busbyhive

A New Year!!

2011-01-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

We decided for the new year we would eat 2011 pancakes!! We topped them with raspberry jam and cool whip :) Yum!!

Game Time!

2011-01-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

We had such a yummy dinner on New Years Day! I cooked a big turkey and we had all the trimmings (plus some) to go with it! We invited our good friends, the Rowley Family, and also Angela and Zach. The girls had a great time playing games with Angela and Zach and then we all enjoyed ice cream sundaes!

On the Job

2011-01-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jacob works at the "Gardens" in Rigby. They have two units; one is for Alzheimer patients and the other is an assisted living unit. He earned his CNA in high school and is putting it to good use. The girls and I love taking a drive down to visit Jacob and the tenants on Sundays. It's been fun to know who Jacob is talking about when he comes home with "work stories". Jacob definitely has a knack for his work. Everyone loves him there and lets me know what a great young man he is!

EFY FRIENDS

2011-01-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Last year was Juliann's favorite year at EFY here at BYU-I. She got to be in the 16-18 yr. old group and loved it. We had a surprise visit from these two young men from Lehi, Utah. They had a fun time reminiscing about EFY and just laughing over everything. They came for Sunday dinner and left Rexburg on Monday. Zach and Collin will both be serving missions this year! Great young men!!

The Busby Seven in 2011

2011-01-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2010

2010-11-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

Fun times carving pumpkins!

Last High School Dance

2010-09-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Gary Archabald let Jacob take his car to his last High School dance as a Senior! Jake was pretty excited about going in this sweet car but it made Jordan and I a little nervous!

Who needs a farm when you have a pond?!

2010-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here at the Busby home, we have been plenty busy cleaning the pond. Jordan said to me once, "This is as close to working on a farm as we'll get!" It's quite a chore getting everything raked out of the pond in preparation to fill it. We had a tree fall into our back neighbor's yard this winter. It was a big tree back by the Heman cabin. Jordan decided it was time to cut the trees on the west side of the pond. Well, if you remember from last year, Jordan's definition of "trimming" and my definition are totally different! :) He did an amazing job and thank goodness made it back to the ground in safety!

Who said work can't be fun?

2010-05-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Lost Treasure

2010-05-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

We didn't find any lost glasses, keys, or money this year while cleaning the pond. Instead we found a decaying squirrel, dead fish, a CD, one water shoe, two kids shirts, several socks, a shell necklace, doll clothes, and the #1, a poster of someone asking someone else to a dance.

Let the Fun Begin!

2010-05-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

It didn't take long for Jordan to go to town on these trees! On the top left of this picture, it shows Jordan in the cage with Jake. Moments earlier ( I have on video) Jordan climbed out of the cage onto some branches and was sawing away while Jacob held on to his sweatshirt!! Scary!! TR you can see a sample of the damage of things below. BL Jyrikka is swinging one last time before her swing is cut down. BR Jordan climbs onto a limb to saw off long branches. His chain saw ended up running out of gas. We got the cherry picker down so Jake could get some more gas up to him. A third of the way back up, the cherry picker ran out of power. Needless to say, Jordan was in the tree for a while. We tried throwing water bottles up to him...quite humorous! We eventually got him down :)

Mother Bird

2010-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

When we were cleaning out the pond, there was this bird in the middle of the pond. Janay was walking through the pond and all of a sudden this bird was squawking at her. Janay couldn't figure out why. Jake ran over and said she must have some eggs near by. After taking a close look, we discovered these eggs. We all watched this bird and her eggs throughout our clean up. Jordan timed the bird and the longest it would ever leave it's eggs was 4 minutes. Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a good ending. Jordan put an orange cone close to these eggs so no one would step on them; they were camouflaged as you can see. Well, the night Jake had a bon fire in the pond, someone accidentally stepped on the eggs! The mother bird squawked for days...poor thing!

Not Without Help

2010-05-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to have help in sawing, chipping, splitting, stacking and cleaning up the trees. My cousin Tim has a son, Derrik, who was a huge help. Jake's friend, Spencer Clayton, also took a whole day in helping us. Between these two boys and Jake, it made a world of a difference. Thanks guys!!

It wasn't easy going from this....

2010-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

To This......

2010-05-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

How much wood can a wood-chuck chuck.......

2010-05-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Wood anyone? We sure have plenty to spare!! After cutting just a "few" trees, we knew this wouldn't be a quick clean up! We wondered if we could ever get this cleaned up in time for the fourth graders to come for their picnic after their orientation at the middle school. Thank goodness we were able to fill the pond the day before they came.

Finally!!

2010-05-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

The girls anxiously threw on their swim suits and played in the water as it started to fill the pond. Just shortly after we started to fill it, we had a rain storm and the girls had to end their fun early. The picture at the top is the day after we filled the pond. The girls ran home, hopped in the canoe, and waved to all the middle school buses that went by.

The Busby's Rock!

2010-05-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

I had to go to a meeting one night and I came home to these cute rocks by our doorstep. Jaylyn and Jyrikka love crafts and so this is what they came up with. Way to go girls!

Track vs Cross Country

2010-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

So if Juliann had to pick which one she likes best, track or cross country, she votes cross country. Why? She said it's kinda boring to just run around the track and see the same thing. Juliann has been running the 800 and the mile (my personal favorites). She did run in a relay a few weeks ago and they came in second which brought her home a metal :) They've had to cancel several meets this year because of the rain and snow. We're proud of Juliann for sticking it out!

Janay's Latest

2010-05-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Janay is so fun to be around! She always likes to laugh and have a fun time. She started mowing our neighbors yard again this year. It's nice to have a little side job for her. Thank goodness she's a saver! It'll come in handy with future college plans! This is Janay's first year of track as a 7th grader. They combine the 7th and 8th grade kids and put on track meets for them in the area. She has run the 200, 400, 800, and 4x400 relay this year. She's not sure what her favorite race is yet. She did run the 800 for the conference meet at Thunder Stadium and was 2 seconds away from beating her personal best time. We are proud of her for sticking it out through the cold and rain.

I'm not ready to be a Grandma!

2010-05-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not ready to be a Grandma and thank goodness Juliann isn't ready to be a mom yet either! Juliann is taking a Parenting class at school this trimester and got to get a taste of what parenting is like. She got her baby which she named "Avery" on Friday and had it till Monday morning. It didn't take long for her to realize the demands of this doll. Let's just say she didn't get a whole lot of sleep this weekend! This last picture was taken on Sunday, the day before she turned in the doll. She was exhausted!! I just smiled and told her this truly is what it is like to have a real baby. She really did a good job with her doll and will be such a super great mom someday!

So a week later after Juliann had her doll, she volunteered to help her friend out since her friend had a softball game to go to. I came home after running some errands and found this note. "Mom, Malia's baby is in the front room. It doesn't turn on till 4:00. The bracelet is in the bag, if it cries, bring it to me at the meet. I'll see you later- Juliann". Juliann had a track meet that day. I wasn't about to take this crying doll to her. What was humorous about this situation was that a lady in our ward had to go to the doctor and needed me to watch her 3 yr. old and her baby who is around 6 months. Well, 4:00 rolled around and the macanical baby turned on and so did the real baby! I had two crying babies and only two hands. Juliann's friend would get docked points if her baby wasn't taken care of and I had this real baby, who was a nursing baby by the way and wouldn't take the bottle, who needed attention too! I said a silent prayer and thanked my Heavenly Father for not ever sending me twins! The poor 3 yr. old was dumbfounded at the fact that the doll was crying and I was trying to feed it and change it's diaper! He said I should just take out the batteries!! What a smart kid! If only I could, I would have. Both babies survived and we ended up calling the mother of Juliann's friend around 8:00 p.m. to take care of her own Grandchild!! :)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! Jyrikka made this cute flower/straw necklace for me in Primary today. It's hard to believe my little girl is almost 8! She is growing way too fast!

The bishopric let all the women in our ward meet together today during the last hour of church and served us delicious pie! He then spoke about the influence that different women have had in his life and then sang, "As Sisters in Zion". It was such a special feeling to be among all the women in our ward and feel that sisterhood that we all share. Jordan was sick today and didn't make it to church. He surprised me and had dinner made when we got home!

Jordan sent Juliann to the store with Jyrikka on Saturday to find me a Mother's Day gift. It was so cute. She bought me a water bottle, snickers bars (fun size so I could share with everyone), some dishtowels and hotpads, and some new socks!

I really didn't know the gem I found when I married my husband. He treats me like a queen, even when I don't deserve it! He was feeling so sick on Saturday but insisted we go down to I.F. and pick out something for Mother's Day. He stayed in the car and rested and had me run into the store to pick something out. When I was done, (I tried my hardest to hurry) he took me out to dinner. We didn't stay too long after we got our dinner but that was long enough for me to really feel loved and special. Jordan is such an amazing husband and father! I love him so much and appreciate so much all he does for me and our family. This was the best Mother's Day ever!

Early Mother's Day

2010-05-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

So two weeks ago our neighbor Quinn Fenton came home from serving in England for two years on a mission. He stopped by Friday afternoon and asked how Jacob was doing. When he finally caught up with Jacob, he asked him to be a speaker with him the following day, Sunday. Two years earlier at Quinn's farewell, Jacob was a youth speaker too. Quinn thought it was appropriate to ask Jacob again to speak to kind of reenact the scene. Anyway, I was a little nervous because Jacob spent all Friday evening with his friends. Sunday morning came fast but I found Jacob downstairs preparing for his talk early in the morning. I wondered if I should step in and help but was waiting for Jacob to ask. I wasn't sure what he was going to say...let alone talk on. I was a little nervous... to say the least. This would be the first talk I haven't written for Jacob. I don't know why I waited so long to let him give his own talks!! Seriously, this time was the best talk he's ever given!! He read scriptures and talked about putting on the whole armour of God. He also talked about Satan trying to find little cracks in our armour and how he will do everything in his power to creep in! It was so great! He bore testimony of the truthfullness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he talked about looking forward in serving a mission in a year, he spoke of reading scriptures as a family and how it's helped our family have less contention, he thanked us as parents and said he loved his sisters! Wow... was I ever impressed. He is a natural speaker that's for sure. He definately takes after Jordan!

Ok, so this is getting a little lengthy but I did get a bonus Mother's Day gift from Jacob. He was asked last Saturday to speak at the Stake Primary Baptisms. He got up and really talked to these little kids, it was so very cute! He told of a time when he was 8 or 9 and couldn't find his shoe right before school. He said he then remembered that he had been baptized and he now had the gift of the Holy Ghost! He knelt down and said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help him find his shoe. When he was done, he had this thought come to his mind to stand on his dresser, so he did. He looked down and under a few things on his dresser, he could see a part of his shoe. He reminded the kids not to forget the special gift they would be given and that whenever they needed help, even if it was as simple and as silly as a little shoe, they could pray for help.

Have any of you experienced that joy/love beyond explanation that you feel deep inside when one of your children do something that just thrills you to death? That's the feeling I got both times that Jacob spoke! I love this boy!! (He'll always be my boy, even though he's now 17!)

2nd Grade Play "Lemonade"

2010-05-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Can you guess the Nursery Rhymes that go with these cute girls? Left is Regi Webster as Cinderella; middle is Jyrikka Busby as "Little Bo Peep"; and far right is Anni Gardner as "The Woman Who Lived In A Shoe". This play was so dang cute! The whole idea behind the play "Lemonade" was that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! What great timing!! All the Nursery Rhymes represented a sour situation like lemons. Mother Goose turned their situation around and made "lemonade" (turned it into a positive thing). Mrs. Andrus is Jyrikka's 2nd grade teacher in the picture at the top left. She made all the kids lemonade for a treat after the play.

Spring Piano Recital

2010-05-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we are proud parents of this girl!! We do have bragging rights don't we? Isn't that what a blog is for? Janay surprised us at the spring piano festival when she was awarded several prizes for her accomplishments. Janay's awards included: A statue of Beethoven for participating in 9 festivals, a trophy and a Walmart giftcard for practicing over 100 hours in a years time, a "Raising the Bar" large candy bar for beating last years practicing time, and a Jamba giftcard for practicing over 100 days in a row. Wow! Congratulations Janay!!

Lewis and Clark Play

2010-05-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Jaylyn got to be one of the narrators for her 4th grade school play, "Lewis and Clark". She seems to have a real talent for preforming in front of others. They sang such fun songs with lots of actions to go with it. This is Jaylyn's last year at the Elementary school! It's on to Madison Middle School next year :)

Conference Weekend

2010-05-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

For Christmas last year we wanted to buy Jacob a nice suit. My dad was so sweet to take Jacob suit shopping. My dad and Jacob ended up buying the same dark brown suits! Jacob thinks the world of my dad and so it was fitting that they would come out looking the same. This picture is from conference weekend, the day before Easter 2010. We had a super time being at my parents house with my sister Melissa and her family as well as my brother Dwight and his family. We love when the cousins have time to play together!

Easter Egg Hunt 2010

2010-05-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since we were in Declo for Easter. Just after we got there on Saturday, my Mom, Melissa, and Donna had stuffed plastic eggs and hid them all over Dwight and Donna's yard. Jacob and Juliann haven't been to a real Easter egg hunt since they were toddlers! I couldn't tell who had the most fun, Jacob (17) or Jyrikka (7).

We Love Visitors

2010-05-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

My parents came up to Rexburg shortly after Easter and spent some time with us. It was so fun to have them here! Mom and I went on a walk before church up to the temple. It's so great talking to her and just being with her. She is truly one of my best friends! She was diagnosed with bell's palsy several months ago. We are thrilled that she has made so much progress thus far. She is such a trooper and always keeps a positive attitude. She is such a wonderful example to all who know her. She is always serving others by writing notes, making cinnamon rolls, making dinner, making phone calls, reading to her grandchildren, visiting her children, the list is endless. I want to be just like my mom someday! :)

Easter Time

2010-04-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was so relieved that these dresses fit my girls! I bought them while we were in Mesa last December at Christmas time. They had a huge clearance going on at Sears and I gave into the sale. They look so cute in matching dresses!! Happy Easter!

School Art

2010-04-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am so impressed by how well my girls do in art. Especially since I can't even make stick figures look good! The top picture, done by Jaylyn, is called "Upside Down In My Dreams". The lower picture was done by Jyrikka and is called, "At the Circus". They must take after their Grandma Busby!

Ouch!

2010-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Poor Jyrikka took a hit when she went babysitting with Jaylyn and took a fall off of the skateboard! I'm just glad she didn't break any bones!

The Fairytale Ball

2010-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here is Jyrikka at the 2nd grade Fairytale Ball. The librarian and her husband taught all the 2nd graders how to Waltz and how to Square Dance. The gym was all decked out in Royalty decorations. Even the parents got to take a turn to dance with their child. Jyrikka liked standing on my shoes while we danced. I think it was because I kept stepping on her toes! (I haven't been dancing for quite a while!) We had a lot of fun and the little kids were all so cute! As you can see in this bottom left picture, the boys were scared by all these princesses holding their hands! Jyrikka had a wonderful time!

What's up with Juliann?

2010-04-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

We finally made it down to Idaho Falls to go dress shopping! We were so excited to find this dress for Juliann. She looks so beautiful and grown up! Juliann has been running track the last couple of months. Unfortunately they've had to cancel several of the meets because of snow! What a crazy Spring we've had!! Juliann has been taking a Foods & Nutrition class this trimester as well as a Parenting class. It's been fun having her help in the kitchen. She even makes the gravy for us on Sundays...and it's delicious!! I didn't learn till after I was married :) She'll get her "baby" for her Parenting class this weekend. It should be fun since she's going to her friends dance recital on Friday. She has liked being over at the high school and looks forward to having the new high school done for her Junior year.

Dressed for Success?

2010-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is Jake's attire for his speech presentation. He did have to check into the office first so they could "check" his coat out to make sure there wasn't anything extra hiding. Then he had to walk down the halls with his hands behind him lifting up his coat so everyone could see that he had no intentions of harming anyone. This is actually Bryan's missionary coat he passed on to Jacob.

Learning to Sew

2010-04-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Jaylyn loves to sew, crochet, and make new things. Here she is sewing a prayer pillow that we decorated for Activity Days. Liliya Nelson and I were called Oct.2009 to be the Activity Day leaders. It is so much fun! Jyrikka will be able to join us in July when she turns 8! We have 12 girls right now and will have 18 by the end of this year!

A Moment In Time

2010-04-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

I got a call one day from the R.S. President who informed me that a lady in our ward had lost her baby. She was only 5 months pregnant and had gone into labor early. She asked if I would make a little gown for the baby since the parents wanted to have their little baby boy dressed in white. The baby only weighed 13 oz. and was 9 inches long. I wanted to make this a very special dress but wasn't sure how I would do it. Thank goodness for prayer! The R.S. President brought over a dress shirt of her husbands that was a pearly white color. I unpicked the sleeves of some doll clothes my girls had and made a pattern for the sleeves. The next part was truly inspired as I had an idea come to my mind to use the sleeve of the shirt to make the dress part. I cut off just under the cuff and was able to cut a place for the sleeves to go. The back was perfect because the button was still in-tacked and I just sewed a little velcro to the top of it. I ended up putting three little buttons on the dress which I got from the doll clothes. I was happy to find a little jewelry box in my drawer that was outlined in baby blue and had a clear plastic top so you could see the dress inside. I folded it up carefully and added a baby blue flower inside. It was a very special occasion for me to be able to deliver this to the parents and to talk to them about their experience. I was amazed at the simularities that we shared since our little Julia passed away when I was 6 months pregnant. We shared the bitter/sweet memories and moments of holding our infants. We shared the hardest part, which was leaving the hospital empty handed. I was touched by this couples strong testimony of being able to be with their little boy again. It was a moment in time that I was blessed to be a part of.

Upper Valley Idol

2010-04-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is Kaley and the gang! Kaley is Jordan's niece and was able to make it to a final round at the Upper Valley Idol competition. We were all so proud of her! She sang so well!!

Happy Birthday Summer!

2010-04-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another birthday has come around for Summer who is now 22! We had a great time celebrating with her. She and Hayden came over as well as Jordan's sister Amy, niece Kaley, and nephew Kade. I was happy I caught this cute birthday picture of Summer and Juliann together. Happy Birthday Summer!

He's Back!!

2010-04-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Does Summer look happy or what?! Hayden got back from his mission in Portugal in Dec. 2009. It didn't take long for Hayden and Summer to find each other again! We're so happy for Summer and hope she'll be making wedding plans soon! Summer will be an EFY counselor again this year but will have all the sessions in Provo, Utah. She starts the end of May and will finish in August. We love you Summer!!

Miss Creative

2010-04-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Jaylyn is a busy Busby! She made this cute bee box to hold all of her Valentines in. Jaylyn is so creative and loves making things. She is so artsy and is always asking me for art supplies to create new things. She's as sweet as honey!!

2nd Grade Valentine's Party

2010-04-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jyrikka loves Valentine's Day! She had fun at school making this envelope to put all her Valentines cards in. They had a different party in her class this year. The room mother is a nurse so she talked to the kids about their hearts and how to keep it healthy. Each child was asked to bring a piece of fruit and they made fruit smoothies! Then they spent the rest of the time exercising their hearts by jumping rope, running relays, etc. What a great idea!!

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-04-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

Our kids are always getting treats for the holidays from their Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins. They were excited to open their cute bags to see what was inside!

Name That Foot

2010-04-28T15:48:00.001-07:00

2010-04-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

The kids were happy to have new Valentine's socks! Jacob had to borrow one of Juliann's so he could be a part of this picture. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins! We love you too!!

Finally, an updated blog!

2009-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick "Thanks" to my wonderful sister, Serena, who was patient enough to teach me how to blog! She did the first ones for me and took all the family pictures. I'll have to apologize for the lengthiness of this blog. As you all know it's been a while and I wanted to share what we've been doing and how much my kids have grown. I also have access now to update my blog. We finally got a new computer which hasn't happened since Jacob was born and we were going to school in Lewiston, Idaho! Thanks for being patient with me. I sure do enjoy seeing what's going on in your lives, so keep blogging!

Just Trimming?

2009-05-23T11:38:00.001-07:00

So much for just trimming a few trees! On May 12th we had a big wind storm. We lost 2 big Russian Olive trees that were on the side of our garage (top right). It was quite incredible how both trees fell at a slant, missing our shed, garage, and back deck. On the other side of the pond, we also lost a part of one of the trees, which just missed hitting our neighbor's house. We decided to put our minds at ease and trim the trees! Jordan trimmed 32 trees and we had a forest down below. Thank goodness it got dark before he trimmed more. We spent 11 1/2 hours just picking up, sawing, and stacking wood that was on our neighbors lawn! Thanks goodness 24 ward members and neighbors came to our aid on Monday night. We had 5 chain saws going, and lots of hands to help clear the pond. It was such a wonderful sight to see everyone working together, laughing, and enjoying one another as we accomplished this great task! On Tuesday night, the young men and women came to help finish! We felt so blessed to have help! Jordan decided to wait to trim the other trees since we had all the 4th graders coming on Friday for a picnic, after their orientation at the middle school. We were able to help 6 other families stalk wood for next winter :) and as you can see, there's plenty for us! Filling the pond is always fun.

Summer

2009-05-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Summer turned 21 in February! She is our "adopted" daughter. She's actually Jordan's niece and lived with us for 5 years (13-1 8). She is working at Sage Day Spa and Broulims. She was just accepted to be an EFY counselor for 5 weeks during the summer! We are so excited for her to be able to do this. She'll get to stay here at BYU-I. Her missionary will come home in December, so we're hopeful that there will be a wedding next year.

Jacob

2009-05-22T17:37:00.001-07:00

Jacob will be turning 17 on the 31st of May. He'll be a senior next year! He loves snowboarding, running cross-country, and eating watermelon! He's on his fifth watermelon this year and it's only May! He and his friend love to come home for lunch but not until they stop at the grocery store and pick up a watermelon. They cut it in half and eat it all before going back to school! I thought this was a one time thing, but he's been doing it for 2 weeks now. The dance picture was the Valentine's dance. He's had a lot of fun dates. His last date, which was prom, his date wore her basketball shoes under her beautiful formal! :) He had a lot of fun playing church basketball this last fall. We were all surprised at all the three pointers that went in.

Juliann

2009-05-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

Wow! Juliann looks so old now that she got her braces off! She just got her driving permit in April and is wanting to drive all the time now. It's very nerve racking!! Now I know why my mom always gasped for air when I was learning! I try to gasp as quietly as possible and if I cough after, she has no idea what I'm thinking! Juliann had so much fun snowboarding this year with Jacob. They also got to run cross-country together. It was so nice to go to the meets and see them both run. Juliann did so well in piano festival too. She has those beautiful long fingers that help her play well. I had to include this picture (top left) of Juliann with one of our new kittens. She doesn't like the little kitten's claws, so she rapped it in a paper towel to hold it! :)

Janay

2009-05-22T16:18:00.001-07:00

Janay is always smiling! She turned 12 in Oct. and loves babysitting! She often calls Summer (top right) to see if they can get together. She and Juliann were able to go to the temple earlier this year and do baptisms. This was Janay's first time (bottom left). Janay earned enough points with piano festival to earn her statue of Mozart. She was invited to play the grand piano in the Snow building in the foyer after festival. She loves to play the violin too and has loved playing in the fiddle club. The last picture (bottom right) was Janay's first time skiing. We went up to Pomerelle Ski Resort near my parents in Declo. My brother Chris was so patient and helped her learn to ski. Unfortunately, the lessons came after she couldn't stop and turned into the mountain of snow. After spending an hour in the lodge, Chris convinced her to try again.

Jaylyn

2009-05-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Jaylyn(3rd grader) was the star in her class play, Pirates from Grammar Island. She did such a great job as the exclamatory pirate! It was the perfect part for her. The other pictures are from her 9th birthday. We went to Arizona for Christmas and since her birthday is Dec. 21st, we celebrated at Grandpa and Grandma Busby's. We hid her gifts outside in the trees (picture bottom right) which she had to find. It was so fun to leave the snow and pick fresh tangerines off of the tree in the front yard. It's always different to have Christmas in Arizona where people wash their cars on Christmas day! It just seems a little odd :) We got to stop in and see my brother (top right) in Las Vegas on our way down. We had so much fun seeing their family and all the extra's (pet iguana, frogs, dog, cat, fish, rat). Jordan's sister Amy and her kids also came with us. I think they were a little amazed at all the extra's :)!

Jyrikka

2009-05-22T15:37:00.001-07:00

Jyrikka has grown up so much this year! She's going to be 7 in July and is just finishing first grade. I love the stage when kids loose their teeth! She and Jaylyn have a new playground at their school. The top picture was taken just before it was finished. The bottom left is Jyrikka at our first hot dog roasting/pond cleaning party of the year. Her friend Kenna lives close by. I was impressed with Jyrikka's first water color painting. We may have an artist in the family after all. Last, both our cats had kittens! We have 11 kittens up for grabs! The funny thing is that our cat that didn't have a tail when we got her, had two kittens without tails! We now can rest in peace knowing that her tail didn't get cut off when she was a kitten after all! :)

Do you know the way to San Jose?

2009-05-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Last August my kids and I decided to go to California to visit my parents who were serving a mission in San Jose. They only had a few weeks left on their mission and all my siblings and their families had already been to visit. It was a very last minute decision to go but before I knew it, Jordan booked flights for me and all the kids! Everyone was so excited to go on the plane. I rode next to Jaylyn on the first flight. She was pretty scared and as we were taking off, she said, "Mom, I think we should have drove!" I had only planned on taking Jacob because I wanted him to see first hand what mission life is like. Jordan surprised me and let all of us go! The kids experienced a lot of "first time" activities which made our trip even better. We got to meet several missionaries and even went to a fireside where missionaries who were leaving that month spoke. We went over labor day weekend. The kids and I drove to Bountiful Friday afternoon to my aunts house. My aunt MaryAnne was kind enough to take us from Bountiful to the airport in Salt Lake. We arrived at a small airport in San Jose Friday evening. What a thrilling experience to see my parents after 17 months! I was overjoyed! My kids and I wore our San Jose tee shirts that my parents sent to us for Christmas. My parents took us to one of their favorite restaurants "In and Out" after picking us up at the airport. Saturday, we went to the Red Woods and also the beach. Sunday, we met many people in my parents ward who loved them. I wasn't surprised to hear how much my parents would be missed. Sunday night was the fireside and Monday, we were headed back to Idaho. The time was well spent with lots of talking and catching up. We were a little sad that time went so quickly but we were so very grateful for the opportunity to visit San Jose when my parents were serving in the mission office there.

Slimmy Snails

2009-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

It was so exciting to be with my parents again! We were treated like royalty with my mom's cooking and my dad's adventures. Jyrikka saw a snail shell outside the apartment and was thrilled when this little critter crept out. There were snails everywhere in the bushes. Thank goodness Jyrikka didn't try to bring any of these new friends home with her!

The Red Woods

2009-05-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

This was an amazing place! They have some of the tallest trees in the world. We got to walk through trees, climb on top of huge trees that had fallen over, and witness the tallest trees in the world! My children got a little tired of trees but I thought it was amazing. It was a hot day but there was a trail full of shade which was nice. Mom made us a picnic lunch and then we took a trail through the forest.

Fun at the Beach!

2009-05-22T13:16:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures at the beach. My dad and Jacob enjoyed walking in the sand and just spending time talking and being together. It had been 17 months since my parents had left on their mission, so we had a lot to catch up on. My mom and I went for a walk on the bridge. We saw a fisherman pull this little shark out of the water. I HAD to take a picture so my kids would believe me when I told them I saw a shark! We ended up taking lots of broken shells home. I had to soak them in bleach water to get rid of the "dead" smell.

Sea Cliff Beach

2009-05-22T12:59:00.001-07:00

This was the first time that Juliann, Janay, Jaylyn and Jyrikka had been to the ocean! It was so much fun to see their excitement. The water was so cold! They spent most of their time picking up broken sea shells. Jyrikka asked me where she could find the real shells that weren't all broken up. She loved to drag around this big sea weed and to play in the sand. We had two sea lions come fairly close to where we were. It was cute to see their heads poke out of the ocean and make funny noises. It was a little overcast and a perfect day at the beach.

Pig Ears or Chicken Feet?

2009-05-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Mom wanted to take us to the Lion Market just a few miles from their apartment. It was almost like going to the zoo, except you can buy and eat what you see! They even sold chicken feet and pig ears! Juliann is holding up black fungus!! That was definitely not on our grocery list! The long fish are called belt fish. I thought that was an appropriate name. They could have wrapped around Jyrikka or Jaylyn easily. We had a fun time looking and laughing. We got many strange looks. It could have been that we were the only white people there! I think they would have kicked us out if we hadn't left when we did. Now my kids can really appreciate my cooking!

Heading back to Idaho

2009-05-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

The time went way too fast! We left Monday morning to head back to Idaho. Dad had been to the airport many times with the missionaries, so he knew right where to go. It was quite an adventure finding where the right terminal was for our airplane but we eventually found our way around. It was a great feeling to know that mom and dad would be coming home to Idaho soon. Thanks mom and dad for the fun time! We will treasure these memories forever!

Sunday afternoon in California

2009-05-21T11:05:00.001-07:00

We loved going to church with Grandpa and Grandma.

It was fun to meet all the members who love my parents
and are sad to see that they will be returning home soon.

Janay

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Jacob

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Juliann

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Jaylyn

2008-09-03T15:35:00.002-07:00

Jyrikka

2008-09-03T15:35:00.001-07:00

Jake and Juliann

2008-09-03T15:33:00.001-07:00

These two were having so much fun during our photo shoot we just had to add a few of them to the blog!

Favorite Photo Chair

2008-09-03T15:32:00.001-07:00

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2008-09-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our favorite photo chair

2008-08-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

This is our favorite spot to take a family photo. We come here every year to snap a shot.

Busby Kids

2008-08-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

Busby Girls

2008-08-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Busby Bunch

2008-08-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

These are some of our favorites up

at the Gardens at BYU-I.

Who's the Queen Bee?

2008-08-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

We love our Jyrikka. Someone has to be the center of attention right? We gladly give it to her!

Hurry, Say Cheese!!

2008-08-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is our attempt at a pyramid. We barley made it!
Who's having the most fun? Jordan or Janay?

Buzz Bee Hive

2008-08-06T20:10:00.001-07:00