National Lasagna Day

It's National LASAGNA Day ... did you know that? Did you know there WAS a lasagna day? We celebrated Donut Day in June ... there are so many strange little "holidays" ... you can check out more of them here. Anyway, Landon had been asking for lasagna for a while now, so it seemed fitting to make one (or two or four) today. In fact, I made Landon help! Guys should know how to cook to, don't you think?

Personally ... I don't eat lasagna, but Grayson and Landon love this Westra family recipe.

1 lb hamburger

1 package lasagna noodles

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp Italian seasonings

1 Tbls Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lb mozzarella or jack cheese

1/2 lb cheddar cheese

2 8oz cans of tomato sauce

Parmesan cheese

Brown the hamburger and drain. Cook the noodles as directed and drain. Combine the soup, milk, onion, W.sauce, seasonings and salt. Add cooked meat. In a 8x11 baking pan, start with a layer of noodles. Spread meat sauce mixture evenly over the noodles. Top with a layer of both cheeses. Drizzle tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Now, it's just as easy to make multiple lasagnas as it is to make one, so I usually double (have even tripled) the recipe. The completed lasagnas freeze well for future dinners, or make them in disposable pans to give away. Other than the two oldest boys (Daddy and Landon), no one else in our house really cares for lasagna, so I often use smaller pans (bread pans work great to make just 2-3 portions). Happy Lasagna Day!

Floral Foibles

I love fresh flowers ... they just don't last very long. So I often take pictures of them to preserve their beauty. Often I set the timer on the camera and jump into the frame too, my floral photo shoots.

Funny flower foibles ... while I love a big bouquet, I would be just as happy with a single bloom ... while I adore roses, daisies make me smile too ... of course I enjoy the arrangement that costs over $50 ... but if the price tag is $5, I feel free to bask in their beauty with less guilt ... and, I don't always wait for my man ... sometimes I just buy flowers for myself.

The Seattle Blackhams

Grayson's brother Kolby and family moved to Seattle a while back, we had yet to make a trip to visit. This year, Grayson and four of the boys made the trek out (Cooper and Mom sat this one out, see the "Homebodies" post below). So, from the pictures and stories told me, I'll try to provide a recap ...

• Friday the boys finished packing up the car and headed out. They drove most of the day and stopped in Ontario, which was about half way. They stopped at a hotel, ordered some pizza and went swimming at the hotel pool.
• Saturday they drove most of the day and reached Kolby and Jami's house in the late afternoon. The boys vegged and got reacquainted with their cousins while Maga and Jami planned menus and did some food shopping.
• Sunday everyone was off to the island. Being an ISLAND, the kids (and cars) boarded a ferry to make the trek across the water. When they got to dry land again, they set up camp. A campfire and smores (made with BIG marshmallows) completed the evening.
• Monday everyone did a little exploring ... they hiked a trail and found a waterfall and a great fallen tree ... they also visited a "castle" ... and then of course swimming in the lake.
• Tuesday they rented a couple of kayaks and paddled around the lake. They discovered a cool tree, overhanging the water. Perfect for climbing up and jumping into the water. Even Colton did some "cliff" jumping (it was about a 7 foot drop!).
• Wednesday everyone went out to breakfast at a cute little cafe on the water. The kids immediately took off to the beach, finding crabs and starfish (and snakes!). Then it was time to break down camp and head back to Kolby's house.
• Thursday ... on the road again ... the boys drove ALL DAY and made it home just shortly before midnight (it was the 18th Anniversary for Gray and I ... we got in an anniversary kiss with a couple minutes to spare).

So, the boys had a lot of fun, made many memories, and got a lot of pictures. Between Gray's camera, Jami and Pammy (who Landon said kept her camera on constant "burst" mode) even the Blackham's who didn't make the trip got a glimpse ... and so can you, here's the link to the album in my facebook account *Ü*

Homebodies

A family vacation to Seattle had been planned. I really don't like driving (not behind the wheel, not as a passenger) and as the trip got closer, I stressed about the looong car drive. Grayson gave me the option of staying home ... and I took him up on it. Cooper, fellow homebody and momma's boy, stayed with me. Home alone for a whole week, just the two of us ... what did we do?

We went swimming at the West Jordan pool, and signed up for another week of swimming lessons. Cooper also went swimming several times at our neighbor's backyard pool. Cooper is a little fishy! We went to the store and got him some new goggles too (he had been using Mom's ... but they were pink... these are clear, but it's a little hard to tell with his pink cheeks underneath).

We walked the docks at Daybreak

We found a sprinkler splash pad in Herriman

We went to a puppet show at the library

We put together puzzles (above) and went to the parade preview party at the South Towne Expo Center (see the link below, we took LOTS of pictures) ... it was a great opportunity to see all the floats up close and in air conditioned comfort.

Here's Cooper with the "How to Train Your Dragon" float ...

we have more pictures here

We went bowling ...

and went UP and DOWN the big inflatables at Back2School night

There were several big inflatables and a climbing wall, (but there were LOTS and LOTS of kids, so the lines were still quite long).

Normally, I don't go out to eat much ... but we did this week *Ü*. We went to Red Robin and Golden Corral (Cooper ate more at the dessert bar than he did dinner). We made a trip into SubZero and Wendys and KFC. I got a babysitter one night and joined my family for a night out at Johnny Carinos. Yes ... the scale reflected the eating out ...

Cooper was an absolute angel ... it was good to have some one-on-one time with him. It was nice having some quiet time at home (that doesn't happen very often). The boys had cleaned their rooms before they left ... and the house STAYED clean ... it was amazing! Cooper and I did miss our boys ... and hopefully they missed us a little bit too. Next post ... the trip.

New Shoes

Ok I'll admit it, I'm cheap ... when it comes to buying shoes for the boys, I usually try to find the least expensive ones I can. The kids are SO hard on shoes, they just don't last very long, whether they cost $10 or $100. I've found some "pre-owned" deals at thrift stores ... that's how Cooper got his first pair of Skechers. I'm not sure WHY he loved his Skechers so much, but he did. There came the day, when the poor shoes were done ... huge holes worn right through. Cooper cried when I took them away. I had a couple other pairs of shoes that fit him ... but they weren't Skechers. With school coming up, I took Cooper, a 30% off coupon and a $10 off coupon to Kohls. I was expecting to be told I couldn't use both discounts, but that didn't happen, the store applied them both (to the shoes which were also on sale). So ... for about $20(still more than I usually spend), Cooper's happily back in a brand new pair of Skechers ... I hope they last *Ü*

Puzzled

In an attempt to keep the kids busy during the summer with items OTHER than television and video games, I pulled out some puzzles, and even purchased a couple new ones. We had gone to see Toy Story 3 recently, so I thought the kids would like a puzzle with that theme. At the store, I actually only had one ToyStory3 puzzle to choose from, and it featured Jesse, Bullseye and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. I picked it up. At home, upon opening it and dumping out the pieces ... I could tell this was Buzz, Woody and Lotzo (I actually did NOT see enough to recognize Hamm at that point). Now I am one who relies heavily on the picture for help. Trying to put together a puzzle without knowing what the finished product was supposed to look like ... (I had even done a Google search and checked the Hasbro website with no luck) ... it's HARD. Luckily, these characters are ones we are pretty familiar with, and Cooper and I were able to complete the puzzle all on our own. But I figured I'd take a picture ... for future reference!

Another Neighborhood Party

Our neighborhood held it's annual carnival a couple of weeks ago. I posted pictures on the blog (Super Saturday). I noticed that many of the couples with grown children invited them (and grandchildren) to come join the fun. Well, my parents neighborhood also hosts an annual party, and MY parents often invite their grandkids (ie ... my boys, we live closest) to come for the fun. And we came ... There was a water slide and a bounce house, face painting and a guy making balloon animals ... and of course, plenty of food. Here's some more pictures...

Keaton going down the slide (above),

and enjoying a solitary moment in the bounce house (below).

The gal painting faces was really good, she did some incredible stuff! Cooper was the only one of my boys that took advantage of the face painting ... The balloon guy was also very talented. The kids could choose a balloon octopus or spider, both with lots of long legs. There were the usual animals and hats as well ... Colton wanted a ladybug.

It was a fun evening. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa (and the New Haven Neighborhood) for inviting us out *Ü*

Musical Memories

Musical theater was a big part of my teenage life. While I never dreamed of performing on Broadway, I was very involved in local theaters and of course ... the high school musicals. One of my co-stars (Will Swenson), at Hale Theater and high school, did go on to star on Broadway. He, and Audra McDonald (Disney's "Annie" remake ... the Grey's Anatomy spin-off "Private Practice" as well as many New York shows) came to Utah for a fund-raising run at the Orem Hale Center Theater. When another friend from high school (thanks Lynnette!) contacted me about going to see the show, we bought tickets and went. I hadn't heard of the show before, it's a musical version of "The Rainmaker". It was very good, fun to see Will again and have a girl's night out too.

After the show with Will and Audra

When you perform in a show, you do become attached to the music, so Annie, Gypsy, Oklahoma, 42nd Street, will always have a special place in my heart. Then there are the classics ... Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof ... I've always loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Pirates of Penzance. I've never seen "Starlight Express" but adore the song "Only He" ... and if I had to name any music that has captured me most, it would have to be "Les Miserables" and "Joseph" (I've seen well over a dozen different productions of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat"). My "Broadway" playlist on my Ipod has music from all these, plus Rent, Mamma Mia, Big River, 1776, Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors, Man of LaMancha, Bye Bye Birdie, Hairspray... Gotta love musicals!

Itchy Bumps

Allergy issues are nothing new with kids 1, 3 and 5 ... but 2 and 4 (Callahan and Cooper) haven't really had problems. Callahan has had a couple reactions to salt water on his legs (once visiting the Great Salt Lake, and once at the ocean in California ... but then he did NOT have a problem with the waters off Oregon's beaches ...). Well ... it guess it was Cooper's turn. He came home from a friend's house itching his neck like crazy, and then these little bumps appeared all over. I asked him if he'd eaten anything, or touched anything unusual, but we really have NO idea what caused this. I gave him some antihistamine, both orally and topically and then watched him to make sure that there wasn't enough swelling on his neck that it affected his breathing ... and also to try and keep him from scratching! The bumps got worse and spread even more, but then they did fade with no real ill effects. We hope they don't come back.

lost ...

If you look at the picture from the post below (ToyStory3) you might notice that Colton looks VERY sad. Why would a four year old boy who has just been to see a cute movie be so down? As we left the theater, Colton looked down at his hands ... and his CTR ring was gone. Back in January, Colton moved from the Sunbeam primary class to the CTR class, and he received his CTR ring. As a past teacher of said class, and as a mother to several kids who have passed through this stage, I have noticed that the CTR ring usually doesn't last very long on a child's finger. Colton however, treasured his CTR ring, and here in JULY, a full six months after he first received it, he would wear his CTR ring every day. He would talk about it and point it out, he was so proud of it. So... he was devastated, but it is such a small thing, I didn't think we had any hope of backtracking and trying to find it. We assured him that we probably had one laying around somewhere at home, and if not ... we'd try to make a special trip into Deseret Book just for him. He did calm down (not quite enough to SMILE for the photo) and sure enough, I found a replacement ring in one of the kitchen drawers at home. Colton put it on, and hasn't taken it off since. Cooper, seeing Colton's ring, also requested one, and I actually found a second ring in the drawer too, so I gave it to him ... I just checked, it is not on his finger ....

If you scroll down through the last several pictures, you might notice something appearing with Keaton in each shot ... a yellow baseball cap ... as of last night .... this too, is lost. Keaton is very sad. It hasn't been gone too long, and he probably just took it off at a friend's house, or even somewhere in our own, so I have high hopes that it will turn up. He's been wearing it constantly for the past two weeks, so I think ANYONE around here would know who it belongs to if it were found. Hopefully, you'll see it reappear on Keaton's head in upcoming photos.

Fun on the 4th

When the Fourth of July falls on a Monday, the days preceding it all seem to be included in the holiday weekend. We had a fun few days.

• Saturday the boys were invited to play in an above ground pool at the neighbor's house. They had a great time. In the evening, we all went to the West Jordan rodeo. We aren't big rodeo fans, but a few months ago Cooper had seen an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, where Sandy the Squirrel participated in a rodeo. Cooper asked if a rodeo was a real thing or an imaginary thing. I told them they were real and that we could go see one if he wanted, which he did. The rodeo was just ok, it was a little long, not as exciting as the demolition derby we had seen a week before. We were in a good spot to see the fireworks afterward though. But it was a long, late trek back to the car, and then more time in traffic after. We had four sleeping kids in the car (Landon stayed awake).
• Sunday we went up to Maga's new house for a barbecue and visiting with family. Maga made a cake and tried to have the kids help her decorate it like a flag (with blue berries and strawberries) but the end result wasn't as pretty as one she had made a couple years earlier, without the help of little hands. It still tasted yummy though.
• Monday the day started with Daddy and the boys putting up flags. Then we went to see Toy Story 3 at the theater. In the evening we enjoyed the (illegal) fireworks show our neighbors put on each year. We have great seats simply coming out onto our front lawn. Of course we did a few of the smaller fountains, sparklers, etc. at our home too. The picture below is Cooper twirling a sparkler ... he's come a long way. In previous years he HATED the fourth of July and all the noise and would hide in the house. This year he said "This was the funnest day ever!" and I think the other boys agreed.

SubZero

There's a new ice cream shop in town (actually ... just over in Jordan Landon, between Target and Best Buy) ... it's called SUBZERO. It's not a regular ice cream shop, it's even different from the Marble Slab or Cold Stone ... here, they actually MAKE the ice cream, anyway you want it, right in front of you. You start with your liquid base, (premium cream, lowfat milk, or soy ... they have several choices) then you choose your flavors, then your mix-ins. You can create unique ice creams. Then, they add liquid nitrogen to freeze it right in front of you. I grabbed a little video ...

So ... we've already been TWICE ... the first time Gray got chocolate/peanutbutter with Reeces cups mixed in, Landon got mint chocolate chip, Callahan got cookie dough, Keaton got banana (looked bright yellow like Laffy Taffy), Cooper got chocolate and Colton got vanilla ... I just taste tested everyone's. The next time, I got cookie dough (with the lower fat base), Landon tried chocolate malt, Callahan got smore (chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker), Keaton got orange with chocolate flakes, Cooper got chocolate again, and Colton got the banana. Grayson had his weigh in the next morning, so he abstained (except for a couple sample bites). The kids are already thinking of new combinations to try. Now I'm not really an ice cream connoisseur ... I'm pretty happy with the generic vanilla or the Kroger Mint Chocolate Chip, but that "smore" ice cream ... it was pretty good. If you get creative and make something you can't just buy off the shelf at the local store, than it could justify a trip in. I think we'll be going back.

AniMaTioN

Ssssscouts ... Grayson has recently been called as the leader of the varsity scouts (Landon's group). He's served in many other leadership roles before and often as he would prep for the various activities, I would be surprised at the variety of things the scouts needed to do to fulfill the assorted requirements. These past couple weeks, they have been working of finishing up the POTTERY merit badge. One of the nights they created various clay figures, and then for the final activity, they used a camera and recorded a stop-motion animation. Landon initially groooaanned when he learned it was "clay-time" again, but then he and the other boys had a blast. It took a couple of HOURS to create the 14 second clip shown here ...

Field Day Frolics

At the end of the school year, there is field day. A day of fun ... and usually water and sun. Four years ago, Grayson took charge of field day and introduced several new activities. The huge slip and slide, the large slingshots for launching water balloons, the water balloon filler (more info on that below)... After putting in the work the first year, he offered to be in charge again the following year. That year, he introduced ROCKETS... Last year he was busy with work, so Grayson didn't head up field day, although he still came and helped, running the rockets again. This year he simply contributed any requested materials ... several of his activities having found a permanent place in the field day rotation. There were some new activities as well, and it was fun in the sun as usual! I went around and took some pictures ... (you can scroll through them HERE). Yea for field day!

Now ... the water balloon fillers. Grayson created this handy dandy gadget the first year he was in charge of field day. If you've ever had to fill up a LOT of water balloons, you know how difficult it can be. Made with simple sprinkler pipes and the switched nozzles that come with some bags of balloons, each filler offers SEVEN spigots. Enlist the help of others and you can fill water balloons fast and fun. I encouraged Gray to make the second filler, and they we used it as one of the rotations during the field day. The kids enjoy filling the balloons just as much as popping them, and it helped keep up the supply all day long.