2021 - Year in Review

 

I love the end-of-the year collage ... but it is a bit of a challenge to try and fit so many of the memorable moments from the past year.  On a  world stage, Covid continued to be a concern, but vaccines became available and everyone in the family got immunized. Cal&Kate still caught it though. The Olympics (postponed from 2020) were held in China. In the US, Biden's presidency became official, although the day was marred by insurrection. Closer to home, there was a small plane crash (several fatalities) less than a mile from our house (there have been a few crashes with Airport 2 so close by).  To recap the year for the Blackham Bunch ...

• Work: Symphony, and thus Grayson, stayed super busy. Landon shifted into a salaried position and Sol switched her career course. Cal and Keaton continue with Camsen, with Keaton returning to Nike for a short time as well (work ... and shopping with a discount!). Coop shifted from a substitute to a set shift, working a couple hours each afternoon.
• Weather: At the start of the year some "dirty" snow fell, coating cars and backing up car washes. Despite a few big rains that would fill up the retaining basin at Constitution Park (or Constitution Lake as it were) and had Gray out covering the window wells, much was said about the drought. Water levels at the Pineview were down and the waverunners didn't make it to the lake. There were some smoky skies, strong smelling, producing spectacular sunsets.
• Home Sweet Home: Started the year with new couches. Had to replace the router, which meant reconnecting everything wifi. Oven issues ... had some burned bread, and then the microwave went out. Repair was backed up, so we just replaced. Had to replace the water heater as well ... glad to have Grayson's connections! Got a Tesla charger installed ... and a Tesla ordered. Gray set up his dream office space & storage... home sweet away from home. 
• Getaways: Gray had a lot ... Seattle three times (once himself, once with the family, once with Keaton and Coop). Several trips to St. George and Moab for RZR riding.  The dunes, Bear Lake and Wendover weekends too. He and Keaton went to SanFran and Hawaii with Kolby and Jami. Landon and Sol went to Mexico twice, and Cal and Kate had some St. George trips, and also went to Arizona and Hawaii.
• FOOD: So much food! Jen was given some sourdough starter and went a little sourdough crazy! Baking bread multiple times a week, making pizza dough, pretzels, doughnuts, crepes. Gray added to his kitchen tools with a new, bigger Blackstone grill and a Komodo Joe ... adding the pizza oven attachment. While Tepanyaki is still a favorite restaurant, Grayson mastered most of the meal ... fried rice, shrimp (even tossing it to the boys), salmon. Tons of steak, lots of brisket and ribs and pulled pork. Asparagus and fried green beans. Cheese puffs and cheese dips. Chocolate Lava cake. Bacon wrapped chicken became a new family favorite this year. We discovered a couple new kinds of popcorn.
• Basketball: Colton finished up his freshman year, played a ton in the spring and summer with multiple teams. Had a few travel tournaments (St. George, Las Vegas). Made the team again his sophomore year and made his first varsity points. There was a change in coaching and a tragedy too. Callahan played in several leagues throughout the year. Jen even went to a few of the games and made videos like in his younger years. Cooper even played Junior Jazz ... or is it Senior Jazz, (as they are all seniors). 

Other random memories from 2021 were ... Tax Time, which was a little more complicated after selling Maga's house the year before. We owed big time (not because of that though). Vet Visit for both kitties, got some dental work done. Pokemon Go made a comeback with Cooper ... who then got Jen hooked! Pickleball summer. Playing games, watching movies. Annual Westra Father's Day, and a big Blackham Bash at Top Golf. There was a drive to see the fall leaves, a comedy show downtown, Thanksgiving hosted at the Blackham home, a Cash Cube for Christmas, and memories of our monarch. #voilaapp :)

That's the recap by topic, here's what each individual was up to ...

• Grayson: Lots of work, still some time to play. No waverunner fun this year due to the drought, but several weekends of travel and RZR riding. New office/storage. Lots of time in the kitchen/garage making meals to spoil the family. He made dinner more than Jen!
• Jen: There was continued success with weight-loss ... until around May. That's about the same time Jen got the sourdough starter, not sure if there is a correlation there? The second half of the year was NOT good  weight-wise, with what was lost being found again. Still Zumba-ing three times a week and working out in the home gym. Got off-track on the blogging, and got a little obsessed with Pokemon-Go. Still listening to audiobooks all the time, you can see all her books here. 
• Landon & Sol: A couple trips to Mexico, a new car, work changes ... Landon wrote up a summary of their year, and you can find it here. 
• Callahan & Kate: A trip to Hawaii and other getaways. Kate graduated from the U. They were the first in the immediate family to get Covid. You can see Kate's full write up here. 
• Keaton: There was a LOT of jumping out of planes for Keaton this year! He also built a 9-square set and had a couple memorable trips. Keaton wrote up his year, you can see it here. 
• Cooper: Finished up his junior year and started as a senior in the fall, still online at Mountain Heights. Got his learner's permit and practiced a little, driving home from work. Still cleaning at TerraLinda five days a week (moved to morning for summer). Lots of pickleball, ping pong and Pokemon Go. Active in the home gym ... had a 45k day on his Fitbit. He'd won in Fantasy Football for two years straight ... alas, 2021 wasn't his year (but Uncle Kolby kept the title in the family).
• Colton: Finished up his freshman year at Joel P and started as a sophomore at West Jordan High. Going from just a few hours in person in the mornings to FULL days (as he would go early and stay late). Got his learners and took driver's ed and was SO close to getting his license right after his birthday, but couldn't quite fit the final test in, so it got pushed back a month (and into 2022). Very social with school activities and went to a couple dances. So. Much. Basketball.

So ... I think that wraps up 2021. For more details there were individual updates every month here on the blog and sent out in family emails.

Here's the One Second Every Day compilation ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEQt4kVQNrA

December 2021

 

Wrapping up the end of the year, the final month ... December. We started it off with some sickness (Not Covid. Keaton got tested even though the symptoms were more like a cold). Keaton was down for a couple days, then Jen for several days. Not "down and out" but she missed Zumba for two-weeks. We had a cuddly kitten (Joy in heat) and BIG snow (school moved online, Zumba was cancelled). The water heater started leaking, but with Gray's connections, were able to get back in business the next day. New couches (after Christmas). Other notable events from the month ...

• Basketball ... as always! Colton has had quite a few games. Last year he played on all his eligible aged teams, Freshman, Soph, JV and Varsity. This year, he's just JV and Varsity. He'll often play the entire JV game, and has been getting quite a few Varsity minutes. He started one game, and has scored almost every game. 
• Birthday ... Colton turned 16 years old this month! We celebrated with a family dinner to Red Robin. Colton completed his Driver's Ed class 1st semester, got all his roads/ranges in, and only had the driving test left. Then basketball season started and he just hasn't been able to fit it into his busy schedule. We'd planned on him getting his license right after his birthday/Christmas (had an appointment Dec28) but had to postpone (while you can take the driving test at the DLD, we were scheduled for just the basic appointment). 
• Christmas Parties ... the Blackham Bash was up first (12/18), a "Cash Cube" was introduced this year. Yes, one of those enclosures where the air blows bills around whilst the one inside attempts to grab as many as possible. The kids (and adults) had fun. The Westra gathering took place on Christmas Eve, as is tradition. Soups, breadsticks, Brazilian cheese rolls, SO many desserts. Calendars handed out, the annual slideshow, and of course, the candy bar game. Grayson dressed up as an elf for the Symphony Christmas party.
• Christmas Home: Very minor decor this year. Got the tree up ... light on, but never added ornaments. Stockings up (but not down, Santa didn't "stuff" them, but just laid out the goodies). The "Santa Head" filled with M&Ms was probably the highlight of the season (the kids love eating candy from it, but don't eat m&ms anytime else through the year.)
• Baking Spirits Bright ... lots of sourdough loaves, many handed out to friends/neighbors for Christmas. Made the "swig" sugar cookies, and brownies (mint, marshmallow) for family parties (and just to eat). Peppermint puffs (meringue cookies). Did NOT get around to many of the other traditional Christmas cookies this year. 
• Winter Waltz ... another date/dance for Colton, complicated a bit by their basketball tournament on the same day. They had to do the "day date" in the morning, and then rush home from the game to make it to the dance.

And with that ... 2021 came to an end. We had the grandparents over for games, and actually had the kids home (sans Cal&K8, but pretty surprised when Keaton/Colton stayed and played). Progressive Rummy and Pirate ... aaaarrrrggg, Grandpa won. And we even made it until midnight! On to 2022 ... but first, a One Second recap from December to wrap things up. 

JenBs Books 2021

 

In addition to this family blog, there is a JenBsJourney blog that is aimed more at food/fitness and books/tv/movies. I did my 2021 Book Recap on that blog but wanted to have all my monthly book collages in a single blog post as well. So that's what I'll showcase here. 

For the part of the year, I kept track of stats/data ... like where I got the book (Audible, Kindle, Library, Review copy), whether it had been in audio format or a kindle read. I added info like where a book stood in a series, if it was a re-read, or a small book. Alas, but the end of the year, I struggled just to get the collage completed. But all the books are rated and reviewed and shelved (so all those details are still available) on my GoodReads page. Sh(E)reader. 

My eyes have really gone downhill in the last year or two. It's affected my reading ... and I've adapted with more audiobooks. I rarely "read" any more. I love my local library, bought an Audible plan (12 months/12credits for $99) and bought some books when they had sales. I jumped on KindleUnlimited deals when they were offered, and requested and received some review copies. 2021 was a year for the books!

Movie Memories from 2021

1999 was a big year for movies for the kids. Landon and Sol got a pass to AMC where they could go to as many movies as they wanted, and they got good use from it! They included Cooper and the other boys quite a bit too. Then... 2020 happened. Ironically, Jen made it to the theater twice that year (in January, Ford vs Ferrari and Knives Out) after not going to a movie in years. Everything shut down. In 2021, things recovered a little. Movies were being made, and the kids got out to the theaters to watch them (but not Jen, she prefers to watch in the gym, with subtitles, while working out). Landon made up a list of the ones he and Sol saw. Coop accompanied them for quite a few (about half) and all the kids went to Quiet Place 2 as a group (why is there no picture? Jen wasn't with them!) Coop had to hurry and watch A Quiet Place before they went to see the sequel. 

The image above has most of the movies Landon could remember them seeing. He made a full list, included below ... all these were viewed in the theater. I'm sure there were more he watched at home streaming.

Chaos Walking
Nobody
Godzilla vs Kong
The Unholy
Voyagers
Wrath of Man
Spiral
F9
The Quiet Place 2
In The Heights
The Forever Purge
Black Widow
Space Jam 2
Old
The Suicide Squad
Stillwater
The Green Knight
Free Guy
Don't Breathe 2
Candyman
Shang-Chi
No Time To Die
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Halloween Kills
Eternals
Encanto
House of Gucci
Spider-Man: No Way Home

Keaton watched a BUNCH of older movies (streamed), many recommendations from Uncle Kolby. Here's his list ...Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Raising Arizona, Walk Hard: Dewie Cox, Captain Fantastic, Kung Fu Hustle, Stand By Me, Knocked Up, Superbad, Good Boys, Rushmore, Talladega Nights, Dope, One Night in Miami, Without Remorse, Django, Kill Bill, Goodfellas, Usual suspects, Taxi driver, Election, 40 Year Old Virgin, Pineapple Express, Dune, Good boys, Rain man, Ferris Bueller, Back to the Future, Catch Me If You Can, The Matrix, 50/50, Terminator, Just Mercy, Logan Lucky, Shawshank Redemption, Step Brothers, 21 Jump Street, Malignant, Freaky, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Finch...

You can check out JenBsMovies from last year ... the majority were watched in the gym while working out. There were a few that were for Cooper's school (Film Studies, English), a few on the road during the Seattle vacation, and Gray and Jen watched a few together ... w/popcorn.

Christmas 2021

 

Christmas recap ... we got the tree up, but never got around to decorating it. It still looks pretty with just the twinkling lights. The stockings were hung, with some greenery. A few other pieces of decor ... the Santa head with M&Ms in it. Didn't get around to a bunch of our Christmas cookies, but I made the peppermint puffs (Coop and I love them) and lots of sourdough loaves, many given out as our neighborhood/friend gift this year.  Grayson got all dressed up for the Symphony work party, and Jen donned some festive hats for Zumba. There was the Blackham family party, the Westra Christmas Eve party, and then Christmas day at the Blackham home... more on those activities below.

I always seem to struggle with gifts, finding something that the receiver might actually want. When it came to the kids this year, I really didn't have any ideas. Talking to Gray I mentioned we could just throw cash at the kids, or get one of those wind boxes that makes the money fly around while you attempt to catch it. Grayson looked at me a bit funny and said "that IS actually the plan for the Blackham family party". Quite the coincidence!

The Blackham Christmas Party was held Saturday, December 18 and we were able to get everyone out, although Landon and Sol had to leave before the Cash Cube fun. We took some family photos, ate some dinner (soups and sourdough), exchanged some gifts, then it was CUBE time. Clay had rented the machine (an inflatable one) and Gray had picked up cash. There was $50 for each kid. Mostly singles, but also a $5 and $20. Rules were you could NOT pick up cash from the bottom. It would tend to collect there, so those inside were encouraged to "kick it up" back into the wind stream. It's a lot harder than it looks! Once you grab some money, what do you do with it (as you want your hands free to grab some more). Kate's long hair was definitely getting in her way. Originally, the plan hadn't been for the adults to participate too, but once it got going, it was decided everyone should get a turn (there hadn't been $50 for the adults, but taking what was left from the kids section there was still some money to throw in for the bigger people). I am not sure who was able to rake in the most dough, but everyone seemed to have fun. 

Caught some of the fun on video ...

https://youtu.be/_iFxShI2hIQ

The Westra Christmas party took place on Christmas Eve, as per Westra tradition.

So many soups. Breadsticks and Brazilian Cheese Rolls. And desserts ... SO many desserts. That's not even including the candy from "The Candy Bar Game". Everyone received their photo calendars for the upcoming year, and we reflected on the year it had been by watching the annual slideshow. We were missing the Jensen family this year. It was good to get together, as Covid had cancelled the Christmas party last year.

Then it was time to go home and wait for Santa to come ...

Christmas morning! Santa DID come, and there were gifts from the kids to each other. After opening, there was some playing of games. Out back (not really a White Christmas this year), a dance-off downstairs, and then we pulled out the game table (Christmas last year) for more games. 

... and that was Christmas 2021!

Keaton - 2021 Recap

Keaton asked me what I wanted for Christmas ... I told him I wanted a write-up of the year. Not long after, I received an email "Merry Christmas Mommy" with his recap (included below). 

Starting out the year, I had still recently been promoted and moved into a van to manage job sites with Camson Electric. That meant that Cal and I didn’t work together as much because we were both in charge of different jobs. It was fun, though. I was hesitant at first because I wasn’t sure where this path was headed for me, so they had me primarily on finishes for the first few months. I was the only lead working on Edge finishes so later in the year when I started roughing houses, I got a dozen calls everyday asking about little things that only I knew about. It was cool being the only one to rely on. It was a little weird with some people because I hadn’t gone to electrical school and I had only been in the trade for a year, but I was managing people who were in school, had more experience than me, and were far older. For the most part it all worked out. Getting all this experience had allowed me and Cal to modify a few things in the house: new garage motors, new lights, and the Tesla charger (still waiting on the Tesla, it's ordered!)

It wasn’t until March when Camson finally had me start roughing houses. I had been doing finishes for about 5 months and I was sad I didn’t get to pull wire. I think my transition went pretty smoothly. They had me rough the Edge townhomes that I was finishing, which made me happy because I knew those inside and out. I did have to get used to making a ton of minor decisions every day and just making sure that my guys have something to do while maintaining material and communication with the supers and our material team. Working on all those finishes allowed me to get really good at it, but I immediately fell in love with roughs once when I bounced back in. Swinging hammers, pulling wire, and blasting Kesha on the radio all day was, and still is, my thing.

Trips! I think most, if not all, of the vacations I went on this year were with Kolby and Jamie. First, was Hawaii in April and that sure was one to remember. That was the trip where I realized I really loved hanging out with those guys and they were not only my family but my friends too. I almost cried when we had to catch our flight back. We went to Seattle in July with the whole fam and also in October just me, Dad and Coop. Lastly, there was San Francisco and that was one of my first times in a major city. All of those trips were way too fun and I owe it to the Seattle Blackham’s.

Cal and I went on a work trip to Moab with the crew leads and higher ups. We rode in Razors, ate a ton of food, and played games. That getaway along with the work Christmas party made me realize that a lot of the guys at our work are hilarious and we love hanging out with them.

I built a 9 square set this year which was a pretty big hit. I first played it a couple years ago with some high school buddies, but I knew that I could make one after learning how to work with tools. It only took a couple hours and it was well worth it. If you haven’t played the game, I highly recommend it.

Skydiving! This was a big one for me this year. So much so, it got its own post (Jumping From Planes).

Towards the end of the year really came with a cherry on top. Season 5 of mine and Cal’s favorite show Big mouth was released. For my Pa’s birthday we saw Hassan Minhaj’s new special, the King’s Jester. I started working at Nike again in my spare time since skydiving is shut down in Utah for the winter. And of course the end of the year Spotify “Wrapped” playlist released. I look forward to that every single year.

Other things that defined this year for me include a whole heap of bloody noses, getting wings at Trolley and Bdubs and Krispy Kreme donuts. Amazon online shopping really got the best of me this year! Lots of packages showing up on the doorstep, and lots of returns (luckily there is a Kohls return close by). Ever since Hawaii, I’ve been trying to catch up on older movies that have made an impact on pop culture (since our family has kinda lived under a rock my entire childhood). The rest of the year's memories include ... becoming a part of the Tesla community, pickle ball, Dr Squatch soap, Kolachas, passport and TSA shenanigans, and I’m sure a number of other things I’m forgetting about.

That’s about it. Thanks folks and see you next year.

Callahan and Kate - 2021 Recap

 

We started the year off with LOTS of home improvement projects! We had shutters installed on our windows, replaced all of our underground plumbing, converted one of our bedrooms into an in-home yoga studio, and xeriscaped our front and back yard. Cal also replaced nearly every light fixture in the house, so our house is officially up to his electrical standards. ;)

Cal completed two more semesters of school and is preparing to test for his journeyman license next year. He is quickly moving up in his company and is one of their top crew leads. I graduated Summa Cum Laude in psychology and positive psychology from the University of Utah in May. Due to the pandemic, I couldn’t bring guests to my graduation commencement, so we celebrated with a trip to Kayenta Art Village in southern Utah. Kayenta is our favorite place to rest and recharge, and we enjoyed spending some time with my grandparents after not seeing them for nearly 6 months during the pandemic. We saw Beauty and the Beast at Tuacahn Amphitheater (which was the first live event we were able to attend since March 2020), enjoyed the sun and red rocks, and shopped and ate at Xetava Garden Cafe. A few weeks later we threw a graduation party in our newly landscaped backyard with friends and family. We had a chocolate fountain, played corn hole, and sat around the fire talking and laughing well into the night. It was so nice to finally have friends and family over to see our house and feel some resemblance of normalcy.

In June we celebrated our first wedding anniversary! We had a romantic trip to the Bahamas planned, but the pandemic reared it’s ugly head once again, and the resort shut down weeks before we were supposed to arrive. Instead, we planned a trip to Oahu, Hawaii with my brother and sister-in-law in August. We ate açaí bowls, Hawaiian poke, and shaved ice nearly everyday and enjoyed sunbathing and playing cards on the beach.

In addition to the Blackham Seattle trip in July, we took an Allen family trip to Kayenta over Labor Day weekend and attended my cousin’s wedding in Arizona a few weeks later. I got to show Cal my childhood home, my first elementary school, and introduce him to some of our old neighbors. We ate at Rubios, the Mexican restaurant that my brother and I used to work at together, for nearly every meal.

In October we celebrated our 5 year dating anniversary at our favorite bar, Trolley Wing Co, and ate the best vegan wings and fries. We reminisced about our first date, our senior homecoming dance, and got all emotional about how far we have come together. Trolley has become a favorite for us (and for Keaton as well!)

Despite being vaccinated and wearing masks religiously, we came down with COVID-19 at the end of October. It felt like we had been hit by a truck for about 10 days, and had lingering symptoms for about three weeks. We both agree that getting COVID was the lowlight of 2021.

Some other miscellaneous details: Cal played in several men’s leagues and started participating in Tsports monthly basketball tournaments. Cal and his team were invited to play in the season finale tournament in November and took 3rd.

See highlights from one of the games HERE (https://youtu.be/XvgqlyACPkI)

I was a student TA at the U, which upon graduating I received a post-baccalaureate TA position that I am really enjoying! I didn’t know I had a knack for grading papers and helping students write thesis statements, but am looking into routes to possibly become a professor.

We went snowmobiling in Midway and rode razors in Moab, attended several friends weddings, met the first baby of the “friends from childhood” group, visited the Van Gogh exhibit downtown, had a little photo shoot with Jade for her 10th birthday and enjoyed babysitting her while my parents traveled this year.

... and that was 2021!

School Dance Daze ... Colton Starts

Colton is now a sophomore - which means school dances! He got asked to Sadie Hawkins in October. It was pretty late at night when giggling girls dropped off the poster and treats. It took a while for Colton to get around to answering (she knew it was a yes, but officially I had to get after him to get it done). He had help from his SILs ... K8 wrote out the words on the poster, and Sol took him to drop it off. There were additional goodies with both the ask and the answer.

Then it was Colton's turn to initiate the date ... he and his buddies asked to Winter Waltz, even though it was complicated by a basketball tournament that same day. AND it was COLD ... they were freezing for their photoshoot. Pajama theme ...

It's just the beginning I'm sure. I feel bad that I never got around to blogging all of Keaton's high school dances. He had quite, with lots of fun photos. Maybe I'll still get around to doing that. I did get a few of Landon and Callahan's prom pictures on the blog.

November 2021

 

November brings birthdays for Jen and Gray (and Mom!) and Thanksgiving. Beyond birthdays and holidays... 

• Landon and Sol finished up their Mexico trip, celebrating "Day of the Dead" while they were there. They made it over for the big meal on Thanksgiving, and for birthday cake on the big days.
• Cal and Kate got over Covid, and got their sense of smell/taste back. They did some dog-sitting and hit the Van Gough exhibit.
• Tepanyaki ... is our go-to celebratory dinner, which we sandwiched in between the birthdays.
• There was some laughing as some of us (Gray/Jen, Landon/Sol & Keaton) went downtown to see the comdedian Hasan Minhaj.
• Oven issues ... lead to some burned bread, but luckily "turning it off and on again" seemed to reset things without a repair. 
• Got screwed ... screw in a tire, but we are spoiled with an in-house air-compressor and fast service from Discount Tire. 
• Work Shifts ... Keaton never committed to electrical like Cal has, and he has taken a step back with that job, no longer a team-leader with a van (which does open up a needed spot in the driveway) and now works on Cal's crew. This was partially because he wanted to return to Nike for some holiday shifts. And some holiday shopping discounts. Mostly for the discounts I think. 
• Sadies ... Colton had his first official "date" to Sadie Hawkins (school dance). 
• Jump ... Keaton had his 50th (and final for the season) jump out of a plane.
• Kitties ... our kitties have recovered from their vet visit last month. Now they are super jealous as Coop spends a little time giving food and love to a wandering neighborhood kitty that has been stopping by with regularity.
• Still playing Pokemon Go ... Jen is more active than Cooper and actually passed him up.
• Basketball ... Cal played in a weekend tournament with buddies, and ... Colton made the high school team. Not that there was really any question there. He's a sophomore, but will only play JV and Varsity this year. They had their first game the last day of November (JV highlights HERE, and he made his first points in a Varsity game, he was the only non-senior to get any playing time). 

Now it's the countdown to Christmas. We DO have the tree up, although it's not decorated yet ... 

Thanksgiving - 2021 AND Years Past

Thanksgiving 2021 ... Ironically, we had a bigger crew for Thanksgiving dinner last year, right when Covid concerns were running really high. Clayton's family had just recovered from their Covid cases ... so we actually felt fairly safe gathering together as they hosted. This year, Clay and Ana with with in-laws, so Olivia joined us as we had a small Blackham family dinner. 

We had the married kids ... and three vegetarians, so in addition to regular turkey (which Grayson brined, then stuck in the sous vide, then browned) we had some Tofurky. Callahan gave it a thumbs up. Salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls. Lots of drinks ... I actually didn't get the turkey cookies made in time for Thanksgiving (I think we had some "pie in a pan" Cool Whip dessert) but made them the day after. 

... I realized I hadn't done a Thanksgiving post last year, or the year before, or the year before that (I had made a post about 2016 when Grayson prepared quite the feast and 2014, when Clay&Courtney hosted). So here's a peek at some of the past Thanksgivings ...

Last Year ...

Courtney and Clay were hosting in their new house (next door to their old one). Gray was on  turkey (some in the Sous Vide, some smoked) and Landon made the rolls.  I made  stuffing, jello cubes and my "pie in a pan" cool whip dessert. Dinner was yummy. We ate, then the kids went downstairs to play Jackbox while the adults talked. Some financial stuff with Olivia.  Milo the dog is HUGE, and was trying to eat everything, and did some tricks which made everyone laugh. Dessert, then home.

... and the year before that was at our house, small crew. 

First Thanksgiving without Maga.

The day before Thanksgiving there were some blizzard conditions. Landon and Sol had just flown in from Mexico (and had a scare at the airport when Sol's paperwork was taken for additional questioning). Keaton stocked up at Nike (employee 50% discount) and Cal and Kate's hamster died. Hubs had the turkey brining in a bucket on the front porch ... the mail lady wasn't quite sure what to make of that. 

We were ready for a calm Thanksgiving day. It was small, as Gray's family was taking turns with the in-laws and Cal&Kate were with her family. Sol had to work, so Landon came and grabbed the littles and they went to a movie while Gray and I prepped the meal. I got the rolls going, sticking them in Keaton's room with a small heater as the day was quite cold. Gray got the turkey on the smoker and prepped the potatoes. Sol ended up getting off work early and was able to join us, and Keaton had invited a couple of his friends to come as well. It was a very laid back Thanksgiving day. Landon, Sol and the two little went to another movie after dinner.  Keaton headed into his "Black Friday" shift at Nike ... but he didn't make it there without incident. It was NOT how we wanted our Thanksgiving day to go (Toyota Truck Totaled). The end of 2019 was rough ... and then came 2020. Oye!

... and 2018

Thanksgiving at Maga's house ... cute decor and disposable dishes. LOTS of food and a chocolate fountain.  Aunt Olivia was recovering from a bad tooth infection and could barely talk, eating was hard too. Landon brought a bunch of dice and we had a big 10-person game of Pirate after dinner (should I mention that I won?) Then it was movie time as most of the crew headed out to "Ralph Wrecks the Internet". 

2017.. we hosted (Clay&Courtney went with her side of the family)

Thanksgiving was on November 23 ... I remember my rolls didn't rise (it was cold!), the prime rib was done early and the turkey was taking longer than expected. Added Brazillian cheese rolls to the menu and could have used double (or triple) ovens. Sent home leftovers with family and still had plenty for us too. 

2016 was at our house, and Grayson went all out with a few turkeys done up in different ways. 2015 the whole Blackham clan went downtown to GrandAmerica for the buffet there for Thanksgiving. 2014 was hosted at Clay and Courtney's house. 2013 it was at Pammy's, 2012 it was at Clay and Courtney's and Gray deep fried a turkey. Probably at Pammy's every year before that ...

 

Keaton - Jumping From Planes

 

This last year, Keaton decided jumping out of planes would be a fun activity. He'd done it once before, a tandem jump (strapped to an instructor) a couple years ago. He did that again, then took steps to jumping on his own. Many Saturdays and Sundays were spent in Tooele at the airfield and up in the air. He even got Landon to jump once! He invested in his own helmet and gear. He'd share videos and recap the experiences for me when he returned safely home. Below, is his write up, and one of the videos showing some of the tricks/skills. One thing he said many don't realize is how LOUD it is, with the wind whipping by as you free fall.

I first jumped out of a plane in 2019 with one of my buddies for his birthday (see that experience HERE). We both loved it so much, and it resonated with me for two years until I finally looked into it more,  seeing how I could get more involved. It was surprisingly easy. 

I took a short ground school class where they taught you all of the basics and after that, you’re good to start jumping! I did another training tandem so I could pilot the parachute and remember the feel for what it’s like up there... and then after that you just put on a suit and a rig and you’re good to go. 

You have to complete about 13 jumps accompanied by an instructor who assigns you maneuvers to do while free falling. If you successfully do them and maintain control, you pass and move onto the next category. CatA is focused on stability, altitude awareness, good form, and practice touches. CatB is team turns and forward movement with instructors latched. Then I took a recommended course at iFly where I got 15 minutes of freefall time, which is similar to 15 jumps. This helped a lot with my form and stability. CatC is most of what CatA is except the instructors let go and you maintain your form by yourself (this is the hardest for most people, me included). After C is where the fun begins. Solo exits (no instructor latched) from this point on. D1 and D2 are 90, 180, and 360 degree turns. E1 and E2 are difficult maneuvers like front flips, back flips, and barrel rolls to prove recovery and stability. CatF has two parts: one is tracking (I call it Iron Man flying) where you move in the air to gain horizontal distance and the second is Hop n Pops. Normally we’re jumping out 13 thousand feet in the air with almost a minute of free fall in contrast to a hop n pop where you jump out at 5 thousand feet and pull your parachute about 5 seconds of leaving the aircraft. This is to practice the emergency exit procedure in the event of an aircraft malfunction. You can do them for fun, though. I love hop n pops. Then G1, G2, and CatH are all focused on docking (linking up with another person in the air). These are all pretty tricky because where you go and how you fall in the air is all dependent on your form and maneuvers. Lastly is the check dive or graduation jump. In this one, you combine nearly all of the maneuvers in previous categories into one jump. After you’ve completed your check dive, AFF classes, student status requirements, written test, and 25 jumps, you should be able to receive your A license which allows you to jump with any other licensed jumper. I was able to get 50 jumps in this year and I couldn’t be more grateful. There’s only going to be more to come.

Here's a peek at some of the video ...

https://youtu.be/SpLwsoy553k

October 2021

 

Another October in the books ... adventures, eating, etc.  Here's the recap:

• Mexico Adventures: Landon and Sol were off to Mexico at the end of the month. More pictures in November's update ;) 
• Gray's Getaways: Gray his St. George for some RZR riding, and also went to the sand dunes. He, Keaton and Cooper had a quick trip to Seattle to visit Kolby and Jami. Their return trip was scheduled for late Sunday, but their flight was canceled, so they stayed another night and were able to rebook in the morning. The trip worked out perfect with Cooper's school (finals the week they left, but it was easy to finish up early, and no school Monday). Keaton's work missed him Monday, especially as they didn't have Cal either ...
• Catching Covid: Our first immediate family Covid connection, Cal and K8 got sick and tested positive. While they'd had the J&J vaccine, both felt pretty yucky and lost their sense of smell. They are recovering and ready to re-enter the world.
• Kitties: Landon took the two kitties in to the vet for a visit and some dental work. They were not happy little kitties. Meow!
• Basketball: Most of Colton's games have been in Utah County, which is too far for Jen to travel, so when there was a local tournament (Bingham High) Jen was happy to go grab some video and cheer the team on ... despite the $30 entry fee. Colton has been going to school early to shoot, and has open gym after school as well. Lots of basketball, and tryouts coming up next month.
• Social Sophomore: For Colton, school is sports, social ... then studies. While he is getting good grades, it's all about basketball and hanging out with friends. He and his friends hit a haunted house, and he's often out late on weekends (much to a tired mommy's chagrin, although he can often get a ride home afterward which helps).  He went bowling with Aunt Olivia and the cousins too.
• School Stuff: Cooper's school has been going smoothly. Jen isn't nearly as involved as she was the last two years. Still helping some with English (although beyond the brainstorming and nudging, this assignment was all Coop ... Literacy Narrative). Colton was struggling a bit in AP Physics, so Jen has become his personal tutor there (as she basically took high school physics with Cooper last year). 
• Food: Grayson continues to make gourmet meals - smoking, sous vide and on the grill. Fun things like cheese dips and popcorn too - pictured are three different popcorn kernels. Did you know that when it comes to popcorn, there are two types, BUTTERFLY and MUSHROOM. We'd discovered mushroom popcorn a while back and fell in love, but then found a light/white butterfly kernel we adore too. With Halloween around the corner, candy corn has come out, and with the cooler weather, we had our first official soup&breadsticks of the season. 

Jen continues to make sourdough loaves two-three times a week as well. Zumba is still going strong, but the change in the weather has had an impact on pickleball (we were early morning players, and while it has been nice enough later in the day, that hasn't fit into the schedule quite as well). Coop jogs miles on the treadmill almost every day. When Gray isn't making marvelous meals, he is busy with work and RZR stuff. Keaton has been working hard, finishing up his class at SLCC and is still jumping out of airplanes. Still a lot of Pokemon Go going on too.

Although we had a pretty good pumpkin year in the garden (one of the few things that thrived) no one got around to carving jack-o-lanterns this year. Didn't get our jack-o-lantern cookies made either. We had trick-or-treaters come both Saturday and Sunday nights. It was lovely weather for it!

Here's the recap "one second" style ...

Cooper - Puffed Up on a Plane

Whereas #1, #3 and #5 have all had allergy issues with NUTS, that isn't something we thought #4 struggled with. But ... maybe he just hasn't ever eaten nuts. He "doesn't like" peanut butter, but I don't know that he's ever even had it. Same goes for walnuts, cashews, pecans, etc. We aren't a very nutty family (I mean, we are ... just not edibley).   

When Cooper went with Gray and Keaton to Seattle, they flew first class and had some nice warm cookies given to them on the plane. We don't know what was in the cookies, but ALLERGY ALERT!  Itchy eyes, puffed up face. I was really surprised the airline didn't have something as simple as Benadryl as a safety precaution. I think an epi-pen is required equipment in the first aid kit for airplanes (and rightfully so!) It didn't get to that extent (where epinephrine was needed), but poor Coop was super miserable. As they got off the plane, he had a little trouble staying upright. He said he almost passed out.

As with the other boys, the nut-allergies don't seem to be life threatening. They don't close off the airway, at least not completely. Given some time (and some Benadryl) the boys get back to normal. Cooper had to sleep off his allergy attack so then he could enjoy the rest of his Seattle vacation.

Kudos to Cooper for taking a picture to memorialize this moment (even if it's not something we really want to remember)... and no more nuts! 

Cooper has had a few skin reactions (Itchy Bumps) over the years. Sometimes having issues with the neighbor's dog, but other times being okay. Very inconsistent. Dang allergies!

September 2021

 

September Recap ...

• School Stuff ... school is back in full swing. Colton was a little worried about going back full time (after the flexibility and easy hours of his last year where he was half-online) but he's done fine. In fact, he goes early and stays late. Very involved in activities, and he got asked to Sadies already (it's not until November!) Cooper is moving forward with his online classes, and his work at the elementary school each day.
• Mr. Monarch ... we were lucky enough to catch our caterpillar move into the chrysalis stage (it was SO cool) but missed when it emerged. But it seemed healthy and happy and we released it into the wild and wished it luck on its way. 
• Basketball ...Colton has had some games with his Wolves team, and practices before and after school with the West Jordan team. Callahan finished up his men's league, they ended down by one point in the championship game, but still got t-shirts ;) 
• Marrieds ... Cal and K8 were off to sunny Arizona with her family. Sol threw Landon a little surprise party for his birthday (which isn't much of a surprise with Ring notifications, oops!). Keaton took Landon skydiving to keep him busy while Sol set things up. 
• Skydiving ... Keaton has continued his jumping, going several times over the weekends. 
• Travel ... In addition to Cal&K8's Arizona trip, Grayson and Keaton had a little getaway to San Francisco.  Keaton and Cal went to Moab for a work retreat. Grayson and a work buddy hit Oktoberfest.
• Looking at Leaves ... Grayson LOVES the changing leaves, and had several canyon drives to take them in. Gray and Jen went up Butterfield Canyon ... the cliff and narrow roads had Jen a little on edge, literally!

Jen continues on with Zumba, and she and Cooper are still playing pickleball and ping pong too. Jen and Sol were able to attend the baby shower for little Evan. Cooper got over his cold (although the stuffy nose is seeming to persist) but Jen came down with it too and had a couple yucky days. And FOOTBALL has started up, and Cooper loves watching all the highlights/plays with Redzone. He's signed up for his fantasy football league again, but has had less than an auspicious start (he's taken the title the last two years, but we'll have to see if he can do it again). 

That's September with the Blackhams!

Monarch Memories

 This will be backdated to September 2021.

In May of 2021, I posted this picture to the "Utah Friends of Monarchs" Facebook group (because Facebook has groups for everything! It's very interesting and informative). I've liked monarchs, and butterflies in general, but Grayson grew up with the whole experience. He could find caterpillars on milkweed and bring a couple home, to watch them grow bigger, create their chrysalis, emerge and fly away. It's been something he's wanted to re-create with our kids, but monarchs/caterpillars have become nearly non-existent in Utah.  Neither of us had seen one for years. In 2019, I heard about a monarch release, and Gray and I went and it was awesome (My Monarch Man). 

My point in posting this picture was to say "I wish the milkweed plant stayed at this stage!" Right here, it looks like an attractive little bush. Unfortunately, it keeps on growing and growing and gets a bit out of control. It also send up tons of little shoots, so we get more milkweed popping up all throughout the flowerbed. BUT ... it's for butterflies. The HOPE that someday, we might see a monarch, maybe get an egg. 

It happened ... and it was everything we'd hoped it would be.

Monarch 2021

Coop and I had been out and about, and pulled up into the driveway when some movement by the milkweed caught my eye. It was a monarch. I squealed and jumped out of the car, pulling out my phone to catch it on camera (and Coop back in the car didn't know what was going on, "Mom, should I turn the car off?") I was so excited and immediately shared the video with Grayson. There was the small moment when she paused on the smaller off-shoot from the main plant. I looked closer ... and it was an egg! So small.

So we started our monarch observations ... about 10 days after the egg had been laid, I looked closer at the milkweed and there were tiny holes in the leaves, and little tiny black dots (poop) on the bottom of the enclosure. The caterpillar was so small, you could barely see it! Every day it would grow bigger and bigger, eating more leaves, more little black dots. After another 10 days, we knew it was time for the next steps. We made sure there were a couple of sturdy sticks, and a couple days later, the caterpillar moved into the "J" pose. After they assume this position, it isn't long before they move into the chrysalis stage.

A chrysalis is different from a cocoon (which is what moths make, spinning silk around themselves). Chrysalises are not silk. Butterflies molt into a chrysalis, which is a hard exoskeleton covering that protects the developing butterfly beneath. Grayson happened to be checking on the caterpillar after work when he called out "it's happening" ... and we got it on video. It was crazy to watch, as the skin splits and and there is so much wiggling working it off, leaving the green blob underneath, which then hardens into the cool looking chrysalis. It was just over 10 days later, when the monarch emerged. We'd noticed the chrysalis getting darker, a little transparent, but unfortunately we missed the coming out party. We looked, and there it was. A beautiful butterfly. After giving it a day to recover and gain some strength, it was time to say goodbye, as it flew off into the blue sky.

Summer 2021 will definitely be remembered for its monarch memories!

Maybe we can do it again ... our milkweed comes back every year. 

Hopefully the butterflies will too.

I kept the stick, and the chrysalis shell.

Official Timeline: 

• August 9, 2021 - Monarch flyby and egg
• August 19, 2021 - Hatch (when we noticed anyway)
• September 1, 2021 - Chrysalis
• September 12, 2021 - Butterfly
• September 13, 2021 - Release

 

Cooper - Literacy Narrative

A couple years ago, Keaton had an assignment for his English 1010 class ... a "Writing Self-Portrait". Cooper decided to take English 1010 as a concurrent class his senior year (not as interested in college credit as he was only having to take a semester rather than a full year). Even though Cooper's class was through Dixie College, and Keaton's had been through SLCC, Cooper had an almost identical assignment. A "Personal Literacy Narrative". The best thing about "personal" assignments for school, as that the end result is often blog-worthy. You can find Keaton's Writing Reflection on the Westra blog (along with other poetry/writing from that side of the family) and Cooper's is featured below (and the original GoogleDoc in MLA format here).

Writing about Writing

School is starting up again, which is already bad enough, but I also have a college-level class of my least favorite subject, English. And I know that you may be thinking why I would take a difficult class of my least favorite subject. To that, I say that the only one semester long class enticed me more than the difficulty shied me away. English class, especially the topic of reading and writing, has always been the worst part about school, and I don’t think a college class is going to change the way I feel about it.

To my non-surprise, in the starting weeks there is already a pretty big writing assignment to work on: a literacy narrative. I gloss over the requirements.

“Four pages, one-thousand words, double spaced with MLA format. This isn’t anything new.” I whisper to myself. To me, this was relatively familiar territory. Just the year prior at the end of the school year, I did a personal narrative in my English class (First Job). Generally, the most difficult task is figuring out what I want to write about. I figured I could just tweak the narrative I'd done last year. I proceed to scroll through more of the requirements. I was met with Step 1: Choosing a topic. As I read through some suggestions that we could write about, my heart sank.

• “Any early memory about writing, reading, speaking, or another form of literacy that you recall vividly.”
• “The origins of your current attitudes about writing, reading, speaking, or doing something.”
• “A literacy task that you found (or still find) especially difficult or challenging.”

I knew “literacy” was in the name of the assignment, but I didn’t realize that the subject had to relate to it. My opinions and past experiences of writing were already overwhelmly negative, but to write… about myself writing, I don’t think it can get worse than that.

After I read the topic suggestions and realized that what I was initially going to write about wouldn’t fit those requirements, I kind of mentally shut down. But this was something I needed to face, and if the first assignment in this class was all it needed to make me feel this way, it didn’t speak well for how I would perform in this class.

When I come up blank in English class, somebody I could look to for guidance is my mom. Ironically enough, my mom absolutely loves reading and writing, and that was something that didn’t pass on from her to me. She doesn’t go a day without reading, she will read hundreds of books a year. She reads multiple books at a time, and whenever she is walking around the house, she has an earbud with an audiobook playing at all times. On top of that, once she is done reading a book, she will recap her book and write up a book review… for fun. That is something that is just unfathomable to me. Nonetheless, she has always been a great help to me in assignments like this, and she probably knew more about my experiences with reading and writing than I did.

My mom and I sat across the granite countertop as we brainstormed my past literary experiences. One thing that we were both aware of was despite my loathing of the subject, I was still pretty good at it and received good grades in English throughout the years. Generally, I think there is a strong correlation between someone's least favorite subject and their worst subject, but that wasn’t the case for me. Aside from some struggles with reading comprehension, I was pretty good in English class, and a really good writer. In the 5th grade, when our teacher required us to get a minimum score of 24 on our assignments in Utah Compose, I went above and beyond multiple times with scores of 27, 28, and even a perfect 30 once. Unfortunately, even with good grades and praise from my teachers, when the next writing assignment came by, I dreaded starting it.

My mom tried coming up with some positive experiences I had with either reading or writing, because they can’t all be negative. Right?

“What about the book Hatchet? I remember you really enjoying it, and you even read the sequels to it,” my mom inquired. It is true that I really enjoyed Hatchet by Gary Paulsen when I first read it. Even before I read it, it really stood out to me on the bookshelf at my home, with its bright green cover fading from light to dark, and a silhouette of a hatchet to top it off. I first read it in 5th grade as a class-wide assignment. We read the book with dark green tissue paper covering the light, dimming our surroundings and immersing ourselves in the forest the main character was in. And when I read ahead at home, I unintentionally immersed myself into it by being in a dimly lit room and sitting on a dark forest-green chair. Later on in school, we had to do a writing assignment on a book of our choice, and I decided to re-read Hatchet and write about it. Hatchet, to this day, is the only book that I have re-read and read the sequels to.

“Yeah, it is probably my favorite book I have ever read. But there is one big issue -- I don’t even remember the main character’s name,” I reply... If I can’t name the main character in what I think is my favorite book, then to consider that any other book had an impact on me is slim to none. Despite my mom’s best efforts, I would only read and write when it was required.

“Do you remember the custom bookmarks you made for the books you read?” questioned my mom. “Maybe they made reading those books more enjoyable.”

“I remember making them, but I think I enjoyed designing and coloring in the bookmarks more than I enjoyed reading the books that they were for, “ I answered. Back in elementary school, when I started reading a new book, sometimes I would make a bookmark that I can use solely for this specific book. I remember doing it with some of the books from the I Survived series, My Zombie Goldfish, as well as Hatchet. But that was just artistic, and none of the experience had to do with me enjoying reading.

My mom felt prompted to dig up some of my previous works of writing after we talked. Among all of the writing I had done, the most notable were some journal entries from when I was very young, and letters I sent to my brother when he was on a mission from 5th - 7th grade. Looking back at what I had written, I was a completely different writer than I am today. It seems unfair to compare my writing from when I was a child to how I write English assignments, but they were just so unfamiliar to me. My writing was very expressive with using all caps and exclamation points, and of course there were the spelling errors. Even when I was younger, these were all involuntary, and it was my mom trying to urge me to write. In 2019, she had me write up a trip to Seattle, as well as a summary of what happened when I won the fantasy football league I was in. It may always take my mom’s push to start writing, but the absence of a letter grade at the end of it made it that more tolerable.

I have made my feelings about reading and writing pretty clear throughout this. I didn’t get to everything that irks me, like my struggles with the SRI test, the absolute absurdity of metaphors in novels, as well as the made-up symbolism; but the picture is there. In comparison to all the other main classes you take in school (math, science, social studies), English is much different. In those classes, there is always a definitive answer, but in English, everything is subjective, and every person could have a different perspective. So combining that with something personal is really intimidating to me.

During the process of writing this narrative, I came to realize that I took the term “Literacy Narrative” too literally, and I could have written about any experience that I learned from. But, I was in far too deep, and changing topics probably would have resulted in another mental blockage. However, I was still able to find out something that I have always just brushed past. Whenever I heard the terms “reading” or “writing,” I automatically associated those words with school, English class, books, and essays. I always looked upon it with a pessimistic view instead of looking on the bright side. Without reading, I wouldn’t be able to look up stats in NBA and NFL games, I wouldn’t be able to read the cards in games that I play with my family, I wouldn’t be able to read the subtitles when I watch anime. Without writing, I wouldn’t be able to text my friends and family. I have never really enjoyed reading or writing, and I don’t think this is going to change. But with this assignment, I think I will be more aware that I am fortunate to have these skills, and thankful that I have them.

********************************************************

I drove myself a bit crazy looking for this picture ... it wasn't here on the Blackham Blog, but I was sure I'd done a post about it and could see this photo in my mind. I'd used it on a post on my JenBsJourney blog (Books the Boys are Reading). I was able to find a few more of Cooper's bookmarks to take a picture of and preserve here.