El Camino Homecoming 2007!

I admit I have been a TERRIBLE blogger the last couple months. I owe this to the fact that I just began to work full time after 28 years -- quite an adjustment!

On to news...Hailey went to Homecoming a couple weeks ago. She looked beautiful, and I wanted everyone to see how pretty she looked. She turned 16 last April and has gone on several "dates," but this is the first dress-up, prom-type date.


Hailey is pictured here with her date, Spencer Hansen, who she has known since she was a baby! They have gone to school together since preschool.









After having to switch hairdressers at the last minute because the original one was running late, Hailey ended up with a spectacular up-do -- thanks to my former hairdresser Lynne!



Exchanging the corsage and boutonniere.




Here's all the girls in their group.








Here are the lovely couples all together.






And finally...here is Spencer and Hailey at dinner. They went out to Macaroni Grill, which was delicious. After the dance the group came to our house to watch a movie and dad and I made them an early (or late, I suppose) breakfast of crepes. They all had a great time together. They are all really good friends and attend seminary together, except for one of the girls. It's great that Hailey has such a strong group of friends to hang out with.

I admit -- I'm addicted!

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Brooklyn Singles from Mingle²

I didn't think I'd be as addicted to blogging as Morgan, but there you go, I was wrong again!

I'm an employee!

I did something I've been thinking about for about a year and a half -- I applied for a full-time court reporting job with the Superior Court in Sacramento County -- and got it! I applied on a Friday night via the internet, got a call the next Tuesday for an interview on Friday, went to the interview and then was offered the job the following Wednesday. That was a quick week and a half! I will be starting on August 20th, which is also the first day back to school for Hailey and Alexis. I'm a little nervous about the full-time deal and being an actual employee versus an independent contractor, but it will be fun to do something new and challenging. I always like a good challenge. The money won't be bad either ;). I am finishing up my deposition work next week, and then I have a fun week and a half to enjoy with the entire fam up in Tahoe and in Provo for Ben's graduation. So keep me in your prayers!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Like true Harry Potter fans, we secured tickets for the midnight showing of the fifth Harry Potter movie, and I must say it was worth staying up late for! Squeezing 800+ pages into a little over two hours was no easy task, but they did a good job of capturing the most important points of the book. When we came out of the movie, Alexis and I were interviewed by a TV station -- I think they were all there! Lexy said her favorite part of the movie was "the kiss." The reporter asked her if she would like to kiss Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter), and she responded with a resounding, "Yes!" Hum, should I start worrying about her now that I know she's wanting to kiss boys? Bill didn't want to stay up so late on Tuesday, so the two of us went today after work, and of course he loved it just like the rest of the fam. I highly recommend this very entertaining film -- but be sure to read the books because movies never do them true justice!

Galena Tour 2007

Hailey went on tour with the performing group Galena Street East for two weeks in June, from 6/12 to 6/26. They went to Washington, D.C., a cruise to the Bahamas and New York City. I had to laugh at Hailey's picture-taking abilities. For the most part, you can't tell where she went on tour because her pictures are all of her and her friends doing crazy things, making funny faces and just plain looking cute. I put together the following montage of her pictures. I'm sure when she gets the digital pictures from the rest of the group she will have more scrapbook-worthy pictures to document her trip and the sites she saw. They had a wonderful time, everyone got along, and very little, if any, drama -- so I'm told. This is the first tour I haven't gone on with one of my girls :(. I was very sad to miss it. Next year I'm going for sure! Some of Hailey's favorite things she did on tour were the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., swimming with the stingrays in the Bahamas, and of course shopping! She also saw "Legally Blonde" and "Tarzan" on Broadway, which she both thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you Alison, Karen and Kristen for taking care of my girl for me!

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Which Jane Austen heroine are you?

Okay, so I took this quiz because several of my daughters did it and I was just curious. We love chick-flicks at our house - duh, there are seven women in our family - and especially Jane Austen movies. We have been known to have Jane Austen marathon movie sessions, much to the dismay of Bill (dad), but usually only when Morgan is home. She's a hopeless romantic!

They did it -- the Utah Marathon!

Being that I didn't run the Utah Marathon on May 19th - I was only a cheerleader - my commentary isn't going to have the same gut-wrenching feel to it that Morgan and Jillian's have; however, it was still quite emotional for me. Even before our family crossed the finish line, the tears started. There is something very moving about witnessing people overcome physical hardships, some which were very apparent, and pushing their bodies to the extreme to accomplish such a feat as a marathon. I feel the same way when I watch the Olympics every four years. I will post pictures chronologically of the marathon.

Bill and I, Jillian, Hailey and Alexis stayed in North Ogden with our friends from Sacramento, Jenny (Dennis) Hollingsworth and her husband, Brent, and their two kids. It was so fun to visit with them and get to know Brent -- thank you so much, Brent and Jenny! It turned out to be very convenient at 4:30 in the morning!

Here's Jillian, Bill and Hailey when I dropped them off at 4:45 a.m. to be bused to the starting line.

Whitney and Morgan arrived just as Bill and the girls were taking off in their bus. Bill was sure Whitney and Morgan had gone on ahead. So here's Morgan and Whit right before boarding their bus.

At mile 7 Whitney decided to break away and run at her own (faster) pace. She finished about 45 minutes before the rest of the fam. Whitney's time was 4 hrs. 19 min.

As the minutes ticked on, I started to get really nervous and anxious. I don't know how many prayers I said that they were okay and that they'd all finish. It was really getting warm - almost 90 degrees. Morgan in her red running skirt and yellow top was easy to spot, and then I could pick out the rest as they came into the final stretch. I almost couldn't see to take pictures because of the tears!

Whitney was waiting at the end of the barricade so that she could run in with her sisters and dad. Notice she's running in flipflops and holding her metal in her hand so it wouldn't bounce.

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Ashley started videotaping just as the family appeared. She's running along with them and doing the commentary at the same time. Listen closely to the announcer. He announces "Morgan Olson, Jillian Busath (of course he doesn't pronounce it right -- big surprise!), Hailey Busath -- Team Busath -- the yellow girls!" I think they left off Bill's name - drat!

Here's a shot of Morgan and Jillian as they were approaching the finish line.

This is Hailey as she's crossing the finish line. Notice Whitney has a smile on her face -- she's been resting for 45 minutes! The finish time for Bill, Morgan, Jillian and Hailey was 5 hours 5 minutes. Go TEAM BUSATH!













....and finally, a slideshow of fun pics from the day - enjoy!

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Check out our puppies!

I have an entire blog dedicated to our dog Mandy's litter of puppies. Click on the link under "staying connected" to check it out. The puppies were born on May 1st, which makes them a little over two weeks old. Every puppy is different and so precious!

Hailey - sans the braces!

I've never seen Hailey smile so much in a Galena show as she did last Saturday -- the first show after getting her braces off on May 10th. Hailey is the one in the middle with the purple feathers. This costume is for the opening number, "Children of the Earth," which is a revival of an old Galena number that Whitney and Morgan also danced in. Notice the new feathers on the costumes!

Ready or not -- here we come!

In January, after Whitney's inspiring run last October in the St. George Marathon, several members of our family embarked on a new quest -- training for The Utah Marathon! Whitney, Morgan and Jillian trained in Utah, and Bill and Hailey trained here in the River City. Much to Hailey's delight, Jillian is now home for the summer to complete her training.

Here are a couple pictures that I took when they stopped for their Gatorade break in the middle of their 20-miler. They're looking rather fresh, wouldn't you say?

The marathon is this Saturday, May 19th, and I must say that they are all psyched and ready to go, complete with matching "Team Busath" running apparel in tennis ball yellow. All the rest of the fam will be there to cheer them on as they cross the finish line. Stay posted for the results.