December 2022

 

December is done, and so is the year. December is dedicated to Christmas prep and the holiday itself - but let's not forget Colton's birthday and basketball. Landon got us interested in the World Cup, and we had the games on and were watching the finals.  Here's the recap for month ...

• Watching the Weather: There were a couple BIG snows ... the snowpack actually looks pretty good this year, already! One snowfall was "dirty" which coated the cars and required them all to get in to the carwash.
• Auto Issues: We were losing air in one of the Tesla tires ... nail in the tire. Again. Unrepairable. Again. Mentioned last month and this was the same situation (not a third one) but the diagnosis was the end of November, and the trip in for the replacement was this month (they didn't have it in stock, luckily it was a slow leak, and we have an air compressor in the garage). Had to take the Durango in to check the "check engine" light, but it didn't seem to be anything much. 
• Medical Moments: Grayson got in for his first colonoscopy - everything was fine. He's still been struggling with skin issues, had a biopsy and is trying some new medication now. Colton has a monster wart (it's named "Daisy") and while we got into the dermatologist this month, it's not a quick/easy fix. With basketball, Colton decided to wait and not risk anything interfering (more than it might already) with his fingers. Keaton has been struggling with carpal tunnel issues, and went ahead and had the surgery at the end of the month. We are hopeful that it will be worth it and he won't have problems with it anymore. With Jen's bonk at the beginning of the year, we hit our deductible and out of pocket, so went ahead with more doctor's visits than we might have otherwise. 
• Basketball: Colton's season is in full swing, with games Tuesdays/Fridays. The first three games away were losses, but then Colton had great games at home (tied the school record for most points in a single game, 37) and they won their first on the road on his birthday. They played three games over the Christmas break. Cal's men's league finished up their season, and they won the championship in OT! 
• Birthday: Colton turned 17 ... his birthday was on gameday, and we hardly saw him. He got his cake a couple days later, we took the picture ... I don't know if he even ate any. He got some WJ Basketball clothes for his birthday.
• Exercise: Gray took a picture of the Peloton at the Symphony work gym at Jen's request ... he's been enjoying it, so it needed to be documented. Jen continues to teach Zumba, several Christmas songs for the holiday season. The home gym gets a workout too from Cooper, Landon and Jen (all 24 Christmas movies featured were watched while walking on the treadmill).
• Work and Family Parties: Cal & Keaton had a work party with Camsen. Keaton needed to take a white elephant, and I pulled out the HUGE Crazy Frog doll I'd purchased years ago, for just such a need. He said it was a hit. We had the Blackham Bash on December18, with gingerbread house decorating and the cash cube again. On the Westra side, the gathering was on Christmas Eve and was held at the new house in Highland. Candybar game, calendars and slideshow per usual.
• Kitchen Creations: Jen continually makes sourdough, but did skip a week to prep for parties. You can see a little bit more about the December Desserts in their own blog post. Chex mix, swig cookies, brownies, rolls and breadsticks. Chicken noodle soup for both gatherings as well. 
• Blackham Christmas Pizza: Christmas gifts are always a bit of a challenge to people who already have everything they need/want. In previous years, Gray has been out buying last minute giftcards. This year, we just did cash ... but it was creative! Jen ordered some pizza boxes and Grayson took over from there, designing, folding and even adding "pepperoni" pieces. 

In past years, we've invited the folks out for games on New Year's Eve. The weather was iffy, and now that they have to travel much further, they elected to stay closer to home. We were pretty boring on December 31 ... the boys were watching TV, and Gray and Jen went to bed around 10.00. Zzzzzzzz.

November 2022

November ... Thanksgiving, birthdays, basketball, and a few other things going on. Here's a recap of the  month:

• Basketball: There were tryouts for high school basketball. Colton will be starting Varsity this year. They've been having practices, conditioning, fundraisers (chick-fil-a night night) and had their first game. Callahan is playing in a men's league on Wednesday nights too. 
• Birthdays: Grandma/Margie, Mom/Jen and Dad/Gray all have November birthdays. We got the traditional white cake with buttercream frosting from Sam'sClub (although it's no longer standard, you have to special order it) and had the folks over. We recreated a cute picture from 13 years ago and played some games. Gray had a lovely bouquet delivered. 
• Eating Out: The Westra side got together with all the adults for a dinner at Asian Star to celebrate Margie's 80th birthday. On the Blackham side, we went to Olive Garden for Ana's birthday. For a Jen/Gray birthday dinner, we went to Mountain Mike's for yummy pizza, breadsticks and mini churros. 
• Sadies: Colton and crew went to the school Sadie Hawkins dance. The theme was "Hollywood" and Colton and his date went as a Topgun couple. 
• Gray's Getaways: Grayson spent two weekends in St. George riding the red rocks in his RZR.
• Medical: Jen had her follow-up testing ... an MRI and an EEG. While neither was terrible, she doesn't really want to do either again (and glad to get them done this year when the deductible and out-of-pocket has been met). Keaton had a consultation for his wrist - carpal tunnel surgery is scheduled for next month. Gray got into the dermatologist to deal with a rash on his ankle. Colton had his annual physical (required for school sports). 
• Car Troubles: Colton's Charger had brake problems, shaking as he slowed. We were able to get it in for repairs (grateful to have Keaton's Corolla as a backup). A tire on the Tesla was losing air, again! We'd just replaced one of it's tires (not-repairable) a couple months ago, and the Durango had been in twice for nails in the tires. It's that new neighborhood under construction right by us! Like last time, the tire was not repairable and had to be replaced. 
• Ice Issues: The ice maker in the fridge likes to go on the fritz. It will stop making ice, for no apparent reason ... and then start up again. We've learned to just wait it out and are grateful for the pebbled ice maker downstairs. This month, the ice maker would pour water directly into the ice box. Our ice tools (pick and scoop) had been left in the tray and got completely encased in ice.
• Thanksgiving: We had a small family Thanksgiving. Check out the blog post for more on that.

We don't have any trees in our yard, but still manage to get piles and piles of leaves. Green waste pickup ends the last week in November, and we still had lots of leaves (currently piled up in the garden). Gray and the older boys indulged in a steamed artichoke ... and ironically, the next day, Jen's book had a character eating a steamed artichoke (described in detail). Funny how that happens. Landon went to a shooting range with buddies and has been really busy at work. LKL had a grand opening of their new location off Mountain View.  Gray and Keaton did a work activity handing out blankets to help the homeless, and the Westras (both Shane and Alicia, and Mom and Dad) made the move to the new Highland house, and Scott and Amy completed the sale and official ownership of the Havenmoor house. 

Here's the one second every day video ...

https://youtu.be/O16x_oGkf7g

October 2022

October was pretty busy with continued home improvements, basketball, family gatherings, food and a couple little trips. Here's the recap ...

• Master Bath: Gray and Landon tore out the master bath (tub/shower) and we now have a nice walk-in. The toilet was also replaced, with a higher seat and a bidet lid.
• Temperature: We had to turn on the heat!
• Leaves: Gray and I took another trip up to Butterfield Canyon, this time in the RZR. There is a separate post about the trip. UnbeLEAFable. And although we don't have any trees in our yard, there are still lots of leaves! The last "lawn mow" of the season was mostly leaves.
• Getaways: Gray, Keaton and Landon had a weekend in Moab, and Cal & Kate were road-tripping for a week (during SLCCs Fall Break, which was a week before Colton's). They started in St. George, then went to Tucson AZ for a few days. Then driving back through Vegas for a couple nights, and back to St. George, before heading back home. They were gone Oct14-23. 
• Family Gatherings: Wendy, Josh and Jenna were visiting during their Fall Recess, so there was an impromptu Westra family dinner at Red Robin for those who could make it. On the Blackham side, family got together on Oct16, acknowledging the absence of Pammy for three years now. Clay prepped mucho meat for gourmet tacos.  A little later in the month, there was a birthday gathering for Aunt Olivia. 
• Medical: Jen finally got into the neurologist (a follow up from her fall in January) and will have a couple of tests (MRI, EEG) next month.  Gray had a coronary calcium scan (just precautionary, checking out the arteries) and Keaton got some new medication for the rash on his arm. 
• Basketball: Colton had workouts with Metro, and Coach Scott throughout the month, and a few games with his Wolves team. Most of the fall games had been in Utah County, but there was a local tournament at Alta, so I went to watch and video. Here's the highlights  (game 1, game 2, game 3). Colton and his buddies also went to a Jazz game ... Colton drove.
• Pickleball: We got in a final game of outdoor pickleball before the weather changed, and we even got Keaton to join us finally!
• Food: New additions to the family menu ... chicken wings and roasted baby potatoes. I've been making fried chicken tenders in breading for quite a while, but tried battered tenders using simple sourdough starter - very yummy! We had Papa Murphy's pizza a couple times, and with Halloween this month, had to make pumpkin/jack-o-lantern cookies. 
• Palloween: Grayson's work has a "Palloween" for employees, and Grayson went as Walter White/Heisenberg.
• Halloween: We didn't get too many trick-or-treaters this year, even though it was a nice night weather wise. The kids are always happy to help out finishing up the candy. 

 That was October ... now, November!

Thanksgiving 2022

 

I've has been doing a lot of family history blogging for The Westra Way, and a visit to the folks house had me bringing home a big box of "family artwork" from the Westra siblings over the years. In it, there was found a creative "hand turkey" I made back in elementary school. There's a big box of Blackham Boy artwork as well, so looking through it, there were more examples of creative turkeys made by the boys. Fun how different they all are!

Thanksgiving morning started with Colton off to do some early morning training with the boy's basketball team. They ran the track at school, and they took a selfie! Yeah! I'm thankful for that! Grayson was busy prepping for the meal. One turkey breast in the sous vide, and another on the smoker. Injected with a yummy buttery solution before cooking. 

Grayson also makes the world's best mashed potatoes! Instead of making rolls from scratch this year, we elected to use the Beehive Lion's House rolls. They had been set out (in the fridge) the night before, and didn't raise as much as I would have thought. They still didn't seem to rise much, and I was a bit worried they weren't going to. After being stuck in a sunbeam, they got a jumpstart and were big and beautiful. I had made Jello cubes (no cranberry sauce, but these have a similar look, right?) and added basil carrots and simple stove top to the meal. Gray had picked up a HoneyBaked Ham ... not that we were lacking on food! Cool Whip dessert for after (my "pie" in a pan). Of course, since we have vegan K8 and Cal, we had some vegetarian options as well.

Grayson and Landon needed to lay down to rest and digest after the meal. I worked on some clean-up and the rest of the crew was up for some games. First up though, as they had been discussing Pokemon, I had mentioned it was too bad that they didn't fill their minds with all sorts of other facts (rather than Pokemon evolutions, attacks, regions, etc). I mentioned listing the presidents and the states on a map. That last suggestion peaked their interest for a contest to see who could get the most correct. I printed out some blank maps and everyone had five minutes to fill it in. 

Colton was the clear winner - completed first and fast, with everything correct. One could surmise he had a bit of an advantage, being in U.S. History currently in school, but Colton said they hadn't really talked about the states, and he hadn't really studied the states since elementary school. We reminisced a bit about the boy's 5th grade programs back at Terra Linda, with an "America" theme, and the song "50 Nifty United States". In fact, there was a post about it, and there's video! See it HERE. Then there were games. SET and CTM. It was a small, family Thanksgiving. We had our meal at 1:00, and Cal&K8 headed off to another Thanksgiving with her side of the family. 

There had been the annual turkey cookies early in the week also. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Home Improvement 2022

Hard things happening in 2022 ... like concrete and marble. The backyard area and driveway redone, and the master bath remodeled. Here's a peek at the process, the before and after. 

The Blackham backyard ... the back and side area. Once upon a time, when the kids were small, there was a swing set and a big sandbox here. As the boys got older, there was a trampoline. Gray almost put in an in-ground trampoline at one point.  Then came the ducks ... and for a few years, this was definitely duck domain! Then, it went a little wild. Time for transformation in 2022. Gray hired some guys to do a "cleanup" taking out all the trees/weeds and junk that had accumulated. The after was nice(er) ... but we knew it wouldn't stay that way. So we had concrete poured, a secondary patio, and also extra parking as needed. Let's see the weeds try to grow through that! 

The backyard patio was completed in June. 

... and as long as we were contracting concrete, might as well redo the driveway, right?

The driveway never looked so good ... seriously. On the original pour, the third car section got away and was lumpy/bumpy from the start (you can see it in the corner of one of the photos above).  The driveway was done at the end of September. 

Inside the house ... the master shower was getting a redo. A jetted tub can be nice. A shower/bath combo is fine. A jetted bath/shower combo ... no. The jets had become infested with yuck, just from the water from the shower coming down. We didn't dare use the tub ... so the tub had to go. Might as well have a nice roomy walk-in shower. Ala October. 

Gray and the boys tore the old shower/bath out. As the biggest piece of marble (back wall/window) was being installed ... crack. We could either wait for a new piece, or they could put a long piece over the defect ... we chose the latter option, and actually really like the look of the little ledge under the window. The new shower has two side sprays as well as the head, and it's all electronic. Just press a button, and the shower (within a couple of seconds) is at the exact temperature you have it set for. You can have two profiles, if you like different levels of warm/hot (and of course you can always adjust things manually). After Jen's fall in January, safety handles and a shower bench were additions. 

The two toilets upstairs (master and main) were also replaced ... fancy schmancy bidet for the master. It has a heated seat, and soft-close lids. They are both a little higher too.  What will the next home improvements be?

UnbeLEAFable

 

Butterfield Canyon is just a little to the West of us. Close enough that it can be a quick trip to check out the fall colors. We went once in September, then again in early October (pictures above are from the second visit). The road is a little narrow, with steep cliffs as you progress to the top. Makes Jen nervous! The second trip was in the RZR, which was a different, open air, experience.

Here's a little video highlight from the drive ...

Gray did a few drives up Bountiful Canyon after work ... he really loves looking at the leaves. He'd hoped we might make it to check out Nebo, or the Alpine Loop, but we didn't find the time this year.

September 2022

September 2022... it started with new concrete in the driveway, and ended with the demolition of the master shower. Home Improvement oh-oh-oh (think Tim the tool-man Taylor). There were some little get-aways, family fun, looking at leaves and a birthday.  The most momentous moment was Cooper getting his license!

• License to Drive: It's been a loooong road. We originally attempted getting a learner's permit before his sophomore year, but he didn't pass the test on the first try and wasn't up to a second attempt. We let it go. When it was time for Colton to get his learner's, I made an appointment for Coop too, and we did some group study. They both passed that time. Then, practice. Just the small roads, just to/from his work (very close by). He had to get his license by October 2022, or he'd need to re-take the written test. As the deadline grew closer, we pushed a little more. He had one session with a driving school, and then we arranged for a driving test with one of Cal's old coaches (who had given Cal his driving test back in the day). Coop passed! So the final step was a stop at the DLD. Now, Mom doesn't have to drive him to/from work. 
• Park City: Gray, Jen, Landon and Coop did a little Park City day, riding the lifts up looking at the leaves and enjoying the cooler temperatures the mountains provide. Jen got in some PokemonGo and left a pokemon in a "gym" there on the mountain, where it stayed for the next month and a half. Maybe I'll get a separate post up with additional photos/details of the day.
• Eating Out: We had a family dinner (Landon's birthday) at Cheesecake Factory, and a full cheesecake was Landon's birthday cake this year. There was a breakfast out at Virg's, and Olivia took Landon out for some Auntie time. 
• How Does Your Garden Grow: It's been harvest time! Tons of tomatoes, so many cucumbers, lots of zucchini. Several pumpkins, and a couple of them are really good sized! Our tomato plants got hit with tomato worms. We had a caterpillar conundrum as I brought a couple in, thinking we might watch them pupate into moths ... but they eat SO much, and there is so much poop. And then ... the lid was left a little open, and one of them disappeared. It was later found outside ... we're not exactly sure how that happened (did it escape through a door left open? did a cat carry it out?) but was glad it was found. The next hornworm went to a friend who has toads, who like to eat the worms for dinner. 
• Getaways: Gray had a weekend away in Moab with work buddies ... and this coincided with Cal and Keaton down there for their work. The guys did manage a meet up. Cal and Kate had a little overnighter camping trip with friends. Gray went to Oktoberfest with a friend.
• Homecoming: Colton and his basketball buds did a group date to the school homecoming. I did get Colton to give me a little write up. See it here (Homecoming Colton ~ Junior Year). We even let him show off by taking the Tesla.
• Looking at Leaves: Grayson LOVE Autumn! He took several rides in the mountains checking out the leaves, and then He and Jen went up Butterfield Canyon (to the West, close to home). 
• Family Fun: There have been lots of board games and card games per usual for the Blackham Bunch. Hackysack is another activity the boys enjoy. Pickleball has continued to happen each week. The Seattle Blackhams were in town, so we had a Blackham Bash, food and fun.
• Basketball and Football: Colton has been playing in a Fall league with his Wolves. Most of the games have been later Saturday nights, often a double header (8:00/9:00), and in Lehi ... so Jen hasn't been going to watch or video (but might get some footage from another mom). One game that was earlier (7:00) and closer to home (APA in Draper) had Mom and Landon cheering Colton on (they got an easy win). Colton has also been working out with Coach Scott, and we will be working with him for college recruitment possibilities,  and as the rest of the Wolves are seniors and won't be playing club ball next year, Colton signed on with Salt Lake Metro, and he'll play with them next Spring. We're all signed up with NBA League Pass to watch upcoming basketball games, but September ... was FOOTBALL. The NFL has started, and Coop is in a fantasy league again (with both Blackham Uncles). If there is football on ... Cooper is watching!
• K8's New Job: Kate was offered the Humanities and Social Sciences Career Coach position at SLCC. It comes with health benefits and a 401k and she's excited for the new challenge. 
• Lots of Landon: We've got to see more of Landon lately ... sadly, he and Sol have been struggling and to give space while they figure things out, Landon has moved back home. We've actually loved having him around again. ♥

So that's our September ... on to October!

Homecoming Colton - Junior Year

Colton didn't hit Homecoming his sophomore year, but as junior year started up, he and his basketball buddies were definitely doing the dance. The "ask" is always a bit stressful, coming up with a creative way to pop the question. Once he came up with an idea, he turned to Kate to help with the lettering (Kate has helped the boys with almost all of their dance ask/answers!)

So "Simply Lemonade" was was the theme Colton went with for the ask. The asking is different in this day and age ... seems like the girls know ahead of time (Colton's date was inside waiting and then came out for a picture). The answer was drink themed too ... Kool-Aid.  We still have a little Beta fish from Colton's prom answer back in April. 

Saturday, September 3, 2022 was the day of the dance.

Colton asked if he might take the Tesla, to make the date super cool. Grayson said okay.  Colton said he had a lot of fun, and even cooperated when I asked him to do a little write-up of the date:

I started off the homecoming day by picking up Cashlee in the Tesla and we made our way down to Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman. We met up with everyone else there, and started setting up some of the games we had. We had a couple of paddleboards, a large mat for the water, a crossnet, then the stuff that I brought (KanJam and a football). We spent a fun couple of hours there, took a group picture, then all headed back to our houses for a few hours until it was time to take pictures. During that time, I hurried and picked up my corsage. A little before 4:00, I headed to Cashlee’s house to pick her up for pictures. After putting on our corsage and boutonnière, we met up with everyone else at the picture sight at this little walkway across from Gardner Village. There we took our group pictures in some 90 degree heat.

The group consisted of me and Cashlee, Ethan and Emmalee, Carter and Christie, Steven and Abby, Daniel and Ashlyn, Kyle and Jovi, Zac and Abby, Tyler and Lexi, Drew and Avery, and finally Brody and Bryn. Pictures didn’t take too long and after about an hour, we all went to pick up some food to take back to Kyle’s house. Quite a few of us went to Costa Vida for food, and then arrived at Kyle’s to eat together. We had the Utes football game on the tv at the house. Dinner was a lot of fun and we just messed around a lot at the house with everyone. The dance started at 7:00, but no one wanted to get there nearly that early. At around 8:15, we finally left for the dance. We spent nearly two hours there and the whole thing is pretty much just a mosh pit so you get tired really quickly. It is still a lot of fun though, I entered the dance circle a couple of times, one time being really cool where Carter went into the middle of the circle and then I came in and jumped over him as the beat dropped. At 10:00, the dance ended and I was pretty glad to get out of there. Cashlee and I went and got some slurpees at the Maverick on 13th, then we all headed back to Kyle’s house to end the night. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the dance, so what we did was put on Creed II in the main basement and put on Top Gun: Maverick in a separate little movie theater room that Kyle has right next to the basement. Most of us stayed in the basement and watched Creed. I was crazy tired and was dozing off for a while then I definitely fell asleep for almost an hour. Cashlee woke me up around 12:15 and a lot of us left then because curfew for a lot of the girls was 12:30. So I took Cashlee home then got back to my house for the night.

August 2022

 

Ah, August is over, time for an update. August means the start of school ... Colton started his junior year at West Jordan High. There was quite a bit of family fun, some work travel for Gray and Keaton, birthdays and some memorable Mother Nature moments.

• Colton ... started school. He goes at 6:00 in the morning to get some shooting in, and stays after school, to get some shooting in. That's not enough, so he joined a gym (Vasa) so he could get more basketball in. He's been hitting the Friday night football games and asked a gal to Homecoming. Colton finally cleaned out his closet (not a lot of color, blues/blacks/gray), so lots of clothes gone to goodwill, although we passed on a few to Cousin Will. Colton finished up his summer work with Home Depot, filling in his final shifts and turning in his orange apron for now.
• Cooper ... turned 19! The birthday cake was a bust (Sam'sClub no longer makes the round chocolate and/or the white buttercream, which have been our goto birthday cakes for years. The cookies&icecream cake the boys like was also not found). Coop has been practicing his driving, and is back to working afternoons at the elementary school. 
• Keaton ... also had a birthday, 22 years old. I made him a lemon jello cake, which he didn't deign to eat. We hardly saw him. It's his party and he can cry if he wants to. He took a parachuting class & got some jumps in, has been studying (tradeschool) and working hard. Keaton spent a few days with his work down at Bear Lake.

There's been a lot of family fun ... weekly pickleball matches. Jen/Coop and Landon are the core team, then they bug one of the remaining family members to fill in as the fourth. We got Grayson out once, Colton out once, and Callahan a couple of times. Keaton, it's your turn!  Jen and Cooper also gave racquetball a try (Herriman Rec Center, really nice court setup) and Cooper is a natural! There have been board games, and PopDarts, video games, hackysack and KanJam. 

Gray and a few of the boys made another trip up to Pineview. Gray and Landon did some target practice at the gun range. Grayson took the RZR for some riding in Logan Canyon, and went to watch some racing at the Knolls. For work, he went to Nebraska (Buildertrend).  Both Colton and Cooper attended a few farewells, as their friends head out on missions. Colton and Callahan had a basketball game together (Cal's Men's League). They won. Aunt Olivia came out to give haircuts. 

It was HOT! August is still summer, but still, there was quite the heat wave. The garden has been growing ... lots of cucumbers this year. There was also a slight boom one morning ... which turned out to be a meteor streaking by. There were some crazy winds one day, which took out our gate.

Grayson hit his goal weight and is moving into maintenance. He has been jogging a lot, Jen and Coop stick to the treadmill. There was an old fan at the house, so Jen brought it to her Zumba church, love that little bit of air movement. A fan of fans!

The collage above shows some of the still shots from the month.

Here's a LIVE look ... one second every day style. 

https://youtu.be/Xltw0y-phXY

July 2022

 

July 2022 ... there were some smoky skies one week, and a couple big, beautiful rainbows the next.  Basketball, getaways, food and fun. Here's a run down of what the Blackham Bunch has been up to this summer: 

• Getaways: L&S started the month in Mexico. Grayson had a Bear Lake weekend with work buddies, Colton went to Las Vegas for basketball, and the whole family made it up to Pineview.
• Beach Day: We got the whole crew up for a day at the beach/Pineview, first time the waverunners have been out in a couple years (water levels and Covid complications). We forgot the paddle for the paddleboard, so Grayson rented a paddleboard. Ironically enough, Keaton then found a paddle buried in the mud in the lake ... could it be the paddle we lost a couple years ago? It looks the same! It was hot, but we had fun. Coop didn't go in the water but there was a lot of frisbee and football throwing going on.
• Lagoon with Livi: Aunt Olivia planned a day at Lagoon and got most of the nephews out (Coop and Cal didn't make it). Another hot day, but the group had fun on the rides and taking an old fashioned photo. 
• Anniversary: Gray and Jen celebrated 30 years. A big, beautiful bouquet of long stemmed roses arrived, and then there was dinner at Market Street followed by a movie (Topgun) ... Jen's first movie in theaters in over two years. 
• Basketball: Callahan is playing in a men's league over at Gene Fullmer, so Jen went to watch a couple of those games. Colton played a team from Chile with his Wolves team, then they went and spent a weekend playing in Las Vegas. He also participated in a 3x3 tournament downtown.
• Colton's First Job: Colton put in an application at Home Depot and got hired right away. He begrudgingly took a photo in his cute orange apron. He is a "lot" employee, gathering carts, helping customers load items, etc. He's enjoyed having a little money of his own.
• Food: We had a big burger night ... Gray ate his with a lovely lettuce "bun". Cal requested corn on the cob. We had Grayson's fried green beans another night, and Jen successfully made Mongolian Beef (a recipe Gray found and made that the boys really like) so that will now be in the recipe rotation. Jen is still making sourdough, 12 loaves a week. 
• Staying Active: The pickleball Jen and Cooper were attending at a local church ended, so they have tried the group at the local rec center a few times. Coop finished up the "Ring Fit" quest, but still gets plenty of steps with his treadmill time. Jen uses the home gym a lot too, treadmill, elliptical, bike ... and while weight workouts haven't been happening, she's been doing her physical therapy for her shoulder. Still Zumba-ing three times a week - Red/White &Blue for the Fourth of July holiday. Gray has been jogging too, treadmill (home and at work) and outside.
• Family History: It was "Christmas in July" on the Westra Way blog, with 10 posts, covering Christmases from 1991-2000.  Cal and Kate also enjoyed looking through Callahan's "box" where Jen has kept many mementos from the past years. 
• Room Rearrange: Working on shifting things up again, there was a lot of time spent reorganizing, taking trips to DI and the storage unit, and lots of garbage to go. 
• Medical: Jen had another trip to the dentist for a troublesome crown (the dentist said he'll just redo it next time it falls off). Still doing physical therapy for the shoulder. Keaton got in to an orthopedic specialist for his hand (carpal tunnel) and got a shot in his wrist, which has seemed to help. 
• Cal and K8's New Car: After a couple years living with one car (Cal has a van for work) Cal and Kate added a 2022 Subaru Crosstrek to their family.

So there's a peek at some July activities from the Blackham Bunch. Cooper was on dog duty as the neighbors had a weekend away, and had fun blowing bubbles with Oreo kitty. Derek ran into Cal and Kate at a Bees game and snapped a selfie with them. The Blackham Boys (sans Cal) had breakfast out at Kneaders. The dang winds/weather have kept Keaton from jumping out of planes. Colton is all registered and ready to start school again next month. August awaits ...

June 2022

 

June 2022 ... there were a lot of quick rainstorms that weren't really adding much water, but ruining a recently washed car. Very windy too. Unlike past years where the Westra Father's Day party had to be pushed into the evening to avoid the heat, here we had to shift it earlier before it cooled down too much. The gardens are growing (flowers and veggies, see the difference in a couple of plants from the beginning of month compared to the end of the month - photos in the top left corner, Hibiscus and milkweed). Here's a quick recap of the month ...

• Medical: Jen had weekly PT appointments and at home workouts for her shoulder ... only slight improvement. There was also an echocardiogram (doctor suggested after the fall) which came back without any serious issues. Keaton got in for an annual exam and will try to follow up (skin issues, carpal tunnel). Colton has been under the weather. We pulled out one of the Covid tests - but it was negative. In the extended family, Grayson's sister Ana was diagnosed with MS.
• Family Gatherings: Big group gatherings on both sides. The annual Westra Father's Day party (last one at Scott&Amy's house - on the market and sold!) and a Zundel Family Reunion - originally planned at a park in Hyland, but moved to a church per the windy weather. The 9-square was played at both parties.
• Treadmill Troubles & Other Exercise: Cooper is a regular on the treadmill down in J&G's gym, but it's had some sudden stops, flipping the circuit breaker and throwing an error code. It's made Coop wary of going fast (Jen has never had an issue on it, but she's just been walking). Looking into repair. Meanwhile Coop returned to RingFit (he'd gotten into it a couple years ago, but only for a couple of months - I little like WiiFit) which has given him a good set of new exercises. Jen and Coop played pickleball every Thursday, and Jen Zumba's Mon/Wed/Fri. Gray has been running again.
• Weight Loss: Gray started a weight loss program a while ago, and is down 50 pounds!
• Golf: After spending several years in storage, Gray got out the clubs and went golfing with some work colleagues. Ironically enough, the very next day, Colton went golfing with his friends ... so the clubs which haven't been used in forever got a workout two days in a row!
• Gray's Getaways: Gray took the RZR down to the dunes for a day, and then did an impromptu outing to Arizona for a couple of days (first time he's been able to fly without a mask since Covid). He's meant to get the wave runners up to the reservoir but hasn't made that happen yet, but did play some "lake poker" on a boat with buds. 
• Basketball: Colton had some travel too, going to St. George for a couple of days with the school team. They also their team camp  and have been having "conditioning" at the school almost every day. The team also hosted a car wash to raise funds and played several games up at the University of Utah. Colton's Wolves team played in a tournament at the Expo Center in Sandy - so Jen was there to watch as Colton got a new high score, 46 points in a single game! 
• Kitties: Snagged a couple cute shots of Oreo (he's conversing with a magpie out the window, and posing with the plants). The other picture looks a little like Joy, but it's the "wild" kitty who comes over every day to see if we've put food out for him ... which of course we have. He's super skittish and will run away if anyone gets close. We don't know if he has a home, but he's gotten quite comfortable hanging out here.

There's a new DEAD END sign at the entrance to the circle, a nice addition after living here for 25+ years. Gray and Jen had a date to Desert Star - Hunkules, and got a cute picture of Cal&Kate as they went to a wedding (and they celebrated their two year anniversary).  There was a  family dinner at Tepanyaki to celebrate Coop's recent graduation. Keaton has returned to jumping out of airplanes. Concrete poured in the back. It's watermelon season, but pineapple has been the big favorite recently. We go through two a week at least. Colton is a "Stranger Things" fan, and when Season Four dropped May 27 ... he'd watched it all before June even started. Coop was catching up, so he and Jen watched it this month... the last two episodes drop July 1 (and as this recap is going out a little late, I can say that we've all already watched the rest). 

Here's a look at the month ONE SECOND style ...

May 2022

 

The month of May ... there were birthdays (Kate, UncleShane and Uncle Derek, Grandpa and Pammy), Mother's Day and Graduations. There was basketball, pickleball, Zumba. Some get-aways and group gatherings. Here's a rundown ...

• Out of Town ~ Cal and Kate were in Holland for the first week of May. I did get a blog post up about their Tulip Trip. Gray had a weekend down in St. George, and it happened to overlap a Zions trip for Landon and Sol, so while it hadn't been pre-planned, they met up for some RZR riding on the red rocks. Blog post about that HERE. Cal and Kate made it down to St. George on a different weekend.
• Basketball ~ Colton played in a "shot clock" tournament with the WJ team (a shot clock IS being added to high school play next year). He also had three tournaments with his Wolves (in Heber, Juan Diego High and the Expo Center in Sandy). I didn't travel to Heber, but was able to hit all the other games. Cal has been playing in a men's league and they needed an extra player, so Colton stepped in there and I went to watch. At home, Coop has been watching the NBA playoffs.
• Mother's Day ~ I got a lovely bouquet from Olivia, and Gray arranged for all the kids to come to the house for brunch. 
• Out to Lunch ~ Jen made it out to the folks a couple times this month, taking Mom to lunch for Mother's Day. Gathering up some family history stuff and seeing all the progress the folks are making clearing out the house.
• Jobs ~ Landon's office is moving from right by our house to a building out on Mountain View, so we may not be seeing him as often on his lunch break. Sol changed jobs recently, and Cooper is going to do summer work at the school again (it's just so close/flexible) and then hopes to find something else once he gets his driver's license (aiming for October on that, before his Learner's Permit expires). We love having an in-house electrician ... Gray had Keaton install an outlet in the island. Colton SHOULD get a job, but it is hard with all the basketball and such still going on.
• Gray the Party Planner ~ Grayson threw his second baby shower for a woman at work. He also arranged a private screening of TopGun for Symphony employees and their families (unfortunately none of our family made it). 
• Mountain Mikes Group Gathering ~ Aunt Jami was in town from Seattle, so we got the Blackham Bunch together at the local pizza place for some conversation and catching up.
• Backyard Cleanup ~ There is an area in the back that has been a play area (with a swing set, then later a trampoline) and home for our ducks ... but the last year or so it got a little out of control. Gray hired a couple guys to come clear it out, and now we're prepping it for concrete (extra storage space for vehicles, patio, maybe basketball? It will keep the weeds from coming back.)
• Graduations ~ Sol got her Associates from SLCC and Cooper finished up his senior year and graduated from Mountain Heights Academy. He wasn't interested in the ceremony (downtown, and he hadn't really met his peers in person) but we had to have a cap and gown photoshoot. 
• Medical ~ I finally did a follow-up with my PCP after my fall in January. He wants me to check in with a neurologist, but that appointment isn't until October. He also referred me to a Physical Therapist, as I've been struggling with shoulder/arm pain for a while (nothing too bad most of the time although it does interfere with some things, like sleep, and it just doesn't seem to be going away). 

Here's the One Second Everyday in May video ...

https://youtu.be/uoKqAIjmYZY

We were lucky enough to get Aunt Olivia to make a HairCut Housecall ... got the boys, and Gray, trimmed up. Beyond family, there was a "blood moon" (that wasn't really very visible here due to cloud cover) and the tragic news of the shooting at Robb Elementary School. Prices have continued to escalate - eggs were very noticeable this month, with prices more than doubling. Gas prices continue to climb, almost $5 a gallon (thankful for the Tesla right now although the guys drive a lot more than me). There has been a shortage of formula - and as I've gone through items for family history, I found an old "recipe" for formula in my Dad's baby book. Similar recipes and options have been making the rounds on FB.  School is out, so moving into the summer schedule. On to June!

Impromptu Party In Hurricane Utah

 

The second weekend in May, Grayson headed down to St. George with his buddy Jon. Landon and Sol and a couple friends were heading down to Zions. As Landon updated me via text, I let him know his dad was down in that area ... and although it hadn't been planned ahead of time, they met up and hit some red rocks on the RZRs together.

Here's a little video Sol took (she said she thought they were going to tip over and die!)

https://youtu.be/EVFKljdS3nc

Cal & Kate ~ Tulip Trip

 

Grayson and I had recently gone to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point ... but Cal&Kate took it a step further, and actually went to Holland! This was a trip with Kate's parents. They flew out Wednesday,  April 27 from Salt Lake. They had a non-stop flight, which averages about 10 hours. Then there is the time difference ... the Netherlands are eight hours ahead.

Callahan sent me their basic itinerary ...

We're staying in De Pijp, going to the Anne Frank house, Van Gogh Museum, Rijkmuseum, windmills, Kuekonhoff Tulip fields and a twizzy tour tour through the fields. Hitting the Red Light District, The Hauge (beach town), Volendamm, a canal ride and a bike tour.

Callahan's AT&T plan wasn't working internationally, and Kate and her folks had spotty service. Often they would only have access where there was wifi. This did cause some stress when they needed Covid test results (which were sent to said phones). It was quite a bit cooler than expected, and they did a lot of walking around. 

Some of the scenes ...

... the windmills

... and the eats!

Blackham Home Video

 Both the Blackham and Westra family have some classic film from the 1970s/1980s ... The Westra video camera hit the scene in 1970 (shortly before Jen was born ... coincidence?) It was reel film and only captured the visual, no sound. I remember we'd watch home movies and Dad/Grandpa would set up a projector and the film would go from a reel in front, to the reel in back. Sometimes he'd reverse it and we'd laugh and laugh as our film selves would go up the slide or walk backwards.  The Blackham home movies hit a little later, and they have sound as well as video.

• Westra Home Movies (1969 -1984) https://youtu.be/IlVlhP8qoK8
• Blackham Home Movies Part 1 https://youtu.be/qVcNtN9f2F4 
• Blackham Home Movies Part 2 https://youtu.be/yIcy-4q67QM

Then there were the VHS Years ... I'm not sure when the Westra family got it's first VHS video camera. There are tapes of my high school productions, but those were "professionally" made and sold to the students. By the time we hit the 1990s, the family had a video camera (Dad/Grandpa/Lamar was the videographer for the LD Singers productions). We must have got our own (or absconded with the Westra one?) in 1995 when the first baby was set to hit the scene ...

• 1995 Little Landon  https://youtu.be/TsvyBsJUdy0
• 1997  Little Landon (18 months and up) https://youtu.be/e8fl4InWrig
• 1999 Callahan Comes ... https://youtu.be/jWzue6HkFn8
• 2000 Keaton Came ... https://youtu.be/jkZBCHeMVqA
• 2003 Before Cooper ... https://youtu.be/qlPrHqj48BY
• 2003 Cooperman Came ... https://youtu.be/40fX5Ijt26c

 The VHS video recorder was quite large and bulky. It had to fit the standard video tape as well as all the required machinery. There were times it would get quite heavy as the videographer had to hold it up. Most families had a VCR to play the tapes on when it was time to watch the videos, but the camera could also connect to the TV via cables - although the older TVs didn't have nearly as many inputs as the ones today. 

Technology improved, and the new video camera's were 1/3 the size of the old VHS recorders. They still used tapes, miniDV. Unlike the standard VHS tapes, people didn't have a way to easily view their videos. This required hooking up the camcorder to the TV and using it to play the tapes. As DVDs hit the scene, replacing VCRs, many people had their tapes, both VHS and miniDV (and there were other types too) converted to DVD. I remember Grayson got the VHS tapes converted to DVD and the boys enjoyed watching them. We'd almost always get them out at the family birthday parties, to remember the younger years.

Because the tapes could be removed, and another put in, sometimes the end result wouldn't be perfectly chronological. I remember when Callahan was first born, I tried to have a "Callahan" tape and a "Landon" tape, although in the end I probably just went with whichever was already in the machine when it was time to record. Reviewing the smaller tapes, while it looks fairly chronological going by the labeling, there is some jumping around in time. 

The newer video camera must have come on the scene around 2002 ... the earliest recorded on a mini-tape was Christmas 2002. I'm often slow to transition, so it looks like the VHS camera was still in use most of 2003 for Cooper's birth. 2004 there was an official switch to the Cannon miniDV. 

I don't recall how we got these digitized ... it wasn't professionally done (at least not for most of them). I must have figured out how to transfer the files to the computer (it might have been directly to Muvee, it had a "videocamera" input). In 2004 I took a TON of videos and really got into Muvees (making little videos with film/pictures and music). In the later years, I stayed busy making highlight reels of the boy's sports (check out BlackhamBall for all the sports stuff, and dedicated YouTube channels for Callahan, Keaton and Colton).  I got 2004-2006 burned onto DVDs using Muvee and our home computer. When I wanted to create a YouTube backup, I did some shift, moving some sections around to TRY and get things in chorological order. Also, these YouTube versions are slightly edited, as any child nudity (even innocent bath time home movies) will get flagged and removed. So if you compare these versions to the originals (tapes, ripped DVDs) you might notice a few differences. 

• 2004 (part 1) Callahan's B-day, Easter, Landon's Derby&More https://youtu.be/6EjR1XC72E8
• 2004 (part 2) Buca, Mother's Day, Puppies, Soccer, Spring Stuff https://youtu.be/6EjR1XC72E8
• 2004 (part 3) Summer, Father'sDay, Lagoon, Rockets  https://youtu.be/jmgrBTmqK7c  
• 2004 (part 4) Gunnison Party, Birthdays, Ana's Wedding https://youtu.be/etYe7fiuRvs
• 2004 (part 5) December/Christmas https://youtu.be/etYe7fiuRvs

• 2005 (part 1) Before Colton https://youtu.be/oKSQvtd68F8
• 2005 (part 2) Colton Caboose https://youtu.be/Q5FDBN836z4
• 2006 - coming
• 2007 - coming

I think it must have been 2005/2006 when I received a new digital camera, one that had a "video" setting in addition to several options for still shots. I would use it primarily for pictures, but started switching it up and using the video more and more, instead of using a dedicated video camera (although it was still being used some). So instead of one long video file pulled from a tape, there are lots of little files that were directly digital. Recorded onto a memory card in the camera, easily transferred to the computer. I did burn these to DVD (2008/2009) so they could be watched on the television more easily.

Mother's Day in 2011, I was given a new video camera (the small Samsung in the photo above), and it was an improvement in quality and ease, especially for sports. With all the boy's basketball, it was in constant use over the weekends. I'd sometimes have to record with it plugged into a charger if it hadn't had time to recharge between games. After a few years with this camera, Gray got me a new one (the Sony) which had an external battery pack, so I could have backup power. It also connected directly to the computer via USB, which was just a little easier than moving data with a memory card.

Through the years, phones kept improving as well. Soon, the iphone (we are an Apple family) was as good as a digital camera, and was always with us, not an extra item to carry and keep charged. It worked for videos too, although I kept to a separate video camera for sports still.  All the family videos in later years would come from the iphone. Even still pictures had a "live" setting, which I loved for my One Second Every Day videos (started in 2017).

So hopefully with this post, we'll have a bit of a "table of contents" of the video we have, and where it can be located (in the YouTube links, and on Dropbox in Video Backup). The Dropbox Video Backup has family files from 1995-2011. Then videos filmed with phones are mixed in with the photos for the more recent years (maybe I'll try to get them all organized and together). Plans for the future!

April 2022

 

April ... was Easter, and we broke out the EARS! Jen's Zumba class did the bunny hop, the older three boys recreated a classic photo, and we got pictures with ears on everyone.  There is a dedicated blog post about all the Easter Events (Easter 2022). Here's a little breakdown of the month ...

• Colton had a busy month ... it was PROM, and he was on driving duty, downtown! Totally stresses this mommy out! He said it was great. He got his braces off ... finally! The official high school basketball season wrapped up with the end of season banquet. There have been some basketball tournaments too. His Wolves, and he was invited to step onto a team that was up from St. George (his old coach called him in). He had a tournament (3 games) mid-month, and nine games in three days at the end of the month.
• Cooper and I have not been getting our ping pong in, but he and Grandpa got a game in when they came out to the house (we'd invited them for Easter but then Dad got sick, so we had them out the following week). Cooper and I have been playing pickleball, but had to take a little break as the roof of the church was being worked on, and some of the ceiling was falling down onto the gym floor. I told Cooper and he said "let's risk it". We played outdoors once. His learner's permit expired, so we got it renewed. He needs to get his license by mid-October or he'll have to retake the learner's test, which he doesn't want to do! His hair is getting a little long again! I stuck it up in a pigtail (and he let me take a picture!) and now he has a couple headbands to hold it back while he jogs. 
• Keaton has been cooking up a storm! It's actually been going on for a little while. He gets unsatisfied with the same foods and went searching recipes for some new meals. He has a spicy noodles that has been a hit, and after a few failed attempts, he's perfected chicken wings. Did you know that chicken wings (with bone/skin) cost as much as boneless/chicken tenders? I thought they'd be cheap! Keaton is also back in a van at Camsen, our driveway is very crowded!
• The marrieds made it out for Easter, and Landon still stops by most days for a quick lunch.  Landon has been playing Wordle (I know many of the Westras are into it) and Sol is quite the plant momma. Cal & Kate prepped for a trip to the Netherlands, they headed out at the end of the month.
• Jen pulled out the old video camera for Jensen's to borrow, and ended up spending several days looking through tapes (Blackham Home Video) and making sure all the family video is backed up and easy to find. Still baking sourdough (four loaves, three times a week) and added crackers to the rotation. Lots of other baking too; nests, cinnamon rolls, breadsticks, swig cookies (brought those to the baby shower for Janika - lots of Westra Women!)
• Gray and I got a couple dates in this month, to Red Robin and then to see the tulips at Thanksgiving Point. He had a weekend away in St. George riding rocks in the RZR, and has been working on his weight, shifting up eating (those are his avocado eggs and broccoli in the photo collage above). and getting some exercise in. Go Gray! Sales at Symphony have slowed, although he doesn't seem to be working any less!

We had snow in April ... it wasn't on my radar and I was super surprised as we walked out of the basketball banquet into a blizzard. I was wearing sandals! It was Spring Break this month for both Cooper and Colton, although they were different weeks. Colton's prom date had answered him with a bitty beta ... so we have the fish bowl out again. The cats really like to drink from the fish bowl. There has been a stray cat around, and we've been feeding it, much to the chagrin of Joy and Oreo, who watch it from the window. NBA playoffs have been going on, and while Cooper wasn't very interested in the main season, he's been tuning into games now.

Here's the video recap ~ one second style

(https://youtu.be/5mrYfYxvPqQ)

I think that wraps up April ...moving on to May!

Braces Beginning ~ Ortho END

 

It's the end of orthodontia for the Blackham family, as Colton wrapped up his braces saga. It started in September of 2019, soon after he switched schools to Joel P for his 8th grade year.  The monthly appointments are always a bit of a struggle during the school year, as getting after-school visits aren't always possible. Then came Covid ... which shut down schools AND dental/ortho offices for several weeks (postponing appointments). 

When the office started accepting appointments again, they would only allow one other individual with the patient, and masks were required. Our ortho office is very close by (walkable even, under a mile) but has no right turn (off 7800) which makes it a bit of a pain to get out of and turned around for home. I got in the habit of just dropping off Colton at the end of the neighborhood (by the Maverick Church) and having him walk the short distance. This had been common practice with the older boys too. Then afterward he'd start walking home, I'd often go grab him so he didn't have to walk the full distance home, meeting up in the neighborhood. With Covid, as Colton started his 9th grade year, he was only at school in person for three classes in the morning, and leaving before lunch. The rest of his classes were online (although he was going to the high school for basketball class on A days in the afternoons) and so his schedule was much more flexible for ortho appointments. At the very end of his ortho journey, he was able to drive himself to appointments!

I remember a funny exchange in May of 2021 ... 

• Jen: The orthodontist said your son should be getting his braces off soon.
• Grayson: That's good. Which son?
• Jen: Ummm, the ONE who has braces?

"Soon" apparently has different meanings, as the removal ended up months away. Finally, in March of 2022, Colton got his braces off. He has a permanent retainer on the bottom, and a clear retainer for the top. Hopefully his teeth will remain pretty and straight. I wonder if he'll show teeth in his smiles for photos now :)

I was glancing back on the blog about the other boys ortho (I had a "teeth" label, which hits baby teeth and wisdom teeth too). I have Landon's "done" picture, and a small post as Callahan started up and finished up. I didn't have anything for Keaton. I looked and found an "after" picture, but no before ... really none with a smile showing braces! His ortho experience mirrored Colton's. Getting them on in 8th grade, and getting them off halfway through sophomore year. I remember the orthodontist saying that Keaton had small/few teeth (unlike so many who have to get teeth pulled because of overcrowding). The opposite end can be an issue too, as they can only pull them together to a certain extent. The end result looked fine to me. Cooper ... didn't get braces! I'm sure an orthodontist would say there were issues, but doctor/dentist appointments are such a struggle, and his teeth are really pretty straight, so ... Grayson never had braces either.