to spoil us some more.

Thank you to everyone who made our Christmas special.  We are so lucky to have so much family close and be able to spend time with the ones that we love.  We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Dance

Here is the video from Lilian's dance recital.
The quality is not great, but Lilian is in the front row, second over from the right (when looking at the stage).  She is the only one with glasses.
She really loved being on the stage and told me afterward that she wished she could have stayed up there and danced with all the other groups.  What a ham!

Long Holiday Weekend

**This blog is being created due to overwhelming requests (ok, only one. Uncle Ken).  And, he may well be my only reader, so who am I to not listen to my public?**

We had a nice, low key Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year.  Here is what the feast (which I single-handedly prepared and served, thank you very much) looked like:

Ok, this isn't the actual feast I prepared, but it could be my feast's twin.  I didn't capture my own photo.  Sorry.  It was great to have my mom, John, Grandma, Grandad, Grandma Barbara, Grandma Shirley, and Uncle Mike (John's brother from Missouri who happened to be passing through town) to dinner.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives and are so grateful for each and every one of them.

The day after, in lieu of shopping with the crazies, we went the the Boise Festival of Trees where Lilian's dance class had a performance.  It was adorable.

 We had a great couple of days.  Then, the flu hit.  Hard.  So, now we are trying to recover.  So much for a nice, productive, long weekend.  Oh well, at least we are getting some good cuddling time in!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!

20 Questions for Lilian on her 5th birthday:
 - What is your favorite color? Pink
 - What is your favorite toy?  Baby dolls
 - What is your favorite fruit?  Strawberries 
 - What is your favorite TV show?  Max and Ruby
 - What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  PB & J
 - What is your favorite outfit?  Pink and grey skirt
 - What is your favorite game?  Go Fish 
 - What is your favorite snack?  Crackers
 - What is your favorite animal?  Puppies 
 - What is your favorite song?  If I Die Young by The Band Perry
 - What is your favorite book?  Berstein Bears - Too Much TV
 - Who is your best friend?  Braison
 - What is your favorite cereal?  Honey Nut Cheerios
 - What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play soccer
 - What is your favorite drink?  Water
 - What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas
 - What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Lovey
 - What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Waffles and peaches
 - What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Homemade Pizza
 - What do you want to be when you grow up?  Singer


We can't believe how fast time has gone!  You are so loving, smart, compassionate, quick to anger, joyful, chatty (putting is mildly!), and able to adapt so easily.  You are doing wonderful in school, you love to learn, but mostly to socialize.  You give the best hugs and lots of them.  If it is sparkly and girly, we can bet on you loving it.  You are becoming quite the dancer and your singing knows no bounds, singing along to any (and I mean ANY) song that comes on.  Watching you grow these last five years has been the highlight of my life.  You are so very cherished by so many people!  Happy Birthday Lilian!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2012

BIRTHDAY BOY!

20 Questions for Braion on his 5th birthday:
 - What is your favorite color? Blue
 - What is your favorite toy?  Race Cars
 - What is your favorite fruit?  Bananas 
 - What is your favorite TV show?  Toy Story
 - What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Chicken
 - What is your favorite outfit?  "Dad's Deputy" Shirt
 - What is your favorite game?  Mr. Pencil
 - What is your favorite snack?  Fruit and oranges
 - What is your favorite animal?  Dinosaurs 
 - What is your favorite song?  American Girl by Martina McBride
 - What is your favorite book?  Kermit and the New Bike
 - Who is your best friend?  My teddy bear
 - What is your favorite cereal?  Fruit Loops
 - What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Roll down hills of grass
 - What is your favorite drink?  Sprite
 - What is your favorite holiday?  Halloween
 - What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Car blanket
 - What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Bananas and waffles
 - What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Peas, carrots, and fried chicken
 - What do you want to be when you grow up?  Super hero or a Knight

It is so hard to believe that you are 5 years old!  You are so smart (too smart for your own good sometimes!), tender hearted, driven, stubborn, loving, pensive, and quick to laugh or cry.  You can already read and write and you are doing so very well on learning math.  Your questions are endless and you love soaking up the new information you receive.  When asked on our vacation what you really wanted to do, you replied, "I would like to go somewhere so I can explore and learn things."  The nickname "Button Boy" is still very accurate.  When we put you to bed last night, you mentioned that you wished you could stay little forever.  Me too.  But, it is such a joy to watch you grow and learn and explore the world around you.  You are loved beyond measure.  Happy Birthday Braison!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2012

Birthday Madness

This year Braison and Lilian are turning 5 (ahh!!), so in celebration we took a little vacation.  To Disneyland and San Diego.  I have about a million photos, but I will spare you and only post half :o)  We drug my grandparents along (kicking and screaming).  We started out last Saturday and drove to Bishop, CA where we stayed for the night.  Then, on Sunday we went on to Anaheim.  

Checking in at the Paradise Pier Disney Resort

 Monday is when the real fun began.  We got ready to head out to all the fun with special shirts and buttons (thank you Disneyland).

 We spent the first day in California Adventure where the new Cars Land is (our # priority for the day).

Getting ready to race

So excited to race!

With Lightning McQueen

With Tow Mater 

We rode on all of the rides that we could handle.  Lilian was even brave enough to go on the Tower of Terror.  She loved it.

We thought she was crying (it is pitch black in there), but she was actually laughing.

We got to meet Woody from Toy Story (our first character!)

Braison was still a little apprehensive

The next two days we spent in Disneyland.

Waiting to meet some princesses 

On the riverboat 

Quality time

One of life's missions.  Complete.

Mickey's house

Lilian was in love

Accurate 

 We waited for over an hour to go to Pixie Hallow.  Once we shrunk to fairy size, I was afraid Lilian wouldn't leave!

Lilian's favorite

Boys.

I think he almost got it

I think she almost got a hernia

Toontown was a huge hit

With Walt and Mickey

We talked the kids into going on Splash Mountain with us.  Best. Decision. Ever.

Priceless

We rode the train around the park and waited some (but, not much).  We picked a good week.

 At night, after the parks closed, we spent our time roaming Downtown Disney.

Hulk made out of Legos

On Thursday, we headed down to San Diego.  We took the trolley ride around town and out to Coronado to get a little beach time in.

Braison fell in

Friday we spent the day at SeaWorld...

With the flamingos

And, the real reason that Grandad and I wanted to go to SeaWorld...

 We had a WONDERFUL time (thanks Grandma and Grandad for making the trip that much more memorable).  After our fun filled week, I think everyone was pooped and ready to head home.

 Happy early birthday to our babies!  Now, what will we do next year?  I think we might have set the bar a little high...