Happy Halloween

Ah ... Halloween. It's not my favorite holiday. But this year wasn't bad. With the boys on D track at school, the school Halloween party always sets the stage a little early (it was on October 19). I went to school to watch the costume parade (it was the first year they actually had D track do it) and to help with class parties. During Keaton's party I was busy running one of the game stations, but Cooper's class had enough help, so I grabbed my cameras and took pictures and video. The muvee is below ... featuring the parade then Cooper's class party.

As if Halloween doesn't provide enough temptation with all the candy around, I was also in a baking mood. I made the pumpkin cookie press cookies (Keaton's favorite), cinnamon rolls, homemade oreos, spiderweb cubcakes and sugar cookies cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter ...

It's fun to make funny faces

on the cookies with candy corn.

The Saturday before Halloween, it was the annual neighborhood "Trunk or Treat" over at the church. Callahan's group was in charge of one of the theme rooms. They all dressed up like nerds and gave out nerds candy. I wish I had gotten a picture of him! I took Cooper and Colton over and they enjoyed it.

While the younger boys were out of school on Halloween itself, Landon and Callahan were still going. They both dressed up a little.

I took the little boys to Maceys in the morning (groceries and credit union for me, trick or treating around the store for them). They broke out the jailbird costumes, complete with handcuffs. Then both boys went to a scout Halloween party in the afternoon.

The boys were SO excited to go out in the evening. Grayson took them around. Cooper started out as a stormtrooper, but said the mask was too hard to see through, so he dashed home and changed after just a few houses. Callahan wasn't planning on going out, but when friends were, he (and Keaton) joined them ... their costumes? An NBA jersey ... I don't feel too bad I didn't get a picture of that (as that's pretty much everyday attire for them).

At home with the "haul"

Kit Kats and Twix are the favorites for the little boys. I let them trade things they didn't want for things on our bowl (we were actually passing out the good stuff this year, KitKats, Reeses, 100 Grand and Crunch, the kids current favorites. I HAD picked up a big bag of Smarties but then Grayson mocked them ... but my boys do like them!). I love how the kids sort and count their candy *Ü*

And of course the Halloween season wouldn't be complete without the Halloween Ghost (other years it has been the Phantom). I do like this online version, with printable sheets. Dropping off a treat, encouraging you to pass it on ... I admit, I was ssss.....l.....o.....www to pass it on ... but I finally did. Halloween night I was inside baking goodies inbetween answering the door (actually, Landon was a big help with that).

The weather couldn't have been nicer for trick or treating!

Thanks Mother Nature!

Landon's School Spirit

What??? Landon wearing a BYU sweatshirt? While I graduated from the Y (yes, that is MY sweatshirt), and Grayson grew up cheering for BYU ... our boys are little Ute fans (Uncle Clay is SO disappointed). So what is up with this? Oh ... it's Red Ribbon week at Herriman High school, and it was "ugly sweater day" ... now Landon, that's just mean!

One of the other days was "silly socks" day.

Landon raided Cooper's sock drawer.

I don't know if the poor socks will recover after a day on Landon's big feet! I didn't get pictures of the other days (sports attire, red and superhero) ... continuing on with the ToyStory theme, Landon wanted to be BUZZ for superhero day, but alas, the costume we have (Colton wore it a couple years ago) doesn't stretch as well as the socks do ...

Soup Season

It's getting cooler ... even cold some mornings. The leaves are turning color and dropping ... it's that time of year when I don't mind turning on the oven or stove and cooking up something warm. It's soup season!

I LOVE a basic chicken vegetable soup. When I say "basic" I mean basic! As anyone who knows me is aware, I'm a BIT of a picky eater. No celery or onion in my soup. Mine is chicken, carrots and potatoes with a chicken broth base. I add a can of Cream of Chicken soup to add flavor and thicken it up. And then I add some shredded cheddar cheese. I discovered the addition of cheese when making cauliflower soup (from Maga's recipe, I'll post it sometime) or taco soup (which I make, but don't eat). It just melts in, adds an extra burst of flavor.

On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the Westra side of the family gets together, and soup is often the meal served at these gatherings. I'm on deck to bring chicken noodle soup. Again, I keep it super simple, just the chicken broth, meat, soup and noodles. I actually love adding carrots to my chicken noodle soup, but when I'm making it for the family gatherings, I usually leave them out. Grayson always teases me a bit about the amount of soup I make. I use the HUGE pot (that HE gave to me). But there are usually little or no leftovers.

Ironically, my boys will devour the chicken noodle soup at the family gatherings, but if I ever make it at home, just for us (in a smaller pot!) it generally doesn't get eaten. I've even seen them pull out a Maruchan Cup-a-Noodles when I have a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup sitting on the stove!

Another famous chicken soup recipe in the Blackham house is the chicken and wild rice soup made by Aunt Courtney. Again, my boys will RAVE about this soup, and gobble it up while out, but if I make it at home ... it sits. But Courtney always gets asked for the recipe, so I'm going to put it here for reference and safe keeping *Ü*

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup- Kim Olsen

1 large onion, finely chopped

4-5 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

4 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups half and half

1 cup flour

2-3 large grated carrots

6 cups water

1/2 cup margarine

3 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (about 2 boxes)

In a large pot melt margarine; add onion and grated carrots. Cook on low heat until the vegetables are tender. Add flour and stir until well mixed. Slowly stir in the water one cup at a time until blended. Add the bouillon cubes and the half and half, chicken and rice. Simmer, without boiling, for 45 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Court of Honor

It was Court of Honor tonight. Usually, just Gray and the older two boys go, I stay home with the little ones. But Grayson accidentally scheduled a derby for himself, so I got to be the parental presence, and the little boys got to come along too. Keaton did turn 11 last month, so he is now included in the "bigger boys" although he didn't get any awards last night. As Cooper has started scouting, I went ahead and had him get his shirt on, and I even found an extra for Colton! Five Blackham Boy scouts!

One tradition of the Court of Honor are the POP prizes ... 2-liter bottles of soda sit on a side table, and as the boys are presented their awards, they get to pick a bottle of pop. Another item that has become standard at the presentations, is a video slideshow of the activities since the last Court of Honor. Gray was a little busy with work so he asked if I would put it together this time. I love making Muvees, and there were a lot of fun photos and video to work with. So if you want a glimpse into the activities of Pack 717, here you go ...

Drawing Dragons & Cute Kindergarten Creations

Cooper has always been my "coloring kid." I was cleaning up in his room, when I came upon a box a drawings and artwork I had set aside. Inside, was a little "book" he had created that I had always meant to scan into the computer for safekeeping. I think he made these a couple years ago when he was in kindergarten, but I'm not positive on that timeline. I remember he went through a dragon drawing phase ... he drew SO many, with slight variations, but always the same basic shape. So better late than never, I finally scanned them in and am sharing them here on the blog.

As I saved the drawn dragon files on the computer, I came across a couple other cute kindergarten creations (that I HAD gone ahead and scanned and saved ... I'm so glad because I have no idea where the original projects are now). Below, is a short story by kindergarten Callahan ...

Years later, he still like DREBY cars *Ü*

I remember Keaton creating this short story ... I had to ask him for a little help with the interpretation, but he knew exactly what it said. I posted the translation to the side ...

Baked Ziti

When the boys went to Seattle last summer, they came home with many memories and a plethora of pictures. They brought home a need for Netflix ... and also a zest for ZITI. Aunt Jami made some, and Gray and Landon especially, urged me to contact her for the recipe. So I did. It has become a Blackham family favorite. I usually make a double (even triple) batch, and freeze pans of it for quick and easy dinners in the future.

1 lb. ziti pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 jar of favorite marinara sauce

1 lb. ground Italian sausage (cooked and drained)

8 oz. sliced provolone

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded mozzarella

In a casserole dish, pour 1/3 of marina sauce. Add 1/2 the cooked pasta. Pour another 1/3 of the sauce. Place a layer of provolone slices on top of pasta. Spread sour cream on top of provolone. Add sausage (Grayson also suggested adding some pepperoni, so I do). Next add remaining pasta. Pour remaining marina sauce over the top. Add mozzarella. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Let There Be Light

For a few months now, our outdoor lights on our garage have been down to a solitary bulb. It's not that we were too lazy to change out the other two, it was that it was practically impossible to do! You would twist and twist, and the bulb would not budge. So Grayson decided it was time to just replace the fixtures as a whole. He put Landon to work ... and now we have light :)

You know how it is when you make one change ... you notice other things that need to be fixed or replaced as well. Grayson also replaced all the lights in the kitchen with new LED ones. They are brighter, and hopefully won't need to be changed (as they are so high, changing bulbs in them was quite an ordeal).

And not to be left out ... he also replaced the light attachment on the fan in our bedroom. He'd just replaced this one a little over five years ago, but I'd never liked it. The fixture covered the bulbs completely, which made it not very bright and very difficult to change burned out bulbs. I like my lights open ... and this new one is. I'm surprised every time I walk into the room now, it's so bright.

Gray also went around and replaced burned out bulbs throughout the house ... thanks Gray! It's so nice to have such a handy husband. Let there be light *Ü*.

Halloween Decor

Colton kept asking WHEN we were going to decorate for Halloween. I certainly wasn't going to spend the time outside during the week of rain we had, but it finally ended. I'm loving this fall weather. Cool, but sunshine. The leaves are turning. I had Colton help me pull out the decorations from the shed and now the front porch is showing some halloween/fall spirit. Unfortunately, Colton isn't terribly impressed. "That's ALL?" was his response when we were done. I guess he was expecting a full set of decorations for inside the house too. My little glass pumpkin filled with candy corn just doesn't cut it I guess (have I mentioned I LOVE candy corn ... I must resist!) He sighed ... "I wish there was just a button you could press, and the whole house would be decorated with spiderwebs, pumpkins and ghosts" ...

I found this video on YouTube ...

I wonder if Colton would be happy with this ...

YouTube suggests similar video links too

(same house, a variety of different songs)

Honor Roll

School has been in session for several weeks now, in fact, the quarter is coming to an end. We had parent/teacher conferences with all the boys, and an honor roll assembly for the Columbia kids. So that the assembly doesn't drag on and on, the school breaks it up into two different programs. On the school website, it seemed to suggest dividing the kids according to their track (C track and D track), but then they did it according to age. One for kindergarten-2nd grade, and for 3rd - 6th grade. I actually think the track division would work better, because for families (like ours!) with kids in all grades, it makes for a LONG afternoon sitting through both assemblies (and the break in-between). But I was happy that my three Columbia kids all made the honor roll! And thanks to friends who helped with middle and high school carpool pickup (which I usually do) so that I was able to attend.

I had been a little concerned that Cooper's weather worries might impact his learning and school performance (he's missed quite a bit of class coming home or sitting out a storm in the safety of the office). But academically, he's doing great (and while we're still working on the weather worries, I think we're slowing getting better there too).

I'm not exactly sure what it takes

to make honor roll in kindergarten ...

but way to go Colton!

All three boys also got attendance awards (for missing 0-1 days of school) and rave reviews from the teachers at Parent/Teacher conference. Callahan's conference at West Hills was a student/lead conference. I'm not totally sold on those. He's doing great and while none of the teachers requested a meeting, we went around and touched base with a few of them while we were there. Landon's conferences at Herriman were in the gym, with all the teachers positioned around and parents could visit with those they wanted to connect with. We talked with all of Landon's teachers. He still had a couple hiccups from transferring in late, but we worked out a couple of items that night and I think we're on track for good grades as the quarter comes to a close.

Little Sahara Sandbox

It's a great big sandbox ... Little Sahara. The scouts have gone camping there quite a few times. This past weekend the scouts (Fathers/Sons) went out again. Grayson took four of the five boys (can you guess who stayed home?) and there were plenty of other boys in all ages from the ward. The standard campout dinner is ribs (precooked, reheated in tinfoil). Yummy! Friday night, the boys played "Capture the Flag". Saturday, the group went to the top of a huge sand hill and with a couple of snowboards, they "sandboarded". I've included a few pictures below (more on my FB page here).

A little hacky sack action

Food and drink for Colton

I always get a little nervous sending my baby out camping without me, but he LOVES camping, he was SO excited to go. We were only packing for one day really. I gave him the overnight bag and told him to pack pj's, and extra outfit, and some extra underwear and socks ... when I checked his bag, he had put in seven underwear and eight pairs of socks! I added a jacket and some jeans :)

The boys brought a LOT of sand home with them (in their shoes, in the car ... and into the house).

Soccer Success

While Cooper's soccer season was stressful, we did have a lot of FUN soccer memories with little Colton. We signed him up with Gene Fullmer Rec, putting him on the team with buddies Bradley and Randon. I didn't originally sign up to be coach again, but after being asked if I'd be willing, I went ahead and said ok. We ended up having two little girls that been on the Spring team as well, plus a couple new boys that really knew how to handle the ball. We were the Blue Sharks and we had a very successful season, we only lost one game.

Colton was enjoying soccer so much, that when Uncle Clay said he was putting together a kindergarten team at Marv Jensen Rec, we decided we'd put Colton on that team too. Gene Fullmer had started really early in the season, and with mid-week games, it only lasted four weeks, ending in September. There was about one week of overlap, one Saturday Colton had TWO soccer games, then the Blue Sharks ended and the Green Monkeys had their season.

The Green Monkeys won their first few games, I even stepped in to coach one games as Clay and Courtney were in St. George. Then we hit some harder teams (and colder days and nights, brrr). So, soccer season is now officially done ... it was fun. Here's a couple videos ...

A Stressful Soccer Season

Soccer seasons are Spring and Fall... at the start of the season last Spring, Cooper broke his arm. The signups for the next round (Fall2011/Spring2012) were in April, and I went ahead and signed up my little broken-armed boy with his team (and his best bud Ridley) and also got his good friend Marc to join the team as well. His arm would be healed by Fall.

... I didn't anticipate Cooper's anxiety ...

He was very worried about breaking his arm again ... combine that anxiety with his weather phobia, and soccer became a very stressful situation. Cooper did NOT want to play. I could have just bagged it, but ... I didn't really care about wasting the money, and I think the team would have been fine without him (we had a couple additions to the team, so there were enough kids which is sometimes a problem in the spring half of the season) ... I just did not want to let the fear win. If I left it up to Cooper, he would spend almost all his time in the bedroom under his covers, and I didn't want that ... so I pushed him a little.

Every game was a struggle. He would cry and cry. We did miss a few of the games, some we just played for a bit and then went home. There was some success ... he totally got into one of the games; he was excited to play, played well, even got a couple of goals! I hoped we had turned a corner. My smiling soccer Cooper was back ... but he was gone again by the next game.

Everyone was very supportive, really trying to cheer Cooper on, making him feel needed and wanted. At the first game, Cooper took a fall and everyone on our sideline gasped and held their breath until he got up again, shaken but unhurt. Cooper seemed content to just stay back and play defense most of the time, and as I'd pushed him just to get to the game, I let him do what he felt most comfortable with on the field. He did get a couple of fast breaks, running up the field and got some great goals.

We were both ready for the Fall soccer season to be over ... Cooper still says he doesn't want to play in the Spring (which he's already signed up for, from the signups last April). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that when the time comes he'll want to play. I won't be signing him up again unless HE ASKS for it ... I hope he does. I love watching him play. Here's a little video from a couple of the games from fall season...

School Stuff: Pictures, Switches and Other Updates

So ... school back in session, back to the routine.

Homework, carpools and school pictures!

Five Blackham Boys :)

Here's a few school updates ~

• School Switch: A week or so into the school year, a friend of Landon's transferred from West Jordan to Herriman High School. Landon decided he really would like to make the switch too. After taking a look at all the pros and cons, we went ahead and instigated the transfer. Landon seems to be enjoying his new school.
• Carpools: One thing that made the school switch possible, was the Landon found a carpool that would get him there in the morning if I could pick up after school. In the mornings, I'm taking Callahan to school, then I get home in time to get the Columbia kids off in their carpool. The afternoons are spent driving ... Highschool carpool, MiddleSchool carpool, then elementary school ... But luckily I haven't been having to make the trip to the school in the middle of the day because of the kindergarten carpool!
• School Carnival: The school hosted a fundraising carnival. It had to be pushed back a week after the plane crash. The new date was already completely packed. Grayson and Landon had a pinewood derby, Callahan and Keaton had basketball practice, I needed to take Colton to a soccer game ... which left Cooper really wanting to go to the carnival, but no one to take him. Luckily, we had some friends who were willing to have a tag-a-long, so he went and had a great time. Colton and I hit the last 30 minutes, getting in some games and treats and bringing Cooper home.
• Dress-Up Days: It was Red Ribbon week at school, with dress up days...

Hat Day

Sports Jersey Day

There was also "Dress like your twin day" ... Cooper and his buddy Ridley both wore their soccer jerseys, and Keaton took a complete outfit for a buddy at school to wear (he said they looked SO much alike, I wish I had a picture). The final day was to wear a shirt with a geographic location on it ... we had a couple "Utah" shirts for that.

I remember years ago (in 2005), the school had "crazy hair day" ... as the boys needed haircuts, Gray cut them into mohawks just for the day. As soon as it was over, it was back to the Blackham buzz!