Every two years the Busath's have a family reunion.
We missed the 2011 reunion in Yellowstone.
Sad news, right?
But, we didn't miss the 2013 reunion in Lake Tahoe!!!
Here is most of the family.
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| Picture taken by my cousin Andrea Busath. She is in the blue shirt with white polka-dots on the far right. |
Sadly, there were some that could not come to the reunion because of missionary service and work/career conflicts.
You will notice that our little family is not in the above picture either. =-( We were sick.
And my Dad and Uncle Greg Hardester are not in the picture because at the time they were giving our little family Priesthood blessings.
This is a picture from our first night.
Marley in the green sweat shirt, with her second cousins, playin in the beached canoe.
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| via Andrea |
We arrived in Lake Tahoe after dinner and about 3 hours later than we had planned.
Our poor little Isabelle threw up between 4 and 9 times in the car on the way...
I lost count after 4 times.
She had had a cold and in the past we found she has a sensitive gag reflex and congestion would lead to coughing, gagging and throwing up.
That's what we thought this was.
The only thing worse than having a sick baby, is having a sick baby in a car.
Oh wait, it's worse when the sick baby is in a borrowed car seat and a borrowed car.
Gross!
Sorry Julie and Mom.
When we arrived we were hungry and tired and sick and REALLY REALLY needed a washer and dryer.
We stopped by the main reunion site, a place called Manzanita!
(That's where the kids are playing in the canoe.)
That is where most of the reunion peeps were staying.
It was an awesome place.
A small motel converted into a reunion type place.
Several private rooms with private bathrooms.
But, the old lobby/office was a kitchen and big dinning area.
Sort of like a mini-lodge?
After we checked in with our family we set out to find a laundromat and found we were too late to start laundry that night, it was 9:00pm and the last load had to be started by 8:50pm.
We did the next best thing and set out to find food.
We had Round Table Pizza, a favorite from growing up in California.
After we ate though, Marley started feeling sick.
As we drove through the parking lot to leave dinner, Marley started puking.
We returned to Manzanita because we heard there were washers and dyers there that we could use!
We had planned on "camping" with my parents in their camper trailer.
Our plan was to start some laundry at Manzanita, go to camp and get all set up for bed and get the girls to bed. Then I would return to Manzanita to change the laundry.
By the time we were done with dinner it was around 10:30pm.
I was pooped and started feeling sick myself but, wasn't sure if it was because I had been around it all day and cleaning it up all day or because I was actually infected with a bug.
As my sister helped me search for the exact location of the washer and dryer my emotions overcame me and I started to cry.
We had come so far, thousands of miles to be here. I had just spent 10+ hours in a car with a sick baby and now Marley was sick too.
I had expected fun and pure enjoyment while spending quality time with family I love so much but live so far away from.
I was so disappointed.
My Uncle Greg, Aunt Kathy and their family were staying in a cabin in the Tahoe Keys.
They were there at Manzanita though and they instantly said we should stay with them.
They had a master bedroom with a private bathroom and a washer and dryer right down the hall.
I didn't want to intrude on there accommodations but it did sound like the ideal situation, given our circumstances.
Julie helped me take the laundry back to the car.
I filled Nathan in on the new plan and we followed my Uncle Greg over to the cabin.
We gave Marley and Isi a bath.
We started laundry and got those girls to sleep.
We finally got to bed around midnight.
Around 1:00am I got sick and proceed to be sick through the night.
Isi slept fine and wasn't sick again until morning.
Marley had a small box next to her with several grocery bags lining it.
Every time she got sick we just pulled out the top bag.
That was my Uncle Greg's genius idea.
I tear up thinking about how much love we felt even though we were quarantined from the family.
It was such quick and generous thinking on my Aunt and Uncles part to offer us their space and convenience to the washer and dryer.
The next day my Uncle Greg and my Dad brought us meals that were prepared for the family at Manzanita.
AND they missed out on the family picture so they could minister to us.
My mom called us to check on us.
Nathan remained unscathed all of Saturday.
While me and the girls continued to be ill.
We all slept most of the day.
Which brings me to the only pictures WE took while in Lake Tahoe.
I was in bed on the right most of the day.
Isi is asleep in the stroller, though she mostly slept in the pack n play, again borrowed from my mom.
Marley is passed out in that blue blanket on the floor on the left.
Nathan tried to watch movies on my dad's little DVD player.
For some reason it wouldn't work.
This was our view.
Beautiful right!
Right on one of the keys.
At one point, while I was passed out, Isi was having a hard time getting comfortable and settled, so Nathan took her for a walk and she passed out.
Poor Marley.
Poor Isi.
I wouldn't let Nathan take a picture of poor Becky.
Out for some fresh air.
High five.
Saturday night Isi had not stopped throwing up. Around 9:30pm she was still awake and she was inconsolable. Screaming, crying, writhing and pushing us away.
Very unlike her.
We used our little tablet to try to find a place to take her like an InstaCare.
We had no luck.
Around 10:30 I decided we should just try giving her a bottle of milk even though we were trying to just give her crackers or bread and water.
I ran upstairs as quiet as I could and my Aunt and Uncle were up there and they were totally worried.
They had been searching the internet too, to find some place we could take her and had located an emergency room.
I got her some milk and took the information down to Nathan.
Kathy said she would go with me and Nathan could stay with Marley.
We hadn't been anywhere and we had washed the car seat cover and though it was dry, I had to put the whole car seat back together.
While I did that...which didn't take as long as I thought it would, it did take a good deal of time,
By the time I we got it all back together, Kathy had just run upstairs for a few minutes. I waited by the door with Isi, who had actually calmed down and was drinking the bottle. I kept thinking that Kathy would come look down the stairs to see if we were ready. I didn't want to call up stairs because I didn't know if people were sleeping. And I didn't want to run up there because I was still sick and my body exhausted so, I just left.
Of course, I wish I had waited a little longer or just ran upstairs to get Aunt Kathy.
It would have just been better to have her with me.
But, it was fine.
I found the ER easily even though it was tucked back in a weird place.
While I filled out the paper work Isi was finishing up her bottle.
I was so tired I couldn't remember Isi's birthday.
She was due on April 18th and born on April 19th.
I couldn't remember if it was the other way around.
I don't know why...wouldn't you remember if your child was even one day overdue!?!?
Especially if you're the mother!?
So, I put April 18th as her birthday.
Wrong.
(This has come back to haunt us as our insurance would not process the bill since it had the wrong birthdate. That's a whole different story now.)
They made me sign a form saying I was aware of car seat safety and car seat laws and stuff.
I got a little irrationally nervous that they were going to inspect the car seat and find I had put it back together wrong and then take Isi away from me.
I was so tired.
I signed it.
Nothing came of that...
I'm a weirdo.
When I was done with the paperwork I took Isi out of the car seat and guess what.
She seemed fine.
In fact, the whole time we were there she was all smiles.
I guess she just needed some milk?
Because I had mentioned that we think she has a sensitive gag reflex, the doctor prescribed her Zofran.
It was nice because he gave us two samples and we were to give her half a pill, so we had 4 doses and we just rubbed it on her gums and it totally dissolved quickly.
But the filled prescription was not so easy to give her.
They were tiny hard pills that we were supposed to cut them in half.
So hard to cut them without totally crushing the whole tiny pill and then so hard to get her to swallow it.
(When we returned home we talked to our family doctor about getting the easily disolvable Zofran for future use and he said "NO! That has not even been tested with infants!" Yikes! Okay!)
This is what we missed while we were quarantined.
A little bit chilly/breezy then windy day at the beach.
Lounging and relaxing and beach bumming with our huge family.
I LOVE THE BEACH!
I LOVE MY FAMILY!
Both together....
HEAVEN!!!!
The family dance!!!
Look at 3 of my awesome Aunts and my wonderful Uncle Ed!
They are the best most unique dancers!
I was especially bummed about missing this.
I LOVE TO DANCE!
Each family chooses a family song to submit.
Good. Clean. Happy. Upbeat. Songs.
What's cool is, we were planning on submitting On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons. We chose that one because we A) we love that song, B) we practically live on top of the world and C) they say EH a lot in that song.
It got played even though we weren't there because my cousin Joslyn (dancing above on the left) had chosen the same song!
Another cool fact. My cousin Claire (dancing above on the right) is now in Oklahoma serving a fulltime mission. She's a visa waiter going to Brazil.
Everybody was free to dance!
Oh my goodness!
Look how much fun!
I didn't even know this happened!
Happy birthday Ben!
Ben is now serving in the Indianapolis Indiana Mission.
My cousin Evan was in the MTC in Mexico, learning Spanish and is in the same mission as Ben!
Two cousins in the same mission, one speaking Spanish and one speaking English!
END OF US MISSING OUT.
The next day (Sunday) it had been 12 hours since anyone had thrown up and though a bit tired, I was feeling pretty good.
We decided we'd go to breakfast at Manzinita and then to church with everyone.
After church we returned to the cabin to rest.
Then Sunday evening we joined everyone back at Manzanita for dinner and evening happenings.
My cousin Amy and her family had to leave the reunion early so, my Aunts arranged for us to move into their vacant room. Which was SO awesome because after missing out on a lot on Friday and Saturday, that put us right in the middle of everything and we could more easily participate. Like putting our kids to bed but then being able to stay up and play games with everybody.
After moving in we had Sunday dinner.
Then we had a family fireside.
My Aunt Claudia talked about my Grandparents, who have both passed away.
Some of my cousins were not born when my Grandmother passed, and so never knew her.
Some were too young when my Grandfather passed, and so don't remember him.
They were great people!
She also talked about how their parents (my grandparents) brought them to Lake Tahoe and they have great memories of family vacations there.
Then my Uncle Ed read my Grandpa's testimony, which is recorded in his personal history.
It was very touching to have it read by his son.
After that we played a temple trivia game that my cousins Kelly and Joslyn had prepared.
Basically it was a powerpoint of pictures of temples and then we guessed which temple it was.
They had also prepared a slideshow with music.
The slideshow was pictures of us all in front of lots of different temples.
Which they had collected from all of us before the reunion.
It was awesome.
Then we had a hymn sing.
I wish I had made a little video of this.
When the Busath's sing together is it like Angels!
We all sing pretty loud but we all blend really well.
I don't feel like any of us are soloists but we are all really good singers.
We sang with the keyboard but my favorite was when we sang acapella.
I didn't even want that to end.
Then we played games!!!
So fun!
I'm in the picture below...can you find me?
Yep! That's me on the far left, eating, with my tongue sticking out. Ha!
Monday, we had planned to float the river and had even purchased tubes before we left Utah.
We decided it would be too cold for our recovering bodies to float in tubes that long so decided we'd just go to the beach.
But, here are the instigators of the river float.
Several families had a great time floating.
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| via Andrea |
Looks beautiful right!
Sad we missed this.
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| via Andrea |
But, so glad we got to go to the beach!
These pictures are courtesy of Julie, my sister.
Isi doesn't really look happy to be at the beach, right?
Julie thought Isi was giving her a crusty but, Isi's just mad that she's at the beach and doesn't have her suit on.
I was helping Marley get covered in sunscreen, but as soon as I was done I changed Isi and dowsed her in sunscreen too.
See now we're all happy we're at the beach!
I love this picture below, they are both waving!
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Isi really liked sitting is this raft until I got up to take a picture of her. |
Then she had to be all bugged that she was getting her picture taken again.
So much fun!
Julie and our sister-in-law Whitney and I took a boat ride to Emerald Bay, courtesy of my Uncle Greg.
Actually, Lola came too but passed out as soon as we got on the boat.
Cutie pie Lola, my niece.
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| This was taken by my sister Liz. Isi was beat and ready to leave the beach. |
Monday night we had dinner back at Manzanita and then we had family skits!
Here is the audience.
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| the rest of these pictures are courtesy of Andrea again, unless otherwise mentioned |
My dad getting the crowd warmed up and laughing.
Busath's sang a beautiful song. Part of the song they sang in Chinese because Andrea just returned from her mission in Taiwan and they also lived in China for three years as a family.
No picture because these are Andrea's pictures and she was singing with them. :-)
The Laugenours did a mash up of several funny scenes from various movies.
VERY FUNNY!
The Jensens sang and danced to Day-o (Banana Boat Song) from Beetlejuice.
It was funny too!
I love my Aunt Nancy in this first picture! Ha!
My Aunt Jan sang a song to her grandson.
Then Grandpa (my uncle Gregg) came out and sang the same song to him in Spanish.
Then Nathan his dad (my cousin) came out and sang it again in Russian.
He seemed to like the Russian version best.
Then my family did a very serious and professional concert of Hall of the Mountain King.
There is a rumor that my cousin Dave made a video of it.
I've inquired and if he can get it to me, I'll post it another day.
We brought tons of newspaper with us and instead of actual instruments we ripped paper to the rhythm of the song.
It's fun because the kids can even do it.
And funny because the song starts out slow and gets faster and faster.
My brother in law Matt was a great maestro.
And here is my Marley with her cousin Kelsey.
WhooWee this was a long post!
Nathan got sick early Tuesday morning but was fine the whole drive home.
He couldn't just get through it totally unscathed...had to get sick once.
