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.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

 

Every year at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, there is a Tulip Festival. Tons of flowers, lots of greenspace and multiple walkways. Gray got off work a little early, and we did hit rush hour traffic on our way down. It was pretty crowded, lots of families with kids enjoying the gorgeous weather along with the floral views. There is progressive planting, so that there will be tulips and other flowers for the full month. We went on Wednesday, April 20. It was a fun date.

Of course Holland is known for their tulips. The Netherlands were a definite theme along with the flowers. There were wooden shoes hanging here and there (not sure if that was part of a scavenger hunt or something), some BIG shoes to fill, cute characters and a windmill. 

With the last name Westra ... Holland is in our history! My (Jen's) ancestors on her father's side (great-grandparents) were born in the Netherlands, and immigrated in April in 1907 (Ate & Geeske Westra). My dad went to Holland on his mission (Netherlands posts on The Westra Way).

We'd gone to the Tulip Festival back in 2011 as a family. 

Easter 2022

 

So many bunnies at the Blackham house this Easter. We'd actually invited the folks, and they were planning on coming, but Dad got hit with a flu bug (not the first time for him or us on Easter, (2013). 

I got the three oldest to recreate this classic picture ...

They nailed it!

The Easter Bunny came and left some treats and toys in the buckets. Reeses eggs are a favorite for Keaton, but he (and I, and Landon) have been treating ourselves for a while with a big bag (or two ... or three) leading up to the holiday. Keaton did get some more in his bucket, along with some Cadbury eggs and a few other treats, and one more box of Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies (one box for Landon and Callahan too). The little boys don't like Reeses (or Tagalongs, or peanut butter anything) so they had Kit Kat and Rolos. There were a couple little nerf guns, Legos (the boys always got Legos in their younger years) and some other random little toys. 

We did brunch around noon ... cinnamon pull-a-parts, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns ... and crepes. We actually finished off most of the food, there wasn't much left-over.  In the days leading up to Easter, I'd made a few batches of meringue "nests" (a Blackham Easter tradition, Jen/Cooper and Cal love them) and copycat Swig cookies.

... one of the random toys was a package of "Bloonies" (I had this on hand from sometime before, I'd looked for them at the store this year but hadn't seen them). Landon and Cal (and Kate) really got into the Bloonies. Lots of memories blowing these bubbles when they were younger.

... there was also some fun in the backyard, playing KanJam (trying to get the frisbee into the "can" ... played with partners, so one can throw and the other can try to bop it in). After several traditional games, Callahan was super silly and put the can over his head and tried to catch the frisbee ... and he did! Also some fun video of the doggies and Daddy (Gray). 

https://youtu.be/9cDjp9Yy7fU

Another Pre-Easter activity this year ... was bunny Zumba. Jen brought all the ears, and she even wore a little white tail. And yes, the Bunny Hop was on the playlist!

Prom Pictures - Colton Sophomore Year

Saturday, April 2 was PROM for West Jordan High School. Colton went with his buddies Ethan, Carter, Stephan, Gage and Jair (all on the basketball team). Colton was on driving duty which stressed Mom out, but he managed it all fine and said the dance was "amazing" (that is a direct quote).

First off was the ASK and the ANSWER ...

Colton had Kate help with the lettering again. In today's social media age, the ASK and ANSWER gets posted to the various platforms, so Abby had posted "Yea, Prom with Colton!" the night he asked, but the ofFISHal answer didn't come until a few days before. And yes, we now have a little beta fishy. His name is Gerald.

There was some prom prep and planning. Colton and a friend went out for some suit shopping, and then there was deciding on the day date and dinner. I had to remind Colton about the corsage. 

Present-Day Prom is an ALL day thing! 

They started around 8:00 am for breakfast, 

got some pictures, and then went paintballing.

Then it was back home to get ready, and off to the Capital for a photoshoot. 

Lots of fun pictures. Got lots of great ones with the guy group!

Some silly, some serious ... some smiling!

LOVED this one!

 

Dinner was downtown at Brios, Italian. Colton wasn't too impressed ... it was pricey and he might have had a touch of food poisoning, or his meal just didn't agree with him. He was having some serious stomach cramps. He tossed his take home box.

... and one more with the basketball team!

Colton is hard to see ... shortest in the back? 

Seniors in the front! 

Prom memories!