2015

2015 was a wonderful year for our family! 

We had the opportunity to meet Elder Neil. L. Andersen in September. We are so grateful for the leadership of the Church and the love we feel from God. We know the Savior was born, lived, died, and he lives again. We feel so blessed as individuals and as a family. We love the Savior. We are forever grateful for the love and support of all our friends and family. 

Here is a quick update of what happened this year! 

Robbie & Karen: Love being grandparents!

Amber & Andrew: Welcomed Micah Bosco Smith into their family on June 27th! 

Ella (2): Steals the show wherever she goes. Loves Disneyland and princesses. 

Micah (6 mo): Crawls around and put everything in his mouth.

Karissa & Andres: Welcomed Harry Andres Lazarte III (Hal) into their family on June 12th! They moved to Boise the end of the summer. 

Hal (6 mo): Hates being on his stomach and loves water.

Alexis (22): Bought her first car! She takes her job of being an aunt very seriously. 

Dallin (21): Returned home from the Belgium/Netherlands mission in July. Finished his first semester at BYU and passed American Heritage! 

Wesley (19): Serving his mission in Argentina and LOVING it. He will be getting home in June, and we can't wait!

Collin (17): Started his senior year at Provo High. He has started his mission papers is excited to go out and serve. 

Again, we are so grateful to have the knowledge of the Savior and His life. We pray this new year is filled with light, love, laughter, faith, peace, and hope. We love you!

Happy Holidays 2015

Yes- we got the Christmas cards printed but we haven't updated the blog- please come back closer to the New Year and we'll tell you what we've been up to in 2015

Merry Christmas 2014

Year 2014 is now down in the books,

if you feel so inclined, go ahead and take a look.

The center of  attention is on our little Ella Mae.

She's "almost two" and we facetime her at least once a day.

We adventured to Disneyland early in the fall,

She LOVED everything about it, especially her Ana/Elsa doll. 

Collin turned 16, now he dates and drives,

He's the only child at home and learning to survive.

He plays basketball for the Bulldogs in his Junior year,

Ella calls him Na Na, so that's what he's called 'round here.

Wesley finished his senior year lettering in 2 sports.

He had a few weeks of summer before his time to report

to the Provo West MTC to learn spanish for 6 weeks,

He's living his dream in Bahia Blanca with his Argentine peeps.

Dallin only has seven 7 months to go

He's been serving in Antwerp the last 5 months or so.

He's happy and healthy and fluent in dutch

We can't wait til July, we miss him so much!

Alexis could stay home all day and bake

but three semesters of classes she must take,

She enjoys being home whenever she can

and the boys love it cause she cooks for the clan.

Karissa and Andres announced some big news

they are going to become parents this coming June!

Both are in school and their lives are going great,

Right before the baby comes, Karissa will graduate.

Amber and Andrew just moved to Salt Lake

Good thing it's close for Mama's and Papa's sake.

Their lives revolve around their little lady

and in July they are welcoming a new baby!

Papa and Mama, as they are commonly known 

only have a year and a half before they're home alone.

27 years ago they tied the knot,

and their lives are better than they ever thought.

We love our Savior and celebrate his birth and life during this Christmas season and throughout the year. We feel His love through our family and friends. We feel extremely blessed to have two missionaries out and can't wait to skype both of them on Christmas day. Merry Christmas dear friends, we love you and are so grateful for your influence in our lives.

Love,

The Bosco Bunch

Robbie, Karen, Amber, Andrew, Ella, Karissa, Andres, Alexis, Dallin, Welsey, and Collin

2013

Well, it's that time of year again. The only time this blog gets updated. 2013 was a big year for our family!

Ella Mae (10 months) was born on February 12th. She arrived healthy and we are so thankful she is a part of our family! She LOVES her mama and daddy. She crawls all over the place and climbs up on furniture. She likes playing at Grandma's and Grandpa's as long as she can see her mom. Her favorite foods consist of avocados, yogurt, and Happy Yogi's. She keeps us smiling and laughing every day and we can't remember what life was like before her!

Collin (15) is a sophomore at Provo High. He plays basketball on the sophomore and JV team, and has even seen a few minutes on Varsity. He has his learners permit and will soon have a legal license. His 16th birthday is March 31st. He can go to Prom this year! He's grown a few inches this year and is no longer the shortest one in the family. He claims to be the "favorite uncle" but not looking forward to being the only child left at home. He can be found playing Xbox or candy crush on a daily basis. He is a straight A student so far in High School and is really close to getting his Eagle. Collin is our comic relief and keeps our family sane.

Wesley (17) is a senior at Provo High. He will be graduating in May and leaving on mission! After a rough Junior year / basketball/baseball season of foot injuries, he got surgery in July. We're hopeful he will be playing again this season, but are thankful that he has been preparing for a mission and recognizes there is more to life than sports.(He played 5 games and then broke his wrist but hopefully will be able to still finish the end of his Senior year basketball season and play baseball this spring). He was honored by BYU as one of the top math students in Utah. He is a member of the Provo High Seminary Council and can't wait to go out and serve a mission. ( After getting that Eagle Scout done...). He turns 18 the day after graduation.

Elder Bosco (19) graduated from Provo High in May and got accepted to BYU. He is currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Belgium/Netherlands mission, dutch speaking. He left July 24, 2013 and is loving it! Check out his blog http://www.dallinbosco.blogspot.com.  He recently emailed us his testimony in dutch:

Ik weet dat deze kerk waar is en dat Jezus ons Verlosser is. Ik weet dat Joseph Smith en waar profeet was. Het Evangelie heeft zo veel geluk in mijn leven gebrocht. Ik weet dat Het Boek van Mormon die woord van God is en dat wij door dit boek dichter tot Christus kunnen Komen. Onze Hemelse Vader wilt ons gebed antwoorden. Jezus is voor ons gestorven. Ik weet dat de Verzoening waar is en dat wij rein kunnen worden. Ik hou van Jezus Christ en mijn Hemelse Vader. Ik hou van u :)

We are so proud of Dallin and his desire and willingness to serve! We got to skype with him on Christmas morning. He looked so good and so happy!

Alexis (20) is a junior at BYU studying Family and Consumer Science Education. She still works as a research assistant for the Dean of Students at BYU. In June she ran her first marathon and has plans to run another one in the future. She lives away from home and loves her roommates and has made great friends in her ward. She's often found in the kitchen trying new recipes and is definitely the favorite aunt. Alexis is the stability in our family. She can always be found in the right places, doing the right things and helping and serving others. She quietly goes about doing missionary work, progressing in school, and growing into a beautiful and capable adult. We are so glad that she is in our family.

Karissa & Andres got married on August 24th in the Salt Lake City Temple. Karissa returned home from her mission in Argentina on February 13th and went straight to the hospital to meet little Ella. Her and Andres served in the same mission but only overlapped a few months. He wrote her the last year (+ some months) of her mission. They started dating not long after she returned home and the rest is history. Their wedding day was perfect. We fell in love with the whole Lazarte family and we are grateful that Andres and his family are now linked to us for eternity! Karissa and Andres live in Provo (except for three weeks in January when Andres went over to England to take a class at Oxford). They are both in school and we love having them close by.

Amber & Andrew embarked on their new adventure of parenting and love it! Andrew graduated with his Masters of Accountancy from BYU in April and studied hard all summer to pass the CPA with flying colors. We are so proud of his hard work and diligence and were thrilled when we found out his scores! He started working for Deloitte in September. Amber went back to work after she had Ella and finished out the school year. She is now a stay at home mom and wouldn't have it any other way. We are so glad that they still live in Provo, even though we are sure they will head a bit north eventually. But let's be honest- Everything revolves around Ella now- she is in charge!

Robbie & Karen love being grandparents! They get the fun job of spoiling Ella and not feeling bad about it one little bit. Robbie is still working at BYU in Athletic Fundraising and Karen still works at Westridge Elementary a few hours a week teaching a 6th grade yearbook staff and substituting wherever they need her. Karen is pretty sure that she has some sort of nursing/medical degree from last year. Since October of 2013, she has successfully navigated the family through 2 knee surgeries, 2 wisdom teeth surgeries, 1 foot surgery, 1 plate removal arm surgery, a broken wrist, and other  injuries and ailments. Karen enjoyed taking care of Ella when Amber went back to finish the year. Rob can't wait until Ella is old enough to go get ice cream with Grandpa. Rob celebrated his 50th birthday in January and they celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary in May. They were able to take a trip to Virginia for the BYU football game this year.

Our family was excited to welcome two new nephews/cousins as Brittney (Rob's sister's Cindy's daughter) married Jason Castillo in the Sacramento Temple and Ashley (Karen's brother John's daughter) married Zach Rasmussen in the Salt Lake City Temple. Baby Grant Zobell (Karen's sister's Kay's third grandchild) was the newest addition after Ella. What blessings our families are in our lives.

 Our year was filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this year. But through each experience, good and bad, we were reminded of our Savior, Jesus Christ and the infinite love and compassion He has for us. We are so blessed to have that knowledge and recognize God's love in our lives each day. It was truly a growing and learning year. We are so grateful for it and look forward the expected and unexpected events of 2014. One lesson we have definitely learned this year: Everything happens for a reason, we don't always understand why but the journeys going to happen so we might as well enjoy it... Happy 2014!

Merry Christmas 2012

December 20, 2012

Twas a week before Christmas and the blog was not updated...

(Nothing rhymes with updated so how about we just start with the youngest and work up from there?)

Collin (the baby) is 14 and a freshman at  PROVO HIGH SCHOOL! He is a basketball player, considering maybe becoming a tennis player next spring, loves hanging out with his friends and endures through school (with excellent grades thank goodness..). His highlights of last year included a trip to Washington D.C. where he almost got to see a Nationals game (rained out) and tour all of the sights with his Middle school principal and classmates, a trip to Chicago and South Bend Indiana to watch the Notre-Dame BYU game with his dad, and a trip to California and a Giants game (where he finally got to see the Nationals play). Collin gets his braces off soon and is not the shortest in the family any more!

Class of 2016

Wesley turned 16 in May. He's driving, and dating, and loving his Junior year at Provo High. He plays guard for the varsity basketball team and centerfielder for the varsity baseball team. He is battling an injury of his own (stress reactions in the seismoid bones in his left foot) while making up for his brothers absence on the court (see next paragraph). Anytime Provo High plays basketball, you can see him on Sfan.tv. Wesley is a straight A student who will earn an IB certificate when he graduates in 2014. He's preparing to leave for his mission in 18 months.

class of 2014

first dance

Dallin (class of 2013) is 18 and his life is not at all like he thought it would be. Just 5 months ago he was finishing a great club basketball season with his Pump N Run team. He was looking forward to making a run at a State Championship for Provo High after finishing  third last year and earning second team all-state honors. Then in October he blew out his ACL and his high school basketball career was over. Sadly, there will be no senior year playing with his brothers. Since he was out until June after his October ACL replacement, he decided to also get the plates and screws (compliments of a tackle soccer game his last day of 8th grade PE) removed from his left forearm. So he had another surgery in December and he will be all ready to submit his papers in February and will leave on his mission in 6 months! (which is when he will also have an official blogspot.....) Dallin is an A student who will be more than ready to resume his collegiate basketball career fall of 2015.We are so proud of how he is handling everything and what a great young man he is!

Class of 2013

Pump N Run (forgive the red)

homecoming royalty

Alexis is 19 and a sophomore at BYU. She is majoring in Family and Consumer Science Education.  She loves living away from home (though she does feel a bit guilty about leaving her mom home alone with all of the boys). She is really missed at home! Thank goodness she is still close enough to call when we need her help. Alexis ran a half marathon this year! She is anxiously awaiting her sister's return and her niece's debut. She is a favorite babysitter for many families in the neighborhood because she is so responsible and good with children. She is also a great blogger- check out Third Time's the Charm.

 







Karissa( Hermana Bosco)  celebrated her 22nd birthday in Argentina. She gets home from her mission in 55 days, (but who's counting????!!!!). We have been posting all of her letters on her blog Enjoy the Little Things. We are so grateful for her missionary experiences, but we have missed having her in our home and are anxiously awaiting her return.

The Smiths (Amber and Andrew) have figured out how to become evereyone's favorite couple:  live the gospel, work hard, make good decisions, and HAVE A CHILD! They are expecting their little pink bundle of joy the same week that Karissa returns from her mission. Could it get any better than that??? Amber is a much adored sixth grade teacher at Westridge Elementary and Andrew will be graduating from BYU with his Masters in Accounting in the spring and then starting his job with Deloitte in Salt Lake this fall. I often worry that this new baby will be too spoiled and then I happily realize...NOT MY PROBLEM! We are so thankful that they are close by. Check out their blog Amber and Andrew Smith

Grandma Karen and Papa Rob. Yes we are looking forward to those titles! Rob turns 50 on January 11th but he doesn't even care because he's going to be a grandpa! He is still at BYU and enjoying his time working with the great people in the Athletic Development. Rob is still on the High Council.  I am still working a few hours a week at Westridge as a Yearbook teacher and  assistant librarian.  I have the 8 and 9 year old girls for Activity Days twice a month. Seriously the best calling in the Church. My hobbies include basketball teams, baseball teams, Senior all night party planning, getting a senior ready to graduate, helping with mission papers and college applications, nursing and hospital administration (that's what it's felt like around here...), making lots of various doctor, physical therapist, orthodontist, and dentist appointments, figuring out cell phones and other technological devices and the plans that go with them..., and the ever present dilemma of what to feed the masses. We also manage to get away once in a while-it's getting easier as the kids get older. It is strange though having the house so quiet and empty a lot of the time.

This has truly been a period of paydays for us as we watch our children mature into such good people. We marvel at how strong their testimonies are and how they just really seem to get it! We are so grateful for each of them and especially the relationships they have with each other. The hardest part of the children growing up has been that we can no longer "fix" everything for them. We can no longer make everything all better with a hug and a kiss. But that is where the Savior takes over. More than ever we are grateful for the knowledge that we have a Savior who knows us and loves each one of us. And more than ever we are grateful for the knowledge that our family is eternal regardless of circumstances that might temporarily separate on earth.

We are so grateful for this time of year when we celebrate the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We look forward to receiving Christmas cards and catching up with old and new friends. We are surrounded by great people and wonderful examples. We are filled with gratitude for these blessings and many others. We wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and much happiness and success in 2013!


(I'm gonna be so mad if the world does end tomorrow because I finally got this blog done...)