Pineview 2009

Backdated to June 2009. Remembered/Written July2024.

Thanks Callahan (currently camping) for the push to get it blogged :)

We'd planned a camping trip, our usual spot in Anderson Cove next to Pineview Reservoir. We had the trailer and reserved the spot for two days. We went up Friday, June 19. Gray got home from work earlier than expected, so we were off and able to avoid rush hour traffic.

Pulling the pop-up trailer, we arrived and got set up. After the initial hesitation, the two little ones seemed very happy to be camping (old hat for the three older boys). Colton couldn’t open the door to the camper so he would stand outside the door and yell “Ding Dong the Door!” which made us all laugh and was a statement that wouldn't soon be forgotten.

We had a little negative excitement ...

I remember seeing Keaton across the firepit when he started, shook his head and started screaming. He said a bug had flown into his ear. This was a time when Keaton had tendency toward hyperbole and hypochondria, and the fact that we couldn’t see anything, we weren’t sure what to think. 

Keaton settled down a little, but then he'd move his head a little and his eyes would grow wide again. "It's buzzing" and he insisted something was in there. I took a flashlight, pulled his earlobe down to open things up as much as possible and ... there was something in there. A black, not so little, bug butt. What to do? It was getting late and we weren't sure if this was something a doctor/ER/instacare should handle, if we could even find one (and could we get back into the campground or did the gates close for the evening?) Gray then got the idea to have Keaton lay with his ear up, and he poured water into the ear canal. Whatever was in there didn't like being drowned, and it started moving around and backing up. It was like a scene from a science fiction movie, with the legs coming out, then the body. It was a medium sized housefly or black bee, not really a small bug! The stuff that nightmares are made of! Not a great picture, but you get the idea. Gray had the file from some clippers to encourage and nudge the bug all the way out. Poor Keaton ... it was actually traumatizing for all involved. Keaton's main memory from this event was that no one believed him :(

The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly. Some cheese sandwiches, hotdogs and smores (lots of smores!), some Uno around the table. Milk and mini chocolate donuts. Keaton had his favorite striped pajamas (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ... Cooper never got a turn wearing them but Colton eventually did, Striped Pajama Sequel). When it was time for bed, Gray turned out the light and Colton gave a little gasp at the darkness, but the night went fairly smoothly. Noisy neighbors kept us up for a while, and Colton cried a couple times. I don’t know if I really slept at all.

Saturday morning, Grayson had planned a run around the lake. I didn't note exactly when he left, but he was gone a long time. He had thought the path around the lake would be about 10 miles, it was actually over 15! This on top of a killer bike ride he did yesterday (which he said was probably his hardest workout ever). When he finally made it back, we had a yummy breakfast, pancakes, french toast and bacon ... and smores. For breakfast.

A little rest, a little time at the beach...

There wasn’t much beach as the water level was so high. It was cool, and rained off and on. No Keaton in the pictures ... maybe still recovering from the bug in the ear.

The extended family (Blackham and some Bailey) was planning on coming up. Gray called them and told them the weather and water weren’t really cooperating, but they came up anyway ..

... and we all got dumped on! There was still some food and fire and family visiting. After everyone left, we retreated to the camper. There was a break in the rain, and we decided to pack up and go home rather than stay another night as originally planned. We were able to get off pretty quickly and got home without incident. Home again home again, jiggity jig.

Kicking It with the Kindergarten Crew

There are two main recreational soccer leagues here in West Jordan. One signs the kids up in the spring, for the following fall/spring season (I can never plan that far in advance), the other has registration shortly before each season starts. Several of the kids in the neighborhood had signed up with the former league, and had already played fall together when spring rolled around. A couple of the kids had dropped off the team however, and as a spot opened up, I was able to add Cooper to the team. All the kids were already in kindergarten (Coop was still in preschool) but they were friends from the neighborhood and church. Cooper LOVED playing soccer and it really helped with his independence and socialization skills too.

A Full Family 5k

Saturday, June 6, 2009, there was a 5k race in Bountiful. Cousin Nikki (Mom/Margie's niece, daughter of her brother Merrill) and her Callahan (can you believe there are two Callahan's in the family?) were hosting a run to raise fund and awareness for MLD. Their daughter Eliza was diagnosed with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that affects nerves, muscles, other organs, and behavior.

Here's an excerpt from my journal from the day of the race ...

We had talked about going as a family and had decided to do it, all of us. The older boys were pretty excited, I brought a scooter for Keaton to participate and keep up easily, and the two babies would be in the stroller. The two oldest were up and at it early, but I practically had to dress Colton while he was sleeping. We were out the door by about quarter to 7:00 and made it there in good time (in Bountiful). Shane and Alicia were there. I had known they were coming, but was surprised to see Chris and Corin and my dad, and Derek and Danielle. So lots of support from the Westra side, plus of course many of my cousins. Gray was pushing the stroller (I’d end up walking if I did) and he started with Keaton, while I started closer to the front with the big boys. They were off at the start and I didn’t have a chance of catching up to them. Gray caught up to me shortly, passed Keaton off to me and took off. Keaton was good, going just a little faster than me, keeping me jogging the entire time. My only stops were at a stoplight as needed for traffic, or when we came upon Landon near the end (his sprint at the start had used up all his energy, and he was sitting by the side of the road).  He took over the scooter and Keaton ran the remaining half to quarter mile. I was just under 32 minutes ... usually I’m at least 40 for three miles *Ü* so that made me happy. I felt pretty dang good. I wished I had remembered the camera!

 As I mention not having a camera - I'm not positive where the pictures came from. Maybe Alicia? Or an event photographer, with the photos shared online afterward? It was fun to see so much family and community support.

Eliza passed away July 8, 2015. You can read a little of her story here. 

We'd gotten up and off so early we hadn't really had a proper breakfast, so we stopped at a family favorite Virg's for some food on the way home. Landon was wiped out though, and elected to stay in the car and nap. I thought for sure he'd come in ... but he didn't, and once home, he went to bed there too! Gray and I had another activity for the day, a hike. It was around 3 miles too. I remember noting the difference in my Fitbit steps. "Running" (in quotes because I can't say I was really running) those three miles got bigger, but fewer steps (around 5000). The hike, both uphill and down called for small steps, so the three miles there netted around 8000 steps! The "average" number of steps for a mile is 2000, but it sure can vary!