A very long overdue update to be sure. For those who are taking the time to visit this ol' place we used to keep current, don't mind the decade gap between posts. You are the real troopers venturing in old territory!
Some of the notables this year:
Lathan (19) spent his Freshman year at BYU-Provo, majoring in Chemistry. He loved his classes, but was a bit overwhelmed with trying to get some ridiculously fast swim cuts to be considered for the BYU swim team (they don't have a water polo program, club or otherwise). That on top of being called as Ward Executive Secretary to a new Bishop made for a busy, BUSY schedule. He averaged 20-24 hours per week taking care of the calling duties, then swam, then felt the labs required to stay ahead and succeed in Chem were a bit much. He felt it necessary to drop swim. Then with COVID restrictions still in place, he wasn't as free to roam and participate in sporting and spiritual events on campus quite as he would have liked. He got through a rather strenuous freshman year well enough and plans to return post-mission. In the meantime, he is spending this school year attending Sierra College. He joined their water polo team after a two-year hiatus (from being swim-focused) and was able to play on the same team again with some of his oldest water polo buddies. They went all the way to State Champs and placed 3rd! The lead up was quite exciting to see Lathan play a clutch role in getting the team to qualify the weekend before Champs. He played such amazing games, but was unfortunate to receive a hard shot to the head that resulted in a concussion that took him out for the rest of the season. No practices, and no Champs game for him. So sad, but worth keeping him out of the game. He still has to be careful, but he is [mostly] recovered. He will continue to finish the school year, while preparing his LDS Mission papers and giving swim one last hurrah to defend Sierra's State Champ title.
Kaelan (17) is a senior at Granite Bay High School and has grown into quite the determined young man, albeit spazzy. His quirky nature is generally reserved for home audiences, but his pizzazz is all time. Ironically, we have found that despite his wackiness, his grounded nature to be such a comfort to the chaos that our house can be. He is the ultimate instigator of things, whether it be love, discord, peace, pet shenanigans, or dinner and snack ideas. He was deeply affected scholastically by the COVID educational arrangements and perhaps lost some of his passion for certain subjects. Even still, math, stats, and number crunching in general is still his go to. He is a fact encyclopedia and is quick to correct people (anyone) who is not a truth teller. As such, he loves learning and plans to serve an LDS Mission right after graduation. He will finish the official paperwork and submit before winter is out to be sure he gets a summer start date. He continues to play water polo and loved his senior year, so he will continue through the rest of the school year playing club polo with his high school team. It was a bit surprising to us parents that he took this route because he decided last summer that he was going to swim only. He did club swim and made fantastic improvements in his times and saw more discipline than I've ever seen from this boy. A short break ensued to play senior water polo at the high school. He mentioned going straight back to swim right after polo. That has since changed, so swim will be a lesser focus this coming year. He is the one boy who has to wear glasses. He ventured into wearing contacts for a time, but has since decided it's too much maintenance to make it worth it. So telling, really.
Both Lathan and Kaelan are complete again being in each other's daily lives again. I do feel that the physical separation was harder for them than they'd like to admit last year. I saw it firsthand; so, I am beyond grateful to have everyone, but especially those two, back together again.
Jeydan, aka JJ, (15) is doing things a completely different way. He is a social butterfly that needs constant reminders of how exclusive dating is frowned upon until he turns 16. He is the only one that has ever pushed the limits of social privileges with following curfews and timely announcements of plans. As such, he has been known to lose his phone for long lengths of time for what he considers to be small infractions. We have strict phone usage rules and he seems to "forget" them often. He is also so motivated to do any and all assignments, home or scholastic, not only on time, but EARLY. It's true that he is trying to plow through the list of to-dos so that he can have more free time with friends, so we find the quality of work could use some improvements. But WOW. He never needs reminding when asked or tasked with something left for him to do. That's something we will never complain about! Additionally, he is now behind the wheel with a driver's permit, which was terrifying at the start. Truly, huge improvements since the start, but for reals, that was SCARY for a bit. We are grateful to the man who laughed off getting bumped into with JJ behind the wheel 😳. He is also playing water polo and likes the social aspect of the game better than swim, so he gravitates to the polo over swim every time. He was the only freshman to be on the 16u A team last year and received this year's JV MVP award for the high school season. He continues to eye roll over swim training, but he has the talent base there. I hope one day he will put real training time to see what might come of it. He is doing well in school overall and it's fun to have a son to do Promposals and take to pre-dance parent gatherings for pictures. He's not quite open to talking about it all, but we are working on that.
Haefan (13) is still a soccer fan. He loves to be with friends, too, but only a few at a time. He picks his small group and sticks with them. The real change came this year with him changing schools from the Classical Education charter school that he's been at since 2nd grade to the local junior high that is conveniently across the street. This was a bold change for a boy that usually wants nothing to do with change. After a few months in, he is still LOVING his new school. He loves his Spanish class (his favorite!) and his History/English core class. He is gifted in math like his brothers, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he is more humanities oriented (is that a lefty brain thing, maybe?). He just loves language and writing. He is a very talented singer it turns out, too; but he will only sing at home for a very selective audience (the pets and mom). He also has taken a love for water polo, but like his older bro JJ, he does not care for swim. He is a lucky dog in that he is a lefty, which is quite the advantage for this sport. He is a talented game strategist like his other brothers and is growing into a quite the force in the water. One of his most lovable traits is how much he loves his fur babies. He lives to love them. It is the sweetest thing to see. He also reminds me so much of Lathan. I'm not kidding that his lefty ways are always showing up in wacky ways. He just thinks differently. He is more quick to show emotion and is especially sensitive to the subtleties of the room's vibe. Also, he is the ONLY boy that has ever expressed explicit interest to go snowboarding with mom. YAYYYY! So, Mom is happy to oblige. He is snuggly and loves to be with mom in general, which makes him the perfect caboose to this crazy clan.
Mama Gigi had some fun (and strange) adventures this past year. She began the year with a running start being a permanent sub for a Catholic school at the mid-year start. Ugh. That was tough. Psychiatrists were seen. Solo getaways were booked. Junior high for the private sector with unexperienced classroom teacher isn't for the faint of heart. Haha. Happy to say that everyone survived, but Mom realized that quality of life is more important than anything; so she took off to Peru for 10 days - and not to the mountains - but to the sea. She found the longest surf left in the world and surfed it with other ladies and mamas that love the ocean just like her. After returning, she realized that the ocean is her special space. She still loves the trails, but she stopped trail running regularly. With Haefan being so close to school, this left Mom a lot more free time avoiding the pick up and drop off mayhem that came with the charter school. Now mom gets to go on runs and snow fun days away from home without the pressure of being back at a non-negotiable time. She has found other things to distract her with this flexibility. Like, she decided that substitute teaching for the high school was more her jam these days. She happens to know this crowd well and so it turns out she's quite adept at it. So much so that Placer County awarded her a generous grant to get her teaching credential this coming year. She will pursue a single subject math credential. For now, however, she is happy to spend these next 6 months with her family all together before the two oldest leave the nest for a time.
Daddy Dave is working tirelessly. He is growing his surgery practice quite a bit and will be adding ANOTHER physician this coming year to keep up. He continues to find enjoyment in what he does with a focus on robotic surgery these last few years. He enjoys the management aspect of the practice but still enjoys taking care of his patients. As always, he struggles to find the ideal balance between family, work, church and fun. He loves watching his boys compete in swimming, water polo and soccer. He still loves being outdoors and had the opportunity to do some safety sweeps and radio sweeps for some of the local ultramarathon races, such as Western States 100 mile, The Canyons 100k and Rio Del Lago 100 mile race. He still is the endurance king whether it's work marathons or ultra marathon middle of the night safety help. He finally made the leap to getting a real truck to take to future adventures, most likely in the backwoods where no one can find him (or reach him by phone), only to find out that something wasn't quite right with the truck. After repeated attempts to resolve the mystery issue, GMC finally agreed to take the truck back and to replace it with another brand new one in its place. It's not quite that easy, but he feels better knowing that GMC is attempting to rectify the situation. We will see how this all unfolds in the coming year. He is the rock of this family and shows us what a man, father, and Priesthood holder should be.
Our labradoodle is now 13 years old!! He is loving and kind as he's always been. His age has slowed him down and his voice has become more strained, but he is as excitable and happy as he was as a puppy. He is more spoiled than ever now that he gets invited to sleep on the bed and sit on the sofa (on a blanket assigned to him). We just don't know how long he will be around, so we give him all the leniencies these days. Our kitty of 8 years, Cleopatra, has been the best and most patient cat with handsy, snuggly boys. She is so gentle; however, we threw a wrench in the family dynamic by adding a new kitty that needed a new home. She is Calypso, a 4 year-old kitty that is likely a Lynx Point Siamese with perhaps a shred of Maine Coon. She's so lovely and social (unlike Cleo), but Cleo has yet to accept this new way of life. So for now, they are separated by doors and constantly supervised and escorted when paths may need to be crossed (when Cleo wants to go outside).
The boys are growing up and are on the cusp of moving on beyond our walls of what we've known as home for so very long. We are so excited for them, but are truly savoring these last moments with them all together. Yes, there are many lessons yet to be learned from everyone still. There are moments of drama and emotion to deal with. We are finding ways to cram life lessons while they flex their muscles the way that teenagers do; but we couldn't be more grateful for these turds of joy. They show us how to be better people.
