Coronavirus is no match for 8-year-old’s birthday party
Peyton Buss waits for cars full of fellow team members from his 2019 Conejo Valley Little League All Star Baseball Team to arrive at his Thousand Oaks home.
Peyton Buss was not going to let the coronavirus ruin his birthday party. They closed his school, they closed the parks and beaches, they even closed the batting cages, but Buss drew the line at canceling his party. Cars full of fellow team members from his 2019 Conejo Valley Little League All Star Baseball Team drove to his home in Thousand Oaks to celebrate his 8th birthday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peyton’s parents Jill and Daniel Buss, with the help of friends, organized a “drive-by birthday party” with family and his best friends. Over 25 vehicles filled with cheering parents and children drove around his cul de sac in front of the Buss home several times bestowing Peyton with balloons, gifts, cards and placards.
“This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had !” exclaimed Peyton. “People need social interaction,” said his mother, “this is a new norm so we have to make due.”
Filled with excitement, Peyton runs by parents Jill and Daniel Buss as fellow teammates from his 2019 Conejo Valley Little League All Star Baseball Team begin to drive by his home in Thousand Oaks to celebrate his 8th birthday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Vehicles filled with cheering parents and teammates fill a cul de sac to celebrate Peyton’s 8th birthday near his home in Thousand Oaks.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Kason Speer cheers on Peyton through a sunroof to mark his teammate’s 8th birthday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Catherine Boys and her three children Christopher, Nicolas and Jonathan cheer as they pass Peyton during his drive-by birthday party.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Peyton catches a balloon released from a passing vehicle filled with parents and teammates.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Peyton waves to passing vehicles filled with parents and friends.
(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
Michelle Buben hands a sign to Peyton to mark his 8th birthday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Peyton is all smiles during his celebration.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Mateo Ibarra hands off a sign to Peyton from a passing SUV.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
More than 25 vehicles filled with cheering parents and children drove through the cul de sac in front of the Buss home several times bestowing Peyton with balloons, gifts, cards and placards.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
A waving Peyton is accompanied by his parents Jill and Daniel Buss as teammates drive by their home.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
“This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had!” Peyton says. “People need social interaction,” his mother Jill Buss says. “This is a new norm so we have to make due. He will remember this birthday the rest of his life!”
Al Seib was a photographer and videographer for the Los Angeles Times from 1984 to 2022. His photos have won numerous awards from national and international photographer associations. Seib’s work has helped win four Pulitzer Prizes for breaking news reporting awarded to The Times’ staff: the Los Angeles riots in 1993, the Northridge earthquake in 1995, the Southern California wildfires in 2004 and the San Bernardino shootings in 2016.
