The Busy Bybeez

Adventures on the High Seas

2009-07-26T22:14:00.003-04:00

Dive into the Polar Bear Plunge at Cub Scout Adventure Camp!

Hit me with your best shot!

Fire Away!

It's the Climb

2009-07-26T22:05:00.005-04:00

Matthew and his cousins Justin and Jacob took a rock wall class this past week. They loved every monkey minute of it.

We Are a Happy Family!

2009-07-26T21:46:00.009-04:00

Although my visit to Utah was brief, I was able to see some of my family. My niece Brielle is the happiest baby on earth and this picture proves it!

Anni was rockin' the house!

Mason kept wanting to "tell me something."

Katy almost became my lunch because she is so edibly cute!

Although I am not featured on this musical gig, I do have bragging rights to scoring 99% on my first attempt as the lead singer to "Eye of the Tiger." Rock on!

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder!

2009-07-26T21:37:00.004-04:00

On the way home from Montana, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. It was amazing to see this awesome sight. Although our stop was brief, I can say that I am proud to be an American!

Our road trip wouldn't have been complete without our stop in Mitchell, South Dakota and an All- American picture in front of the Corn Palace. Yes, the front of the building is designed out of corn husks. My parents took us as kids to this fine place when I was a kid. Sean was excited that we stopped here, but only because there was a cabella's in town.

Our Slice of Heaven on Earth

2009-07-26T21:24:00.001-04:00

Highlights from Hebgen

Matthew is turning into a water warrior. Each year that we have vacationed at Hebgen Lake he has been determined to wakeboard and each year he gets better! This year he just glided out of the water and wakeboarded for about 5 minutes each time he got up. He was determined to get his picture taken and attempted to pose while wakeboarding one handed. He's a nut!

When the Cat's Away, the Mice Play!

2009-07-26T21:13:00.003-04:00

While I finished up the end of my school year Sean and Matthew headed out west for a family fun adventure. Sean's extended family had a huge reunion in St. George Utah. They headed out with Sean's sister Aliess and a van full of kids. They played hard and had fun in the sun. Sean's family decided to go rock climbing. They found a crack between some of the rocks and decided that was the easiest way through. Sean got stuck and spent about 10 minutes trying to inch his way through. He didn't have much choice...there was no going back.

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-26T20:47:00.005-04:00

Well, I finally took some pictures of our house and some of the remodeling we've done. We are so far from being done, but it's nice to look at some of our accomplishments over the past 2 years.

The Living Room- In the living room we ripped out 2 sets of ceiling tiles which raised the celing about 4 inches. We then put up new sheet rock and refinished the ceiling adding crown molding. We also tore down the wall paneling and painted. We replaced the mirror and fireplace screen and now I just have to refinish the french doors.

The Bathroom- This room is a major overhaul. Picture lots of blue and bad vinyl tile. Plus the bathroom was a very odd size. Sean built a wall separating it from our bedroom and made a sweet walk in closet on the other side. On the bathroom side we tiled the shower area, tiled the floor, built a linen closet and refinised a second little closet. Then we added a new sink and counter top with new lighting above. I think we did everything for around $1000 buckaroos!

Our Bedroom- which is still a work in progress. The trim will be replaced when the floor gets refinished and the floor will get refinished when the ceiling in the hallway gets replaced. And that will all happen when...

Time to Fly

2009-07-26T20:24:00.006-04:00

Matthew had an amazing opportunity this Spring to fly an airplane. Through part of the Young Eagles program, he took a 30 minute flight with a local pilot. It was a 2 seater plane so he was right next to the pilot with controls in hand. He was truly in airplane heaven!

Meeting the Pilot

Ready for take off!

High in the sky!

Sweet Success!!

Fishing and Frozen Falls

2009-03-23T22:17:00.002-04:00

Sean took this picture one day while he was out fishing. It's at the base of the Genesee River near the falls. Pretty impressive back drop. One of those shots that you get just by being in the right place at the right time.

A Lost Generation Found

2009-03-23T21:57:00.002-04:00

My dad sent me this. Considering I spend a day with 9 and 10 year olds that don't think much about their future, I wonder what their future will hold? This video goes to show the power of words.

Knock, knock, knock...Is anybody home?

2009-03-23T21:20:00.006-04:00

Hello...? Is anyone there? Tap, tap, tap...I'm sure you are all wondering where I have been. Well, I warned you in my first blog that I probably wouldn't be any good at this. I don't even know why I am on this right now because I have so many things that I should be doing. Does anyone else out there have to do laundry, grocery shop, clean the bathroom and make the bed? Well maybe not the bed because it's 9:24pm. Okay, so I have one good excuse. I got sucked into Twilight for at least a week. After I read New Moon on a weekend and completely ignored my family, I felt guilty, so I'm taking Eclipse much slower now. Is it weird though that I watched Twilight twice though on Saturday? Finally a chick flick Sean will watch and even said that it was "cool".

I am so glad that spring is here! I finally threw out the fence on the side of our yard that got run over by a plow truck. Our yard doesn't look so ghetto now. I wish that I had been able to plant some spring flowers in the fall. It would be so fun to watch the tulips and daffodils come up now. No time to regret, just plan better for next year.

Matthew is crazy funny as ever. His friend invited him to come over and play on Saturday. Part of their playdate was swimming at the Y. Matthew had to be a guest since we're not members anymore and they needed some info on me to register him. So they asked Matthew when my birthday was. He thought a minute and in all seriousness said, "Hmmm, I'm not really sure, but I know she has one every year." Really? Well, I never professed to have a genius for a son. I only said he was really smart.

Well, I know at one point I had cool stories and memories to write about, but my brain has shorted out and I don't remember them now.

A Singer is Born

2009-01-25T22:01:00.006-05:00

Handsome!

Goofy!!!

Has Matthew now reached the handsome or goofy stage? Everyone in my family passed through that stage. For some it lasted longer than others.

Anyways, Matthew had his first chorus (not choir- he's particular) concert this past week. He did a great job with a lot of great facial expressions that make any parent proud with laughter. I also don't think he yet appreciates being one of 5 boys in a group of 44 (you do the math of how many girls there were). My dad said he might start calling him Brigham...not funny. We are proud of him. Can't wait for the spring band concert!

In God's Hands

2009-01-18T21:16:00.002-05:00

Bob Lonsberry is a crazy and somewhat controversial radio host here locally. Yes, he does drive people crazy sometimes with his opinions, but I heard this on the radio the other day. He says things in the right way sometimes that motivate and move the spirit. I was moved. Read on.

THE MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON

The governor was right. It was a miracle on the Hudson.

That’s the only thing that can explain how a powerless airliner hurtling over New York City ends up not leaving a wake of death and carnage. When you’re hot and heavy and all of a sudden there’s no thrust, you’re a crater waiting to happen. You’re a fuel-laden missile about to splatter yourself across a highrise neighborhood.

They’re going to print your name in the obituaries.

But it didn’t end that way.

US Airways flight 1549 banked hard left and took a bead on the Hudson River and two minutes later there were businessmen standing on the wings, up to their shins in water.

And that’s a miracle.

A genuine God-did-it miracle. One of those defy-the-odds things that can only be explained by pointing skyward with a grateful sigh.

But like most of God’s handiwork, he used man to do it. This isn’t to deny the divine, but rather to point it out in all of us. To make the case that most angels look like you and me, and the only ones with wings tend to wear them pinned to their chest.

Yesterday, on the coldest day of the year, God called some people to do their best, to be excellent. And with his support, they were.

Like the pilot. A white haired man with an Air Force Academy ring and more seat time than most people have been alive. His entire adult life has been spent as an aviator, from a hot little fighter to a big lumbering airliner.

If the pilot had been less prepared and less competent, if he were less decisive and commanding, this would have been a massacre, not a miracle. He had to thread a needle, to squeeze as much distance and maneuverability out of a glide ratio as he could.

And he had to take that falling rock out of the sky over America’s largest city, steering it away from a mass of humanity stacked floor on top of floor in skyscraper after skyscraper. He had to save lives in the air, but first he had to save lives on the ground.

And it played out like a training video.

The silent jet arced hard left and lined up perfectly on the shipping channel, straight and steady with a nose up just before contact, settling onto the surface of the water like a duck coming in at 120 miles an hour.

God’s miracle needed the pilot to be perfect. It was a moment he’d been preparing for for more than 30 years.

The pilot was God’s partner. And so were the plane’s designers and builders, and the mechanics who maintained it. Their combined efforts enabled the airframe to take stresses that would have snapped a lesser craft in two.

The miracle continued moments after the slamming splash as flight attendants and bold passengers led a steady and rapid evacuation. So many ways to do it wrong, just one way to do it right, and they nailed it.

And across the river a ferryman swung his boat hard to take a bearing on the foundering plane and pushed his diesel engines to full-speed ahead. Here and there and elsewhere other vessels likewise swung about and steamed to the rescue. Boat passengers gathered life vests and ropes and flung them to airplane passengers slowly sinking into the Hudson.

In firehouses and ambulance bays across Manhattan, alarms sounded and people in turnout gear headed for the piers. A police helicopter took off and shortly thereafter dropped frogmen into the water.

It was a floating scene, the gradually sinking airliner and a gaggle of rescue boats encircling it, moving to the sea in the swollen Hudson current. Before they secured the plane, it had drifted some four miles from where it splashed down.

The airline passengers were taken off their plane in rafts or ropes, or they stepped directly onto the fantails of the hovering ferries and water taxis. One passenger had broken legs and a flight attendant had some cuts and some others were shivering from the cold, but within minutes they walked into buildings or buses or the backs of ambulances. They wore towels or Mae Wests or the tactical PFDs of their professional rescuers. Some had little yellow airline lifevests sticking oddly from their necks.

But they all lived.

Every single one of them.

Very few needed even the slightest medical care. The alerted hospitals, standing by for mass casualties, waited for patients who didn’t come.

It was a miracle.

And, yes, God did it. But he had a lot of partners.

Ordinary people who in the blink of an eye yesterday afternoon responded with courage, calm and skill. Ordinary people who played their roles perfectly. Ordinary people whose preparedness and clear-headed willingness to help, empowered by unquestionable excellence, averted one of the worst air disasters of our generation.

That was done by ordinary people who were an instrument in the hand of God.

The governor was right. It was a miracle on the Hudson.

- by Bob Lonsberry © 2009

Digging Through Family Photos

2009-01-18T20:54:00.006-05:00

We are a happy family. This picture was taken in August at Daniel and Jenn's. I was amazed when I found this picture just because it seems like I have few family pictures. I'm usually not in them since I am taking them. This was Brielle's special day.

Get Real!

2009-01-18T20:12:00.005-05:00

Okay! I admit that I am crazy and do waste my time. But can I just say that I am so glad that the new season premiers are out. Gotta love TV in January.

Hurray! The Bachelor is back and yes, I did go on line at the end of last season and vote for Jason. Then, it's American Idol time. I like it when they eventually get to Hollywood and then you at least have someone to root for. Carrie Underwood got me hooked a few years back. On Tuesdays, I have gotten sucked into The Biggest Loser. No, I don't exercise when I watch the show. I usually have a snack. Please tell me that there are other criers out there. Man, it was so sad when Jerry went home last week. That was a tough decision between Jerry and Dan. I'm just glad that Sean's not home on Tuesday nights to see me blubber. And finally, although it's not reality, LOST is back! I have been going through withdrawals. Thank you for showing 3 hours of it last Wednesday night. Now I feel refreshed on what happened so long ago last season.

Well, there you have it. My winter TV addiction. What else is there to do on a cold, snowy night? I gotta be there because we don't have a DVR. Enjoy!

2009-01-18T19:04:00.006-05:00

I have no idea where or how Matthew finds this stuff. If you've ever shopped on ebay...you'll love this.

Getting Paid to Shop

2009-01-18T16:20:00.005-05:00

Have you ever made money when you shop? Yesterday Sean and I headed off to Circuit City to shop their liquidation sale. (I am sad to see such a large retailer go out of business due to our slumping economy.) We had a purpose for going because when we bought our new TV before Christmas, we paid to have the TV calibrated (some tech word for make the picture look nicer in your home.) Anyways, with them going out of business, we were afraid we weren't going to get the service that we paid for. Plus we had earned $50 in gift certificates and had a $15.00 off coupon. So we headed out for the craziness hoping to get our money back and maybe a few good deals. When all was said and done, we did get our $150 refund, bought a new LCD computer monitor and a wii mote and nunchuk with an extra $35.oo of our refund left to spare. Not only was the monitor on sale, but we also got 10% off our purchases. So we made out good at the loss of Circuit City. So, I have come to the conclusion that spending money in order to make money is a good thing.

No Room In The Inn...

2008-12-31T15:41:00.009-05:00

Although we love visitors and friends to come and stay, there's no room in our place for a winged feathery creature. Apparently our fair weather friend decided to come out of hiding in our chimney and check out the indoors. He smacked into a few windows and the mirror on the wall. Matthew screamed like a girl and ran into another room. He was no help. Sean was able to catch him in our sun room and set him free, back into the wild.

As you can see...this slight interruption came in the middle of a very important wii game. Hence the commercial interruption ended and Sean and Matthew went back to where they started as though nothing ever happened.

Christmas Smiles Across the Miles

2008-12-31T09:21:00.004-05:00

We had a fun Christmas this year with Andrew, Gina and kids. Aunt Sue also came up from D.C. and we had a lot of fun visiting with her. There was a lot of excitement around all the video games and toys they received. All the boys but Drew seemed to avoid the boxes that looked like they might have clothes in them. Our big family gift was a wii. Sean and I saved the present for last and had Matthew open it. It instantly became a part of our family. He hugged it affectionately with the same love that he gives his green blanket. The wii has now been officially adopted and Matthew has welcomed it into our family playing with it everyday.

You are never too old to love Christmas. There is something magical about waiting to open a package dressed in bright colors and bows. Matthew definately held back no emotion over a new pair of shoes. I'm not so sure why he was so excited. He tried them on at target one night when we were buying boots and agreed that they fit and he liked them. Then he said, "Mom, why don't you just put them under the tree. I can wait till Christmas." I guess he wanted to make sure that his present count was up there!

Reach for the Sky! Santa rocked with this gift. Nerf darts were flying everwhere. Whenever I stop by mom and dads, they usually have a couple of darts sitting on the table to return to Matthew. The eyeglasses really make the outfit.

This is our annual Christmas photo. Lucky for us, dad gets a picture of us sitting on the stairs every Christmas morning looking our best. Who needs a professional studio?

2008 Highlights

2008-12-30T22:50:00.031-05:00

Sean's arm finally healed enough by April so that he was able to start work again. He has just a few marks that remind him of his intimate experience of riding a horse and flying through the air. The doctor that did his second surgery was amazed with the amount of mobility that he got back... lots of physical therapy and hard work on Sean's part. Maybe next year he'll decide to take the plates and screws out of his arm. He'll see how uncomfortable it still feels.

We had a great trip to Boise for Marc and Kelsey's Wedding. Matthew had a great time reuniting with his aunts, uncles and cousins. Blake and Matthew definately have a knack for looking for trouble and actually finding it. Hanging out in suits was not their idea of a good time, but they found ways to run around when the adults weren't looking.

This summer we took another trip to Utah, Idaho and Montana. We were there for Sam and Racheal's wedding and spent several days in West Yellowstone. My parents and Sara and Chad and their kids came up to the cabin on Hebgen Lake for a few days. Although the water was cold, it didn't keep Katie and Mason away from getting soaked. We love fun memories from the cabin!

Did I mention that Sean went fishing this year? He was able to catch a little fish during the salmon run. I didn't give it a name. He doesn't like it when I name the things he catches and eats. I think it looks like a Fred.

I'm still working on my cast, but I found that dangling over a bridge works very well for hooking a fish. She was a good catch, just like me! Sean and I enjoyed our date at Letchworth Park. It was a beautiful fall drive and of course we found the fishing pond.

The Falls at Letchworth State Park

Photoless memories...

Kirsten taught her first full year as a second grade teacher and was then hired on permanently as a 4th grade teacher!
Sean hunted for the first time in New York and killed a deer. He likes the jerky. Kirsten didn't like it hanging in the garage. Sean wouldn't let me name the deer.
Matthew started taking piano lessons and is playing the saxophone in school.
Sean and Matthew planted our first vegetable garden and grew lots of squash and cucumbers.
Kirsten did her fair share of canning and tried her hand at a flower garden. My how marigolds mulitply.
Sean remodeled my parent's kitchen.
Our bathroom is almost finished...maybe it will be done by the end of the year, which happens to be today. Will I ever get to check this off my to do list?

In The Driver's Seat

2008-12-30T17:40:00.003-05:00

This summer on our way out to Utah, Matthew decided that he wanted to meet each pilot on all the plane's that we flew on. One pilot invited him to come and sit in the cockpit and even touch some of the buttons. He was like a kid on Christmas morning, excited by the whole experience. He has been talking about being a pilot since he was knee high. I have his collection of paper airplanes to prove his love for planes. This Christmas he asked Santa for Flight Simulator and has enjoyed traveling the world through virtual airplanes.

Thank heavens for snow days!

2008-12-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

Well, we finally had our big snowfall for the year. Friday, December 19th we were warned that the snow would fall in large, fluffy amounts. I watched it accumulate from my classroom window throughout the day and thought, "It's so pretty." Not realizing that it would be miserable to drive in when school was out. By 4:00, our cars were buried and we had to wait for a plow to come and clear the parking lot. The wind looked like mini tornados whipping the snow into funnels. I eventually got home and there I stayed in our warm house by the fireplace. Incidentally, we LOVE our fireplace. The bad weather continued through the weekend, but as it is well known in Greece, our school district never cancels school.

A very chilly Monday morning came and I awoke as usual. I was greeted by the good news on the morning TV station that sure enough Greece was closed and I was in for my first snow day of the school year. What a blessing 3 days before Christmas. Sorry to my friends that were planning on getting things done that day while their children were in school. This was my early Christmas present to get things done and finished at my house. I'm not so sure that Sean and Matthew appreciated the cleaner house that day, but I know that I was thanking heaven for a snow day!

A New Beginning

2008-12-30T10:32:00.002-05:00

Who would have thought I would have entered the world of blogging! Have I fallen victim to "everyone else is doing it?" Guilty...I guess. I was eavesdropping on a side conversation where my friends were talking about it and I thought, "That sounds like it takes time that I don't have and no clue on how to start." So with the help of my friend Janet, I have jumped on the bandwagon ready to promote my life history. I'm not sure how good of a blogger I will be, yet I'm hoping this gives me extra credit in the doing my family history blessing category. So here I go...welcome to The Busy Bybeez blog, blog, blog, blog, blah....