Sierra Sunshine Boys

Bear River Swim Meet

2011-11-20T20:55:00.005-05:00

Skeehan Weekend Update

So, we are officially a swimming family now. With two boys in, one chomping at the bit, and one trying to grow and get ready, pretty soon it will be a full car load of speedos, sunblock, and towels. Here is the latest swim meet that wasn't so much sun block as sleeping bags, blankets, coats, and warm showers.

On your mark, get set,......

Lathan's 50yd freestyle. He ended up winning his heat and taking second over all.

Our two boys starting side by side. Kaelan's still not quite comfortable with the block starts.

Kaelan's 50yd free. Pretty sweet considering this time last year he couldn't swim 12.5 yards.

Our little green eyed, smiley penguin...

Nothing quite like finishing the race with a bunch of friends. Kaelan is behind lathan, and the other two boys pictured are Lathan's friend Stowe and Kaelan's friend Kyle. They had a blast.

The boys can't believe it is finally over. Was pretty cool to see the boys race side by side.

Wrapping up the chilly day in November. Kaelan walked away with a seventh place in breast stroke 8y and under. Lathan won one first place and three second places for his events, also in 8y and under.

Lathan definitely takes after his dad, he starts at a good clip and really starts to pick up speed towards the end of his race.

Kaelan also takes after his dad and sometimes seems like he is in his own little world. In fact on one race, he almost missed starting because he wasn't listening for the starting gun. My little old man.....

Dave

Dave's Take

2011-08-29T12:13:00.002-04:00

So, I thought that when we moved to the Sierra foothills that it would ruin lake camping for us. I mean, we live 500 yards from a lake, it has a sand beach, there is boating, fishing, swimming, etc... Why would it be fun to go and camp by a different lake? Boy, was I wrong.

We went camping this weekend with some friends up at Lake Valley Resevoir. It was a blast. They had rocks to climb, fires to build, rocks to throw, fish to catch (not that we actually saw any or caught any), and a lake to swim in. When asked what was the boys favorite part? They answered, "jumping off of rocks into the water and playing with the fire." It seems that living in the Sierra foothills has made camping in the foothills that much better. Instead of driving hours to find a camp site, we drive 45 mins. The highlight of the whole trip, making it down the stairs of our house with a cooler and not breaking any toes. That made the whole camping experience, that much better. Now if we had only brought our camera......

Dave

Dave's Take

2011-07-31T21:32:00.005-04:00

So, with swim team finished, it almost seems like the end of the summer.....still a few weeks left though.

Haefan

Haefan is becoming a little fish. He loves putting his face under water and looking at his brothers and friends. He has also started to do push offs, big underwater jumps, and even kicks and big arms once in a while. Griselda has started potty training him and he has been out of daytime diapers for five days now. The kids is crazy-like independent and always wants to do everything himself.

JJ

Doing awesome with swim team. He just won most improved for the six and under group after dropping almost one minute off of his time at the league championship meet. He continues to be a sweetie who has a knack for punching, pinching, or kicking in all the unwanted spots. Trying to break him of that habit. Still no success yet.....

Look at that awesome two hand touch!

Kaelan

Also a great swimmer. He has really put a lot of effort into his swimming.......sometimes. He is either incredibly dedicated or messing around non-stop. No real in-between. He also is doing great with reading and looking forward to some beach and mountain camping in August.

eyeing the competition...

Lathan

Just won the coaches award for the eight and under group. He ended up taking second in the league for both of his individual events and breaking his best times ever at the same time. He also has been reading like mad to finish off his Harry Potter series this summer. He has to read the books before seeing the movies.

Lathans at the top of the screen and ends up out touching all the swimmers except the guy half a body length ahead. Great Job!!

Griselda

Having a lot of fun so far this summer. She has been busy volunteering for swim team, playing tennis, going rafting with Lathan, her brother Jason and his kids, and hanging out at the lake and pool. She got to try wake boarding this year thanks to some great friends and is now longing to get a boat for the boys to go out in. All the boys were smiling ear to ear while out on the boat, but none quite as much as JJ.

Dave

Loving California. Glad to be in the sun and somewhere where there is a lot to do outside. Trying to get ready for some longer runs this fall. Delayed training due to a broken left great toe. Crazy single person accident involving a cooler, two grocery bags, bare feet and stairs. Hard to explain what happened even though I was there. Hurt like crazy. Bled for a few hours. Hoping it's only going to slow me down for a week. We will see.

Definitely broken. Probably going to lose the nail. Sweet...

Pics coming soon.

Hello...for now...

2011-07-11T00:00:00.005-04:00

Before you think that I might be restarting the blogfest, I thought I would let you down easy and confess that this will probably be the only thing you'll be getting out of me for a while. Summer is just too fun don't ya know?

The boys have been happily busy in the water everyday. We mix it up with lake swimming, pool swimming, swim team, and water gun wars. We have really been happy to take in the sun and soak in the lazy days of summer. "Lazy" is being used rather generously, though. Our schedule most days include swim lessons - both attending and teaching, hitting some tennis balls, swim team/swim meets, and fitting in a few tennis matches for mom in the middle somewhere.

The boys have really made the summer so much fun. I'm so proud of them. They really are best buddies. We occasionally have an opportunity for playdates, but I find that they see their friends around the lake quite a bit and that seems to work just great for everyone!

We really enjoyed our Fourth of July celebrations. Unfortunately for me, Dave was on call and I had the camera to document our fun times at the parade and beach at the lake for our Daddy, but alas, there was no memory card in the camera. I didn't realize that until 20+ pictures into the documentation. Ugh! Oh well. I was able to capture some cute moments at a different party a few days later.

Some of the more time-consuming activities we do is the local swim team. We have practices every evening and then meets every Saturday from the middle of June through all of July. This last meet we had (yesterday) the boys did SO well! Everyone improved their times tremendously. They really have all come a LONG way.

I really want to leave this story to Dave, but it's so funny, I may just have to settle for having it told twice. We took a friend with us this weekend to join us for some fun swim meet adventuring so that we could head off to a Truckee campsite straight from there and then fish and frolic until bedtime; and then return this morning in time to get cleaned up and ready for church. Well, long story short: we didn't make it. Here's the long middle:

We headed for the local pizza place, which by the way, was super yummy. We all stuffed our faces after just holding our hunger at the 7-hour meet. Then we proceeded to head the "back way" a.k.a. windy way through the mountain pass to get to Truckee. I felt a little off along the way, but that's not at all too uncommon. Haefan moaned at the very moment I felt weird, so I told Dave to mellow out on the banked turns in the big SUV. He resisted, insisting it had nothing to do with that. Okay. Well, whatever the case, I wanted to be more cautious about avoiding car-sickness. Finally about 20 later, Haefan puked, then puked again. Then again, each time a bit more projectile. Nasty and totally not contained. I had a towel in the front seat from the meet and so we threw it on him to catch what we could. Dave was impatiently raising his voice with dissatisfaction at my futile attempt to save some part of Haefan's person from being contaminated. In my defense, I don't have the reach that he does, so I'm guessing NOTHING would have satisfied him anyway. He just happened to be driving, decided it better not to stop, so I was the lone one attempting to do something about the fiasco. Finally I just threw up my hands in frustration, told him to pull over and told him to take over. He did. And did so like a champ. He took the messiest parts out of the car (child and towel) and then used wipes to clean out the car seat temporarily. We changed Haefan into his swimsuit and Dave walked down some steep boulders to wash all the grossness off of the soiled stuff. He definitely has some pioneer blood!

From there we continued on to the campsite, only to find that all the spaces were filled. Bummer! We were going to rough it at the Truckee house, but then reconsidered when we thought of how Haefan's puking could continue on through the night. I just didn't feel right doing that to Abuelo's house. On the way home, Timmy, our extra, puked from the car-sickening ride home. Ha! How's that? The funniest part of it all is that I brought 4 hats for the trip for the boys: 3 Lake of the Pines hats, and Lathan's special hat he bought himself with hard-earned tokens. The first time Haefan threw up, we threw the towel at him. The second time, we gave him a bucket - sorta - the hat. The third time? Hat number 2. Then when Timmy was about to join in the fun, he said, "throw me the hat!! Right now!!!" And both Dave and I thought, "huh?" We threw him the hat in just enough time. Good times! Gross times. We made it back home in one piece, and then gave all the boys (but Haefan) toast for a late-night snack. That's all I would do. I wasn't going to take any chances. Poor Timmy. We extended the invite to camp with us on the next trip because he definitely got a bummer of a deal. Either way, we had good family time and enjoyed the ride. :) Glass half-full, right?

I wish blogger would be nicer to me; but it's not looking good. I have so many videos to share and pictures, too! But it's not working YET AGAIN for me. I will start with this, then try the pics again at a different time. Sorry! I know, I know, the fun part is looking at the pictures. I just want to scream at blogger. AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! That's the reason for a long post. I'm just typing here, putting kids to bed, doing other odds and ends and STILL pics and videos have yet to successfully upload. Technology: a blessing and a curse.

Holy Hannah! I got one to go!!! This is a video off of the highway when we stopped the first time. Haefan is back in his stinky seat and in his swim suit, and Dave is wringing the towel from the river. Non-stop fun at our place!

Skeehan Snapshot

2011-06-19T22:02:00.007-04:00

So, this summer is going awesome. Lets start oldest to youngest today.

Me (Dave)

I am finally starting to actually work on the yard. It's quite a daunting task when you live on a hillside and have over an acre of untouched landscaping with essentially zero working capital. Still, I have plans to finish off the terraces for the garden, level off a sitting area, make a trail with stairs down to the trampoline, and maybe put up some kind of awning. So just those four things will probably take a few years.

Griselda

Still a tennis playing fool. Won her last match, doubles, with some great shots. She likes to bounce around the court like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. The local club tennis pro says that she is opposite everyone that he has ever taught. She has no trouble running all over the court, her problem is that she gets there to soon and is so excited she ends up over doing it. He was SOOO right on with her........a ball of energy she is.

Lathan

He has headed back to pool. He is a monster with his free, back, and fly. He had his first official swim meet this weekend. He did great. He has finished his third Harry Potter book and quickly moved onto the fourth. He also finished up this years baseball season with a couple of big hits. Baseball became a lot more fun once he started hitting the ball.

Kaelan

Kaelan is excited to have started swim team this summer. He is a monster backstroker already, just like his older brother. He also is doing a great job with his butterfly, which is really surprising given the age. He has really started to get the swimming thing down. He is also going to try to start reading the Harry Potter books this summer also. He finished up his baseball season as well. He was playing right field and for the first time ever ran, yep that's right, he actually ran to get the ball. No sliding on the grass. No karate kicking in the outfield. He actually ran. So proud of him.

JJ

JJ is also on the local swim team. He is fast becoming the team favorite because the little guy just won't give up. He jumps / dives off the blocks. Streamlines like a pro. Everyone cheers for him. He loves it. Sometimes he seems to be going up and down instead of forward. He says that he gets a little frustrated because Kaelan always beats him. Such is the life of the younger brother, huh Pete and Dan???

JJ doesn't quite have the diving off the blocks thing down quite yet. He is defnitely getting closer though.

Haeafan

Haefan is, and probably always will be a handful. He loves to play, jump, swim, laugh, pout, flirt, and especially talk. Can't understand what he says all the time, but he loves to talk just the same. He and a friend go to every swim practice and take turns running into the baby pool, laughing, splashing, and eventually falling. He loves to wear goggles even though he doesn't like to get his face wet often. He can't wait to start swim team too. Sometimes he is a little too anxious and has to be corralled before he tries to join his older brothers in practice. Just like his bros he has to take a shower after swimming and be wrapped in a towel.

One day, these three kids will finish up all my failed gardening / landscaping projects for their mom. Until then, its caos in the Skeehan house, in a good, fun, busy way if that's possible.

Until next time.

Dave's Take

2011-06-13T00:09:00.001-04:00

Here I go again. Trying to keep the habit up.

Haefan

Loves going to swim practice and swim meets. He doesn't actually swim but he loves wearing the swim cap just like his brothers and running around with goggles on his head all over the deck.

JJ

Doing some major crotch punching recently. Really gonna have to break him of that habit. He also started swimming and was able to make it 25 yards without stopping. There were a couple big arms thrown in between his kicking and side breathing. He has the cutest little belly while walking around in his speedo too.

Kaelan

Awesome swimmer. Swimming freaking butterfly as a six year old. The kid rocked the big arms and backstroke. So proud of him too.

Lathan

Is the backstroke monster. Cruised to first place before putting a dent in the side of the pool with his head. Also got baptized yesterday. When did he get so old?

Gris-freaking-elda

Rocked her solo in church. Made the most awesome cake. Business down the tubes but probably for the best. One mama can only juggle so many eggs before one drops and cracks. Learning more songs on the piano. Playing tennis like a champ. While handling church callings and her volunteer stuff.

Me

Working. Gonna try running again soon. Usually get one or two runs in a week. May try the local triathlon again this year. Griselda thinks I could get a better time and result this year than last. Might have to see for my self......

We're Back!!!!

2011-05-29T13:25:00.002-04:00

Ok. Long time no blog. Today we have the whole family together to tell their story.

Boys

Favorite thing to do: have light saber wars with the family.
Favorite movie: Tron Legacy
Favorite song: Fireflies by Owl City
Favorite restaurant: Round table
Favorite video game: Batman and Robin Lego on the Wii

Haefan

Haefan has perfected the old west fast draw. He walks around the house whipping out his guns on anyone who gets in his way. He has heard about crocidile wrestling in Florida, and has introduced the sport of Fozzie Bear wrestling here in California. Talking each day more and more. He is constantly covered in bruises and scrapes due to his always having to keep up with his older brothers.

Jeydan ( a.k.a. JJ)

JJ has started his swim lessons again this year. He is training for his first shot at swim team. He looks really cute in his jammers and goggles. He loves to tease his younger brother Haefan. The pitter patter of little feet running and jumping with Haefan screaming right behind is constantly going on in our home, it seems. He is doing great with reading and often helps read any two to five letter words that we throw at him. He just learned how to ride a scooter, and loves to play ball with dad. He is continuing in his Jedi training having recently acquired Count Duko's light saber for his birthday.

Kaelan

Is fast becoming a great reader like his older brother. He is currently reading the Frog and Toad books that he got for his birthday. He also started swim lessons recently and is awesome at his dolphin kick and breast stroke. He too is going out for swim team this year. He is playing baseball with Lathan this year. He often gets bored while playing. So he can be seeing practicing his karate while playing pitcher, or trying various yoga poses out in the outfield. His coach isn't a fan, but who can argue with the downward dog or triple leg kicks.

Lathan

Reading anything and everything. He has finished the Percy Jackson series and is currently on book three of the Harry Potter series. He is anxiously awaiting his baptism which takes place in two weeks. He is also really excited for his birthday party. He is going to go horseback riding with some friends. He is doing great at swimming as well. Perfecting his butterfly and breast stroke the last couple of weeks at the stroke clinics. He is playing baseball with his best friend Weston and little bro Kaelan. He had a breakout game where he won the team ball and was named the MVP after going 3 for 3 on his at bats with two doubles, a single, and 5 rbi. He also made some really great plays on the field - holding one kid to only a single with a great throw to second base with what should have been likely a double or triple.

Griselda

Can you say amazing. Seriously. She is playing in two tennis leagues. Has started a business with a friend. Went to Women's Conference. Had a snowboard trip to Colorado with some medical school friends. All while trying to keep tabs on the four very active boys.

Dave

Just working. Sort of trying to get into better shape. Seems like the elusive 190's are always 2-3 pounds away. Guess exercising isn't enough. Gotta also restrict my caloric intake. Sat down one day and figured that I usually eat between 4000-5000 calories a day. Still can't figure out why dropping weight is so hard. Work is going great. California is still the best place to live.

We are all excited for summer to come. Lots of swimming, canoeing, fishing, running, biking, tennis playing, and a little bit of work in there too. I am sure that there is more to follow and pics should be on the way too. Unfortunately we lost our computer to a melted motherboard but have recently gone Mac and probably will never go back.

Dave, Griselda, and the boys.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2011-02-24T16:26:00.008-05:00

Dear Friends,

I am so thankful to have had such wonderful people surround me throughout all my stages of life. I am most grateful for having been sealed to the MOST AWESOMEST husband of all time. Then adding in the best (and cutest!) kids ever?!?!? I really feel so blessed and so undeserving for so many of my blessings. I know I am not easy to live with. I am stuck in my ways and hard to reason with. I'm always right, you know. ;)

So to have met and known so many great people, most of whom are of the regular kind, living their lives quietly and humbly, and happy to be the best people they know how while leaving the limelight for others just astounds me in so many ways (yes, to those who are famous and on TV and getting showered with praise and $$$, I love you too, but a little less...ha ha). How could I have ever been so lucky??? I think it was Heavenly Father's way of countering some of the more difficult parts of life I've come to live with, which I must say are really very few; however, that brings me to my point of gratitude...

I am most grateful for the one who allowed me to become who am and I wish everyday that I still had that guidance and those arms to hug me: Mama, or Abuelita, as she had come to be known.

Dear Mama,

Thirty-five years ago today, gave birth to me. A little nugget of a person that had the spitfire soul of her daddy. You survived raising me and seeing my two big boys enter this world. Lathan still remembers you, and some days we all feel like your absence is just as fresh as it was 5 1/2 years ago. We miss you dearly.

I know that I am strong, and I know that that strength will carry me through the hard years of raising a family and beyond. You taught me well. Your lessons were received to the center of my core through your example. You loved me even though I was cruel. Those time I was ashamed to admit you were my mom because of your thick accent and/or broken English, you were patient and understanding. You served Mano and I without ever any sign of unwillingness. You made sure we were happy at all costs, I found out later, and never needed a thank you or recognition for your sacrifices. You were the MOST humble human being I've ever known. You were quiet and observant, but were quick to share a quiet, but firm opinion of my unattractive, or inappropriate behavior. Now being a mom, I see that you let a lot of things slide, but never at the cost of showing love, or support for whatever whim I may have had for pursuing different hobbies or passions (how realistic is it really to become a professional snowboarder when snow is a 4-hour commute away?).

I was a silly girl, and you loved me anyway. You loved David even more. I think back and wonder if it was because you knew what he was getting into and wanted him to feel your support. Good move. Very good move. He loves you and misses you almost as much as I do. Our boys love looking at pictures of you. It is hard on me to know that the two younger boys never had the benefit of your loving touch. How there are so many things I miss about you and so many more that I regret not knowing about you. You were my whole life for so long and yet I feel like there are things I know so little about you. I miss you. But more than that, I thank you. My greatest hope is that I can be the mother you were. Now if you were to ask me again what I want to be when I grow up, this time I will proudly say, "a dumb housewife." No tears about it all, I promise.

It seems to me that my mother was the most splendid woman I ever knew....I have met a lot of people knocking around the world since, but I have never met a more thoroughly refined woman than my mother. If I have amounted to anything, it will be due to her.-Charles Chaplin

Dave's Take

2011-02-02T00:46:00.005-05:00

So, when Griselda and I were first married, anytime one of us managed to do something well we would say, "OK, I guess you are going to be the ______ person now." With that in mind, let me explain to you how I will never be the "teach the kids how to ski" person ever.

We have been going up to Tahoe each Monday to teach our kids how to ski. Griselda takes Lathan, Kaelan, and JJ in the morning and then I take them in the afternoon. During the morning time, Haefan and I go snow shoeing for a couple of miles. He likes to yell, go, go, go, go daddy. I feel like a sled dog sometimes but that is beside the point. So, on to our story. Last weekend was like any other except that JJ said he was too tired to ski in the afternoon so it was going to be me, Lathan and Kaelan. So we decided to go up to the mid mountain area just shy of the top of the mountain. Both boys have been told numerous times to stick together and this time was no different. That being said, once we were actually off the lift and on the run, Kaelan points his skis straight and Lathan cuts right towards the trees. No sweat. I just stay above them and make sure they can get up if they fall. How naive I was. Kaelan had no intention of stopping and is half way down the mountain before I know it. Lathan is stuck up in the trees now facing backwards down hill and scared stiff. I quickly ski over hoping to quickly remedy the situation and track down Kaelan. Unfortunately Lathan is freaking out about being backwards and won't listen to my instructions on how to turn around. I finally get him to try something, he spins around and we are golden. Five minutes wasted. One of two kids still alive and well. Another kid MIA. So I start to ski ahead thinking that Lathan will be right behind me. Nope. Now he is too nervous and is proceeding to cut back and forth across the run taking five minutes to go down what was a 10 second straight away just 10 minutes ago. Finally he starts to loosen up. He heads off to the side to see if he can jump on some of the little rollers. Then I see Kaelan, surrounded by adults, lying on the ground. I quickly ski over, tell them that I am his father, explain why I wasn't around, and tell them not to worry about calling ski patrol. Kaelan evidently twisted his leg. He won't stand up. Meanwhile Lathan has now disappeared and I have reverted back to one lost and one found kid. Great. Anyway, long story short Kaelan won't get up. Falls asleep face down in the snow. Becomes a snuggle bunny for one of the field mice that runs out of the ski patrol's blanket bag, until I yank him up off the snow scaring the patrol and Kaelan half to death. Crazy how quick adrenaline kicks in when there is a moused cuddling up to your kids cheek. I had him shoulder high before that mouse even new what happened. Anyway, Kaelan gets taken down the mountain on a sled. The ski patrol is skiing like a bat out of hell. I am trying not to become another ski patrol accident / problem while still searching for Lathan. Finally I find him. I quickly ski over leaving the ski patrol and sled flying down the slope like a run away train, hoping to catch up with the ski patrol later. Lathan is standing there with another member of the ski patrol. I once again quickly explain who I am, I am the negligent father who abandons his children...blah blah blah.... anyway, she releases him to me. I then discover that he doesn't have his skis. Evidently he had to go to the bathroom so he gave his skis to someone wearing a coat like mine who said that he would watch them for him. Great...... the ski patrol lady kindly tells me that she found him wandering over by the lift and sure enough we find his skis propped up against a sign. By now Kaelan could have been abducted, sold into slavery, who knows. Griselda is now calling me every 10 secs to ask for updates after a garbled telephone conversation that took place right before Kaelan was put on the sled. The conversation pretty much went like this:

Kaelan got hurt.

How?

I don't know I wasn't with him.

Why not?

I was with Lathan. Anyway, ski patrol is taking him down. He is fine. He says his leg hurt. Can you meet him? I have to run. I have to go find Lathan now......

WHAT?

love you bye...

So since I don't have time to stop and answer my phone, I sound like a cheesy wedding CD due to my choice of cool lovey ring tones for my hot wife, while carrying a pair of children skis, trying not to fall over while herding my other son in the right direction and simultaneously chastising him for leaving his skis with a stranger.

Anyway, no broken bones. Kaelan still is limping. And Griselda swears that the kids can never go skiing with me again.

Good times.

Wait a Second...

2011-01-30T19:50:00.005-05:00

I'M ACTUALLY POSTING!!!!!

We have been a bit busy around here. I wish I could relay the amount of stuff that goes on here daily.

We are so excited to have so many wonderful activities and friends in our area that we find that we spend very little time at home.

Right after Christmas, we were so lucky to have our good friends from residency come and spend the New Years holiday with us. It was a wonderful sleep-over and we were able to get a good amount of playtime in for the kiddos, too.

Most recently, we have been going to the Sierra slopes in Lake Tahoe - specifically, Northstar at Tahoe - every weekend. Typically, we have been going to church, coming home for a Sunday dinner, then taking off in the evening for the cabin for a quick over-nighter and waking up to snow in the morning. Then after a fun day, we head home Monday evening for home. As for the kids: swim practice for Lathan, tennis lessons for Kaelan, and tennis for Mama at the Fitness club. JJ has been asking for some fun time, so we are working on getting him tennis time and he has been lucky enough to get some swimming, tennis, and play-dates in, too. Haefan is busy keeping up with Mama and he gets a lot of play time at the dance studio and has enjoyed every moment of it!

Lathan LOVES his swim activities. He really likes the idea of doing tennis with his best bud, but he understands that he can't have all the activities. He is in piano and doing very well. He is a natural with music and I am so proud of him. He works so hard to do well at everything he does. He is very hard on himself, so I have to be diligent about complimenting him and his efforts very often. He just completed his first swim meet with his swim team and although he swam really good times, he DQ'ed in 3 or (4 maybe?) of the 6 events. The two freestyle relays were DQ'ed because he missed the wall once doing his flip-turns. He DQ'ed in the butterfly portion of the 100-IM because when he dove in, his goggles came off and he used his hands to take them off and was ultimately DQ'ed for his illegal hand movements. On a side note, he swam the entire IM with the goggles in his hand! He was very impressive in the first freestyle swim because it was the first time he'd ever done a 200 in a meet! That's 8 long lengths (or laps) for a little body!!! Overall, he was such a stud. It's not easy doing an outdoor swim meet, doing 6 events in January!

Kaelan has been our Superman. He has come along, supported his brothers, been patient about homework, and has picked up tennis and skiing like he was born with it. He is so athletic, but his attention span length for things is fickle. He still is in love with both skiing and tennis, which tells me that we just haven't been focusing on the right stuff for him until now. He just thought he was such a super-stud last week that he broke all the ski rules we have as a family and went kamikaze down one of the runs and fell, twisting his leg a full 180-degrees into a stuck position (only strangers were around to help him) and hurting his shin so badly from the boot that he is now with crutches. He had the pleasure of going down on a sled, going to the first aid, getting x-rays, etc. Bottom line: he was with Dad and I will let him explain the chaos of what ensued on the "last run." We planned on taking the next few weeks off, anyway, so he got lucky that he's not missing much right now. He did miss school this whole week past because he couldn't walk at all, so he's been on independent study. It's been an interesting week :)

JJ has been a PRO on skis! He is so happy to go as fast as his brothers, but he is missing a key part to the process. He can't stop on demand. He needs a little work there, so until that happens, he is on the ski-leash. He is good at his turns and being aware of his surroundings - mostly, so it won't be long before we get Haefan out there! He is happy to be a Sunbeam, except he misses the church snacks dearly. His favorite things is listening to church songs while we drive. I have to admit that around 1pm in the afternoon, it's hard for me to take because it puts me to sleep while I'm driving. A bit scary sometimes, so now I have a bubble-gum stash in the car for those moments.

Haefan is my big boy that is so quick to join his brothers and their routines. He is busy on the slopes with Dad in the mornings in the backpack while Daddy snowshoes throughout the snow trails. He loves it and is quite demanding of Dad, always saying "GO!" when he slows down.

The dance studio is coming along and we are slowly building our enrollment. We are having issues with the heating and hoping (and praying) for a solution there; but other than that, we are going along with few hitches.

We were able to go a little bit slower this week because we had our very bestest friends from med school come out our direction for an unrelated missionary farewell. We had them stay the whole week with us and they put up with our toy room as their bedroom for their stay. They just left today and we are excited to see them someday soon! I can't even remember if I got any pictures of them, but I'm doubting that I did, sadly. Their two daughters are the exact same age as the two younger boys. At one point we had them, and my business partner's kids (two girls and a 1-yr old boy) running around the house while I was trying to just keep up with my own routine. I tried to describe it to Dave by saying it was like a round-robin where I would help one child, then the next, then the next - anything from potty, toys and sharing, drinking water, snacks, coloring activities, etc. - only to find that finally when all kids were ok, it would start again. So I felt like I was working so hard - to the point of exhaustion - only to realize that I had yet to get anything done! I don't know how those big families do it!! I had 9 kids here and I was at my limit at the end of 2 hours. Oh my!!! It was tough for me and took a few hours for me to decompress. I should say that this is with everyone behaving, mostly, and being really self-entertained. Yikes, I'm a wuss, I know.

Dave has been a fabulous husband and help throughout this entire New Year. We have been able to spend some time together on dates and even just hanging out in the evening, which just seems more precious than ever now.

Some of the big things we are gearing up for include a short cruise to Cabo San Lucas in a week, family visits, birthday season, a "man trip," and a girlie vacation. I also get a bonus girls weekend with a few close friends and I going out to Utah for Women's Conference at BYU in late April. I certainly have got my work cut out for me!

Old AND new pics were supposed to be uploaded for this VERY spot, but because I kept getting error messages, I gave up after an hour. I will try again sometime this week (I worked so hard to get all the pics off the camera and onto the computer that I can't just give up now!).

I hope you are all well and I would love to hear from you!
-g

2010 Christmas Letter

2010-12-23T00:22:00.003-05:00

Top Reasons to LOVE and to LOVE-TO-SAY-GOODBYE to 2010:

LATHAN: 7.5 years
*started and stopped karate in the first half of the year, which was a time-sucking activity, so I am so very happy for the next item...
*found his love for swimming and swim team.
*found out that Sierra slopes ROCK and is a die-hard ski fan.
*excelled in 1st grade and enjoying 2nd, while sneaking in the Percy Jackson series for his "down time" (sneaking because it is not 2nd grade material).
*loves hanging with his best friend, Weston.
*found out that he LOVES his cousins after visiting with them during our family vacation this year and realized they would totally be BFFs if we lived closer (but at least we are now only driving distance!)
*just returned from visiting his ol' best friend from Michigan (Steven) and had a blast remembering why we were always inside while we lived there!
*competed in his first triathlon, thanks to his swim team training and did VERY well.
*is loving to learn playing the piano and eagerly searches out the hymns to play them.
*gave a wonderful "talk" at church for his primary program about how he is looking forward to getting baptized this next year (ALREADY?!?!?!?)
*somehow got into a situation while we were out of the country where he was "jumped on" by some "friends" and received a bloody nose of a lifetime and had to be a key subject in getting some "friends" suspended from school. BTW, Lathan stood up for Weston and then Weston totally had his back, too. Way to go dudes.
*Continued on year-round swim team and is toughing out the cold entry and exit in the outdoor pool.

KAELAN: 5.5 years
*was the instigator of finally giving up on karate (thank you!)
*found his love for swimming, but NOT swim lessons.
*found his niche in mathematics at school and realized he was REALLY good at it!
*started in public school for Kindergarten, but switched to the charter Montessori nearby because of the over-crowded class and unmotivated teacher.
*is SO old-man in his soul, but has so much silliness and light to share that he has officially become our comic relief.
*LOVES skiing and asks to go skiing in the summer while he asks to go swimming in the winter.
*still my black sheep that doesn't care for carbs, LOVES fruits and veggies, and fatty meats like steak, meatballs, and bacon.
*started reading really well this year and is now onto the real scriptures just like his big brother.
*has decided to let Mom know that her short hair is not liked by him.
*Found his love for Star Wars and is very knowledgeable in all thing Star Wars.
*Always helping out around the house without being asked.
*A little bit clumsy with his growing limbs, but A TOTAL SWEETHEART.

Jeydan (J.J.): 3.5 years
*J.J found his love for swimming and developed the ability to swim any length of any pool.
*J.J. found his love for gymnastics and all things aerial.
*Is such a quick learner because of all the time he has to observe such great older brothers.
*Is still just as cuddly and loving as when he was an infant. He still finds comfort in grabbing a handful of hair and his "manta."
*A big boy with a big heart that wants to "kill" everyone around him because he is a "bad guy" with a light-saber.
*Is just as obsessed with Star Wars as his older brothers. What can I say? At least it's not Star Trek.
*He constantly jokes and makes light of any situation looking for a laugh - a lot of times to his detriment.
*Is anxious to join the swim team and even got in the water with the 7-8 year-old group during the trial week to see if he was up for it. He failed to realize that swim team is laps and not just messing around. We will try again over the summer.
*Visited with his BFF Trevor in Michigan and really can't get them out of his mind and says how he's so grateful to have visited them in his prayers everyday.

Haefan: 1.5 years
*Haefan found his love for the water, but swimming is still a relatively uneasy sensation for him.
*Was our darkest-haired boy, then after vacation on the beach is our most fair-headed of the bunch. Crazy California sun. We have pictures to prove it.
*He is the most clingy of all our boys. He has Mom or Dad days, but I'm finding there are more Dad days than Mom days.
*He LOVES his pacifier and "manta" so much that he looks forward to bedtime and nap time (since they are only allowed in the crib) and gets really excited when we bring it up.
*Has the BIGGEST appetite of all of us and has the most petite build, so we sometimes wonder where it all goes...and then we change his diaper an hour later.
*Has the most advanced development at his age; I'm guessing because of all the surrounding stimuli and examples that surround him. He has crazy coordination and crazy vocabulary; and boy, does he have some spirit!

FOZZIE BEAR: 1 year-old Labradoodle
*Has learned how the Skeehan household pecking order works and has relinquished any thoughts of being top-dog. Because of that, he is the MOST cuddly and loving and PATIENT dog of all time.
*He loves his brothers and misses them when they are not around.
*Loves to explore, so we put an invisible fence around our 1-acre property, only to still get calls from neighbors that they have him. I have made a decision that we need to bring the zap up to electrocution status because that dog knows what's coming and still bolts out.
*His new nickname is Fozzie Burr because of his backyard antics and all the weeds and stuff he brings back with him in that fuzz ball of hair he has for a coat.
*Funniest feature is that he sleeps on his back at night with his hind legs up in the air. It's really quite precious.

GRISELDA (Mom):
*Learned that I can multitask and juggle many balls at once with the extracurricular activities for the kids; but decided that it's not great for others to pinch hit. I have stepped back from the craziness - a little.
*Ran an 8-mile trail race to support David in his long trail run. It's really the only running I've done both racing and training. When it's trails, it's so lovely that my body hardly seems to notice the distance or work (if I'm not aiming for a time).
*Became a swim instructor/coach at yet another swim/country club.
*Found my love and some time for tennis again and many nice senior ladies to play doubles with during the week.
*Enjoyed a wonderful vacation to welcome back our Nana and Pops from their 18-month mission.
*Stung by the pussy-cat of the sea (stingray) at said vacation. Treated by Baywatch-worthy lifeguard, saved by hero husband, and left with a 1/2 inch gaping hole, a puncture wound 2 to 2 1/2 inches deep, LOTS of pain, an infection from an open wound, and nerve sensitivity for a lifetime. Priceless. Oh ya and PTSD for beach entry swimming.
*On a happier note, I finally can feel a clean conscience that I now am ACTUALLY the weight on my driver's license, 27 lbs later. Yikes! Bye, bye baby weight!
*Accompanied Lathan during his triathlon and was his escort at a stranger's house while he emptied his bowels during the running portion. Their house was quite beautiful!
*Love my friends! I also LOVE that my friends are getting married in fun and exotic places like
**Monterey, CA, where Davey and I got a quick couples getaway for a night while the kids were left with Auntie and Uncle.
**Madeira (a Portuguese island in the Atlantic, between Africa and the Iberian Peninsula), where Davey and I took the opportunity to go a few days early to tour Barcelona, Lisbon, then Madeira for a rare 11 days away while the kiddos stayed with Nana and Pops and had a fab time. We even ran into my Dad in Barcelona without ANY previous arrangement. Crazy!!!
*Started a new business thanks to many friends. We are going full-speed ahead with a dance studio, tumbling, music/voice/musical theater, and child-watch business. I'm hoping and praying for miracles and patience as we go through the launch phase of this venture.

DAVID (Dad):
*Has been working SO hard at his job and has been rewarded handsomely with respect and referrals.
*Made partner with his group and is officially on track to be fully vested in a year or so.
*Ran a 50k race (actually it was 34 miles - a bit more than 50k) on trails and did very well coming in under 8 hours. He now has it in his mind that he should do 100-mile races. I think he has recently rethought that and now is shooting for Kona. I will support him either way, but I'm thinking HAWAII all the way!!!!
*Decided it was time to let the minivan go since we committed to the Sierra commute by buying Northstar at Tahoe ski passes for the family. Between just the cargo and people, we couldn't have supported that trip with the van. Then adding snow? No way. So we have moved our family into "the Beast" (a black Yukon Denali). It was just perfect for our first go this past weekend.
*Swims during his lunch break at the club most days to get some exercise time in. He looks good and says he feels even better getting out and moving after so many years of being confined indoors for days at a time.

We remember the reason for the season and wish you a very Merry Christmas. We know that the Lord is our Savior and that his birth marks a special time in the Plan of Salvation. We remember all He has done for us and we use that knowledge to strengthen our foundation as a family. We hope you also find comfort in Him. Where there is comfort, there also, you will find peace.

We have had a fabulous year and hope for only great things for you and your family.

Dave's Update

2010-12-12T23:25:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here is my weekly update.....

2 weeks in my pseudo weight loss period and now my weight is.....

Dec. 12, 2010 - 202 lbs.

Still a far way off from my 185 but headed in the right direction.

So Griselda had been gone for four days and just got back with the boys yesterday. We ended up watching a movie after Griselda changed into her pajamas. So as we are laying there I start to smell something so enticing, desirable.......yep that's right, BACON!!!! Little did grisleda know that she reaked of bacon after cooking bacon for breakfast with the boys. What a nice suprise. mmmmmmmmmm bacon mmmmmmmm.

Dave

So my time has come....

2010-11-30T13:44:00.005-05:00

Griselda has encouraged me to pursue my endurance stuff when the kids were a little older. Last night she said that I had a green light to pursue the distance running dreams of mine.....IF......I happen to get down to my wedding weight of 185. So to get started I plan on giving weekly updates as I start dropping the pounds.

Nov. 29th, 2010 - 205lbs.

Inspiration : "Run Fat Boy, Run!" (a great movie if you haven't seen it by the way)

Dave

This is Griselda's explanation of Dave's words: I "let" him run whenever he pleases when it doesn't over-burden our family life. What I told him just recently is that I would support him and his training schedule if he wanted to pursue one of his 100-mile races that he wants to do so badly (only he has to work for it). Before, I had said that yes, I did agree to support him, but he had to wait until the youngest boy (now 1) was in half-day preschool before pursuing it. So you see, I'm hoping that I don't come off as such a tyrant. I'm simply a struggling mother that needs a Daddy...but I'd take an au pair, too. :)

Pics

2010-11-14T19:26:00.008-05:00

Here is our Big Haefan swinging by himself, in spite of his older brother trying to help him stay
on.

Just a little teaser of what is come...

Kaelan's Goalie Sequence....

He was quite a goalie stud that game. Never afraid to dive in front of someones kicking feet.

Great catch Kaelan!!!!

Lathan showing off his kicking skills.

Haefan, hanging out with his older brother.

Who said kids don't know how to pose. He must get it from Griselda. All my pics as a kid look like I could be mentally disabled........seriously.......maybe that's why my parents never have just pictures of me alone as a child. hmmmmm.....

Handddddsome!!! AKA the lady killer.

This is the moment of pure enjoyment that precedes the moment of shear terror when he realizes that he is actually hanging on for his life.

Boys with weird facial expressions.....

Facial expressions continue.

One of the rare instances where Lathan is actually running towards the ball with purpose as opposed to just running on the outside of the herd......

A sleeping baby.

Isn't she beautiful.....the kids not bad looking either....

This is a building in Portugal where they basically gutted an old building, built a sky scraper instead, but than kept the old face of the building. Crazy to look at......

So these are here to just wet your appetite. More Europe photos to follow.

Dave

Time to Catch Up....

2010-11-08T14:26:00.002-05:00

.....So its been a while since we posted....anything.

So here is Dave's quick and dirty.

Haefan -

Hair has changed from brown to blond in the last year. Way to smart for his own good. Causes trouble like you wouldn't believe. He knows how to put a cup over the bath drain to keep the water in longer even when we open the drain up. Figured out how to recharge his LED flashlight so parents are no longer necessary. A little violent when compared to our other boys, but I guess as the youngest he needs to be.....

JJ-

Such a sweet, sword fighting, gun weidling little brute of a kid. Smart like you wouldn't believe. Active. Running everywhere. Can't wait to grow up so he can do the stuff his older brothers are doind.

Kaelan-

Reading. Seriously. Reading well. Trying to catch up to Lathan. Always falling asleep in the car. Griselda keeps him awake with math questions and windows open. Seriously something to see. Kid with his head back eyes closed doing addition at 9 pm with wind flying through his hair all the while his brothers are screaming and trying to hit him to keep him awake. Does he wake up. Not really. Still gets the math questions right though.

Lathan-

Swimming and school. Not liking soccer so much. Likes the running. Hanging out with friends. If people weren't trying to kick him all the time that would be much better. Also crazy reader. He is on the third book of The Percy Jackson series. Recently started asking for the Lord of the Rings stuff. He loves math. Already likes Star Trek. Its probably too late. He is probably going to be an engineer.

Grisleda

Busy, busy, busy, and then more busy. Starting a business, raising four boys, juggling tennis, four boys school schedules, PTA stuff, the new business, and all the kids schedules can make things a little stressful.

Dave (Me)

Busy, busy, busy. Some one has to watch the kids while Griselda runs around doing everything she has going. What a role reversal from residency. Also crazy busy at work. Good to be busy there though.

Our recent trip.

We went to Europe for a few days and had a blast. No kids thanks to my parents. So pics and more explanation will follow in later posts. Probably much late according to our recent posting habits.

Dave´s Take

2010-10-03T17:53:00.002-04:00

So, I don´t know what I liked more about Barcelona today......

Was it waking up at 1:30pm and thinking that it was the early morning?
Maybe it was Griselda sneaking shots of Picasso´s art without getting caught by the security guards. It also could have been seeing the two tough guys with pants sagging in the Metro while blasting techno music on their phone. Who knows. You have to love the Europeans. I mean, who else could make dreadlocks, a mullet, neon sneakers and techno music all on the same person at the same time appear normal and possibly cool? And yes, Griselda even managed to sneak pics of the techno boys and the rasta mullet man. She is tricky.....

Dave

Dave's Take

2010-08-30T23:49:00.002-04:00

Honest to goodness. This was JJ's prayer tonight when going to bed. It has been somewhat edited for content and formatted to fit this post:

Dear Heavenly Father.......bless us not to kick in the penis.....to not kick in the pee pee, to not smack in the pee pee, to not punch in the pee pee, to not smack in the bunda (bottom), and to bless the food, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Hard not to laugh when that kid is praying. Seriously.

Dave

Summer [...and Winter???] 2010

2010-07-25T23:03:00.013-04:00

You know it's been a long time since the last post when you unload the pictures onto the computer and find that there are pictures from when we went skiing. Hmmm.

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!!!

Dave's Take

2010-07-11T19:52:00.002-04:00

Here is a quick video of Lathan's recent swim meet. He is second from the top and the little dude is doing butterfly. Crazy.

He has three more swim meets this year. Last one is July 31st. He is getting to be quite the little swimmer.

Dave

Weekend Update

2010-06-28T13:39:00.004-04:00

So Griselda and I had the chance to go see the finish of the Western States 100 mile Endurance Run. It is a run that starts at Squaw Valley and ends in Auburn. It orginially branched off of a horse race called the Tevis Cup 100 mile horse race / ride when a riders horse went lame before the start. He decided to run the race instead of ride and the race just snow balled from there. Anyway, we arrived at the event, found premier parking, walked to the stadium and were there maybe 10 mins when the record breaking first and second place runners showed up. Here is the pic of the winner from our local paper.

If you look closely in this cropped image you can make out a handsome balding man wearing sunglasses.........his wife is taking a picture from just out of camera shot so no Griselda cameo today. It was pretty cool to see. They winner ran 100 miles in 15 hours and 7 mins. That is a 9:03 min / mile average. That is taking into account the 18000 feet of climbing and 22000 feet of descent. Amazing. Was pretty cool to be there.

Everyone is doing great. Thank goodness its summer. Griselda has some of the boys doing gymnastics, swim team, tennis, golf, piano, and possible karate. Not as much free time as she thought though.

Dave

Happy, Happy Birthday to You, My Dear...Lathan!

2010-06-07T00:04:00.010-04:00

Darling Lathan,

Happy Birthday to my shining star! THE BIG 7!!!!

You are a special breed of boy, you know. You have always been blessed with an thoughtful and empathetic demeanor. You have taught me what patience, kindness, and faithful diligence truly means. You have the capability of bringing joy to those around you by using your uplifting words, gentle love, and charity. I am amazed at your maturity. You are always caring for others' well-being in spite of your struggles. My hope is that you will enjoy childhood as long as possible and not feel the pressures of growing up too quickly. I feel very strongly that you are a very special spirit and that you have a very important work to do here on earth. I am grateful to be able to go on this journey alongside you. I am more blessed than I have words for.

Here is a look back at some of those moments I cherish so much (unfortunately, your pictures from when you were a tiny baby are stuck on a zip drive that I can't access until I find an older computer! But for now, this is what we have to work with).

Happy Birthday Little Dude!!!!!

Happy Birthday J.J.????

2010-06-06T18:48:00.012-04:00

OK. His birthday has long since past. April 13th came and went and J.J. has the misfortune of being the third of three birthdays in two weeks. So there - my excuse for being horrible at posting. Busy = not enough time to blog. Having said that, I promise we didn't forget/miss J.J.'s birthday. We just didn't have enough time to post it. The worst part is that because I have been using my phone for EVERYTHING, all my recent pictures were on there, too; and as Dave mentioned in the last post, it was all LOST when Haefan fried my phone last week. I'm still not up to speed of where I was, but I'm no longer phone-less. So here is my best attempt to recapture what I so regrettably missed two months ago...

J.J., you are my most happy, cuddly, and entertaining boy. You have a light within you that cannot be contained and a spirit that is as sweet as they come. You share your last lick of ice cream, give random hugs, and even can't avoid smiling when your mad. You are the bright light of my day. Being the true comic relief of our household that you are, it does come at some price with spills, messy rooms, stained clothes, missing toys, and sometimes some bumps and bruises. All told, you are my handsome, my sweet, my J-bro, my tough-guy. I love you so very much. Three whole years have gone by (...and then some :) ) and I still think of you as my "baby." I know that you struggle to share my lap, my kisses, and my hugs with your little brother; but I hope you remember that my whole heart goes out to you. You are my buddy, my helper, my reminder of what life is really supposed to be about. Here's to another wonderful year with you...!

Oh, how he LOVES his manta (blanky) even to this day.

He had a temp of over 102 deg here. He was extra cuddly and not-smiley

I love this picture because it shows off his irresistible baby-chic hair.

...road trip.

...road trip again!

I'm so blessed to have you in my life. Thanks for being you, J.J.!

Dave's Take

2010-06-06T12:25:00.010-04:00

So, Griselda and I both made it out alive. We have had a pretty cool spring so far with the highest temp in the low 80's for maybe a day or two. Yesterday, the day of our run, we had the hottest temp of all year in the high 80's low 90's. I took a picture collage during the run since I was out there for just under 8 hours. Griselda's run took slightly more than 2 hours and she ran it like a pro. So here are some pics for your enjoyment. They are all self pics with a cell phone so no critiquing out there from the junior / amateur photography buffs.....you know who you are.

Also, our gifted youngest son Haefan got a hold of Griselda's phone and fried the sucker. All her contacts, pictures, everything is gone. So, no pics from Griselda's phone. Sorry.

Mile 5 and 17. This is one part of a hill climb that they call K2. In reference to the huge mountain. It is a STEEP uphill climb of one mile that I ended up having to go up twice. It sucks trying to walk up it, let alone run.

Mile 8. Still feeling pretty fresh.

Mile 13. Already had to deal with the GI clearance, aka diarrhea. Problem was we were in this lightly wooded area with knee high grass. Good times.

Mile 17. This is halfway. That is the american river in the background.

Mile 23. Right in the middle of my most painful miles. For some reason the 90+ degree heat, lack of water, and the idea of running 11 more miles started to get to me.

Mile 26. Marathon distance. Only 8 miles to go. Started to get some spring in my step and cramps in my quads.

Mile 30. Four to go. American river in the background again.

Mile 34. Finally. Made it in under 8 hours. By no way a top finisher, but definitely not the last guy either.

Now some Haefan Pics...

Here is one of my favorite falling asleep series.

Notice how the knife stays up.

He is also a fan of the hamburger.

The bigger the better.

He also loves swinging.

He even got to walk a little with Abuelo recently back from Chile.

Here are all the boys at a park in SF over Memorial day.

Now for some JJ pics....

Here is JJ on his new skateboard. A present courtesy Nana and Pops.

His brothers all wanted a piece of the present.

We started a new tradition of doughnuts for birthday breakfast. As you can see, JJ is a fan.

He eventually got out of his funk and had ice cream sundaes for deseret with a much better result.

Now here is one of my favorites. Who actually sleeps like this?

This JJ on his friend Laker's boat.

Now for Kaelan....

Here is a pic from when I tried to help Kaelan get a ball at the dog park that he had thrown into the water. Unfortunately, I didn't remember my physics course very well and we both ended up getting wet. Kaelan definitely got the worst of it as he went in head first. Live and learn.

Kaelan also got a chance to go on the boat. He loved sitting way up in the front. And for those of you who don't know Kaelan so well. That face and smile are of complete happiness. Pretty rare since he tends to be our crabby kid.

Lathan's Pics.....

Lathan ended up making Haefan's day by getting all the kids to fall down dead when Haefan got them.

Here are all the boys in SF. They had a blast visiting Uncle Dito and Aunt Lucy. A rare sunny day in SF.

Excited for summer to come. One week left in school. Life is good. We finally got our new trampoline put up and the kids love it. Griselda got Fozzie groomed and now he looks really goofy. More poodle that Lab. As Lathan says," He's not a labradoodle any more. Now he is just a doodle." Couldn't have said it better. Hope everyone has a good summer.

Dave's Take

2010-05-24T11:33:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics from the last few months.

The boys are trying to make summer come in the middle of all the spring showers. Sometimes you just can't do enough.

Although our dog hates his crate, the boys love playing in it. Something about being in cages and safe from mom and dad when they do bad things appeals to them. And no we don't stick them in there for time outs.

This is Kaelan enjoying one of the sunny days at a HUGE playground park in Roseville.

Lathan and Kaelan trying to win tickets at Chuck E Cheeses.

JJ showing off his cowboy skills.

And this last one is a picture of Haefan and his baby blues.... and an orange mouth.

Fozzie

Finally going to dog training classes. Loved by the boys and patient as can be. Showed Kaelan he could run faster than him by dragging him on his stomach on the way to the dog park. Loads of fun.

Haefan

Walking like a pro. Loves to tackle, punch, knee, kick, body slam his best friend Fozzie.

JJ

Still a ham. With his increased vocabulary and his older brothers teaching him, he sure likes to lay down a bunch of one liners in an attempt to be dramatic.

Kaelan

Excited for the summer. Always trying to catch up to his older brother, in everything. Looking to really start swimming this summer. Wants to do swim team next year.

Lathan

Really likes Karate. Started piano lessons after getting his cast off. Looking forward to doing swim team this summer. Going to be a fish, a tan fish, by the time summer is over.

Griselda

Trying to find balance with all the things going on. Still amazing.

Dave

Surviving. The job is going great. Opportunities are opening up for me. Never know what will lie ahead. Only two weeks away from my run. Should be painfully awesome.

We are all looking forward to summer. Miss all of our Michigan friends. Looking forward to seeing the family this summer. I am out!

Dave's Take

2010-04-13T22:11:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday JJ!!

Funniest quote of the week:

Scenario - the boys went to McDonald's today and got some dragon figurine. So they are flying their dragons all over the kitchen while I am making so generic tortillas.

Lathan- "Dad, I want a tortilla."

Me - "Lathan, I thought you were being a dragon. Dragon's don't like tortillas."

Lathan - Sits there and thinks for a second, then....."Well, they do if they are mexican dragons. They like really hot tortillas."

I thought that it was pretty clever and funny.

Here are some pics from Griselda's future run:

Dave

Dave's Take

2010-04-05T09:57:00.002-04:00

Ok, so Griselda signed us up to volunteer in order to get free Disneyland tickets. That was this weekend. It was Griselda, Lathan, and I pulling weeds in a nature preserve. Lathan said that it wasn't any fun but was excited to be introduced to two things he had never seen before: poison oak, and live wild snakes. Every mother's and father's dream.

So onto the snake story.....

Griselda and I were pulling out these bushes called "broom something or other" and some were easy and some were hard. We had these special tools that would fit around the base of the plant and you could uproot them pretty easy. Well sometimes you just started to uproot them and you needed to really yank on them afterward to get them out still. So, while we were dodging the poison oak, something that Lathan was sure he had already got all over his body within thirty seconds of arriving even though he hadn't touched anything because he had some itches, and I was pulling the roots up and Griselda was pulling the top of the bush. We made some headway but really weren't all that successful. So after I used the root pulling tool and started the process, Griselda and I switched places. She was now pulling at the base and I at the top. This technique was money. The plant that we were pulling had its base covered with pine needles due to the near by trees. As we finally gave our one last pull, the plant, pine needles and a 2 1/2 foot curled up gopher snake came plopping down in our direction. Griselda ended up holding this weed / plant with a snake about 1 1/2 feet from her face. She quickly screamed. "Snake!" Everyone turns. "A BIGGGG Snake!!!" Lathan is back pedaling as fast as he can, along with Griselda. She ends up briskly walking away from the snake down the trail towards the other group volunteers. A couple of nature buffs come over and quickly explain that this is a gopher snake and not a rattle snake although it will try to mimic the rattle snake. That is, once they were able to find the "big snake". It was pretty funny to see. I told Griselda that it wasn't really that big of a snake, and that gopher snakes can get 5 - 6 feet long. She said that I wasn't as close as she was and that if I were, I would be singing a different tune. Any way, we all survived. No snake bites. No poison oak. And Lathan said that he will never volunteer again because it was soooo boring. Tough being a kid.

Dave

Happy Birthday Baby Haefan!!!

2010-04-01T01:22:00.000-04:00

So onto another birthday already!

To my littlest Haefan Michael,

You have been such a blessing to our family. Your cute face has always been a welcome presence and we are enjoying every moment as you discover the world around you.

I think it is so appropriate that you being the caboose of the Skeehan boys and all, that you cannot function very well - or happily rather - without the loud noises and general chaos that comes with being the youngest of four. I find it harder to take care of your growing spirit when you are alone than when being surrounded by those rambunctious tykes. For this reason, I think getting your best puppy buddy, Fozzie Bear, couldn't have been better timed.

If only I could capture all those special moments you have with Fozzie. I am rather surprised to find out how [exactly!] similar you and Fozzie are. You have the same desires, the same interests, the same naughty behavior, and most especially, the same loyalty and capacity to love. Really, I am astonished how much alike you are to Fozzie - or vice versa. You both chew up the same stuff. You both must always sit on top of or walk over our "space" when doing various projects so that you are the focus of our attention. You eat each others food. You both love sticks and all sorts of outdoor stuff and like to bring it inside. Tennis balls are your absolute fave. The list can go on and on. Best of all, I love that no matter how Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I might be from one moment to the next, the devotion of you two and your love to me is unwavering.

I can't believe that you were brought into this world a year ago already! On the flip side, I can't believe it's only been a year!!! We've both lived a lifetime in this last year, haven't we? I have to confess that between moving across the country, moving across the street (essentially), and trying to figure out our new lives out here in California in general, the cute little traditions I so sacredly upheld through the years (i.e. taking pictures, recording phases, marking milestones) were often bypassed, or just plain forgotten. I will forever feel horrible for this...but I am so glad that we have been able to have so much fun through it all!

How it all began:

It was an early morning with your water sac breaking at 4am. You must have some sorta sick funny bone built in because you decided to be born on April 1st. First, Daddy was out near downtown Detroit moonlighting that night, so he was away from home. Second, it was EARLY, so I felt bad calling any of the people I had lined up for watching your brothers if indeed I had to make a hospital run. Third, when I tried to call Daddy on his pager and on his cell phone, I got no response. I think he was so tired from an earlier shift that even though he kept both items on his chest when he slept, he was too far gone to hear or feel a thing. So in the process of waiting and wondering what to do next, I announced it was to be your big day on Facebook, which brings me to the fourth item - NO ONE BELIEVED ME!

Thankfully, my best girlfriend there, Sheila, came to my rescue. What amazes me to this day is that she is a "single mom" like me where her husband is gone most days - and many nights - with all his work stuff. And her mom, being in town, for some reason couldn't come and help her with her own kids (Lathan and Steven were best buds in MI and that's how we met) because of an illness or something, so she got them ready and drove them over to hang out at our house at 4:30am!!!! Talk about the love. Man, do I owe her.

FINALLY Daddy called me back at about 5am. When I told him the situation, he hurried home and we were off. Except for Lathan, I had driven myself to the hospital the other times. I'm glad I had him around for that. Once inside and gowned up, I decided that even though I had done all my deliveries "naturally" without epidurals, I was going to shoot for the stars and try everything to avoid Pitosin. For those that know - that stuff is of the devil. Not fun. Makes things go fast; but with fast, comes suffering. So you, me, and Daddy walked a good 4 miles in laps around the OB floor trying to get you to drop and find your way out into this world. Well, with all that walking AND being up before the crack o' dawn, I was EXHAUSTED and relented to taking the Pit after no real progress was made in those 4 hours. After only a little bit of time - I can't remember exactly how long (I'm mixing all of them up in my head right now)- you showed your beautiful face to the world. You were the only baby that cried right away right after the delivery. It was such a relief to finally see Daddy not so stressed at that very moment of your grand entrance.

In this first year, some of the things we've done include:
Those famous hospital onesies are GINORMOUS.

Your distaste for the car seat was immediate.

You on your favorite fuzzy blanket.

Lathan has always taken such pride in caring for you.

You had a major case of jaundice and here you are "sunning."

Your last nap in our Michigan home.

Making friends at the going-away party.

This is where you lived the first two months of your life (not in the restaurant, but the sling, silly)

We went on a lot of walks in this contraption.

Post-move, Daddy was on vacation. There was no stopping him!

Another vacationing moment.

Your family loves the beach, so you (and me) will have to tough it out on those cold days.

At the Oakland Temple doing our part to support our family.

On your way up on the Gondola to see what beauty Aspen has to offer.

At the top of Aspen.

Your hair naturally Mohawked before it filled in.

One of many things to go into your mouth...

Our local community swing set is still so much fun for you.

Just starting to get used to the idea of sitting up to eat solid foods.

At a wonderful birthday breakfast at our favorite restaurant here.

You are one crazy napper.

Books are so much fun!

This is one of those times when Daddy takes a picture with his phone to see if you are actually asleep. ...And the answer is YES.

It is such a treat for you to bathe with the crew.

Sunday afternoon nap.

You love these sleeping bags. I agree, nothing like feeling hot and toasty.

For some reason, you felt the need to hold on tight while you drifted off to sleep.

Your best buddy, Fozzie.

You are so happy in that backpack. I love that Dad gets to wear it, too. :)

We love you so much! I hope you can enjoy your first birthday to the FULLEST!

Crazy of Crazies

2010-03-29T00:00:00.003-04:00

So let me just try to sum up just this last week...

Besides not taking pictures these last few months, I have had a lot on my plate and have felt less motivated than usual to really keep up with life. Hence my absence from all things not immediately needing my attention (read: blog).

So, to sum up: SO MANY things forgotten, SO MANY things left behind, SO MANY flaky moments, SO MANY sub-par results and overall inadequacy as a wife, mother, friend, and sister. Is this what four kids does to someone like me? I've (sadly) gotten to the point where when people come over to my house (unannounced, or less than 48 hours notice), I don't even apologize for the mess they see. I have swallowed that bitter pill of pride and said YES! This is how we live - chaos is our norm!

Just one example of my life that is chaos: the family moved in at the end of November, right before T-giving. I had a mental account of what and where various items were in boxes or around the house. Since then, too much has happened and I've since forgotten MANY things. We have two cars (no worries, we haven't lost those yet!) with two sets of keys for each. I have successfully lost one set for each car since moving. I have also, on many occasions, lost the second set; but by some miracle, it has always been found in a short amount of time and we are able to get around town. Well, our lucky streak ended on Wednesday night. Dave and I had a date (a hospital schmoozing gig) and we had most of our ducks in a row with a babysitter lined up, kids fed, house somewhat in order, etc. Once I arrived with the babysitter, we were to be on our way, but needed to take separate cars because Dave was on call and needed to go straight to the hospital for a surgery later that night. And I COULDN'T FIND MY KEYS. We looked for over an hour to no avail. We gave up the date because there no longer was time enough to go out before Dave's surgery and now we only had one functioning car, so I had to use it to take back the 'sitter before Dave left on his way. I was so MAD at myself. Asking questions like, "why am I SO LAME??" And, "what has happened to me that I've fallen this far???" I was really feeling beaten down.

I called a locksmith and asked them what my options were. I was told that these newer cars have computer chips that need to be coded to the car for them to start the engine and the recoding is a pricey service. Just the key was going to run somewhere in the $275 range. And the lock/unlock button key? Another $800 or so. This is after the drama of leaving Dave's car in the shop all day Monday and Tuesday to get his front brakes entirely redone (over $2K). Needless to say that I was not loving the idea. The boys and I prayed with humble hearts that night and we hoped for a good outcome, but none came. I looked EVERYWHERE - in, around, and under the messes. NOTHING. Dave came home late to me curled up on the couch in a fetal position, basically cowering at what life was throwing my way. Dave and I discussed our trip to the Bay Area to see Uncle Pete and decided right then that with all this craziness, it was probably in our best interest to forgo the road trip (since we really didn't have a car to do so anyway!). Also, Haefan had been feverish the few days prior and his cough was becoming more aggressive. We thought it one of many signs that now was not the time to see new baby Tommy. We prayed about it and felt much better with that decision. I was still so bummed and uneasy about the keys, but felt a huge weight lifted for not having to plan a road trip solo (Dave was leaving for San Jose on Thursday afternoon for a conference, so I was in charge of all packing, planning, and driving to the Bay).

Thursday morning I didn't want to get out of bed. I still felt horrible about how I have come to this shameful place in my life. SO disorganized. So overwhelmed. Dave got the kids ready for school while I took care of Haefan when lo and behold, J.J. walked in with my van keys! Right away I asked WHERE IN THE @$&% (no real expletives used!) DID YOU GET THOSE???? J.J. simply said that Daddy gave them to him. The story is that even though Dave and I looked everywhere, when Dave looked in some of the more obvious places that morning again, he found them. Hmmmm...I'm thinking this was the only way that we would have followed the Spirit in not going to the Bay Area. I'm not laughing, but isn't it funny how the Lord works?

I was just so grateful to have those keys back! I could live my normal life again. I'm not quite to the point of getting my rear in gear with organization, but my level of gratitude for many little things in life has skyrocketed north!

That day I knew Dave would be gone in the evening (yet again because of the two previous nights on call), so I really started to feel uneasy about Haefan's cough. I decided after picking Kaelan up from school that since we were going to be driving right by the peds office (and I didn't have their phone# on my cell), and that my handy-dandy peds on call (my brother and his wife, the pediatricians) were out of the country, I would just stop by and see if we could sneak in a visit. I should mention that our pediatrician here is AWESOME and also Dave's business partner's wife (and a member of our church!). We were lucky enough to be seen almost immediately (things don't even happen that quick when we have an early morning appt!) and the doc said that Haefan needed antibiotics for the puss in his ears (ear infections) and the possible beginnings of pneumonia he could be experiencing (his breathing deteriorated very quickly that day). They gave him a breathing treatment, gave me some prescriptions and then we were on our way. The poor kid couldn't breathe through his nose with all the snot nor through his mouth because of his chest congestion. He was miserable! And, of course, this could only be happening when Dave leaves town. I know running away doesn't solve anything; but it sure sounds like a good idea sometimes.

Things are better now. Haefan is still working his way through his illness. I'm still suffering from low self-worth. But I can see the light at the end of this proverbial tunnel.

Thankfully, Kaelan's celebration day for his birthday on Saturday was a success with wonderful weather and fun had by all. Even Fozzie got some love because he was dropped off at a doggy daycare for a fun day and a haircut! I'll post pics of him soon - but be warned that he looks silly, and almost downright weird. I don't think we'll be going back to that groomer :) The only drama that day was that it was so dang bright, I ended up with a mild migraine in the afternoon - even with wearing high-quality sunglasses.

Also, I FINALLY figured out how to mass-transfer pics from my Blackberry to the computer; so, although the pictures here aren't recent, they are new (unless you Facebook, then maybe they are not all not-so-new)!!!

I know that a lot that I mentioned doesn't make me come off as all-to-happy. So I wanted to end this by bearing my testimony of the faith and love I have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all of its teachings. I really feel that all things thrown our way (good or bad) are for our growth and experience, to teach ourselves, others, and most especially, our children how our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us; and how His blessings are miracles in our lives. My experiences this week were just a snapshot of the many things that have been going on in my family's life; and what I've discovered is that when things are good, I feel good and am thankful for the blessings I have from those good things. On the other hand, when things are trying and/or difficult, I notice the blessings of the most simple and uncomplicated things around me - and I am STILL grateful for the many blessings I have. For instance, I couldn't have been blessed with a better family (extended and all!) and a better station in life (maybe I would like it a bit better if I were on vacation, heh heh). I am SO very lucky to know the fullness of the Gospel and have grown so much from it. I hope that if anything, you know that I have a firm testimony (that still needs some growing - or I wouldn't have trials, right?) of Christ and his sacrifice for me.

Happy Birthday Kaelan!!!!

2010-03-28T12:26:00.007-04:00

To my wonderful now 5-year old:

I love you with all of my heart. You have been a WONDERFUL addition to our little family. Your humor is undeniable, your laughter - contagious. You are always observing and quietly taking it all in. Sometimes you find it comforting to be in your big-brother's shadow; but I can see your confidence blooming since moving to California and you are becoming the shining star I know you are.

You are incredibly coordinated (sometimes to the point of making big-brother self-conscious). You can whack a tennis ball like no one else; can kick a karate kick with super-power speed; navigate around a hyper puppy with such deftness; and you have such aerial awareness on the trampoline (I like to think that you got that from me).

Sometimes your observant nature invokes your curiosity and I find you in a troublesome mess. Of all the boys, your personality is the most like mine. Because of that, I find it harder to be patient and understanding when you need my help. You are so patient with me and so giving. You have taught me how to be a better "me" by allowing me to see my mistakes. I hope that we have many, many years together to grow and play together. You make each day brighter than the last!

Oh, and p.s.:
Happy Birthday Dito!!!

Update

2010-03-16T18:44:00.003-04:00

So, I thought I would update you on our upcoming runs. The idea being that the more people that you tell the more responsbility you have. Less reason to back out. Kind of like the wishy washy off and on engaged couple that finally send out the wedding invitations. No way to back out without alot of explaining. So, here we go....

Griselda is going to be doing an 8 mile run. It is a trail run on a very famous trail called the western states trail. It is home to the western states 100 mile race that takes place every year. So, Griselda runs four miles out and four miles back. Out is down hill with some scattered flats. Back is the exact oposite. Anyone who lives near Auburn, California who wants to keep her company it is beautiful scenery right above and eventually across the american river. Plus there hasn't even been a mountain lion attack in that area that resulted in a death for at least 8 years......The website for the runs is ultrarunner.net and the run is June 5th listed as the Aburn trail 50 km run.

Now that comes to my side of the trail. I am signed up for the 50km run that translates into 31 miles for my conversion troubled little brothers. Unfortunately, the fact that it is a trail run makes it tough to get the mileage quite right so it will actually end up being 34 miles. I ran part of it yesterday and only saw one snake and a very very persistent vulture. It will be my first race longer than a 5km. Should be fun. Ditto for the invite for company while running. Already had a friend have to bail on me due to work and family things.

So, the cat is out of the bag. No more pre-race secrecy. Only raw nipples, big blisters, and hot sierra nevada June California sun. Should be a blast. All are welcome.

Dave

Dave's Take

2010-03-11T09:46:00.002-05:00

Ok. So it has been a long time since I or my wife really posted. Time flies when you are having fun I guess. With the new house, new job, new schools, and new dog, you start to forget where all your free time goes. Anyway, here it goes. Quick and dirty like a mud covered puppy.

Fozzie Bear.

Our newest addition. He walks all by himself. Poops in the yard. Creates havoc with the boys. The boy's newest whipping post. For some reason he brings out the bully in all our boys. Of course he has a passive aggressive side. One minute he is being thumped on by JJ, the next minute he is making JJ "his new girlfriend" as we call. The boys love him. Mama loves him. Daddy loves him. The big dogs at the dog park love him as well. They think that he is a fast moving squeaky toy because he makes this high pitch squeal when he is having fun. I guess like our boys, our dog occasionally screams like a girl.

Haefan

Walks. Walks. And walks some more. Always happy. Clingy. Loves to hang on to Mama.

JJ

Smart. Knows his colors. Knows his letters. Knows his numbers. Sometimes. He will sit there and read a word letter by letter one day, and then the next he couldn't tell you a single number. Talk about one second being a genius the next being a two year old. He loves sword play on the Wii sports resort. Griselda and him are always talking wii talk which probably sounds a little weird to most people. It involves a lot of hand hitting motion, saying "I will bam bam bam bam you. And then you will fall in the water." This kind of trash talking occurs all day. Sometimes through open car windows as we drive down the freeway. Pretty sad when your mama is talking trash to a 2 year old like that. Griselda has really lost it.

Kaelan

Also smart. Griselda likes to say it is because they thrive in the Montessori. I think our kids are just smart period. But Griselda likes to spend the big bucks to prove it. Not that I am resentful or anything.......Anyway. He is still our crabby old man. Also loves sword play. Has this rapid hitting hand motion that is pretty hard to beat. Definitely the best sword play kid in the family. Started karate about one month ago. Some days he loves it, other days not so much. Likes the idea of learning how to kick his brother's "bunda" as we say in the Skeehan house.

Lathan

Reading really well. A good student who always does his homework. Sometimes he gets creative as to where he leaves it which always makes for a fun Friday morning treasure hunt. Griselda and I love those. It normally causes a lot of screaming, yelling, cursing, and carrying on like a bunch of pirates. Luckily we haven't made him walk the plank yet.....Arggggg!!!! Really, really, really likes karate. Talk about intense. Brings out the perfectionist in him.

Griselda

Went snowboarding for the first time in 8 years in a real half pipe. Swamped with the new house, trying to figure out the finances, clipping coupons, trying to arrange for schools for next year, and most importantly, trying to have fun at the same time. She has a bunch of friends getting married this year. So, she is dying to schedule family trips to Carmel and Portugal to name a few. Hoping to take advantage of the Grandparents coming back from Australia this summer with the Portugal trip. We will see. I signed her up for another run this June. She is starting with an 8 mile trail run. She is definitely not as nervous about it as she was about her half marathon. Hopefully the car makes it to the race this time.

Me

Working at my new job as a general surgeon. Loving my free time. Doing a lot of trail running up here. A lot means 1-2 times per week. Compared to Michigan that is a HUGE improvement. Still trying to figure out the whole family budget thing. Tougher than I thought. Trying to knock down the debt while still having fun. Love being back in California. Wouldn't leave now for anything. Also doing a run in June. Going to be a doozy. Was going to run with a friend but he had to bail on me so now running solo.

Hopefully we will post some pics soon. Just trying to appease the masses with a quick post. Congratulations to all the engaged couples, those with new babies, and hopefully those aren't the same people if you know what I mean.

A New Look for 2010

2010-01-25T01:00:00.003-05:00

Introducing...

2010-01-03T11:19:00.006-05:00

Fozzie Bear!!!

This is him when we were choosing him from the litter. Something like 6 weeks old.

Merry Christmas to Dave!!!

He already knows where the source of the goodies come from.

This is after the boys let him have a little too much fun in the dirt out front.

Fozzie is now 11 weeks old and we are so happy to have him in our family. He is a pain to potty train, but I'm learning very quickly what it means to have Daddy "take care" of the dog.

To My Family in Sydney

2010-01-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILL!!!!!!

Because I'm always a slacker at posting stuff (because four little boys + a new puppy doesn't lend itself to a lot of computer time), I'm dedicating this post to Bill for his birthday. We miss Nana and Pops so much and wish we could give them REAL hugs, but this is our way of sending over the love...

This is two wild and crazy boys at Lathan's T-giving performance, standing in front of Lathan's hand-crafted turkey dude.

Can you Lathan in there? The boy to his right is his best buddy in his class, Weston, and the boy to the right of Weston is apparently the kid that is always picking on Lathan by physically assaulting him (if you only knew how this has ruffled Mama's feathers).

Lathan's proud moment in the spotlight.

The week before T-giving, my brother Jason and his kids came into town and everyone (except me and the two you see here) went to see a movie. How ironic that the Daddies went to see Twilight with all the tweens and that Mom stayed out with the tykes to enjoy her day (truly) running some errands. This is us waiting in the arcade minutes before they were out.

Here is our first sunset as new residents of the house we just bought in October.

Waiting patiently for Kaelan's school float to appear for the opportunity to participate in the old Auburn tradition of the Festival of Lights. It was COOOOLLLLLDDDD; but still, nothing like Michigan. Look at all of those boys in fleeces. We're still Michigan tough when it comes to cold.

We were excellent parents in forgetting Haefan's coat for the evening, so we picked one up at a local resale shop, but it was a couple sizes too big as you can see. He's still a doll, though, don't you think?

What a cutie-patootie.

We are finally on that float! It was a huge army personnel carrier that one of the families from the school just happened to have. Crazy.

A view of our back deck after THE crazy storm of the century. About a foot fell.

A left-side view from off the back porch. Amazing.

A view from the bathtub in the master bedroom. Spectacular.

The aforementioned bathtub overflowing because we had to go a almost two weeks without laundry machines because of shipping complications.

A field trip with our ward to the local bounce house was a ton of fun. We actually sported for all 25 kids and used it as a service project by requesting that each kid bring a brand-new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. What a great way to have fun a give back to the community.

Haefan LOVES splashing in the bath.

He also LOVES being loved.

JJ is the biggest ham.

Tonight's treat was each boy got to take a turn in the bath with Haefan. Lathan is a bit awkward and big in there with him, huh?

This past week we knew that we would be celebrating New Year's with some friends, so we did our darndest to tire the kids the days leading up to the big event so that they could go to bed early AND wake up late. Take a look at these. I think we succeeded, don't you?

Fall 2009

2009-11-09T23:30:00.012-05:00

So my last post was full of thoughts and opinions, but lacked the photos. This post will be the inverse of the last.

We couldn't get enough of the access to the gaming systems at Best Buy.

A fun weekend with Dito and Lucy in Roseville.

The beginning of our fun day headed to the school field trip to the local pumpkin patch (J.J. decided to leave the interior light on the night before).

We made it!

Our "new" house. Lots to fix, lots to look forward to.

First on the list is this driveway. J.J. hasn't visited this home yet without tearing up the skin on his hands (in a major way) from the rough-rock finish. It has been a couple of weeks of "owies" that don't seem to heal.

Having fun at Costco one day.

A morning treat in San Francisco before heading to the CA Academy of Sciences.

Inside the science museum (which is AWESOME). You can't see it, but there is beautiful coral beneath these lights.

The top of the rain forest exibit - it was HOT. Not too different from MI in the summer.

The cutest boys on the planet.

An awesome view of the De Young Museum in the background. I love SF on a blue-bird day.

We took a moment to experience a POSITIVE adventure on the S.F. cement slides (our last trip Lathan took a hard tumble and had a bloody nose with some good scrapes on his face). Poor guy; but I'm so proud that he took the plunge again and without fear.

Dad is SO good at multi-tasking. Check him out.

Elementary school Halloween parade with the little boys taking the party into their own hands.

My new dear friend Alicia LOVES my Haefan. The love is always returned.

On our way to the 1st grade field trip to the local science center.

Sister Gagon is J.J.'s nursery teacher at church. He LOVES her and was so happy to play with her at the science center.

These two are the cutest, aren't they? J.J. loves to be included in Haefan's play time. This isn't normally how things are done, so I had to capture it.

I'll post videos some other time. Lots of those, too!

Dear Blogosphere...

2009-11-09T20:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't had the time or the energy to blog. And with every passing day, I have so much more to update. I have four ADORABLE little boys that do so many hilarious (and naughty) things each day. I'm so thankful that my brother (uncle Dito, as he is affectionately called) calls often and I can tell him the odds and ends of raising a crazy little brood.
But throughout the day, I think of posting something short and sweet - even just posting my status on Facebook has taken a back seat. Whaa? I can't even write ONE sentence about my day? I know. It just seems that it's too much to try to sum up my life in one sentence, I suppose. It has gotten to the point that my thoughts have had no resting place. I have random thoughts all the time - a lot of them that even make me chuckle aloud (isn't this one of the signs of insanity). So here is a glimpse into the the mind of a mom on an accelerated path to the land of insanity:

*Why is it that when people are deficient in sight (aka: need glasses) can't hear well without their glasses on/contacts in?

*I think it's funny that stay-at-home moms are the hardest to get a hold of over the phone. Shouldn't we rethink that moniker? Perhaps not-at-home mom?

*Even when I do have my cell phone handy, I can't ever seem to get to it fast enough before I miss the call. What gives? Under pressure, I have such sticky fingers!

*There is a "hands-free" traffic law here in CA that states you may converse on your cell phone, but it must be hands-free. Well, I was a little slow learning this. I took it as ear-free cell usage. I thought I could use the speaker feature just fine in the car. It took getting pulled over with cell-phone in hand (but not on my ear!) to relearn the phrase, "hands-free." Thankfully, no citation was issued.

*Why is it every time I go visiting teaching (where I usually agree to pick up my partner since I have all the car seats) I am DANGEROUSLY low on gas? Seriously - EVERY time. I am always running late, so getting gas just has to wait since everyone lives within a couple of miles. Let me explain how low I get. Since having our van (the dealer explained that we have a 16-gallon tank), the MOST I've ever filled up is something like 16.4 gallons of gas - and that was a super-empty day. Since moving here I have filled up twice (at different gas stations, so there can't really be a conspiracy) with shocking amounts. Once with 17.5 gallons and this last time 18.4 gallons!!!! I think that this could qualify as a modern-day miracle. Fitting, too. I think our Father in Heaven is keeping me running to get my visiting teaching done (I have to confess that I was a poor visiting teacher in MI). It's got to be the blessings from service.

*It's no secret that I DESPISE the smell of cigarette smoke. California is probably the most restrictive when it comes to smoking in public places; but alas, people STILL smoke. So Dave and I are loading the kids in the van and as we pull away, I notice that the van smells like cigarette smoke - YUCK! So I started wondering. What if I just tooted wherever and whenever I wanted - in a public setting - but limiting myself to those same places that smokers are allowed to light up. Then could I just walk by someone in a parking lot, let one nasty one go and not think twice?? With no apologies either. Isn't this the same? Just think of the possibilities! Oh the faces of those folks who drive away, trapped inside with their windows shut and a natural stink-bomb lurking. No escaping it. Ohhhh, the fun!

*It is so strange that REALLY tired = super hyperactive children. Why?

*I have a tendency to talk too much to avoid silence and not listen enough. I'm sorry to all of my friends for this.

*I also have a tendency to say yes to too many things. Even when I KNOW that whatever is asked is above my natural ability. For instance, I said yes to someone from the Spanish branch here to give a 15-20 talk IN SPANISH. Did I mention the path to insanity already?

*One thing I learned (and continue to learn) from my mom is that life here on earth is a place to LIVE. Why do so many people spend so much energy and time looking to make others miserable or unhappy? Rude people, you know who you are. Some people just will never get it.

*I have beautiful boys and for the most part, beautifully behaved boys as well. That is until you stick a needle for vaccination in front Kaelan. This is when all bets are off, the $%&* hits the fan, the decorum deteriorates, and the primal scream of terror penetrates walls thick enough to sustain a nuclear disaster. The highlight for me is having this occur in a gymnasium full of families we are just barely getting to know. Sadly, all I could do is laugh to the point of near delirium. A poor showing for all of us, really - a horribly behaved kid with a cold, heartless mom.

*I know He promises that even though it was never supposed to be easy, it was only supposed to be worth it. Does anyone know if somewhere in there He promised a vacation?

*I like to unwind by watching funny TV and below I've included some clips that I find hilarious (most likely because they are essentially what I experience everyday to some degree).

Below is a clip taken directly from my daily routine.

I sometimes think J.J. has a striking similarity to a character on Saturday Night Live by the name of Gilly. Here is a sample of her in action.

Halloween Highlights

2009-11-09T01:53:00.003-05:00

Still SO MANY more to post, but I thought I would try to get a couple up right now before heading to bed.

The Puppies are Born

2009-11-01T17:23:00.002-05:00

Publish Post

Haefan

2009-10-27T17:32:00.001-04:00

Swinging j 1
Originally uploaded by drskeet

Here is our newest little man.

Dave's Take

2009-10-27T17:23:00.002-04:00

Sorry, it is going to be a fast one.

Two funny sayings that happened this week.

First off, we will start with Kaelan......He was supposed to get a shot after school yesterday. He kept asking why did he need a shot. So after him asking for the fiftieth time, I told him. You have a choice Kaelan. You can either get the shot or end up getting very sick and die. There was a moment of silence. Then Kaelan spoke. "Daddy, I want to see Jesus then."

Second, Griselda had just finished scolding the boys at the table for using potty talk. When she made the slip and said. Now finish your stool. After the fact she validated the statement by saying that she simply combined the words, bowl and stew. Honest mistake. Pretty frickin funny though.

Dave

Dave's Take

2009-10-11T19:20:00.003-04:00

This is the Daddy of our new puppy.....................................and this is the Mama. The puppies are still a few weeks away from being born, but should make for a great family Christmas present. They are first generation labradoodles that when crossed will end up with second generation labradoodles. We went to a labradoodle romp at a dog park in Davis, where the boys were able to play with a bunch of the dogs and we could see how well Kaelan, our allergy guy, did with them. Unfortunately, Kaelan pet every dog there and not just the labradoodles. They had some of the cutest dogs there that I have ever seen. It gave us a good idea of what size of dog we wanted. My brother Pete has a little tank on wheels that is a little too small and a little to heavy for our liking. We loved the medium size dogs or the small standards which range from 30 - 50 pounds and were anywhere from 15-22 inches high at the shoulder. Anyway, we are excited to be getting a puppy and have a lot of work to do to get our new house together.

That's right, a new house. We would post pictures but we don't have any.......sorry. We got a bank repo for a great price in the same community we are currently renting in. It is not a lake front which would have been cool. It does have a partial view of the golf course and in the distance you can make out a water treatment plant of some sorts. It is two stories, 2300 square feet, sits on an acre, is near the lake / club house/ and community pool. It sits about 45 seconds from the community entrance so I can get to work quicker, and it also sits on a secluded street at the very end of a court. We are excited. We have to paint, replace carpet, rid the sub floor of cat / dog urine odor, and air the place out. Hopefully we should move in sometime in early November.

Everything else is going great. Excited for the new house and new dog. Will post pics of both once they are available. Gotta run. Here is a quick play by play.

Haefan.

Eats big boy pureed foods. Sits up. Is no long our newborn but is an official infant.

JJ

A snuggler to the end. Loves his brothers. Is definitely our boy of boys. Plays rough and hard. Loves to run with his brothers while they ride there bikes. The kid has some of my endurance I think.

Kaelan

Always a joker. Loves his school. Always looking to be on our good side, but occasionally loses it and joins the dark side. Man can he be a stinker.

Lathan.

Lost two teeth. Really smart. Great speller. Great reader.

Griselda

Beautiful as ever. Amazing. Lovely. Need I say more.

Dave

Getting busier. Finances getting more and more complicated. Glad to be in California. Glad to be home more. I get to play pick up water polo on Saturdays.

Dave

Where Has the Time Gone????

2009-09-27T20:41:00.026-04:00

So I've been less-than-satisfactory in posting pictures. I know. No reminder needed. I hope to use the pictures to tell the story, rather than trying to use words to catch up.

Just as a synopsis, I'll list some of the things we experienced over the past few months:

-Both D & G did relays for X-tri back in May (still in MI)
-Visited a few places at the last minute before leaving MI
-Had a fun time celebrating Lathan's bday with good friends
-Had a fun time with all the "goodbye" parties before we left MI
-Loved having Jeremy & Heather come for Dave's graduation
-Got to go to Cedar Point amusement park with our bestest friends on our way out of MI
-Moved to CA and had less-than-stellar time dealing with the moving company
-Met so many wonderful people here in our ward and realized that many of them are close neighbors!
-Enjoyed a full month+ off to play in our new vacation-like home base
-Went to Aspen to see some of my ol' snowboarding friends at a marvelous wedding.
-The boys learning how to swim so well here with all the time spent in the water
-Spending A LOT more time with my bro (Dito) and Lucy since we are so much closer (JJ never stops asking for them!)
-Finding time to visit our family in the Bay Area at least once a month (my favorite is going to SF to experience urban life with the locals (Dito and Lucy) - and in STYLE)
-Boys starting school and getting used to schedules and responsibilities
-Getting a calling as a Relief Society instructor
-Participating in the local triathlon here
-Continuing to "train" - but running mostly, since Dave signed us up for a half-marathon in Nov.
-So glad to get the kids together with their old friends from MI at a fun ice cream shop in Vacaville.
-Dave started playing Master's Water Polo
-Griselda got back into tennis
-Lathan lost his first and second tooth!

WARNING:
REALLY long post ahead full of a TON of pictures (and not at all in order) that date back to June and cover our entire Summer and then some.

Lathan's hair was getting too long and so I made him pin it up. He has since gotten a haircut.

Lathan working hard at the jog-a-thon. He completed 29 laps.

I thought this was a funny sequence. Kaelan is not one that opens up easily, so I found this priceless. I was nursing Haefan in the car while this was taking place:

Kaelan had a field trip at the local orchards (Machado Orchards). Here the hostess is giving them one last bit of info before having a fun snack.

They make A LOT of yummy pies here. Delish...

Look at that fresh fruit!

She was pulling fresh fruit straight off the tree for the kids and parents to sample. This is totally Kaelan's heaven. He LOVES fresh fruit.

On a lovely stroll in Saratoga, next to Abuelo's house.

Aunt Lucy and Haefan at Abuelo's.

Eating and more eating for JJ. Food is always fantastic at Abuelo's.

Napping at Abuelo's.

Ocean Beach with a MOMENT of blue sky and the die-hard boys enjoying their beach time. We were all freezing and covered up while they were struttin' their stuff and bearing the cold.

Haefan with two or three coats on at the beach.

Just hangin' at the park.

Boys being adventurous at the park within Golden Gate Park in SF.

I loved this sequence, too. This is the cement slide that the boys LOVE at the park. This is Kaelan having some fun (left side). Sequence courtesy of Aunt Lucy. Thanks!

This is JJ attempting to pull off a "shy" act.

Another funny shot of JJ taking charge of his food.

An interesting experiment in physics (and backwash). This was pretty gross because OJ ended up at the bottom of his water and increased with every sip taken. Yuck.

Uncle Dito's pad in SF.

The morning after a good night's sleep.

These kids were bushed after traveling and playing.

Apparently there was a period of time where my camera was a toy among the boys. A handful of these are their contribution.

Backing up a bit here. This is residency graduation.

Dave taking advantage of the free drinks (oh please, it's a Shirley Temple!)

Right after we hit Cedar Point in OH with our bestest buds.

After Lathan lost his first tooth.

Right before he lost his tooth. If you look closely, you can see his "shark" tooth sitting there behind the baby tooth.

This is a fast-spinning ride at the county fair that I mistakenly decided to enjoy with the boys. I was green for a whole day after this.

The boys absolutely were obsessed with getting more and more rides from the horses.

Lots of fun at the fair!

The boys were awesome cheering me on at the Lake of the Pines triathlon.

This is the last day of school in MI. Here we are celebrating at Red Robin.

I was AMAZED by the the decorations for the school Opera. Here is a few shots of the set decorations. It does not do the work justice, but at least it's something!

Each of these flowers were hand cut tissue layered on top of each other for effect. And there were HUNDREDS of these. Talk about dedicated parents!

Lathan's birthday celebration with our best friends (btw, still in MI)

Post-walk at our friends place in Swartz Creek, MI.

Dave taking his turn. Never a lost moment for him, when it came to sleep opportunities.

Seriously only a few moments before the pic above.

Lathan's birthday celebration at school (only a few days before the last day).

Chocolate-covered pretzels were a bit of mess for JJ; but this nice little lady was always watching out for him.

JJ was not about to be passive during Lathan's moment in the spotlight. Look closely and you can see all the fun pictures of the growing boy.

Can you see that the little girls LOVED baby Haefan?

The boys on the other hand were so happy to hang with JJ.

This is right after the triathlon. Having lunch on the trampoline.

Memorial Day trip to a Canadian park on the water. Isn't it beautiful??? Cold, but beautiful.

JJ doing his part to keep the photos coming...

Dave's Take

2009-09-27T16:14:00.003-04:00

Alright, so now with more time on our hands, we seem busier than ever and never seem to have time to post. Makes absolutely no sense.

Haefan

Sitting up. Eating big boy pureed foods. Smiling a lot. Finally starting to get fat.

Jeydan

Stubborn as an ox. Tricked me last night into thinking that he had eaten his salad, when in actuality he had it in his mouth during a two hour movie, brushing his teeth, and half way through his shower. Once it was discovered it resulted in a half-naked boy sitting at the dinner table for 2.5 hours eating a bowl of lettuce. Once he got to 2.5 hours, had peed on the garage floor, and still refused to eat his salad after having experienced the harshest of parental interrogation and motivational methods, he took a shower and crashed. Only to find a big bowl of lettuce waiting for him at breakfast and lunch. Stubborn as an ox.

Kaelan

Loves his school. Shy as ever. One of the funniest of our kids with his questions, answers, and funny faces. Definitely adds some flavor to our white bread half mexican family.

Lathan

Walked/Jogged/Ran 28 laps for his school's jogathon. We had to get him some new shoes the day before because he said that his shoes were finally hurting him. Bought him his first pair of Nike. As some one who hates Nike, it was difficult for me to do. Biggest mistake I ever made. He probably could have only done a lap or two with his old shoes before his feet would hurt. Now I have to fork out all this money for 28 freakin laps. Never going to make that mistake again.

Griselda

Beautiful as ever. Signed her up for a half marathon in November. She is excited, bummed, depressed, and extremely motivated for the run depending on which day it is, and what time of the day it is. We are running it together, so it should be really fun.

Dave

Finally working as a real doctor. Definitely different being the boss. Had to get used to not having to ask for permission to leave my office, use my phone, or the office fax. Griselda loves having me around. I am actually here a lot of the days when the kids get up for breakfast and I even drive some of them to school. Loving the family life.

Griselda should be throwing some pics on later today.

Oh yeah, we are buying a house in the next week or two. It is a fixer upper bank repo house. We will post some before and after pics soon.

Dave

New Blog Title et al...

2009-08-26T17:34:00.006-04:00

Big boys are in the background on their noodles while we hang out in the sun/shade.

Daddy attacks!

First day of school for the little boys

First day of 1st grade

Daddy's office building (his office is up those stairs)

Boys swimming in our wonderful neighbor's new pool. Nothing particularly notable here, except that you can see the back of our house through the fence.

Lathan loves the pool!

JJ has to take breaks to warm up.

Sometimes Daddy is a bit too rough, but I think Kaelan likes this game.

Lathan jumping in from the "jumping rock"

A night out at P.F. Changs.

Daredevil stunts taking place while I was still inside.

Kaelan and his rice bowl.

Taking turns soothing a tired and teething baby.

Best buds when they have full bellies.

We have really been enjoying our time here in California. You can see some of the pictures recently posted show the boys obsessed with everything water. I thought that since we no longer live in the 'hood, that I should update our Blog title that would be more current to our situation now (Sons of the Sierra Sunshine) - and I am open to suggestions. This was the best I could come up with in a minute's time.

Dave was so nice to post something after so long. And thank goodness for Aunt Lucy and Uncle Dito (Fernando) because they were the ones that took all the pictures! I didn't have to do a thing...

But now I think I'm ready to post a few updates and pics - but only a short one.

Dave:
Has really gotten into the groove of work. Has learned a few new procedures here that he never did in MI. Loves his partners and his staff. Currently has Mondays off. Passed his fluoroscopy exam and is now licensed in CA!!! Now preparing for oral boards in October in Chicago (over Halloween - who does that????)

Lathan:
Learned to comfortably ride a two-wheel and started 1st grade here. He has two special-needs kids in his class, one with simple hearing aids and the other that gets to bring his service dog every now and then. So Lathan gets a puppy to come with him to class sometimes. Very cool. He is doing well and reading a ton. He hasn't had the easiest time being outgoing or making friends in this new environment. We are lucky that our neighbors behind us are members of our ward and they have a pair of 5th-graders that chaperone Lathan to and from school. Those are currently the friends with which he feels most comfortable. He's been taking the bus; but last night we decided that I or Cindy (my neighbor) would take the kids in the morning and let the bus drop them off in the afternoon. Lathan was tardy too many times with the bus in the morning and it came at 7am! School starts at 8, so I thought that was a bit ridiculous. He does have a whole hour less class time this year, getting out at 2, though.

Kaelan:
Started his Montessori program and seems to love it. They don't have the musical influence here that they did in MI, but they do have a Spanish immersion curriculum. He doesn't like coming home at lunch, so we are going to try letting him stay until 3pm for the month of September. We'll see how cranky he gets with that schedule. He is much more vocal and communicative lately. He swims like a champ (with water-wings, anyway). Loves to play with Lathan and is totally annoyed with JJ while at home. Loves his Haefan to pieces and says that he is Haefan's favorite - even over Mama.

Jeydan:
Completely potty trained now. Woohoo! It's been about 3 weeks without any accidents. He tends to pee in his pull-up in the morning if we don't get him in the first 5 minutes that he is awake. I'm not sure if you are aware, but my kids don't get out of bed (except for potty) until we come and get them. That's just how they are. Anyway, on Saturdays when we try to sleep in, we let him hang out in his bed until the other boys are up (sometimes that can be a LONG time) - hence the pee in the the pull-up. I'm ok with that since I'd rather have that than him wandering around in the morning. He also started pre-school with Kaelan, but not in the same classroom since he's only two. He likes it once he's there, but has difficulty saying goodbye. I think I will pull him out at the end of September if Kaelan stays until 3 because I don't want to do 2 pick-ups at that school (a 30-min drive without any traffic troubles each way). I don't think he'll mind; but for the month of September I will being doing the double-pick-ups.

Haefan:
Teething and still refluxing a ton. He is so messy, but so happy and still growing; so we can't really complain. He loves being around his brothers. Even if he isn't able to directly see them, he is content to hang out if their voices are in the same room. He protests A LOT otherwise. Still has a Faux-hawk, but it is growing out. He receives lots of love from all of us. Lucky dude.

Me:
Trying to run a lot. My leg is better finally, but I think my extra weight is doing a number on my joints. Don't like it. But I'm trying to not make excuses and get out to exercise. Come October, Haefan will be 6 months (!!!) and I'll join a gym near the Montessori school to continue my exercise routine through the winter. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up tennis again, too. I get to see Dave so much now that I can't imagine what I'd do without him. He's wonderful around the house and being a supportive husband for me.

Other:
We were able to visit with family at various times these past couple of months, most recently this past weekend - so that's AWESOME!!!! We love our community here and take advantage of the amenities all the time. Our neighbor behind us is so helpful and they let us come swimming in their new pool a lot (but apparently it's never enough for the boys, they always want more). We had the deal go under on the first house we wanted to buy here because the bank came back with a much lower appraisal. So now we are in the process of getting another house here, but it is a bank repo. So it's a great deal for what we get, but there is a lot of work we want to do before it will meet our needs completely. The big selling point wasn't so much the house, but the lot. It's on an acre (huge for our area) and at the end of a cul-de-sac. Perfect. With a beautiful view, mostly (if you ignore the one eyesore of the water treatment plant out in the distance). It's one-third the cost of the other house, but we get a lot more land and overall potential with this one. So we are taking a leap of faith.

We miss all of our ol' friends. I'll do my best to post pictures more regularly for the Nana and Pops.

We give our talk in church this Sunday, so wish us luck!

-griselda

Potty Training

2009-08-24T01:59:00.004-04:00

So, JJ is now potty trained. Quite an accomplishment for him and his mama; however, there was a period of rough and tough love. Here is a winner. This is JJ getting ready for his nap time, perhaps just a little too ready.....

The California Boys now!!!!

2009-08-24T01:25:00.004-04:00

Kaelan and JJ hanging out at the local mall play area....
Kaelan trying to wait patiently for his older brother Lathan to get home from school.
The cutest little feet in the world....

Love all around......

JJ waiting not so patiently for his brother Lathan.
JJ would run to this fence, stare out over the lake, and then turn, run and jump full speed into the pool. No fear.
JJ telling mama a joke.
The boys getting ready for battle.
Uncle Fernando brings a suprise attack.
Kaelan, with his straight as an arrow pencil jump. Can you say future diver? I still am hoping for a water polo player, but with his height and build maybe diving is in his future....
Three of the four getting ready for a day at the beach.
Haefan, trying to show his brothers that he really can stick his whole hand in his mouth.
A common site with Haefan. He really likes to stick out his tongue. So, don't ever take it personally.
This is the flying JJ.
And after all the running, jumping, and swimming, JJ is done.

Dave & the Boys + Mama

2009-07-19T22:54:00.003-04:00

Haefan, aka "Tiny Awesome": sleeping, and too small to type.

Jeydan, aka "JJ": rrrrrrrrrrerrerrrdxrdfrxtctrcygtctcttdr

Kaelan, aka "Awesome": hjikijo9iiio['kl''k,,m,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, llllllllllooooojuy677777777gtttttd

Lathan, aka "Guy": i love the beach.

Griselda, aka "hot mama": I love my boys. And California. And vacation. And summer. And the beach. And the outdoor lap pool. And family in the same state. And swim lessons. And air conditioning. And Daddy on vacation. And my Michigan neighbors. And my facebook friends. And so many other things...

Dave, aka "Bald Daddy": I love my family time. Spent more time with my kids in the last few weeks than I have spent in a long time. Went fishing with my boys twice. Got some left over poison ivy from my fishing vest that I evidently brought with me from Michigan. Good times. Swam the lake twice. Have been swimming / beaching at least 4-5 days a week. Went biking without fearing for my life. Except for when I was attacked by a yellow jacket that happened to find a vent in my helmet while I was flying down a hill at 35 mph. Not a great experience. Imagine trying to kill a yellowjacket that is biting you while breaking, avoiding getting hit by cars all without crashing. Fun times. Went hiking with my boys on the american river. Loving it here.

I have a friend who posted this on her blog a while back and I think it's fantastic. A great showing of our missionaries that I hope our boys can look to as something great to look forward to:

IS THIS REAL?????

2009-07-12T22:06:00.002-04:00

We are poaching wireless internet services here at our rental home and so I will make this quick in the case that I get kicked off...

First, we officially get connected with our own service this coming Friday - apparently the one and only internet provider here was "busy" until then. So that means that we've been without the WWW for a MONTH!!! Unheard of, right? Well, our new Blackberry Storms saved the day (or month, rather). We've been able to keep up with important emails and bills and family letters. But posting and updating people outside of Facebook has been nearly impossible since I have almost no one's info on the phone. Anyway, back to business...

REALLY QUICK run-down of the past month:

*We moved our stuff out of the Michigan house one week early and camped out at home in sleeping bags. Our neighbor saved us with a few pots and pans, towels, and baby crib.

*The moving process was a traumatic one. The packers did an ok job, from what we could tell; but we still can't find the bed sheets and mattress covers that are essential (we've since bought the stuff so we could move out of our sleeping bags). The movers, on the other hand, were a disaster. They didn't break anything that we really cared about, so that was a plus. They did forget about half the linen closet (how do you get just half???) so we spent $100 to ship some of it via UPS and then spent another extra $50 to check bags on the plane with the other stuff (and that was with a discount!). Then with the remainder, we gave to our good friends, the Joneses, since they are moving only about an hour away and the military was moving them for free. Fun, right?

*We went a few days later to Cedar Point (a REALLY awesome amusement park). I went on the one and only coaster again that has ever made me shriek with real fear and loved it (the fear was gone, though, sadly); but discovered a new one that really got my heart racing, so I have a new favorite. It was AWESOME, but the line was too long to go more than once.

*We returned back to our empty home, gave away all of our food items and miscellaneous stuff that wasn't packed (detergent, cleaning supplies, etc.) and sold the other stuff on Craigslist. Then had all the carpets cleaned. With the nightmare of obtaining our rental van over with, we returned it without drama (sort of) at the airport. But as we were leaving, a HUGE storm hit the area and it was as dark as night at 2pm. We couldn't drive very fast because the rain was pounding so hard and there was literally some flash flooding on the streets (which isn't all that common in MI). Then I saw some street lights without power and hoped that our neighborhood was safe from disaster.

*The flight was pretty uneventful, thankfully. We arrived at the hotel right off of the Sacramento Airport at about 5am Eastern time, so we were bushed. My dad brought over our already delivered van and dropped it off there at the hotel so we made our way to Auburn by about 10am. We enjoyed a day at the beach without any stuff at the house that very day. So nice to relax.

*Our stuff came the next morning and the men dropped an overwhelming amount of boxes in various parts of the house. We haven't been able to locate a lot of different things, but nothing that we can't really live without (apart from the sheets!). They broke a few items, one of them being a leg on my favorite dining table ever. I'm ok with all of it, but that doesn't mean I won't be filing claims for every last item. They did a poor job from start to finish and I won't be letting it slide. I'm just glad that I should never have to move again. Even when it's all done for you, it's still a pain.

*We are in a nice rental that is about 2000 sq ft; but with no basement, we are very short on space for our stuff. Most everything is in the garage that isn't essential. So our cars are getting cooked everyday in the beautiful California sunshine...

*If you didn't already know, we put an offer on a beautiful house about 2 months ago, but we couldn't come to an agreement and so nothing came of it. Well, since being here, we looked at another potential home and decided that the one we offered on was really the best one for us and the one we really wanted - by a long shot. So we put another offer in this last Wednesday and offerred a little more for it this time, but said THIS IS IT. Take it or leave it. Well, they took it! So we are on our way to getting our dream home. We put for a longer closing because we have a 3-month deal at our current place. We are so excited. So much change and messes to straighten up with so many boxes, etc, but we are looking forward to decluttering these next few months and having the time of our lives! I'll post some pics in a few days...

Dave's Take

2009-06-20T14:49:00.002-04:00

So, we are in the middle of our move, sleeping in sleeping bags, eating fast food, and celebrating our 11th aniversary.

So, to cap off our moving experience with one long sentence......

It starts with Hertz screwing us for$220 for picking up the car that was sitting on their lot 4 hours early, the moving company salesman getting Griselda to sign a document on the day of our move that increased our moving price by $2000, eating dinner with 4 crabby kids at 930 at night, Griselda finding a food wrapper IN her omlet, and the icing on the cake is that I am working on our aniversary. What a crappy night / aniversary. But it did get better. Griselda got Hertz to drop the charges down $400. The movers stopped their contestation of our moving weight, negating the second contract / addendum that Griselda signed, putting our move back to the estimated price. Went out to breakfast and got to see our friends Josh & Lisa and Jeff & Lindsey just by accident.

Happy aniversary love.

Dave

Dave's Take

2009-05-31T21:21:00.004-04:00

So, it has definitely been a while since we last posted. Quick run down.

Haefan: Cute baby. Sleeping more than our other babies. Not quite as fat. Still really cute. Starting to smile when stimulated. More for me than for Griselda.

JJ: Thug. Bruiser. Definitely a two year old. Always says no, even if he is doing what you asked. Really loves kissing Haefan. Sometimes a little too much.

Kaelan: He is our whiner. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. So much, in fact, that sometimes I forget what his real voice sounds like.

Lathan: Reader. He can really start to put things together now. Maybe the college tuition payment for his kindergarten really was worth it.

Mama: Finished participating in her fourth triathlon. Starting training for the run. Then two weeks ago, switched to the swim. And the night before due to team member injuries, switched to the bike. Hadn't ridden the bike in a while. Still not quite right sitting down since the race. Hates her clip pedals. Although they seem to love her and never seem to want to let her go. (fell 4-5 times due to really strong clip pedals). Her team ended up taking second place behind a really tough all male 1st place team.

Me: Also competed in a triathlon relay this weekend. I stuck with the swimming only portion. Swam about 2/3 of a mile in 69 degree water. No wetsuit. Frickin cold people. Nothing like running up out of the water with a bunch of elite triathletes when you are out of shape and about 20 pounds over weight. Probably looked like a tall Chris Farely running out of the water in a speedo jammer suit. I am sure that Griselda will end up posting pics. The only comfort that I can take is the first place plaque that we won behind a fierce all women relay......with the cutest little hispanic biker. Couldn't keep my eyes off her. Like a Eva Mendez / Jennifer Lopez in US snowboard top with capri bottoms. No wonder we have SO many kids.

Status: We are all set to move to California now in under 4 weeks. We finally took care of the housing arrangement, cars being transported, health insurance, etc... We are all really excited to be closer to family and friends that we left behind in California and Utah. And of course will miss all those that we are leaving behind in Michigan. Stay tuned for pics from Griselda.

Dave

Tee-Ball

2009-05-03T08:32:00.000-04:00

Can you tell that Dave has the weekend off??? I've done 3 separate posts IN ONE DAY. I won't be repeating that anytime soon, I'll have you know. I just am simply taking advantage of a good thing and trying to pass on the goodness to y'all.

Tee-ball was a lot of fun, but I had a hard time catching all the good stuff on camera because I was busy trying to get the boys to be comfortable and focus on the game throughout the process, while also trying to show them how proud I was of them that they were out there. That left me with a few cute shots, along with missing some pretty awesome ones, too.

Here are the highlights:

pre-game catch while we were waiting for our turn for pictures.

Lathan was very good about being quick to get the ball.

Apparently I missed his AWESOME hit earlier that made it to the outfield when I was nursing in the car. But this one's still good.

I also missed his AWESOME hit earlier while in the car. These next two are the same sequence that I thought was too funny. Poor Kaelan has too big a head for some of the helmets. Some do fit, though, just not this one. If you can't tell, he's way to preoccupied with the helmet to concentrate too much on the hitting/running. He really is a natural and can nail the ball. Just not with the helmet distraction.

This was toward the end of the game when the boys were getting too cold and bored.

How funny that only my boys are totally confused by this process? Dave said that it's my responsibility to teach them these things. What??? That's Dad's job. Dave was embarrassed by this one. Still, too funny.

We hope to post more awesomeness from t-ball this week!

April Showers Bring May Flowers...and Smiles.

2009-05-02T18:14:00.006-04:00

So growing up in California, I never experienced the old adage (title above) until I moved here to Michigan. And still every year (seven years later!) it doesn't cease to surprise me how late Spring comes. Only this last week have the flowers blossomed on the trees and tulips and daffodils made their grand appearance. Really. And here this last week I was reading how our Aunt Mimi broke out the backyard pool because it reached triple digits there in AZ. I can't believe we live on the same planet, seriously.

I held it together enough to make it through another week. I decided to start exercising seriously this week and went for a fabulous run on Monday only to come down with an odd and VERY painful calf injury that kept me from going back out for the rest of the week. Then, while we were all happy and plugging along, I came down with a serious case of the flu. Just upper-respiratory stuff with the always-pleasant sinus infection, but no vomiting. So I can't REALLY complain. But I was thrown for a real doozy with this one. I couldn't function for about 24 hours. As much as I tried to avoid it, I had Lathan become the parent for that time. Dave was "busy"doing his work stuff and away from us for most of the time (I say that sarcastically because he is doing his mustache growing contest along with other odd activities to make work more interesting - but can't seem to pull off coming home early for even ONE day). He did help out the best he could once he was around, but my frustration and his lack of presence gave him little clout among all of us here at home. It was almost mutiny. But being a Skeehan, he survived and came out not phased too much by it all :)

Thank goodness that Dave had this weekend off of work because today was opening day for tee-ball and it was CHAOS. We had pictures of the team, then the individual pictures, followed by their first game. Remember that the boys only had one practice, so I was curious to see the outcome. The bonus that really created mayhem for me was that this whole past week it's been raining and so the fields were SOPPING wet. On our way to and from pictures we soaked our socks and shoes with muddy water and the boys were forced to sit down in the mud for their pictures adding a nice touch to their uniforms. Also, JJ wanted to take part in all of it so he was running around finding ways to get to them and stomping through the mud to get to them. At least it wasn't raining during the game, but it sure was chilly. The boys came in a few times from their field positions to tell me they were cold out there in their short sleeves. Sorry boys, I'll be better prepared next time with sweaters; but I do have to say that Dave did an AWESOME job preparing the game bag - he had lots of snacks, plenty of water, stuff for Haefan and brought the camera. What a stud. AND we got there on time.

May brings many hopeful things, but also busy stuff. Dave has the pressure of submitting all his paperwork to various California bureaus and associations so that he is licensed, insured, and prepared to make a living once out there in Auburn. He also has his yearly paper due sometime this month. As for me, I finally have to suck it up and clean house. Throw all junk away, prepare for my leg of the triathlon at the end of the month, and venture out to California to find a house to buy or rent. Dave finally does have his week of vacation this month and I look forward to having some helping hands in the midst of the imminent chaos.

The goals I have for the upcoming week include venturing down the exercise route once again, if even doing so in pain. I also am going to attempt to eliminate all unnecessary sugar from my diet since being on such a feast or famine schedule, I tend to crave quick and easy sweet stuff. Not a good habit.

Below is a sequence of the mustache-madness and its undoing...

Before...

Curious Kaelan watching side-show Dad...

Middle...

And shortly thereafter...

Some early practice for the boys, I suppose.

I'll post more on tee-ball when I get another minute. Until then, happy May!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

2009-05-02T13:54:00.007-04:00

We miss you SOOOOOO much and want you to know that although you are a day ahead of us there in Sydney, we are thinking of you all day today on your special day. We hope that you are able to celebrate the wonderful life that you are and all things wonderful that your life has brought forth (namely, Daddy Dave!) and we are doing what we can to get a chance to see you guys down under. I hope you have a lovely day/weekend/month, etc. We love the postcards and always look forward to mail from our Nana and Pop! One of these days we'll do likewise, but until that happens, the stuff below will just have to do.

WE LOVE YOU!!!!