I will go ahead and fast forward to the past few weeks to make things easier on me :)
We passed the one-year mark this summer of living in California!!! How wonderful things have unfolded and how marvelous our new friends and neighbors both in our community and ward have been to us! Dave and I will periodically talk about how we've been SO LUCKY about where we've moved, the house we've moved to, and the job he's landed. All things seem to have had a divine hand involved. Let me be clear in saying that perfection is not what I'm saying about all things in our lives. It will never be achieved, nor do I hope for it - there will always be something crazy to throw into the mix; but thankfully we have a wonderful ward family and ACTUAL blood relatives nearby (FYI: anything within driving distance is nearby!) to keep us sane and saved!
We've been busy this summer between so many activities and "fun stuff" that it has left me looking forward to that day where we can just do "nothing" on the beach on our family vacation. It's LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!! Yippeeeee! That's really all the time I get to veg because right after the vacation we are starting school that very next week (seriously???). Summer vacation sure does fly by when you get out mid-June and then start up again mid-August!
Some of the highlights for us this summer:
-Lathan begins swim team and is doing AWESOME!
-Kaelan settles for swim lessons and is a champ at the different strokes, but is a sinker (not "stinker," although some of us may use those interchangeably). ;)
-J.J. learns to swim and can swim without floaties and with more confidence (or determination, rather) and longer distances than Kaelan! What a champ. It's too bad this doesn't motivate Kaelan to get his groove in the water more.
-Haefan finds his love for water, too.
-The three big boys take lots tennis lessons and are on their way to becoming big hitters!
-The three big boys take golf and can now chip, putt, and drive those crazy golf balls like no ones business.
-Haefan learns the art of patience in hanging out while the other boys get to do all these activities!
-I teach swim lessons at the racquet club almost everyday, and thus have worked on my base tan for our upcoming beach vacation :), started a 30-day Jillian Michaels workout regimen (that sorta lost its impact when I got sick last week) and am almost back into tennis after a couple of years off.
As for this last week, check this out:
Since lessons have been slow at the club, I've been getting private lessons more frequently and have been more free to do stuff with my own kids (yay!), so this last week we packed it in...
*Last Friday we actually LEFT the kids and went on a weekend getaway to Monterey for a dear friend's wedding. We used it as our celebration for our own anniversary (but a month late). My bro Fernando and his wife Lucy came by and managed the kids for the weekend while we were away, only to have sick kids, vomit, and diarrhea to deal with! I couldn't believe it. Here they are helping us with the FOUR kids (when they don't even have a cat!) and then this happens! Thank goodness for their Pediatric training, huh? Boy did my boys get lucky. My brother on the other hand, not so much. We love you Dito and Lucy!
*Saturday we had a couples massage right after a four-mile beach run, barefooted in the sand on a mostly secluded beach (We stayed beachfront in a little house on a state park, so no easy beach access for non-guests). Followed by a dip in the pool and then soak in the jacuzzi - where I started feeling "funny" and had to go back to the room anyway to get ready for the wedding. We arrive at the venue, have some good fun and where my stomach turns on me and it takes all I have to not vomit there at the table. Dave and I decide that salmon wasn't a good fix, so we left before dinner to make it back to the Skeehans house in Mtn. View, pick up a desk and make it home right after midnight. I didn't vomit in the end, but it was a delicate balance the whole afternoon.
*Sunday we stayed home to nurse our sick boys and Mama.
*Monday everyone was in the clear so we hit up Sunsplash (like Raging Waters, but smaller) with the boys and they had a blast! Haefan was loving the slides and tolerated the cold water super-well.
*Tuesday was club-duty with my swim lessons - but the three big boys swam right there next to me as I taught, so they got in another 2 hours of straight swimming. I got in my first cardio-tennis class with the tennis pro at the club and worked up a serious sweat in 100+ heat on the court. Bleh. Speaking of "bleh," it was Dave's turn for yucky-stomach syndrome this day...
*Wednesday we started with golf, then went to the gym for my swim lessons (the boys stayed out of the water this time), then went to Bounce U (inflatable gym) for a couple of hours with friends, then we went to a couple of golf stores to see if we could find bigger clubs for Lathan. No luck. We'll just wait until next year.
*Thursday our last golf class and then back to the club for my swim lessons. Easy day after that!
*Friday we were planning on going to the zoo, then Funderland (a VERY SMALL amusement park. Think small fair with only the small kiddie rides for the littlest kids). We were late with some of the house drama that is the Skeehans on some mornings, so we ended up skipping the zoo and going straight to Funderland. What a great choice that ended up being since the boys were WIPED after that adventure.
*I forgot to mention that everyday that passes (except Sunday) there is swim team practice after dinner that we made it to. Saturdays are the swim meets. Thankfully the last two were home meets, so we had little travel to do.
YIKES!
Everyone managed through it all being happy (mostly) and safe. We've come to appreciate lazy days and are REALLY looking forward to some down time - AFTER Disneyland!!!! That will be a doozy; but then after THAT, we'll do nothing, right? Maybe? Please?
Pictures!!!
After a day on the snow...
I realized that I shoulda used more sunblock...
Look at those poor red cheeks...they eventually blistered :(
J.J.'s birthday celebration. Kaelan was summoned to help with the ceremony.
The delicious treats Daddy so creatively thought up - drinkable yogurt with whip cream and fresh berries on top...yummm.
Aunt Lucy hangin' with H
The boys would throw tennis balls for Porkchop up on the roof to get him to catch them on its way down. Sometimes they got stuck. Here Kaelan is taking care of business.
A little fun and a lot of trust.
Local swing at the nearby park at Nana and Pops place.
Tennis at the same park.
It's challenging for Kaelan to keep his face clean during a meal.
Apparently, faces were contagious at Abuelo's house that night.
This was the morning of cousin Tommy's blessing, and so I wasn't going to risk the boys ruining their Sunday clothes, so I just thought this was a better idea since I didn't have an alternative. The pull-ups were for a just-in-case scenario since we were crashing at Abuelo's and didn't want to have any accidents.
The other boys are still in their pj's and were attempting to pick some lemons off of the trees.
Post-blessing celebration at the Lowe's. Fun times, but at times a bit scary with all those swords.
At Kaelan & J.J's school for their May-Day celebration. This is just the set-up.
J.J. arrives!
They all had these wreaths to wear, but J.J. wouldn't have it.
Kaelan was happy to oblige, however.
Lathan was able to join us and we had a lovely picnic.
Kaelan's class singing/performing.
My good friend Tricia, who travels the country doing media stuff for those crazy skateboarders/snowboarders; so I felt lucky that she was close enough for me to say hi on her way out of town again. This is in Grass Valley.
Lathan at swim team practice.
Lathan turns 7!!!
Lathan's birthday outfit.
Fozzie and those crazy eyes.
Lathan getting his orange belt! Now he can spar.
At Kaelan's preschool graduation. Never leave home without these when you're a Skeehan.
J.J. had lots of fun playing with other people's toys.
Haefan's fun was wandering throughout the park and running away anytime I came close.
Kaelan and his graduating class.
J.J. got to sit with his class, too.
What a cuddler. He suckered his teacher into holding him while she was doing her thing.
J.J.'s turn to go through!
Kaelan receiving his honors.
And more toys...
Lathan trying to hold the nerves in check during time trials.
He did awesome.
He sure built up an appetite after that 100IM!
Our very own personal golf cart at the Monterey hotel.
The view out from the bedroom. Sweeeeet.
My BFF from HS, Kristie on her big day.
Taking a dip in our tub for a fun bath night.
Way too much fun!
Golf class. I can't believe J.J. is actually listening and paying attention...
This is what Haefan does during class.
Look at my handsome! What a strong little dude.
Snacks and more snacks keep us entertained at the meet.
...oh and movies.
Well, movies AND snacks.
A little nap can't hurt, either.
Believe it or not, that's not all folks! I just have to take time to upload videos and get photos off the phone to finish the job. Until then (think: next summer), enjoy!
Disneyland, we are getting ready for you!!!
