3 Dozen Derbies

If you have a boy in Cub Scouts, chances are pretty good you'll be participating in a Pinewood Derby at some point. Grayson has FIVE boys, with the perfect age spread, so that he doesn't NOT have a boy in cub scouts for 16-17 years!  But apparently, that didn't seem like enough. Grayson has his own derby track set-up, and this past year, he ran THREE DOZEN DERBIES! That's right, 36 ... four more than last year.  The boys enjoy going and helping ... at least they enjoy getting PAID for helping. With Landon driving, maybe he can start taking over some of these derbies, while it's a fun hobby and service for Grayson, it could actually be a money maker for a 17-year old!

Blackham Run Derbies in 2012

Jan 24, 26, 31

Feb 23, 28

March 1, 14, 20, 22, 27

April 5, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26

May 1, 3, 17, 23, 24, 29

June 5

August 14, 21

Sept 15, 18, 25, 27

Oct 4, 18, 23

Nov 9, 13, 15

It's Christmas!

Christmas is here! I'll admit to not really being in a Christmas mood this year... We came home from our Disney vacation after Thanksgiving, and I did manage to pull down the fall decor and put up some Christmas decorations outside.  I didn't really get to anything inside, and Keaton finally took over and put up the stockings, ice skating rink, santa head filled with M&M's (the traditional Blackham decor). We didn't get up as much as we usually do, inside or out, but enough (if the Santa head is out and filled, the kids will be pretty happy). Gray did put up the tree, Colton hung decorations where he could reach ... (so the bottom half of the tree). Landon and Callahan did move some further up ... but again, the tree was pretty pitifully decorated compared to previous years. 

Colton came down with the flu in the weeks before Christmas (Grayson wasn't feeling well either, and a couple others had a touch of the sniffles but nothing too bad). Colton was home for an entire week, and that kept me home as well. Luckily I had Amazon, and I did most of our Christmas shopping online. I didn't get around to wrapping any presents until just a couple days before Christmas ... I think the kids were getting worried. 

Gray took the boys out the Saturday before Christmas ... and unbeknownst to me, had them fitted for suits.  So that was a surprise Christmas morning! Instead of the usual jammies, all the boys were looking SO sharp! Maybe we should make dressing up a Christmas tradition. They wore the suits to Maga's house to surprise her too, then the younger ones changed (Landon and Callahan actually stayed in them most of the day). 

We did the traditional unwrapping Christmas at home in the morning ... I had put out Landon's Buzz jacket we bought for him at Disneyland  (as he had said then "This is ALL I want") with his gifts ... he had a few other things (he and Callahan got the complete series of "Friends" on DVD). Callahan got some Nike shirts and socks. Keaton also got some socks and a some shirts, and a remote control car. Cooper and Colton got a new basketball and some legos (or legoish things ... Mario Knex and PowerRangers) and a Nerf gun blaster. They all got a laser pointer, Itunes credit, and a cotton candy maker (which we have yet to try out). And of course the suits! Gray also got a nice remote control car which the boys loved, until Grayson broke it (reminiscent of last year and an expensive remote control helicopter that didn't make it past Christmas day). 

Preceding Christmas, we had gatherings at both Grandma's houses ... well, on the Westra side, it was actually at Scott and Amy's this year, as my mom had back surgery recently and hosting would have been a little too much for her. I had left a little too much to the last minute, so I spent Christmas Eve scrambling to finish the family video (see it HERE) and making chicken noodle soup and breadsticks ... between that, and the weather (someone must have been singing "Let it Snow" on Christmas Eve!) we were running quite late to the Westra bash. They did wait for us (and our soup and breadsticks) and we ate dinner, played the candy bar game, watched the slideshow and exchanged gifts.

The night before (the kids were calling it Christmas Adam, the day before Christmas EVE) was when we went to Maga's for dinner and a nativity. There was a knock on the door, and it was Santa and his wife! They had presents for all the grandkids, and even KNEW some of their naughty and nice habits. They all got gifts and it was a very fun night.

Rather than overload the blog with all the pictures, I created an album and posted it HERE. We didn't get as many pictures as we should have this holiday season, but I did get quite a few. I finally got into the Christmas spirit a bit too ...

In addition to Santa coming, the TOOTH FAIRY also needed to pay a visit, as Cooper had lost a tooth on Christmas Eve. I wonder if Santa and the Tooth Fairy ran into each other while they were out and about!

Columbia Christmas Program

Every year in December, the school puts on it's annual holiday program. Usually the boys wear a cute Santa or Elf hat, or at least wear red or green, but not this year. Colton had been sick for several days before hand, so he's lucky he knew the songs as well as he did. All the first graders had pictures to hold up during one of their songs, but Colton didn't, as they had been made during one of the days he missed.

Cooper was so funny with his little perma-smile pasted on his face. They teachers in the third grade classes must have really been stressing SMILING to the kids ... Cooper cooperated!

The 6th grade started the program off ... I was there, pretty near the front with my video camera in hand. Keaton said afterward "We must have been really bad, because you didn't even video us very long" ... I told him I just caught a few snippets of all the kids ... I just like a bit to capture on camera and remember which songs the kids sang and how they change from year to year.  Here's the little muvee ... the hour program, condensed into about two minutes (only featuring the 6th, 3rd and 1st grades, and only focusing on the Blackham boys and anyone standing right next to them).

Kindergarten finished the program. I should have kept the camera running for one little boy who was singing his heart out. Then he looked into the audience and shouted the proverbial "Hi Mom!" followed by a "Dad, take my picture!" It had everyone laughing.

Until next year ... at least for two of the Blackham Boys ...

Still Seven

Poor Colton, birthdays so near to Christmas often get lost in the shuffle. He has yet to have an official "party" (maybe I'll hold a "half" birthday party next summer) and this year, he was sick the entire week before his birthday. He missed another five days of school (on top of those missed from our Disney vacation). As he was struggling with fever, I told him I sure hoped he was feeling better by his birthday. He adamantly replied "even if I am still sick, I will STILL turn seven!"  Luckily, Colton was feeling better, enough to go to school and share a treat and participate in the Christmas sing-a-long. He even went to his friend Randon's house after school to play (and came home with some legos and a cute hat).

Maga came over and we sang to Colton and had some cake. While we were chatting, Colton put his jacket on over his jammies, put on his hat, got a blanket, and fell asleep on the couch. While he is feeling better, I think he's not 100% yet. Poor kid, completely worn out on his birthday!

Happy birthday little buddy. We sure do love you and all you bring to our family. As usual, I updated the Colton Photo Album on Facebook, so you can take a picture-walk down memory lane ...

Oil Light

So Landon called as I was dropping Callahan off to school ... his car wouldn't go.  I found out the oil light had been on for a couple of weeks. He says he mentioned to to Grayson, but Gray doesn't remember such a conversation. Anyway, CC (Cute Corolla from Clay and Courtney) is no more.  What kills me is that Landon is a big fan of the tv series Home Improvement, and he has seen this episode (here) ... go to 2:30, that is the interesting part!  It had been SO nice for Landon to have his own car to get to/from school, pick up his brother, get to work ...

Brushes with Fame

Several weeks ago, our ward had a special fireside. The speaker was Branden Campbell and his wife. He is the bass player for Neon Trees ("Everybody Talks" "Animal" ...).  Here's Landon and his buddy Jake with Branden.

Callahan needed to read a book for school in one of the following genres: sci-fi, survivalist, teen issues. I had just read a book called "Night of the Purple Moon" which was all three of those topics rolled into one, so I recommended  that to him (I only had it in digital format, so I had to get permission from his teacher for Callahan to read it on an electronic device). I posted a review on our family GoodReads account (here) and was contacted by the author to see if Callahan would be willing to do a little interview which the author then put on his blog (here). Scott Cramer (the author) then sent Callahan an autographed copy. 

Keaton had finished playing in his basketball game when we noticed a VERY TALL man standing in the corner (it was at CopperHills, with multiple games going on that day).  After some whispers, one of the moms went and got an autograph. It was Thurl Bailey. He graciously gave some autographs and took a picture with one of the kids on the team and wished one of our players a happy birthday after he heard the team sing to him. I didn't have my camera on hand, or I would have grabbed a picture with he and Keaton too.

I wonder who Cooper and Colton are going to come into contact with next?

A Cheesy Project

Callahan had to do a science fair project for school.  Yea ... as I pulled out the cheese and had to cut off some moldy sections, I suggested maybe he could research what we should do to try and prevent the mold, as it's a pretty consistent problem at our house (we like cheese, but we usually don't go through the big 5 pound block that quickly.)

He (we) researched the topic and found that it's mostly air, and contamination (germs from hands, the knife,  cutting surface) that add to more mold growing on cheese. We cut up four cubes and packaged them in various ways and then left them in the fridge for several weeks. Wrapping the cheese chunk tighly in saran wrap did seem to provide the best results. We hadn't done this with our own cheese (we'd just been keeping it in a basic bag, the similar sample was the most moldy) ... but now we do.

Cute Cousin

During our trip to California, my boys got to spend a lot of time with their little cousins (Ana's boys). Amare is not quite 18 months, but at that darling age that just draws people in. It was so fun to watch my big boys with him, Keaton playing peek-a-boo, Callahan carrying him on his shoulders, Landon singing "Popcorn Popping" ...

Callahan video taped just one of the many giggle sessions with this little guy ... I bet you can't watch it and NOT smile!

... and here he is again using Uncle Gray's head as a drum during the Disney parade ...

Cute little cousin! 

Ramada Recommendations and Candy Cane Comparisons

Cooper and Colton and Crushed Ice is Nice

We don't travel a lot, but it seems whenever we need to stay in St. George, we always go to the Ramada right there by the factory stores. So as we embarked on our trip to California, we stopped in St. George to help break up the drive. I'm not sure why the kids LOVE the Ramada so much, but they rave about it. Cooper and Colton loved the ice (it was the small, crunchy ice), and we enjoy the breakfast they offer.  It's nice to have the little fridge and microwave, and of course wifi. I wasn't super impressed with Ramada's wifi, it logged you out every five minutes and you had to sign back in, which was a pain. And of course the kids LOVE the pool and hot tub.

Enjoying the pool at the Ramada - We hit it to and from California

On our trip to Disneyland a few years ago, we stayed at the Portofino. Callahan was pretty adamant that he wanted to stay there again. It had been nice, but our rooms were several stories up (Cooper HAD to overcome his fear of elevators during our stay, it was just too many flights to try the stairs every time) and there was no complementary breakfast (which is an extreme disadvantage close to Disneyland, as all the eating establishments nearby seem very overpriced! ) This trip, Grayson  wanted to try the Candy Cane Inn, which he'd heard good things about.

We were on the ground floor, with parking right in front of the room (which is convenient) and were also able to have adjoining rooms (which is nice, as we needed two rooms just for our immediate family). The beds were quite a bit softer than the Ramada (which Gray liked), and again, we had the complimentary breakfast (no Belgian waffles and bacon/eggs like the Ramada, but they had some yummy muffins). Although it wasn't super warm outside, the boys again hit the pool and hot tub. The wifi was easier to stay signed in on ... the ice wasn't as nice (bigger chunks) though.

But there's no place like home *Ü*

Doing Disney

Buzz and the Blackham Boys

Maga loves Micky ... she wanted to spring for tickets to Disneyland for the boys this Christmas. So right after Thanksgiving, our family, Ana's family, and Pam and Olivia headed to California for a few days. While we were there, we even met up with my brother Shane and his family, who happened to be hitting the park that same week!

We hit the shops (the Lego store is always fun, and Landon drooled over a Buzz Lightyear jacket that we did buy eventually.)

Space Mountain

Tower of Terror

Space Mountain was probably the ride we went on the most, although Grayson sat it out.  Other favorites were Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror (Cooper sat that one out), Splash Mountain (even though it was too cold to be wet) and we did manage to make it onto the new Cars ride - although I don't think I can say it is worth the wait. Grayson stood in the FastPass line one morning to get us all tickets, otherwise that line was well over an hour long!

As I have five BOYS, the Disney Princesses weren't really on the list of characters the boys wanted to see, but they were pretty happy to catch the little show by Phinneas and Ferb. Here's Phinneas giving Colton and Cooper five ...

 We found Wreck it Ralph

and Cooper connected with a couple other characters

(Flick and Stitch, photos below)

It was good for Grayson to get away from work for a week, and the boys really enjoyed hanging out with their little cousins! Thanks Maga for the memories. 

Fall Basketball

A while back I posted that both Callahan and Keaton had made the prep teams for Copper Hills High School basketball. Callahan was also already signed up for a league with his Nitrous team (which his been playing on for a couple of years), so as schedules came out, Wednesday nights became pretty crazy. Callahan would have two games, and Keaton one, all over the Salt Lake Valley, all within the evening hours. Multiple practices each week and games on Saturday as well. Busy basketball season ahead!

Of course ... then Callahan broke his foot. That DID simplify my life a bit. He still went to practices and games to continue to learn the plays and support his team, but as he wasn't actually playing, I just had him hitch a ride to games with teammates. I concentrated on Keaton, in his first competitive experience. He (and the team) have done really well. They played in the Wednesday night superleague, and the Saturday Dimple Dell league. They lost one game in each league, and won the rest. I did my thing (making videos of the game highlights) and updated our basketball blog with Keaton's Fall Season, if you wanted to check out the team in action. Keaton has really enjoyed the team and made a bunch of new basketball buddies.

Winter season coming up ... we really hope Callahan will get the ok to play at least part of the season (it' is healing, but SO slowly). His team is playing in the SL Superleague and the Utah County Bantam League  Keaton's team will do the SL Superleague and the AAU High School Prep League.  

As for the other boys ... Landon will be reffing Junior Jazz again, and Colton will be playing (1st grade). Cooper was adamant that he did NOT want to play this year, so I didn't sign him up (he did SO good last year, I'm really going to be sad not seeing him in action other than the hoop in the family room ... but it is plenty busy with what we already have going, so ... I guess it's all good).

Blackham basketball ... it's what we do ...

Making the Grade

With the end of November, comes the end of the first term in school. I had SEOPs (Student Educational Occupation Plan) for both Landon and Callahan. This consists of going to the school and meeting with the counselor and going over classes needed for graduation, the kids interests and aptitudes, etc. I got rave reviews for both boys, and both boys brought home a report card with a 4.0 (Callahan has a cumulative 4.0 as well, but this was Landon's first, and he was pretty excited to achieve it. I didn't even manage to pull a 4.0 until my senior year ... always had one pesky A- to ruin it!) VERY proud of my boys.

The little ones finished up their term as well. Colton, Cooper and Keaton all did wonderful as usual, although I didn't get to hear it directly from the teachers, as we went out of town for our Disneyland vacation during the scheduled Parent/Teacher Conferences. We also missed the Honor Roll Assembly, where the boys were not present (ironically) to also receive their outstanding attendance award.

This next quarter may be a little difficult, as the boys missed FIVE days of school for our vacation and will have some catching up to do.

So question ... do you pay your kids for good grades? 

Call Me Maybe

Guess what? I have an iPhone! Grayson would have been willing to spring for one, but I said I didn't need it. I just didn't feel I could justify the cost. Then, Grayson went out and bought LANDON one!  Ok, if my 17 year old son is going to have an iPhone, then I did want one for myself. It was a public service really, because I was a little hard to keep in contact with. When asked for a contact#, this was my speech ... "The home # is XXX, but it's just a landline, you can't text it. If you want to text, my textfree # is XXX. I can only get texts when I'm home or have WiFi, and it is ONLY text, you can't call it. My cell # is XXX, you can call or text it, but I rarely have it with me" ... yes, it was a pain. So now, I'm actually set. I do love being able to check email while I'm out and about, and I do actually keep my phone with me now almost all the time. So call me maybe!

Gray B-Day

Happy Birthday to Grayson! On Saturday, I took Grayson out to dinner at Market Street Grill (I mean I made him choose the place, drive and pay ... but I went with him). The raspberry almond torte is a favorite dessert for him.  

His actual birthday was Monday, and the whole family went out to Red Robin for dinner (Callahan even chose us over going to his basketball game, not that he could have played in his boot anyway, but it's still rare for him to miss anything basketball). 

We skipped dessert at the restaurant and (after a little break to let dinner digest) we presented Gray with cake, lemon jello, a family/Gray favorite. I didn't put 43 candles on the cake, I put 4 and 3 (a little easier). Just like he did for mine, I stuck some "trick" relighting candles on. But the trick was on me ... 

Cooper's Coins

This is one of those posts that I kept thinking about but never got around to posting. Coins aren't as big an interest now, but this last summer... Cooper was obsessed! I did my first coin post back in February (here) after Grayson brought home a random 50¢ piece from a trip he'd gone on. That lead to proof sets, silver dollars, gold dollars and more ... Cooper would beg his Daddy to take him to the coin store (and Daddy did several times over the summer) and they would always come home with treasures. He would browse Ebay and drool over different coins he wanted. Daddy joined a mail order coin club. I ordered some change from around the world off Amazon, and the kids had fun sorting the coins into the different countries they came from. If anyone would come over, Cooper would proudly pull out his coin box and tell the poor unsuspecting soul ALL about every single coin. He knew all the presidents on the gold dollars and was always on the lookout for those few he hadn't collected yet. Every store we went to, he would bring a dollar bill and ask if they had any gold dollars he could exchange it for. He sent dollar bills to school with Callahan, as the machine there gives them out for change.

... just as Cooper outgrew his weather worries, he has moved on from his coin collection obsession. I don't remember the last time he got them out and looked them over, counted them, stacked them, sorted them ...

His latest obsession is music ...

Blooms & Brownies

I tease Grayson that for nine days in November, we are the same age ... my birthday is on the 10th, his is on the 19th. It snowed on my birthday ... I did NOT request that gift! Gray brought me this beautiful bouquet, with Amazon and Itunes gift certificates. We went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (with the whole family, and had lots of extra rolls to bring home). 

Then Grayson made brownies (this is our unique brownie pan, if you like the edges, like I do, it's great!). I didn't expect the flaming inferno ... and several of the candles he used were the "trick" candles and they just kept relighting and relighting! We had to pick out quite a bit of wax from the brownies.

Gray is also my gadget guy for gifts ... he gave me the new Ipod Touch, which is now being used by Cooper (as my old Ipod is still working just fine and Cooper seemed so very attached). So Grayson picked up a new Ipad mini, which Landon seems to be thinking is his (again, I'm quite content with my little Touch so I don't know that I'll really push the MINE issue, not that Landon needs it either though).

So, another year older and wiser too ... hopefully!

Let it Snow

Friday was the first "sticking" snowstorm (the 1st official snowfall was in October, but it didn't stay around long enough for the kids to play). I took Callahan to school and came home to find Cooper and Colton dragging out the boots, gloves and hats (I was a little surprised they had found them!) and heading out to play.

 Keaton got dressed up and joined in on the fun, making a big pile of snow, then carving a hole in it. The picture at top (the "arch") was his finished product, but the hole started smaller ...

View from the front (above)

View from the back (below)

The boys molded snow shapes using buckets. The snow continued through Saturday, and Landon and Callahan joined in the fun too (I let Callahan take off his "boot" to put on boots). Landon pulled out all the old ice cream buckets and attempted to make an igloo (he destroyed it before I got pictures, it only got about halfway up before it started collapsing). 

... snowballs ... or a horizontal snowman?

Crazy for Kindle

I did a post a while back ... about discovering the joys of reading digitally. It has REALLY changed my world! I was a voracious reader when I was young. During my high school and college years, I limited myself to required reading only. As a busy mom, I would try to read, but I didn't make a lot of time for it. Earlier this year, that ALL changed! Reading digitally is so great ... whereas I wouldn't always want to drag a book with me someplace, I almost always have my Ipod on hand (and thus my book) wherever I go. A few minutes here, a few minutes there, and it's surprising how quickly I get through books. I can zap books from my library without having to make a trip in to pick up or return them, and the amount of FREE offers that come across ... I have 500+ promising books in my digital library.  I love being able to highlight sections of the book and easily look up definitions. There is a search function if you are looking for a particular point. And in low light, I no longer need a lamp.

If you haven't looked up the Kindle app, you SHOULD! You can put it on almost any device (computer, Ipad, Ipod, Android). There are a lot of free kids picture books too. Sometimes I just pull up my Kindle Cloud and browse through the many books I have there. Grayson is just happy not to have bookshelves of PHYSICAL books taking up space and gathering dust. Win win!

We DO have an actual Kindle (fire) ... I do use it occasionally, and I loaned it to Callahan (his school wouldn't let the kids read on on Ipod, but said a Kindle or Nook was ok). The Kindle does fit into my purse, and one of the things unique to it, is that you can borrow a book from Amazon's Kindle Lending Library once a month for free. But go figure, I LOVE reading on my tiny Ipod touch.

... I am still reading some REAL, physical books (if the library doesn't have what I want in digital format) ... but they are so heavy, I have to try and prop them open if I want to lay them down, and I can't make my notes easily (so I don't make notes at all) ... but as digital dominates, I thought I'd share this cute video presentation of a book I got out of the library to read to the little ones ... they didn't have it in digital format, go figure.

The Incredible Kid Eating Couch

Many years ago, we had a sectional couch with removable cushions and pillows. They were always taken off to build forts and have pillow fights. When Gray and I decided to get a NEW couch, the one thing we both insisted upon, was that NOTHING was removable. When we found this brown leather sectional, we both really liked it. But just because the pieces don't come off (or at least they don't come apart easily, they DO come off, as you can see in the Misc Memories post here), doesn't mean that the kids leave things well enough alone. They are always sticking arms, heads, feet, into the deep pockets and folds of the couch (which is actually a REALLY scary prospect, because they also stick a lot of other things in there too ... candy wrappers, dirty socks, remotes, homework). As I anticipated writing this post, I kept my camera handy to capture the kids as they lost parts of themselves in the kid-eating couch (none of these pictures were posed, although in the one above I did call out to Colton to get his cute face in the photo too). 

I didn't catch Keaton being eaten ... I'll have to keep watching ...

Macaroni Rosa (ala Bucca)

The Blackham Bunch loves Bucca di Deppo. We have several fond memories of eating out there. And Grayson's FAVORITE dish is Macaroni Rosa (which they actually took off the menu, but they will still make it for you if you ask). Anyway, I decided to see if I could find the recipe online (what can't you find online these days?) and try a home version ... it's been a hit (with Grayson and Landon anyway, the rest of the Blackham Bunch tends to take after Mom and her finicky eating habits).

1 plum tomato
1 tablespoon onion
1 teaspoon fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and pepper

6 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz b/s chicken breast/tenders
8 oz white mushrooms (sliced)
16 oz marinara sauce
6 oz heavy cream
1 1/2 cup broccoli tops
1 pound  pasta (we like the spiral cellantini, like Bucca uses)
2/3 cup grated Romano cheese

• Dice tomato, onion and basil. Combine with garlic, salt and pepper and oil in a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for one hour.
• Cut chicken into small pieces. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, saute chicken and mushrooms in oil until chicken is cooked through (about 7 minutes). Add marinara sauce and cream. Continue cooking until mixture is reduced by a third (about 10 minutes). Add reserved tomato-onion mixture and continue cooking for 3 minutes.
• While chicken/mushrooms are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli tops during the final 2-3 minutes. Drain.
• Toss cooked pasta/broccoli with the marinara sauce mixture. Sprinkle Romano cheese throughout and on top. Spoon onto a large platter (it makes a LOT) and serve hot.

This does make quite a bit ... I take half, stick it in a casserole dish and put it in the freezer. When the boys are ready for Rosa again, I simply pull it out and stick it in the oven until warm.  The boys like the extras as leftovers too.

The original recipe calls for frozen peas, but my boys said "no peas please" ... Grayson also likes the addition of some Italian sausage (but Landon likes just chicken) ... so I sometimes cook up a little sausage and add it to hubby's macaroni mix.

Foot Fracture Update

Well, it's been SIX WEEKS since Callahan's original injury. In the x-rays above, you can compare the original fracture (on the right) to the current situation (on the left). You can see that the crack IS healing, but it isn't there yet.  The foot is just one of the slowest healing places on the body (being so far from the heart, so circulation is an issue). So poor Callahan is still in his boot, and we'll check back in four more weeks ...

Random October ...

Ah October ... it's been cooling down. We had to turn on the heater for the first time (Oct.7) and get that lovely "first time you turn on the heater" smell. Hopefully this will help out with the electric bill (although we've still needed the a/c from time to time too). First snow (Oct. 25) ... first experience for Landon to drive in it! The frost killed the flowers, so I finally pulled them out and updated with the autumnal decor ...

I didn't catch Landon in the "ninja" photo from last month ...

 but here he is for October!

With the little boys off-track for Halloween, we had a little fun at home with balloons, turning them into a jack-o-lantern and a spider. Then Keaton POPPED the spider and little legs went flying everywhere!

Halloween means COSTUMES ... I didn't buy anything new, just had the kids look through the current supply ... which is a LOT. I still need to go through this and get everything put back away!

 Um .... still not sure what happened here ...
It's not like we weren't already "touch"ed

With the new devices, there's been a lot of THIS going on.

 The latest game craze is MINECRAFT.

... and just a funny update to the FAMILY scrabble names ... yes, Jacob and Travis are here so much they are pretty much family! And yes ... we need a couple more letter "C" tiles. We did get another Vat19 order this month too, more spitballs and a HUGE gummy WORM).

This is Halloween

With the Halloween party at school done, it felt a little like Halloween was over ... I had to remind myself that the actual night was still coming up. Landon dressed up in his "chick magnet" costume for school, and then went out with friends in the evening (dressed as a whoopie cushion ... I asked for pictures but he didn't comply). Rather than trying to stomp around in his walking boot, Callahan took the night off and stayed home, helping hand out candy there.  I usually send Grayson on Trick-or-Treat duty with the little boys, but I went ahead and went out with them this year. Keaton went with his friends, and I walked around with Cooper, Colton and their buddy Ridley. Cooper SHOULD have been dressed as The Flash or an Olympic Runner, because he would take off after each house, leaving the other two boys in the dust and struggling to catch up.

Colton's Ninja Stash

 

Cooper Hulk's Haul

 Super Keaton's Candy

The little boys don't like peanut butter, 

so Callahan and I gladly relieved them of any and all Reeses.