Recap of 2010

So ... looking back on the year at a glance ... Grayson started a new job with Havenhill Homes, ran his first FULL marathon, went on two bike trips to Moab and ran a couple dozen derbies. Jen started blogging (140 posts for the year) and making muvees again. Landon got his braces off, started 9th grade, and is now totally acting like a teenager with constant texting and crushes on girls. Callahan got braces ON this year and kept busy with basketball all year round. Keaton tried his hand at baseball, and is enjoying basketball too. Cooper had a run in on the playground and broke his arm. He played soccer spring and fall, and is OBSESSED with basketball. Colton played soccer in the summer. He started his second year of preschool and needs constant playdates to keep him occupied while his brothers are in school.

2010 was a year without diapers, hurray! Colton finished up his potty training at the end of 2009, and after 15 years straight, we are done with diapers. There was lots of swimming in the summer ... we discovered Kearn's waterpark and bid farewell to the West Jordan Middle School pool. Dad and four boys vacationed in Seattle and Moab.

Jen discovered PIZZA ... ok still not regular, tomato sauce pizza, but just a white sauce with cheese. It's a family favorite now (was Mountain Mikes until they closed down, but Dominos has a good dinner deal). The Ipod TOUCH hit the family ... fun apps and texting ... and we can't forget to mention the introduction of Netflix to the home, which changed the way we watch (or rather, don't watch) tv.

In the extended family ... Maga moved! We've enjoyed more space in the new house when we visit. Clay and Courtney moved too. Grandma Henry passed away. Grandpa Norman passed away, Uncle Chris is going through a divorce and Derek and Danielle gave the boys a new little cousin.

A Blackham Christmas

...well ... I did NOT get Christmas cards out AGAIN ... I may still try to, sort of a New Years thing, we'll see *Ü* With Facebook, I have reconnected with many friends from high school and college, and have connected with their blogs, so I've been able to see their families grow throughout the year, not just in the annual Christmas card. But, I also DID receive a few cards from long lost (non-FB) friends and I was thrilled to see their family photos. So if YOU are one who actually got cards out, I commend you, and just want to let you know I treasure them (even if you don't get one from me in return).

I have to say, I've had a difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit, for many years now. Keaton was the one who got out all the decorations, and we only got about 1/8 of the ornaments hung on the tree. I did get into the holiday baking ... and consequent eating ... I did NOT go overboard on the presents, just ask the kids! I don't really think they were disappointed, but they were also not overly impressed. Colton however was THRILLED with a gift I received ... and Ipod Touch. Even though there were FOUR already in the home (Dad and brothers) the poor little guy didn't get enough "Angry Birds" playing time, but now he will. Basketball stuff, electronic Monopoly, Legos and Toy Story stuff seemed to be the theme of the gifts this year ... that and underwear ... Landon and Callahan were happy with their new underwear and undershirts (and Keaton was sad he didn't get any!).

We always have a PreChristmas party at Pammys. Christmas Eve is spent with the Westra clan. We play "The Candy Bar" game at both activities, but they are different versions. There is always a family slideshow recapping the photos from the year. The pictures are also featured on a calendar, an annual gift to Mom&Dad. We usually dress the kids up in nativity costumes ... but we didn't get around to that this year.

Christmas morning we awaited the kids bursting in ... 7:00, 7:30, 8:00 ... seriously? Sleeping in until 8:00? Unheard of! We finally opened presents at home, then went up to Maga's for a few more gift exchanges. We presented Maga with Apple TV ... Grayson would very much like it for OUR house, but we need to upgrade the television first.

And there it is ... another Christmas season come and gone ... Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, next up ... New Years ...

For Santa

... left out the night before,

looks like Santa had his little snack before moving on ...

Neighbor Gifts

I wasn't sure we were going to get the traditional "neighbor" gifts out this year. Our gift for the past several years has been a roll of wrapping paper, but I didn't have a stock of them this year (although I had a few). Gray suggested gingersnaps (I'd already made several batches a week or so earlier, and we had given several plates of them away already). I ended up making a couple batches of "cookie press" cookies and some candied popcorn. So, Daddy and the boys loaded up with Santa hats on head to deliver the goodies. Landon had introduced "Skookie" to his friends earlier in the year, and we had picked up some pans to give to his best buddies. Callahan picked out (and paid for with his own money) some little presents for his friends at school. We weren't very organized, giving out our hodgepodge collection of things, I'm sure we missed some ... I guess I'm just glad we got SOMETHING out at all. The boys actually really like this activity ... they hang on the side of the car (outside) with the back open. As Dad stops, they hop off and run up to the door for the delivery. This all makes Mommy nervous ... she usually stays home ... Thanks to all for all the yummy treats and holiday gifts we received... I know I ate too much. Merry Christmas to all!

FB ... Food Banks and Facebook

Just sharing a little contest going on right now ... SLC is in the running for a million dollar prize to feed the hungry in the community. Vote here ...

http://fightinghunger.walmart.com/

It's for a good cause ... all you have to do is push a button and "like" it ... go and like it, and when your friends like it, you like that and it counts as another vote! Let's get lots of liking going on :)

... and an update ... Salt Lake City WON ... a million dollars!

Columbia Christmas Program

During December, the kids at the elementary school are busy practicing songs for the annual Christmas program. Callahan was quite excited, saying that the sixth grade portion was fun. Keaton had been filling our home with the sound of "Jingle Bells" on the recorder, and Cooper said he knew all the words to "Up on the Housetop" ... so like all the other parents, I went to go see our kids perform. Now there is congestion at the school when parents are just dropping off and picking up kids ... you can imagine what it is like when all the parents come at the same time and stay! There was NO parking, I actually had to go down to the Arctic Circle about a quarter mile away to find a spot. The snowy weather didn't help. But I did pull out my trusty camera and captured a bit of the show on video ... I reduced the hour plus program to under a minute *Ü* They started with the 6th graders, so Callahan is up first, Keaton is in the middle (as usual) and Cooper is last.

Happy Birthday Colton!

December birthdays are hard ... they tend to get lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas prep. It was December 20th when Colton decided to enter the world. Personally, I was more than willing to keep him in until after Christmas ... even until after January 1st, but I guess he had other ideas. His actual due date was Dec24 ... Christmas Eve, but our little lump of Christmas Coal Colton (well, if you call nine pounds six ounces LITTLE) came a few days early ... AND in the middle of the night. Luckily we had gotten the ok from our babysitter to call at any hour, and at least there was no traffic on the slippery roads at 3:00 a.m. We were admitted to the hospital and called the grandparents, waking them and having them come out, only to have the labor slow. Colton didn't make his appearance until a little after 9:00 in the morning.

Now Colton is FIVE years old, such a big boy! Of course, I still call him my "baby" and I probably always will. If you look back through pictures, you'll probably see a little blue blanket and a binky in many of them. Even though Colton was four years old, I just hadn't gotten around to forcing him to give them up, and he was still quite attached. Daddy told Colton that he couldn't turn five years old if he still had his binky and blankey ... Colton promptly turned them over to Daddy (and Daddy hid them away, not telling Mommy where in case she had a weak moment). So far so good, Colton quit them, cold turkey.

Colton got a cool digital camera from Maga, some money (he has multiple banks and wallets) and a flashlight from Grandma and Grandpa, some MoonSand from cousins. We had a cake and sang Happy Birthday both Sunday and Monday night. Colton also got a noisy gun, a bow and arrow, some legos, the ToyStory3 game for DS and some candy. Colton had been to a couple birthday parties for friends this year and wanted to know when his "friend" party would be .... hmmmm, next year?

Basketball Begins

Basketball season has begun ... with Callahan playing basketball year round, basketball never really ends for the Blackham family. But during the winter months, it's ALL the Blackham boys, and Callahan plays on TWO teams. Saturdays are busy with Jr. Jazz games. There are several practices during the week ... Friday nights have been taken over by basketball practices ... Mom and Dad had to move their date night to Thursdays.

Cooper's Game

Cooper had played a lot of basketball out front during the summer, so I had planned on signing him up for Jr. Jazz when the time came. As the deadline drew near, I asked Cooper if he wanted to play basketball. He said no (he just wanted to play soccer). So ... I didn't sign him up. That week, a transformation took place and the kid became OBSESSED with basketball... playing it, watching it ... he knows all the NBA player's names. The registration date at the rec center had passed, but I checked with them and they had a team with an open spot, so we were able to get him signed up after all. He got his cast off the week of his first game, but he's still wearing a protective brace while playing sports for a few weeks. Cooper's had three games so far, and he's really been a star player each game.

Keaton's Game

Keaton has played Jr. Jazz for a couple of years now. Last year was a bit rough, we had actually considered NOT putting Keaton on a team this year, but he said he really wanted to play, so ... he's playing. He's had three games so far and has done great every game. It will be interesting to see how he handles a game when (if) they do NOT win and he doesn't get multiple baskets in.

Callahan's Jr. Jazz Game

Callahan's Superleague Game

Callahan is continuing with his same team for Jr. Jazz (although they lost a couple players, so they'll just have eight on the team ... more playing time?). They will be playing in the more competitive "team" division. Unfortunately, the location the 6th graders were slated to play in had some scheduling conflicts, so they did NOT have games the first couple weeks (much to Callahan's dismay!). Luckily, Superleague has started on time (basically the same team as last year, lost a couple kids, gained a couple others). Callahan did AWESOME in both his first games ... gave Mom plenty of video highlights *Ü* Between the two teams he usually has four practices and two games a week ... Callahan loves every minute!

Landon is reffing again. This year he's over the 4th grade team division. When it was time to pick him up from his shift, I went a little early to see him in action. Whereas many of these kid refs are very hesitant and quiet when it comes to making calls, that wasn't Landon. He was confident and self assured (he had great training last year). I was very impressed with him (I could be a bit biased, but I really think he did a wonderful job).

Basketball is just beginning ... looking forward to a great season!

Making Movies

In 2004, I found some software that helped me take our home videos and photographs and make them into short little movies set to music. We had a link from the computer to the television, so the kids could watch the movies over and over, and they did. Ultimately, there were equipment issues, (the computer crashed) and while the movies weren't lost, they did disappear for a bit, as did my movie making software.

Fast forward five years ... I repurchased my Muvee software (several different new versions available, from basic (less expensive) to advanced (more expensive) ... I bought the mid-priced one) and I started taking more video and making movies again. I've posted several here and I'm sure now that I'm really back in business I'll be posting even more. Callahan LOVES my Muvees of his basketball games ... it is a great way to capture them (I edit out all the misses and just show all the great shots).

I started uploading them to YouTube, as a bit of a backup, and so that they could be easily accessed and shared. As I pulled out the old muvees from years back, the boys gathered around the computer and watched them all, laughing and pointing and it was wonderful to see.

Muvee had a little contest on their site, calling for sports videos. I submitted the one I made of Colton's Summer Soccer and won first prize, which was a $20 Itunes GC and the latest Muvee software. I do get stuck in my ways though, I can see me still using the old software out of habit. As I looked over the muvees from four years ago, I can see the changes in the software that give me more options (captions, focusing on parts of the photos) ... it's just hard for me to try NEW things, even if they are better *Ü* Grayson did get me a new computer last year ... and I've already filled it up. I need more space for all my music, pictures and video!

Being in a Muvee Making Mood, I went ahead and took the video and pictures from Cooper's Fall soccer season. I had put off making the movie, thinking I'd get a little more footage, then I'd forget to charge my camera, then Cooper broke his arm and missed the last game ... so here is the belated Kicking it with Cooper Muvee production (below) ... and a list of ALL the Muvees to date (and there's a link to the page in the column to the right as well). I'll try to keep it updated as I keep making muvees! *Ü*

Playing Spanish

Landon is taking Spanish in school, and each week he is supposed to do an hour of "work" outside of class. I downloaded some episodes of Sesame Street in Spanish for him to watch, found a free application for his Iphone, and bought the "Spanish for Dummies" audio book for him to listen to. I also picked up a "Go Fish" game, that had the words listed in both English and Spanish. I figured with it, we could get a double deal, working on his Spanish, and entertaining his little brother! We did play "Go Fish" (or "Pesca" in Spanish) for the first time the other night. Then last night, Colton wanted to play again, and said to Landon "Please will you play SPANISH with me?"

Done Derbies

Gray is done with derbies for 2010 ... I used to try to make it to several each year, but it's getting less frequent for me to go as there are always things to do at home. Gray always takes at least one son to help out though. Sometimes it's a struggle to get one to go, other times they are fighting over the opportunity (and the cash payment that comes at the end of the night). Hopefully in the future this could be a good little side-job for the boys. Here's a list of the dates Gray did derbies this past year ...

Jan 26

Jan 27

Jan 28

Feb 23

Feb 27

March 16

March 23

March 30

April 20

April 22

April 27

April 28

April 29

May 11

May 20

May 25

May 27

June 17

June 22

Aug 7

Aug 21

Sept 21

Sept 22

Sept 30

Oct 20

Oct 27

He's already booking for 2011 ...