Happy Birthday Keaton!

Happy Birthday to Keaton ... 10 years old ... Yes, there was just a birthday post for Cooper, and guess what ... there will be another one for Landon right around the corner. All three boys actually had Sept. 5 as their due date. Cooper and Keaton came before, and Landon later. I makes for a busy birthday week. But as I have really like both the chocolate cake (pictured above) and the white cake (in Cooper's birthday post below), with THREE birthdays, I do figure I'm justified in getting them both! The chocolate cake seemed to be the family favorite.

Lighting multiple candles can be a bit of a chore ... have you seen these "fast light" ones? It's a package of 10 ... so PERFECT for Keaton this year. You just light one ... and then they are all aflame! My boys love them! Here's a quick video (it's just a few seconds) *Ü*

For his actual birthday, Keaton took Airheads (candy) to school to share with friends, and we went out to SubZero for ice cream in the evening. He got a couple new caps (maybe you'll see something OTHER than the yellow big bird one on his head in future photos), Wii Sports Resort, a hacky sack, Legos and a Magic 8 Ball.

Often at the family parties, we pull out the scrapbooks, photo albums and family videos featuring the birthday boy. Keeping that tradition alive in blog format, here is a slide show of favorite photos from the last 10 years (you can also scroll through them here).

Happy Birthday Cooper!

Seven candles on the cake. Happy birthday to Cooper! Each one of his brothers gave him a pack of basketball cards (his latest obsession) and then he ended up getting LOTS more packs too (don't ask). He also got a red light saber and some Legos.

The Bishop came and gave Cooper (&Colton)

a ride in his Mini Cooper.

The coming week, Cooper will also be STAR STUDENT in his first grade class. We made a little poster with photographs and pictures to let his class learn more about Cooper. He loves basketball, baseball and soccer. Cooper is a great artist (he colored the Spongebob picture). His latest favorite show is "Avatar" ... we glued on a pack of the basketball cards, and Mario fruit snacks (as Cooper loves both) ... and of course, ICE CREAM.

So ... Happy Birthday Cooper, hope you had a good one! We don't do "friend" parties every year, but we had a family celebration on the Blackham side this Sunday and will have one on the Westra side next Sunday. Yea ... more cake! To remember the last seven years, I put together a slide show of favorite photos featuring the birthday boy!

9th Grade

A little trivia about the photo below ... Landon is super tan from a recent return from scout camp and several trips to local pools (the pink wristband is from Cowabunga Bay, which he went to with friends on Tuesday) ... notice the big, braces-free smile ... and look to the left, to see the "Grayson" ghost in the window ... a repeat of a similar photo from last year ...

While the Columbia Kids went back to school a couple weeks ago, back to school for Landon was a little later (yesterday). Continuing with the Blackham tradition, I caught Landon and had him hold up NINE fingers, to create a picture portrait of which grade he would be entering into ... here's a flash from the past ...

He's gotten big, hasn't he?

What will I do for 11th and 12th grade ...

He won't have enough fingers!

So Landon is still going to Elkridge Middle School ... this was actually in question as there was a boundary change, and our neighborhood/elementary school now flows into a different middle school. Rather than shifting schools his final year, we applied and were approved for a permit to still attend. However, now there is no bus, so getting to and from school is much more of a hassle, and several friends did not get permits turned in and were forced to change schools.

So here's hoping for a good year. There is Science, Geography, Algebra, Language Arts, Technology, Spanish, PE and Seminary. Landon is really good about getting up and ready on his own, which as a mom, I appreciate SO much. He's also pretty good about doing homework and such ... sometimes I wish he would ask for a little help (Mom was an editor for a publication a little bit back ... maybe she should read through your essay?)

Some miscellaneous memories from MY ninth grade year ... the high school was doing "Annie" as their school play, and they needed some younger kids for the orphans (I was almost too tall!). We had practice everyday after school (this really helped ease the transition to high school as I had made many friends there during the musical rehearsals). I was on the track team, running the 200, 400 and 800 relay. I took type, and got a B- (my lowest grade EVER) the very first quarter that grades counted cumulatively. I wrote a song for the Reflections contest and went to District with it. I also performed it at 9th grade promotion. My friends and I would sometimes bring cold cereal and milk for our lunch (we thought we were SO funny). I wonder what memories will be made for Landon?

Got Games?

I'm a sucker for games ... can you tell? Unfortunately, we don't play them as much as we could or should. During this past summer, as I instituted allowances, I tried to encourage their use saying that playing a board or card game would count one of the possible "jobs" each day. The kids would have to play different ones each day (not just the same one over and over). I just wanted these games to get some use, and figured playing them would foster some intellectual and social development. There was a lot of game playing over the summer. Monopoly is always a favorite (not MINE, but for the boys it is). Many games that hadn't been played in quite a while were rediscovered. Some games were played for the first time ... although there are still some in there that have never been played yet. The picture doesn't really even show all the various card games (which are in the big box there). Probably the ultimate family favorite is UNO, and the little boys can play on their own without any adult help. Colton will often approach other family members asking plaintively "you want to play UNO?". There is the basic game, and the variations. We have Uno Spin and Uno Attack, and I just recently picked up the ToyStory3 version (just the basic game with the familiar characters, one new card for a new twist). What are your family favorites?

Scout Camp(s)

Summer had barely begun, when it was time for scout camp! First up, the 11-year old boys (that would be Callahan). They went up July 9-10. Just for the day on Thursday, and then overnight Friday to Saturday. Grayson was able to go up and join Callahan Friday and they got home early enough the next day that Callahan still made it to his basketball game (luckily it was later in the afternoon). Callahan's favorite activities at camp were shooting guns, archery, rock climbing and carving with his pocket knife ... that's what it's all about.

Next up was Keaton, the following Monday and Tuesday (July 12-13). I can't believe how DIRTY the kids get while up at camp! I didn't get much feedback from Keaton on camp activities ... his favorite part was the trading post, and purchasing a couple "flash" balls that crackle and make a smoke smell when cracked together. This was Keaton's last activity before he moved from Bears to the Webelos ...

At the very end of summer (the elementary kids had already gone back to school), the Varsity Scouts got out for their "camp" ... the quotations indicate that this was more FUN than scout function. The crew camped at Pineview Reservoir. It was actually pouring rain the morning as they got there, but then the weather cleared up allowing for the tubing and waterskiing (those are scout requirements, right?)

Grayson is one of the Varsity Scout leaders, so he and Landon were both gone August 19-21 for the camp. Gray took up our BIG tent and it was packed full of 14 and 15 year old boys. Landon said he didn't wear a shirt the entire time, and the sun on his shoulders seems to validate that.

Summer Basketball

Summer can be busy ... but not too busy for basketball! Callahan did miss one game for the trip to Seattle, but he was happy to have basketball all summer long. The team was pretty much the same as Spring Season, (Roland took the summer off, so Joey joined the team). Cody broke a finger and was out for much of the season (so Parker got LOTS of extra playing time). Gotta LOVE the ORANGE and black right? Maybe they should have saved the color scheme for fall, as the kids looked a little like jack-o-lanterns! We had a good season, there were a couple of teams that made the boys work for the win (and lose one during the season) ... but they came back for the final championship game and won the team that had beat us, taking FIRST place! The final game was the ONLY one where we had a full team together to snap our traditional team picture.

Summer Soccer (PreK)

For the past several seasons, Colton has attended many soccer games. He is such a good boy, sitting on the sidelines cheering his brothers on. This summer, it was finally his turn. Uncle Clay was coaching a team with Cousin Addie and asked if Colton would like to join them. Pre-K at Marv Jensen, early in the summer mornings, the Green Monkeys came to conquer. Colton missed the first game, as he was in Seattle, but the second game ... Colton was ready to play! He scored several goals. The next couple games were a little tougher, but then the Blackham Cousins came back in full force for the final game (although the other team managed to get several goals too ... the way kid soccer should be. Fun for all!) I took all the photos and videos from the season and condensed them into a three minute Muvee ... take a look *Ü*

More Misc Swim Stuff

For the past several years, swimming has been a big part of our summers. This year was no exception. The West Jordan Middle School Pool, the pool in my parents neighborhood, KOPFC, and a real favorite this year was the pool set up in our neighbor's backyard. Doesn't Cooper look relaxed? I thought I'd just take a moment to record some of the small swimming stuff we might not remember in future years:

• Yellow Jackets: We picked up a couple yellow life jackets back when Landon and Callahan were young, and they have been in constant use ever since! These have truly been "lifesavers" ... because then Mom could take all five boys swimming, even by herself! But this year ... the little ones have probably spent as much time out of their jackets as in them, and Mom is actually comfortable with that.
• Goggles: The boys LOVE their goggles. We bought new ones for Landon and Callahan last year, but the ones Keaton had been using broke, and the little boys didn't have their own yet. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to find ones that fit, are comfortable, and actually keep the water out. We recommend sticking with "Speedo" brand. All the boys are set with their own individual goggles this year.
• Swimsuits: The kids are often in and out of suits several times a day (especially the little ones). Cooper and Colton both have ... about 10 different swimsuits. Whereas most kids at swimming lessons would wear one (maybe two) suits during the course of the lessons, my boys would model a different one every day. Landon and Callahan have a few to choose from, but Keaton is picky ... only one works for him!
• Towels: We've got several fun beach type towels. The "game" ones, that look like a checkerboard or Twister. We have the "Dead Man" towel (with a chalk outline of a body on it) ... but the kids always fought over who got the "Pokemon" towel (even the 14 year old!). Then I picked up a Phinneas and Ferb towel, and all the kids fought over that ... until I picked up a Toy Story 3 towel ... and then they all fought over that (yes, especially the 14 year old!). Except Callahan ... Callahan doesn't care about which towel he has.
• The Drying Rack: You know the handrail common in hallways separating the stairs ... this is our drying rack. When the suits come off and the towels need to dry, everything gets spread out along the long railing ... you rarely see the actual wood during the summer season, there is always something spread out over it. And the banister at the end ... that is where the goggles hang.
• Gadgets: And of course, the Blackham family wouldn't be complete without a couple of water gadgets, right? Grayson had requested an underwater Ipod shuffle holder/headphones, and I got him it last year for Christmas. Gray has yet to try it, but that hasn't stopped Landon from swiping it for his own personal use. We also have an underwater digital camera, which is great to get unique swimming shots (see below).

Whistle While You Work

At our house, I haven't been great about the kids and "chores" ... I mean the kids do help out, unloading the dishwasher, emptying the garbage, tending little brothers, etc. Although they moan and groan and say I make them do more work then any of their friends, I really don't think that is true. Throughout the years we've tried different approaches to try and address "jobs" and providing incentive for the kids to work without complaining. Personally, I remember the "Star Chart" when I was growing up, a big spiral of stars, with BIG stars every 10-20 spaces. When we were good, did jobs, etc, we would move our little colored push pin a star. When we reached a big star, we received a prize (worth about $1). The very center big star was worth more. The Star Chart was more of a summer thing, so that it didn't lose effectiveness, although we did have to do jobs year round.

As a mom, I've tried a few different approaches. I made a chart similar to the above mentioned one, but I used a little clipart sun instead of stars. Instead of a push pin, I laminated mini photos and attached magnets to the back. We kept the chart on the fridge and the kids would get to move to the next "sunny" when they did something good. There were little clouds that would cover up the suns if the kids complained (and then the cloud would have to be removed before the kids go forward again). That worked for a while.

I made up some "Blackham Bucks" that the kids would earn for doing jobs and good behavior. Then we had a little store at the end of the month where the kids could buy things with their "money". It worked out ok...

This summer, I decided to try again. Aimed mainly at the older three boys, I told them that I wanted them to do five THINGS each day. I asked that they do one or two "jobs", but the remaining items could be productive items that they normally might not do without a little prodding ... exercise (lifting weights, jogging or WiiFit), playing a card or board game (no... video games do NOT count), reading, writing in a journal ... At the end of the week, we would add up their daily activities and average them (actually, doing THAT would count as a job), and that would be their allowance. Five items a day would equal $5 a week.

So, as summer comes to a close, I have to say this system was pretty productive. Callahan was the most invested, followed by Keaton ... and lastly Landon, who wasn't very motivated by a measly $5 a week (the threat of me taking away the Xbox if he didn't do at least three a day was a little more effective). Some days the kids would get up and get all five things done before 10:00 am, other times I had to nag and they still didn't have their items by the end of the day.

As for recording and keeping track. I posted a white board in the kitchen with their names and five boxes, which I or the boys could write the items they would do and then check them off. Then at the end of the day, we recorded them on the blog (in our Daily Doings, at the bottom of the daily journal entry), so we would easily have access to them. The journal entries for Landon and Callahan are here on the blog as well (I love reading their postings, but while Callahan will write quite willingly, it's like pulling teeth to get Landon to do it. I required it from him once per week). I write the daily recap ...the kids can't say I'm asking them to do anything I'm not willing to do myself.

So, we're not stopping with summer, but will keep going as long as the kids keep it up. SCHOOL counts as one item, and homework and reading count too, so the boys really only have to do a couple other "jobs" to earn their allowance. I'm always interested in other incentives, so if you have something that works for you, share away!

Columbia Kids

It's back to school for the Blackham boys ... at least it is for the middle ones. #1 and #5 still have a couple of weeks before middle school and preschool begin. But for the "Columbia" kids (that's the name of our school), it was time for school to start. We take a traditional picture each year, with the kids holding up the number of fingers to represent what grade they will be going into.

For Cooper ... it's a big change from half-day kindergarten to a full day of first grade. The bathroom is down the hall, they go to lunch and have recess on the big playground. I hope he makes the transition ok. I know at home, Colton and I will miss him very much.

Keaton is starting fourth grade. His teacher will be Ms. Burnside, who was one of Callahan's favorite teachers, so he's looking forward to this year.

We don't have a bus to school, but we've worked out a carpool with the neighbors (they boys get a ride to school and Mom picks up). Of course, being the FIRST day, and needing to be at the school anyway for Cooper's orientation, I was driving the boys today. Callahan went ahead and jumped in the carpool early and took off, before I got his picture ... no problem ... we just tracked him down on the school playground before the bell rang and took his picture in front of all his friends! Callahan will be in sixth grade this year ... king of the school. He even admitted he was ready to go back to school (to see his friends), although with track changes, a couple of the boys best buddies aren't on D track, so that is a little sad :(

What I Did on my Summer Vacation ...

If I had to sum up summer ...

I'd have to say, it was was swimming, Seattle, Sports and Scouts

• Swimming: There was a LOT of swimming ... multiple lessons for the little ones, the neighbor's pool, and we discovered Kearns!
• Seattle: A family vacation ... minus Mom and Cooper
• Sports&Scouts: Callahan did summer basketball, but Colton, previously only on the sidelines, was now a summer soccer star! And the three older boys (and Gray) did scout camps.

End of Summer Breakfast

We have a little Blackham breakfast tradition ... the "end of summer" breakfast. As the elementary school kids start school on Monday, Friday was the last official day of "summer" and we celebrated summer with breakfast at Virg's. The portions are pretty huge. Mom and the three little boys shared a triple-stack of pancakes (and really only needed two). Landon actually ate his entire meal (pancake, eggs, sausage & bacon). As we left, the waitress commented on how well behaved the boys were ... it's always nice to hear. They are good kids! Bye summer!

Swimming Lessons

I know I'm a bit biased ...

but isn't that the CUTEST little face?

Swimming Lessons are done for this summer! Preschool got out quite a bit earlier than the elementary school did, so Colton got in two full sessions before "summer" even started for the other kids. He did two sessions with his cousin Addie, and then two sessions with Cooper. He got in a LOT of swimming. He really did progress quite a bit. The first three sessions he was in level 1, and then he moved to level 2 for the final session. He's doing a bit of swimming on his own and is pretty fearless in the water. He LOVES to jump, and near the end he was doing these funny twirling twists as he plunged in (his teacher doesn't even need to catch him). The last day, he surprised me (and his teachers) by DIVING off the platform ... and it was a pretty decent dive too! Colton's favorite is the "free time" at the end of the lesson, where the kids get to play with the noodles. Colton loves to have the teachers throw him high, high up to come down with a splash.

Cooper took a total of three sessions (each "session" is two weeks, Mon-Thurs for one hour each day). Kindergarten ended up being out one week for testing, so I put Cooper in the second week of level 1 with Colton and Addie (he had passed level 1 last year). When he was out of school, he did a full session of level 2 and surprised me when he passed it after just taking it the one time. We did a half week at level 3 while the brothers were in Seattle, and then another full week at level 3 to finish up the summer (and again ... he passed! Although he's still so little that the teachers and I agreed he'd be best served to repeat level 3 next year).

It's SO wonderful to see my little boys swimming, I love it! Cooper especially ... when he was a baby/toddler, he HATED the water. He would SCREAM if we ever tried to take him swimming (or even in the bathtub). I would often take the boys swimming, and Cooper would just walk around the pool and wait for us to be done, not even willing to dip his toes in. I could tell the other mothers were a little worried about me letting my baby wander down by the deep end ... but I KNEW he wasn't going anywhere near the water. A few years ago, when we tried swimming lessons for the first time (and this was after Cooper had conquered his initial water fear) both he and Colton SCREAMED the entire lesson, each requiring an individual teacher to just hold them in the water. I think the poor teachers had marks around their necks my boys were holding on so hard! I felt so bad and offered to pull them from the swimming lessons, but the pool director encouraged me to wait it out and gave us family passes to the pool so that we could come and get them used to the water while safe in the arms of Mom and Dad ... and it worked. Both little boys LOVE to swim and seem to be pretty dang good at it too!

The older boys showed no interest in lessons this year ... "Mom ... we KNOW how to swim!" The West Jordan Middle School Pool is one of the cuts the Jordan School District is making, I really hope some magical money appears and they keep the pool open. It's been a big boon to our family!

Athletic Supporters

Way back when the older boys started sports (about kindergarten age) the entire family would bring chairs and treats and come to watch the games. As the boys got older, and more of them involved in sporting events, and life got busy ... Well, it just didn't happen as much. Most of the time, it's just Mom going to watch the games while the other boys stay home. I was happily surprised when the brothers agreed to come watch Colton in his season of summer soccer. The brothers have been cheering him on from the sidelines ... and I'm not sure why, but Callahan got dog piled after the game (see below!)

The two little boys don't like going to basketball games, as the loud buzzers tend to scare them (what would they do at an actual Jazz game?) ... but it had been a while since I'd tried taking them, so on Saturday (I also didn't have Daddy or Landon home to tend) we all went (even Jacob from next door) ... all cheering Callahan on (his team won easily).

The boys were pretty well behaved, but I think I actually PREFER leaving them all home *Ü* but it was nice to have the brothers being athletic supporters for one week anyway!

Water, Water Everywhere

The Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center (KOPFC) isn't very far away from our house, yet we had never been there. We'd seen it as we visited the Olympic Oval, which is right next door, or went to Callahan's soccer practices at the nearby fields. The water park just looked a little overwhelming, big and busy. Then we got an invite for a birthday party there. Cooper was the one who was actually invited, but there was also a note that if everyone in the family wanted to come, we could take advantage of the group rate (15% off). As I figured I would probably have to attend to get Cooper to go, I decided to just take everyone. The boys had a blast. There are FIVE different pools, one is indoor. There are huge diving platforms, a lazy river, multiple slides, a splash pad section and the real eye-catcher

... the BUCKET ...

The bucket collects water and tips over, drenching everyone below. There is a warning bell shortly before, so those who do NOT want to get wet can get out of the way, and those who DO want to be there can hurry and gather underneath. Yes ... my boys are under there (the big ones anyway). Unlike many public pools, tubes and floaties are allowed (Landon even got the ok to take a tube down a slide), the little ones can go down the slides in life jackets, and while there are concessions for sale, you can bring your own food and drink. I definitely think we'll be going back! It was really reasonably priced and provided hours of fun.

The hardest thing was trying to keep an eye on both Colton and Cooper, who wanted to be in different pools doing different things. Cooper is a little fish, he wants to SWIM ... without a life jacket. Colton loved the slides in the shallow pool. Up and down, up and down, over and over. Keaton and Callahan helped me keep on eye on the little guys. I didn't see Landon much, he was off with the birthday boy's older brother. I did see him after he tried a flip off one of the high platforms that ended in a belly flop, a bruised tummy and a bleeding lip. I didn't get in the water much myself ... but I did get a sunburn on my shoulders!

Mr. Mantis

Last Saturday, all the brothers (sans Callahan, who was at a basketball practice) came to watch Colton play in his first soccer game (I will get a post on this, but if you just CAN'T wait, there is a post and a couple great videos of Colton scoring goals on his cousin's blog). As Landon's eyes strayed from the action on the field, he noticed something moving in the grass ... it was a praying mantis.

Of course, the boys HAD to show little cousin Will, who LOVES "frogs" ... C&C posted a cute video of Will and his last praying mantis encounter on YouTube here. Will liked Mr. Mantis ... as did several of the little soccer players (yes, the bug was a bit distracting).

Landon has always been a bit of an entomologist, so I wasn't surprised when he wanted to take Mr. Mantis home. He emptied out one of the water bottles as a carrier and then transferred it to the old hermit crab tank back at the house. Landon and Keaton were quite good at going out back and catching bugs and spiders to put in the tank, so Mr. Mantis would have plenty to eat (Mr. Mantis HAD been happily munching on the spider in the photo above before I startled him with my camera). We found another praying mantis (in the house no less!) and so a smaller, whiter one joined him in the tank. Catching flies gets a little wearisome after a while, so Landon let them go in the garden, where they can catch their own meals. Hopefully we'll see them again *Ü*

Caught on Camera

What a cute picture of my baby ... except I didn't take it. I pulled the card from one of the digital cameras to upload some pictures I DID take and found a whole set of "mystery" pictures.

... just a small sampling. As I looked and laughed, I remembered coming home a while back, and Keaton telling me that Colton and Reagan (a little girl who lives next door) had been caught playing with a couple of the digital cameras. I think I did a quick check to see that the cameras weren't broken and didn't think much of the incident ... until I found these photos. We tracked down the second camera (the one in the above pictures) but alas, it didn't appear to have had a memory card in it during the "photoshoot". It would have been fun to catch the other culprit on camera as well, and see how Colton's photography skills compared *Ü*

Splash Park

I'd heard neighbors talk about going to local "sprinkler pads" or splash parks, but we had never been to one before. Last week, when Cooper and I were on our own, we looked up the addresses to a couple and made the trip out. We wanted to go back with all the boys ... so we did. Sans Callahan, who for some reason wasn't in the mood to go, but in his place we took a couple neighbors and had a blast!

The first time Cooper and I went out, one of the parks didn't seem to have any water running. This trip however, the H2O was going full force. These "cannons" blasting water were one of the favorite activities.

The boys have been watching "The Last Airbender" (both the movie and the animated series) quite a bit recently, and they had fun pretending to use their "waterbending" skills. I took loads of photos, and posted some of them here if you wanted to see more *Ü*