December Highlights:
- Luke earns student of the month for embodying the character trait of kindness
- Luke builds his own computer (pretty much)
- I visit my brother Benny’s new pad and stay the night there with grandma Carol
- Kids get to see their cousins Zen and Zion
- We all celebrate Christmas together — first at home, then with my sister and parents
- Lilah volunteers at Rose Parade again – I didn’t get to document this time but she sent me some pictures
- Luke goes to top of Big Bear peak and conquers Geronimo — double diamond run with no problems (I just watched)
- I leave my job after 12 years to join a startup in Santa Barbara — first day of school starts Jan 3 😉
- We visit grandma Tehrani
December 2016 – One Very Eventful month
What a big month December turned out to be. The beginning of the month started with both Mrs. Guerras celebrating birthdays — both are still in good shape and looking great. Luke was on his own mission this month after I “green lighted” his build a computer project. Eventually, all the parts we ordered arrived and Luke was able to build most of the computer himself. However, when it came to connecting all the different power cables, we decided to take the machine in to professionals just to make sure everything was configured correctly. The end result is that Luke now has one very fast gaming machine which will also serve the dual purpose of being his video production machine for school projects.
Luke was also awarded with student of the month at his school for embodying the attribute of kindness, something he unexpectedly showed us again when he surprised us with a handwritten note on Christmas day thanking us profusely for all we’ve done for him. Cat and I were both very touched and agreed it was the best Christmas present we could have received. I am not posting the letter because I don’t want to embarrass him, and in this day and age it’s still good to keep some things private ;).
Grandma Carol came in to town again as part of her usual pilgrimage to the “lower 48” to escape the brutal Alaskan winter. As always, she has a lot of travel plans, the highlight being a month-long adventure to Colombia. As part of her visit, I drove down south to San Diego county to spend a day and night with her and my brother Benny in his new pad. The house is in a pretty remote place in the mountains on these narrow country roads, but the privacy, the quietness, and the view of the stars is spectacular. Enjoyed seeing Benny and my nephews Zion and Zen who we reconnected with again when Benny and Carol came up north to visit my sister.
We all had a wonderful time at my sister’s house for Christmas dinner. Typically, it’s Christmas Eve dinner but this year Andres had to work Christmas eve so we changed plans to Christmas day. My sister cooked her delicious Chilean pastel de choclo and we all sat around drinking, eating, and then drinking and eating some more before opening presents and saying our good byes.
It was definitely an eventful year with much to be grateful and thankful for, and much to look forward to. One of the things I’m looking forward to the most is starting my new job on January 3rd. As I mentioned last month, it’s a big move for me. After being the 12-year old timer at Semtech, I will now be going into a startup environment where I will be the new kid on the block for a change.
And now onto the year’s highlights. Happy New Year to you all! More next month.
2016 Highlights
Here’s a few of the highlights from 2016:
- Luke goes to top of Big Bear peak and conquers Geronimo — double diamond run with no problems (I just watch)
- I leave my job after 12 years to join a startup in Santa Barbara — first day of school starts Jan 3 😉
- I visit my brother Benny’s new pad and stay the night there with grandma Carol
- Kids get to see their cousins Zen and Zion
- Luke earns student of the month for embodying the character trait of kindness
- Luke builds his own computer
- Luke joins the Big Bear snowboard team
- I see the Anthony Bordain show at the Pantages theater
- Lilah gets her driver’s license
- We celebrate my dad’s birthday
- Celebrate my birthday
- Luke kicks off final year of middle school by joining flag football team for the first time
- I finish triathlon season strong at Carpinteria beating Superman for the first time
- Celebrate sister’s birthday
- Luke goes to surf camp
- I compete in my longest triathlon ever, a 3hr 48 minute affair at Santa Barbara long course
- We return to our beloved Lake Tahoe
- Luke starts to come of age in the ocean, paddling out for the big ones
- We celebrate Nicholas’ birthday
- Kids give in to the Pokemon Go craze and we help enable it 😉
- We take a side excursion to Reno, Nevada
- Attend Brandon and Kevin’s beautiful wedding in Corona Del Mar
- We visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the first time
- We celebrate Lilah’s birthday
- Lilah goes undefeated for the season in the 50 yard breastroke and 100 individual medley
- We celebrate the mamas in our lives
- Lilah wins a science department award at her school’s first “Academy Awards“
- Luke learns to surf
- Luke goes to an overnight camp with his schoolmates in the Santa Monica mountains
- Celebrate Luke’s birthday which means we now officially have two teenagers in the house
- Buy a new car – Subaru Outback
- Welcome a new addition to our family – a chihuahua named Jack
- Cathy and I see Seinfeld’s stand up show for the first time at the Arlington theater
- Celebrate Sebastian’s birthday
- Kids and I try cross country skiing for the first time
- Lilah learns to snowboard — Luke does the coaching
- Luke inches past Lilah in height (he’s about 1/4 of an inch taller, but Lilah reminds him she can still beat him up pretty easily)
- Lilah is among one of a select few to receive the first set of student of the month awards handed out by her new school
- Start the new year by visiting an old friend
- Luke and I experience our first powder day at Mammoth and have a blast
- See some of the biggest waves of the season roll through the Ventura point
- Watch Lilah play her own composition and Canon in D at her recital
