Following the ceremony we did family photos (but I’ll put those in a separate post). Everyone went and enjoyed the charcuterie board (Rachael made the actual wooden board! We all prepped the meats and cheese the day before)
Dinner was salads and schwarma poutine!
Speeches:
We had to take a break from speeches to go take sunset photos!
Then came the first dance, dance with Rachael and her Dad, Dance with Zach and me – and then they DANCED and partied! They even had Rachael’s Dad arrive
There really were thousands pf photos – these are just a smattering of them representing the whole night!
I’ve already posted some of the snaps I got from the wedding – but I want to make sure I include here some of the official wedding photos.
Sara (Light and Love Photography in Kitchener, Ontario), Rachael’s sister, did a phenomenal job. She also had a second photographer there to shoot – and I think between them they took over 5000 photos! Don’t worry I won’t post them all here – although I have to say, it is super hard to decide what to post – never mind what to frame as there are so many amazing ones!
So here are some of my faves:
Zach getting ready:
The first look…(and Rachael giving Zach a gift of a journal she had kept every day since their engagement..)
Most of our kids have done a humanitarian trip with an amazing organization (previously called HEFY) HumanitarianXP.
Sam left for 2.5 weeks to go to Kenya to build a school.
He had to fly to NYC to meet his group. We were a little nervous given all the flight cancellations happening , but it all worked out!
He had an incredible time. Had great leaders, made some great friends, worked hard, went on several Safaris in the Serengeti (although he said he preferred the safaris we did in South Africa!), and got to experience and learn about a different country, culture, way of life and people.
They are not allowed their phones on the trip but the leaders post every day on instagram, so I make sure to screen shot every day when I see Sam. This is what we got!
When Josh took a gap year last year I was kind of happy bcs even though he would be gone working and travelling, it delayed the university drop off which seems so much more permanent.
This is it – the point of no return. There is no turning back the clocks.
We planned to drop him off at Carleton University in Ottawa Labour day weekend right before school started. Unfortunately, Rob found out that he had to be in Milan, Italy for work on that Monday. We tried to get creative, but it ended up that he would have to miss drop off and catch a flight to Milan on the Saturday,
Which meant I would be doing drop off solo.
Luckily, Josh is going to the same school as two of his best friends, so I knew that their parents would be coming as well. It was great that the boys ended up getting suite style residence too – so the “high council of mothers” as the boys call us got to work purchasing things they could share (primarily kitchen and bathroom). There ended up being a lot of stuff piled in my front room for a bit as Amazing boxes kept getting dropped off.
We went out for one last dinner in Toronto – got to try an Indian place that we both had been talking about trying – and it is not disappoint!
Then in the morning we headed out:
Oops forgot to give Reg a big hug… so Rob went in and brought him out…
We headed to Ottawa and went straight to my aunt and uncles (who live 5 minutes from Carleton) and they had a really nice lunch for us with my aunt and cousin as well.
We then headed to Carleton – they had a car check in (I got video of it but this is the only snap I got of Josh – he was trying to search where we were supposed to go after to meet his buddies. It was cute, as you drove in, they had all these students cheering to welcome you to Carleton!
We made it to his residence – he has a “suite style” which means that they have a small kitchen and can make some food. He is with 4 guys – two of his best buddies from high school and one other guy they just met. His actual room mate is one of his friends (Ethan). Ethan’s parents were there as well as Ben’s (his other buddy). All the parents got to work to help the boys all set up their rooms and the kitchen.
Josh has the window side. I didn’t get a picture of the closet but it’s a decent size and we got a set of drawers to go at the bottom and there is a set under the bed – there is actually a decent amount of space.
After setting everything up, we headed out for dinner.
My typical “follow you” picture
Sadly, no pictures of the actual dinner. But we had a nice meal with all the boys including his new roommate. We totally got soaked on the way home – it was a wicked thunder and lightning storm! I then headed back to hang out with my aunt and uncle while the boys had their first night !
The next day I went shopping with Ethan’ s parents and Josh and Ethan. We stocked them up with everything you can imagine! They are set for at least this semester if not next:) We grabbed a quick burger and then took them back to their res where we unpacked groceries and then it was time for good bye!
Then just the guys from high school:
And that was it. I dropped my baby off at University.
I thought it would be easy since he had taken a gap year and was away for a good chunk of it. But there is something more final about dropping a kid off at school.
And it certainly didn’t help to have to drive home in an empty truck and then arrive back to an empty house. My heart hurt and I had a good little cry (in Josh’s bed – shhhh).
I am excited for Josh and his future and know he will do great things, have fun, build memories, go on adventures – just like all my other kids are doing. And I am excited for all the things that Rob and I have planned for our future too! But… my heart still aches for those days when it was just our little world. When I would lie in bed and sing the boys to sleep (and Josh would hold me in a vice grip to make sure I did not sneak out of his bed when he drifted off). Or when we would practice the Invictus poem (which happy to say he still remembers – as I checked to make sure as we drove to Ottawa, lol).
When they all piled in my bed to read at night; when I would pick lucky winner for Zach; when Sam would pray the house wouldn’t catch on fire; when Gabe and Zach would yell down for our ETA and play mini sticks and be giggling and running around trying to scare Zandra… and of course the thirty two thousand times Zandra would get up to say goodnight and go pee…
So many memories that were created in what seems like a fleeting moment.
Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,Make (me) them a child again just for tonight…
Now I’m off to go have a little cry again…
This letting go stuff is pretty hard, right Mamas?
It was many moons ago that we had a big Busing Family reunion (my mom’s side).
We had a few ones growing up, but mostly we got together for birthdays, weddings, and unfortunately funerals. When Granny (and Papa) were alive, we often came together around their milestones. Like this one back in 2007 – Granny’s 95th Birthday ( I just saw this photo hanging on my aunt and uncle’s wall so took a picture – I’m sure have the original somewhere!)
I had just met Rob a couple of weeks earlier when this photo was taken! Look at how young (and cute) Zach and Josh were!
We had a big reunion in 2010 in Gananoque and then we planned for one in 2020.
Then Covid happened so it was delayed until this past summer!
Mostly everyone was able to make it except for my brother and family (they had just been here for Zach’s wedding), a couple of my cousin’s kids, plus Gabe and Shannon and Zandra and Ilyah. All together there was 58 of us!
This is everyone!Just the (Granny and Papa’s )kids and grandkids (no great grandkids)5 of the 6 – missing Bini who passed away several years ago:(The great grandkids!The grandkids (missing my brother)
We arrived on the Friday night ; we took up two cars as we brought up a lot of food:) Everyone was just hanging out in the games room so we joined them and caught up. We later went out to the campfire and talked with a few of my cousins and their wives and kids.
The next day was a gorgeous day. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing. We went for a hike with Zach and Rachael. The boys later went on the paddle boats and the water trampoline. They played basketball and volleyball. They tried to play tennis but the courts were in bad shape. Rob and I went out on the canoe.
In the later afternoon, my aunts had organized an “International Olympics” which was a great way for everyone to get to know everyone and for the kids to feel included. It was a lot of fun!
That night we had a nice dinner and then my uncle had hired a DJ – so everyone danced ( the little girls were all in awe of Rachael’s dance moves!). The boys played chess, pool and crokinole (another game I had not heard of). It was a very fun night!
The next day the boys went to play golf and Rachael and I went paddleboarding and hung out on the trampoline. The boys came back and went kayaking as well. We had a nice dinner at the dockside restaurant and then the kids played Corn toss. We had a nice campfire, and everyone sat around and talked ….
The next day we spent some time saying goodbye to everyone!
It was a great weekend – so nice to catch up with everyone, do some fun stuff and get out in the sunshine!
When Zandra got married in January she had to then start the whole green card process which meant she was not allowed to leave the country.
We were pretty bummed about that given it meant she could not come to Zach and Rachael’s wedding, and she would have to miss my 50th Family trip to Mexico, in addition to our big extended family reunion…
But I decided to take a few days to head to Hawaii and hang out with her when her husband was away – just to have a little girl time!
We basically settled into a nice routine – we would both work in the mornings then head to a different beach in the afternoons!
Because I was only there for a short time, I decided to try to keep my eastern time zone schedule and was up around 4am to start working (lots of fun creative stuff for my upcoming group coaching program for woman which is going to be FABULOUS – reach out if you are interested!!) . I did manage to do some other things in the morning – like head to the LDS Laie Temple, and go for a few walks on beach too. We also managed to squeeze in some other walks at various time (usually in the morning, but I went one evening and walked and then sat on temple grounds taking in the incredible sunset skies)
We also ate some very yummy food! Every lunch and dinner trying a new place (although the Banzai bowl won three times, lol).
On the last day we headed to Waikiki before my late plane that evening. Waikiki is super touristy, super busy but I wanted to see it! I got to see a bit of Honolulu too and we ate at the Cheesecake factory so it felt all around touristy to me:)
But if you want beautiful beaches, then please leave Waikiki behind and head to the north shore!
We also got to hang out with one of Zandra’s friends a couple of nights and she introduced me to the stray cats that she feeds on campus!
We ate, laughed, talked, walked, read, beached, swam, and sunned – all good things to do in Hawaii! It was so nice to have her all to myself and catch up and create these new memories – definitely feeling a tradition coming on lol.
Here’s our time together in photos (mixed in with food and beach!) :
The last in our family’s biggest birthday month: Happy Birthday Zach!
I always get a bit nostalgic and emotional for Zach’s birthday bcs this is where motherhood all began for me.
Where telling time was different, where my thought process changed, where my heart started living outside of me…
It’s fun to take a trip down memory lane every year and remember his birth story – and then marvel at how time has flown and be in shock and awe that he has flown the nest and is even now married!
There are so many things I appreciate about Zach. Having just gotten married, and then been on a big family trip, there are a lot of things I noticed and really do admire and appreciate:
He really is quite thoughtful and sensitive. Following the wedding, he gave me a necklace representing the mother/son bond , he would offer to carry my beach bag when we were heading to the beach, and when we talk on the phone he always asks what’s new and is genuinely interested in hearing from me.
He is a smarty. I think he just absorbs information like a sponge. Not just book smart either – he’s intuitive as well.
He is a super hard worker. I think one of the hardest workers I know. He’s not afraid to put the effort in and does hard things.
He is ridiculously silly and hilarious. He truly is a “fun guy” (he even has a tshirt that says this!)
He is authentic through and through. What you see is what you get. He’s the same in the dark as the light. I never have to guess if he’s just saying things for the sake of saying them or really means them.
He is a very loyal and committed person. He is a great brother and friend too. And I can see the kind of husband he is and will be – the best.
He appreciates things and shows gratitude. This is a nice one to see how it has grown over the years. He shows his appreciation and doesn’t just assume you know.
He is a family guy. He makes family a priority – he’ll go out of his way if he sees it’s important to you. In Mexico, I saw him make the effort to spend time with people – whether it be spending time in the blazing sun to play basketball with his brother, or getting up early to have breakfast with us – he puts the effort in.
He is a doer. He doesn’t just say things, he does them. He walks his talk. He is also a good communicator (a little blunt at times lol)
He has a strong spiritual side and a spiritual maturity. He is not a blind follower, he questions things, he searches things, he puts the work in that faith requires. He makes his spiritual development a priority and that radiates through in so many areas.
He loves big. ❤️
It’s crazy to think that I was chosen to be his mom, but I feel incredibly blessed!
Happy Birthday Zach! It’s been quite a year so far-wishing you so much love and happiness in the years ahead!
One of the challenges with a big family that is getting older is it is harder and harder to get everyone together for any family vacations. When Gabe went off to University, he was no longer available to come on March breaks trips with us – so it had been a while since Gabe travelled.
I knew for my 50th I wanted to celebrate with a big family vacation, so plans were in the works last year. With Zandra deciding to get married in January, it meant that she would not be able to join us as she was not able to leave the country due to green card applications. We decided we would squeeze it in while everyone was home for Zach and Rachael’s wedding
Zach and Rachael headed off immediately following their wedding on a honeymoon cruise to Alaska. They returned home and had a day to pack up for our trip to Mexico!
We left bright and early on Rob’s birthday. Sam had to finish off some school stuff so was joining us only two days later. So the 7 of us were off.
We were dividing our time between two resorts – one in Tulum and one on Riviera. We wanted to have a bit of variety and I am glad we did because each resort had nice things to offer.
We also decided to do an all inclusive – I knew the kids are all still at an age where if we did an AirBNB, they would fall into the pattern of “What’s there to eat” and it would fall on me and I did not want to have to deal with that. Down the road, doing a nice house where everyone is in charge of a couple of meals is probably the way to go…
We picked up some cake for Rob at the airport (and it was so so good!!!)
And arrived in Cancun. We arranged a private transfer (best thing to do so you don’t have to wait and stop at every resort – Canada Transfers was awesome).
We arrived at Grand Bahia Principe Tulum in less than 1.5 hours.
The resort was huge – a few little hiccups checking in with rooms and buildings but we managed to figure it out.
A little resort review – pros – rooms were nice, we were close to a nice quieter pool , buffet was huge and quite good. Had really nice Bali beds to lounge on – so we spent most of our time by the pool. It worked for us. The a la cart restaurants were hit and miss. You can only do one every second day. You can go to the other resort too. We went to the Japanese, the French and the Indian. All the meals were ok – nothing amazing, but decent. The real downfall was the beach. So much seaweed the beach was not useable. Being a beach person that made me sad:(
We spent most of our days by the pool. The kids were up and down – a mixture of doing their own thing and hanging our together. Gabe got a little sick and we didn’t see him and Shannon for a couple of days; Rachael also got sick, so she just lay low by the pool (she was a little worse at the next resort – but still wanted to be pool and beach side). The little boys did a lot of sleeping in. We had a couple of shows that we went to. We had a few showers – but always managed to be eating lunch or having a siesta!
While we were there, Rachael found out she got into BYU nursing (so we took a few pictures)
All and all, everyone had a good time.
The morning we were switching to a different resort, it was raining. And it rained all day!
We arrived at the Fives and and again had a few room adjustments. I think COVID hit many of these resorts pretty hard and so the upkeep on buildings is hit and miss.
We were in the newer section – which was nice – but far from the beach. The beach was a bit better – but not great – although they have a really nice set up with the pool being right on the beach. That is where Rob and I hung out everyday.
There were other pools around – a few close to us that we spend time at too. One night we even went for a night swim but they kicked us out:)
The food was really good. The buffet was tiny – but we enjoyed all the a la carte restaurants. We hit the sushi place up twice and it was excellent – we had so much !! They had great little stands for lunch – burger place, taco place, mediterrean…. I really miss it lol.
Rob and I had a roof top patio which was really nice and we hung out on our own and the kids joined a few times too.
For my birthday – Rob went all out.
He chartered a yacht and we went to the marina and then spent an amazing day in the beautiful turquoise water! We went snorkeling and swimming and had guacamole and chicken tacos. It was so so nice!
That night he had arranged a big surf and turf dinner on our roof top. It was really good! The kids had made a video for me, as well as a collage of words (about me) framed.
The beach was so beautiful on Isla Mujeres that we decided to make our way back to it a couple of days later. Zach and Rachael were the only ones keen to go (Sam was planning on coming but got sick) – so the four of us went and had a great day! We had great food, and the beach and the water was amazing – it was the perfect day to end our trip.
“Do I have lotion on my face?!?” lol
Overall, it was a great trip! Of course, as with anything, there were ups and downs – but that is to be expected! You also learn a lot about what you want to do or not do in the future:)
It definitely is nice to be back to travelling and we are going to make up for lost time that is for sure!
I remember when Gabe turned 17 and we were thinking how everyone is getting so old! Now the baby of the family turns 17!
Happy Birthday Sam!
He travelled alone to Mexico to join us a few days after we left as he had to finish school. Next week he is our last kid to head off on a Humanitarian trip – he is going to Kenya – how cool is that!
You can definitely say Sam is fiercely independent (which is good and bad at this age lol).
He is up for any adventure.
He is passionate about music. He actually is a bit of a music nut. He loves old music. He loves his albums. He even got a yellow Sony walkman!
He enjoys playing music too and is even in a band. He is a great self taught musician.
He is pretty easy going and is up to do most things.
He only grumbles a bit when asked to do things:) He will still say thank you for things too:))
He has a great sense of humour.
He is a social butterfly. He loves hanging out with friends.
He is a good little brother and has a lot of fun when his brothers are around.
One more year before he flies the coop! He has some big plans – an exciting future ahead of him!
After not seeing Gabe for over 2 years due to the pandemic and green card delays, this past year we have had the privilege of seeing him much more often! 2 weeks last summer, over a month at Christmas and we are just rounding up 6 weeks of him (and Shannon) being here!
Lots of changes for this guy! After graduating, while patiently waiting for his green card (everything was seriously delayed),Gabe & Shannon lived in Denver with her parents.
They then packed their car and headed cross country to live in Florida so Gabe could start law school.
Florida was not their favorite place, but he persevered and had a successful first year at law school. He decided to apply to Brooklyn law school in New York – got accepted early, got a partial scholarship and then they head to the Big Apple next month!
Lots of changes! In the interim, they packed up again, shipped their car (Gabe is not a fan of road trips) , and have spent 6 weeks with us and are heading off to Shannon’s parents for another 6 weeks before starting school.
And during the summer, he is getting some lawyer experience working virtually for a law firm in California!
What an adventure it has been and will be!
Gabe has really shone this year!
He has put forth lots of effort and it has paid off! He is a hard worker!
He us also just a super smart guy. He gets things.
His curiosity and quest for knowledge still reigns.
His sense of humour is incredible and he has us all laughing all the time!
He is so loyal and committed. A trait he really gets from his dad:)
Speaking of his dad, they are like two peas in a pod… their love of cars, is strong! Whether it be model cars, old cars, fast cars, formula one… they enjoy it all.
He is a family guy – not only an amazing husband to Shannon, brother to his siblings, he is a great son. We all FaceTime consistently every Sunday and he calls Rob every Thursday – and he rarely misses either! His commitment and interest in family shines through.
He has a great smile and laugh.
He is still our tech whiz – even though his computer broke in Mexico 🙁
He is very caring and compassionate – again this shines through with Shannon – he is always thinking of her.
It’s so fun to be able to spend time with him on his birthday ! Oh the places he will go this year! Buckle up, keep your arms in, because he is off on an adventure!
