Welcome to 2011!

I have officially dubbed this year of the Joe. This is my year =) I'll start by thinking back on a few of the highlights of 2010.

February 2010: Vegas
For my brother's 21st birthday, my parents took us to Vegas. One of the best times of my life! I couldn't even begin to go into the whole story now, but I'll definitely remember that trip for a long time. Met some interesting people, went to some cool places, had a ton of fun! Muchos Gracias to my parents for making that happen for us.

June 2010: Family Coming to Cali
Every year I eagerly await the time when my family comes down here to visit. My family meaning my Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister. This year was by far the best time we've all had since moving to Cali. We did the usual stuff (Pier 39, tooling around SF, Six Flags etc) and some fun new stuff. Visited the Redwood forest. Fun trip for all. Went to Stinson Beach. A little cold, but still fun. I got to show them where I work for the first time. That was pretty awesome too.

July 2011: Brandon Visits and Going to Washington
July was extra good because my cousin, who is basically like a brother and a best friend to me, came to visit for two weeks. Can't say we did anything extraordinary, but we did have a lot of fun. Just having him here meant the world to me. We went to Six Flags, always a good time. Stinson Beach. Even colder this time, but we were brave (or stupid) and got in the freezing water anyway. Saw some new bars, ate at some cool places, played a lot of MTG (I know, nobody needs to call us nerds. lol) and just had a good time. I'm really glad he got to come stay for that long. Plus, I had brief visit to Reno where I picked him up from the bowling tournament.

At the end of Brandon's stay we packed up for Washington. We had the privilege of staying the night at my Aunt & Uncle's (Kurt and Marty) in Sacramento the night before our flight. Very nice of them to let us do that, and much appreciated. Kept us from having to get up extra early to make that drive.

Washington was an incredible time. Some of you have seen my Drunken Diaries videos on YouTube, so you already know. Aside from the nights of partying, There was a lot of fun to be had during the day too. Being with my family and friends is the greatest thing ever. Went golfing early in the trip. Of course that's always fun. Spent some time disc golfing with Brandon, Garrett and Chad. My cousin, brother and best friend drinking and disc golfing. What more could I ask for? Maybe some disc golfing skills I guess =P We stayed at the park afterward and played volleyball with some pretty cool people. Definitely one of the best days.

Thinking back now, I got to see almost everybody I set out to see. I have to be grateful for that. It means a lot to me that everyone took time out of their busy schedules to make sure they got to hang out with me. My friends Chad, Mike and Jon are much appreciated for that. All of them were able to spend a couple of days/nights hanging out. Good Times. Thanks to all of you. And thanks to everyone else that I didn't mention here. I promise I haven't forgotten you =)

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010:
Holidays just aren't the same without family. So I am thankful to our local family members for making this holiday season extra great for the kids and I. The Cali Busch clan had us up to Sacramento for Thanksgiving again. Always a great experience. Uncle Kurt makes a great turkey! And of course Marty makes great....well, everything! The Sharapatas were nice enough to have us over for Christmas Eve. It was really great for all of us, especially the kids. I know it was a lot more special for them to spend that time with their cousins.

My work had a huge roll in making this Christmas special. They were so incredibly awesome to purchase us a Christmas tree and some very beautiful ornaments to put on it. Not only that, many of my co-workers showed their amazing generosity to make sure we all had a great Christmas. I'm still in awe that I work for such a wonderful place. Thanks to all of you guys! If anyone hasn't seen the super cool, incredibly cute video of getting the tree yet, then you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/

New Years Eve 2010:
We spent this with my one and only real friend in this area. We had a great time hanging out with Allison and her son in Walnut Creek. Wasn't the crazy parties of my younger pre-kid days, but lots of fun nonetheless. We played lots of games, ate great food and made lots of noise at midnight. Thanks you guys for spending that time with us.

While that doesn't even come close to covering all of the good stuff in 2010, it'll have to do. Or nobody will ever read this whole thing. lol. Although I should mention that getting my new car was a huge deal for me. I've wanted a Mazda 6 for soooooo long. It was like a dream when it actually happened. So here's looking forward to having a great 2011. I foresee nothing but good things for Team Buchmann this year. I look forward to sharing many more good times with family and loved ones, as well as anyone new that may enter into my life.