2023 ~ July Recap

 

July was a very busy and active month! Lots of sports stuff, some travel, lake days ... there were the July 4th and 24th holidays, and an anniversary (#31).

• Basketball: As always ... Colton and two trips to California with his Metro team. Once flying with one of the coaches and his buddy Carter, and the second time with the folks (you can see more about the Gray/Jen/Colton Goes to Cali HERE). Finally got some footage with this team, and the highlight videos are on YouTube. Colton played in a men's league game with Cal too, and Keaton has been playing some pickup ball with his buddies (and got Cal and Colton to join one Saturday morning). 
• Pickleball, Wiffleball and Badminton: We try to get at least four of the BlackhamBunch out for pickleball each week. Landon had been wanting to try wiffleball, and finally found some time and a crew to join him. We got in a little badminton in the front yard, had to get new racquets as the older ones literally had holes in them. 
• Hiking: Is still happening. Landon and Gray did Lake Blanche, and Gray and his work buddy Zach hit Gloria Falls and Cecret Lake. I need to update the hiking post.
• Lake Days: Gray and Keaton took the waverunners up to Pineview to make sure they were in running order, then Grayson went a few evenings with work buds and their kids. There is a Blackham Lake Day planned for next month. 
• Spartan Run: Landon did the Spartan Run ... not your usual 5k, twice as long, with obstacles & challenges. Landon was able to grab a few pictures from the race and did a write up, so check out the blog post about it.
• Dates: GB and Jen hit a little cooking class at Bosche on Saturday, with a stop at Italian Village afterward. There was a RedRobin run (they've changed their cheesesticks) and looking at little libraries (thinking of installing one at our house). We went to MountainMikes and checked out the Float Preview Party. 
• Work Social Stuff: Symphony hosts a dinner at the Fisher House monthly during the summer, providing food for the families of vets who have come in for medical care. There are some other work food days where Gray is providing his smoking skills, and he's a party planner too, hosting an engagement party for a work buddy as well. 
• New E-Bike and Scooter: We got a new e-bike (just as we heard news of Uncle Arnold's accident) and scooter. Jen hasn't done much on the bike, but she did get on and give it loop right around the neighborhood. 
• Repairs: Our stovetop stopped working ... it was an expensive repair, but we are back in business. The Durango's check engine light came on again, so another repair there as well. 
• Bear Lake: We got the Blackham Bunch out for a family weekend at Bear Lake. Read more about it HERE. 
• Books: Jen has been reading per usual ... perhaps a little over the norm. 29 books this month, many were smaller ones. Favorites were The Wishing Game, and two historical fiction, The Peach Rebellion and The Paris Daughter. Keaton had expressed a little interest in an audiobook after being given a book by a co-worker. He wasn't getting through it reading and thought an audiobook might be more efficient. He can to the expert, and had the app/audiobook in hand moments later and was able to finish. Keaton then said he'd be willing to try something fiction, so he was set up with that, and has gotten through a few books. Cooper also said he'd try listening while at work, and went back to an old favorite, the Hatchet series. It's been fun being able to discuss books with the family! 

Here's a look back at the month one second style ...

https://youtu.be/OmFfHyT8pzo

Blackhams at Bear Lake

 

Grayson's work buddy has a cabin at Bear Lake, and Gray has been a few times. It had been offered to our family to use, and so we took him up on it! The cabin was lovely. Five bedrooms, huge kitchen and family rooms on the main floor and basement. Fully stocked. It's a "Scentsy" cabin ... little aromatic pots and diffusers in every room. Scentsy is the family business for the cabin owners. 

The five West Jordan Blackhams (Gray, Jen, Landon, Cooper, Colton) headed out on Thursday, July 27 taking Gray's truck. We didn't drag down the waverunners, because the cabin had a set there. The first night we hit a local joint for some fast food and Friday morning, hit Crepes and Coffee for breakfast.  Cal and Kate came up Friday, and Keaton was up a little later that day. I don't think we got a full family picture with EVERYONE. We went out for pizza,, then had a friendly game of Blackjack (there had been a $20 buy-in). We crossed the Utah/Idaho border several times. The cabin was up a long and windy unpaved road, so it was always a bit of a trek getting in and out. We didn't actually end up making it to the beach (other than a drive-by to take a look).  

... as part of the POA, there was a restaurant (called Coopers), golf course, swimming pool and tennis courts and pickleball courts. The tennis courts had a basketball hoop on them. Unfortunately, we never got to try them out. They had been doing some work and we were told "tomorrow" Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday morning before heading home, we hit some pickleball courts in Garden City and got a little pickle-play in. 

Summer at Bear Lake is BUSY! We were okay getting food Thursday and early Friday, but later that day, things were getting really backed up. The first pizza place we tried we were told a 4:00 order would be ready at 6:00. Attempting to order out on Saturday, we were told take out orders weren't even being accepted. We had supplies for a full breakfast that we probably wouldn't have time for Sunday morning, so Saturday night was "breakfast for dinner" and it was great. Cal, Kate & Keaton hit Crepes and Coffee Saturday morning, it was busy!

Here's a little live action from the Blackham's at Bear Lake ...  

https://youtu.be/pXxArmY6nso

Jen wrote up some little memory tidbits afterward ... "pretty nice" cabin, windy rocky road, lots of pillows, late dinner, together in one bed, pickleball courts available "tomorrow", Crepes and Coffee ... 3 classicos, NorthBeach drive-by, naptime, early dinner, pizza ordered at 4:00 ready by 6:00, umbrella shade, LOTS of pizza, buy a basketball but ... closed until tomorrow, Colton in the trunk, Stranger Than Fiction, family Blackjack - Keaton's strategies, no pillow for Keaton, Saturday setbacks ... no beach for the Blackhams, no basketball/pickleball/still closed, take a walk/incline! Scooter and e-bike ... Some Blackhams swim. Pesto Alfredo? no takeout orders accepted anyway, breakfast for dinner, Bye Cal&K8, Keaton gets a bed .. and a pillow. Jen takes a bath, Hercules, lots of Pogo, little nudge/snore, early morning sunshine, pickleball, PokemonGo, time to go ... cabin cleanup and hit the road for home.

Reflecting on the weekend while playing ping pong with Cooper, additional memories ... Cooper needing to hit his 10k (has had a streak daily for 2023) going up and down the stairs in the cabin. Coop and Landon watching Interstellar. Lots of "The Office" on as the portable hard drive hooked up. The boys were happy to see an Xbox. A little PacMan game there too. Dalmuti ... Coop and Landon tried some two-person games. After Cal&Kate left Saturday, Coop was a little worried they still had the pickleball bag in their car. Stolen Pepsi. Coop reading "Woodsrunner" (and Mom did too). 

Hiking Challenge Continued ...

Here's an update to the Symphony Homes Hiking challenge ... June/July 2023

I'd originally posted about the EMI/Symphony hiking challenge last month/May.

Grayson hasn't even included all of his hikes... he's done a LOT.

 

There was a bit of a hiking hiatus for a couple of weeks ... as June started up, then Grayson (and Zach) were back at it. Complete with pictures an a write-up with a little help from ChatGPT.

Thursday, June 15 ... a poem (ChatGPT assist)

There once were two dudes who went hikin',

Hit Hornet's Canyon, the adventure they're likin',

To the Grotto they climbed, feeling like kings,

A spot so epic, straight out of Lord of the Rings.

But wait, what's that sign? Poison ivy's callin',

Labeled on the trail, it had 'em all fallin',

Surprised and cautious, they switched up the pace,

Dodging the itch, avoiding the embrace.

Hip hop hustlers, navigating the wild,

Hiking trails, keepin' nature's secrets compiled,

From Hornet's Canyon to the Grotto's abyss,

They learned the hard way, but they never dismissed.

So next time you hike, pay attention, no doubt,

Stay wary of signs, know what it's all about,

Respect the outdoors, with rhymes and style,

Two dudes on the trail, they hiked with a smile.

On Saturday, June 17, Gray and Landon tackled Olympus

They were back earlier than I'd expected for such a long hike. Gray said it felt a bit harder than when he hiked it the last time, in 2010. 

June 28, 2023~ North Canyon Trail to Rudy’s Flat – above Bountiful

Just the facts today,  just the facts – Miles logged: 7.4   Elevation gain: 1,552   Temps: Mid-50’s and overcast.  Mushrooms or marshmallows: Not sure.   Julie Andrews sighting: Kinda.  Zac’s attire: On point, per usual.

Starting of July with a Saturday morning hike ... Lake Blanche Trail (there's some Westra Family History here!) Luckily, no injuries or events for these fellows. 

Lake Blanche – By the Numbers

Distance hiked – 8.45 miles

Elevation gain – 2,967 feet

Time on trail – 3 hours 7 mins

Sweat - profuse

Menu – Beef jerky, Peanut M & M’s, water, etc

Fellow hikers – half of Salt Lake County

Then mid-week, mid-month (July 19) Gray and Zach hit Gloria Falls, which while nice, wasn't quite enough. So they added on Cecret Lake (which was perhaps a little too much in combination with the previous hike and the cooler weather). Here's Gray's photos and write-up ...

It's a tale of two hikes... Nineteen July, Two-thousand Twenty-three... We start with Gloria Falls - we'll stick with just the adjectives: Short, Green, Gushing, Flowery, Humid (moist) Overcast, and wait for it.....GLORIOUS - see what I did there?

Continuing up Little Cottonwood Canyon we arrive at the Albion Basin wherein we seek the lake known as Cecret...shhhhh.... our trailmates for this second hike: Bruce the moose - very stand-off-ish but present nonetheless, Donna the doe deer - did not hang around to chat, Ronald the rock chuck - perched atop his favorite rock, he seemed uninterested in these hikers. But then I had to wonder: If a rock chuck could chuck rocks, how many rocks would a rock chuck chuck? (oh man, I slay me).

July was busy with travel and lake days.

More hiking to come before the challenge is over!

Anniversary with Floats, Little Libraries, Pizza & Past Pictures

 

 

I've enjoyed going to see the parade floats at the Expo Center in Sandy in previous years ... (2017, 2011, 2010, 2014, 2012). I think I enjoy it more than anyone else, and have even considered going by myself one year, although I never actually made that happen. I was glad when Gray brought it up as it would have slipped by me this year. Turned out to be an anniversary date for us. 

It's free, and air conditioned, and fun to see the floats up close and personal. I'm not a parade gal. Shared a little text with my brother Scott, as WCF was sponsoring (like they were at Gray's golf tourney). We didn't stay that long, just enough to walk around and check them all out. 

We then drove around and checked out some Little Free Libraries ... this is a program that has been set up to share books. I asked Grayson if he'd be okay if we put one in at our house ... I have a little spot for it there in the front flowerbed next to my big birdhouse (that Grayson had built to cover up an ugly pole, pretty much like the one in the picture next to the little library below!). 

There's an app you can use to see if there are little libraries near you!

Then we had some dinner and dessert at Mountain Mikes ...

... and brought home some pizza for the boys.

I created these collages last year, but didn't get around to creating a blog post.

Colton Goes To Cali (and Mom&Dad too)

 

California here we come ... last year Colton had been approached by a travel team for basketball, and we didn't commit then, but held onto the information for the future. After his Wolves finished up he needed a team, so we went ahead and joined Metro for Summer 2023. I'd told Grayson that while I'm not a big traveler, I wanted to go and attend one of the tournaments. Colton had three, Arizona in April, and two to California in July. We went to the one July 15-16th. We flew in a day early, on Friday the 14th. We got settled at the hotel, the same one the team would be staying at, the ubered out to get some dinner. Found a little Italian place ... and ALL the servers were good-looking young men. Our waiter's biceps barely fit into his shirt (Grayson was the one who commented on it, not me!). It was the opposite of Hooters :) 

The hotel served breakfast, so Saturday morning we partook of that, then ubered out to Newport Beach. Our Uber driver chastised Grayson for his Red Bull (oh no, you should not be drinking that!) and was very talkative. At the beach, we walked the pier and dipped our toes in the sand and water. Grabbed some donuts from a popular shop there.  

Gray noticed a little shop selling souvenirs ... usually his name "Grayson" is unique enough that he doesn't ever find it on pre-personized items, but today, there it was! No Callahan or Keaton, but Cooper and Landon were there. Cole, but no Colton ... and NO Jen (generally quite common).  I was busy getting a little Pokemon Go in while we were out and about also. 

 

Colton and his Metro team had two games Saturday, at 3:30 and 5:40, and two Sunday at 9:00 and 12:15. They won two, lost two (they were still pretty close). It was a nice facility, but they charged parents $20 to watch, and they charged $20 for parking too.  I got video and made highlights ...

Game 1 ~ https://youtu.be/QiQWJp_eMZE

Game 2 ~ https://youtu.be/dtfJ6-e3K0w

Game 3 ~ https://youtu.be/AhsntW5Khnk

Game 4 ~ https://youtu.be/3WKXI7hr5bA

Salt Lake Metro - Black

Kahner, Jason, Cai, Carter, Colton, Dawson, Reef, Coach Hammer

We flew from Salt Lake to Long Beach Airport, which was very small and low-key. We Ubered when we needed to get places. Colton's buddy Carter was playing in Vegas on Friday, so he and his folks drove the rest of the way to California for this tournament. We carpooled with them a few times. I'm not a travel gal, but this went well and made me wish that we'd gone to some of the other tournaments as well. 

After we got back - Gray had recapped some of the little memories he had, bullet style ...

• 65 degree room with queen....err, double beds
• Running lost - calling Jen - maybe not the one to aid in this sitch
• "Hooters" Italian restaurant except it's for the ladies
• Extremely loud gastropub with meh fish and chips (no beating Red Robin at this point, methinks)
• Uber driver chastening my decision to drink Red Bull
• Newport donut lunch with pigeons eating fries under our table
• Red Vines and more Red Vines - the short, thick ones please
• The Mule starring LaMar
• Watching a weird episode of Barry in a weird way
• Airport moving sidewalks with Jen laughing - thinking she was pretty funny
• Colton with two elbows on one arm

... adding more of my own ...

• Colton going on his own with TSA precheck - Gray staying with me, like a peasant. On the way back "why are you here in this line?" LGB airport (took a picture, Landon's initials!)
• Squished, three in the back of an Uber
• Colton gets his own room
• Gray's RedBull runs at the nearby gas station
• Hotel breakfast - cute little circle waffles
• $8 Dibs
• Watched "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" on Youtube during drives
• Watched Creed on the flight there - thought I had Creed II for the flight back but it wasn't downloaded. Had a backup movie "We Have a Ghost"
• Getting some Pogo in ... missing out on the little Koala
• Family History "find relative nearby" activity between games
• Catching a ride with Carter's family ... Carter's mom squishing into the back for the final ride back to the hotel (with the two sweaty boys)
• Kahner (tallest player) almost hitting the ceiling at the hotel ... and sitting next to Colton on the flight home. Definite space issues for that size!
• Not so great fish and chips (twice) ... Red Robin still a favorite
• Gray zooming through the airport ... would he notice if we were no longer following him?

I asked Colton to write up his memories ...

Friday - We landed in California in the evening and had a pretty cramped Uber ride over to the hotel. Really just dropped off our stuff in our rooms then headed back out to get some food. Went to this Italian restaurant. Nothing really happened for the rest of the night, just chilled at the hotel for a bit, before going to sleep.

Saturday - Don’t remember exactly what time I woke up, but I quickly headed down to breakfast and met up with Vaughn for just a bit. He told me about how he had a distant grandma with my same last name and was just wondering if I maybe had a family tree to look at and see if there was any connection. After breakfast, we headed to the beach for like an hour, just walking around and eventually grabbed some donuts to eat. After we got back, a few of the other boys were waiting in the lobby for their rooms to be ready, so I just had them come up and chill with me for a couple hours until they got their room keys. After that, we had the first games of the weekend, losing the first game and winning the second. I was pretty exhausted after the games, just took a shower and needed some food, so I headed to the Carl’s Jr. next to the hotel with Cai and Dawson. Got some snacks from the gas station to take back to my room after and watched Creed III on Amazon once I got back. That was all for the night.

Sunday - Not too much happened for the trip on Sunday as our games all wrapped up by 3:00. I headed down to the lobby to grab a quick breakfast then went back up to the room to pack up my stuff. I left my luggage with my parents before I left with the team for the games, since we were leaving for the airport directly after the games. The games went really similar to the day before, losing the first one and winning the second. Did a quick change of clothes back at the hotel before catching an uber to the airport. We ate at a nice little restaurant right by the gate and finally got on the flight back to Salt Lake City.

At home, Landon and Cooper were holding down the fort. I had instructed Cooper on the watering of the garden (most of it needs handwatering) and he handled that while I was gone. The guys (Landon, Cooper, Cal and Keaton) still made a foursome for pickleball Sunday morning.

Landon Spartan

 

The Spartans arose from the city-state of Sparta of ancient Greece. They were a warrior society that paid homage to the values of honor, duty, discipline, and endurance. Values that have led to their being regarded as some of the fiercest warriors history has ever known. And while their legacy still inspires and instructs professional warriors who are actually involved in armed conflict to this day; their legacy is equally as inspiring to everyday people. Why? Because we are all warriors. We all fight wars, be they internal struggles with motivation, our purpose, our relationships, etc… or external struggles like struggling for the flourishing of our careers, the survival of our businesses, or the advancement of our dreams (From The Strive).

Inspired by the Spartan legacy, taking the traditional 5k a few steps further, a Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. These races are held in the United States and have been franchised to 30 countries, including Canada, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and several European countries. I'm not sure what inspired Landon to look into such a race, but he did. He signed up and completed it. I asked him to write up a few memories ...

Today I completed my first Spartan race. I hadn't really looked into what the race would entail until the night before. A few YouTube videos later I was feeling confident and prepared for the race. The Spartan took place at the Snow Basin resort. I had to miss our family pickleball, but the run was honestly a ton of fun. There are three races: 5K, 10K, and 21K. I signed up for the 10K ...  and it kicked my butt. It was silly to think the 5K would’ve been too easy, when that’s maybe what I should’ve started with.

For the 10K race, we had 26 obstacles, and I’m proud to say I only failed one! Said obstacle was a wall that you needed to move horizontally across using only grips for your hands; no support for your feet. I’m sure I would’ve figured it out if I took my time, but I was feeling rushed as this was one of the first obstacles. One aspect of this race that ended up being most challenging for me was the elevation. I believe it was 1,300 ft of elevation, which is insane. Somehow I ran the first mile of incline, and it about slaughtered me. From there I decided to hike the inclines and save the running for the declines.

Most of the obstacles were entertaining and genuinely fun. The obstacles that were the buggers were all the carries. Carry a sand bag from here to there. Carry an atlas stone from here to there. And carry a bucket of rocks from here to there. You get the idea. Something I learned from YouTube was the importance of keeping your hands clean for some obstacles. There are a number of monkey bar-like challenges. Unfortunately one of them ripped up my left hand a bit. I looked ahead hoping that the remaining obstacles didn’t require my hands. ... but that was not to be. There was even a legit rope climb! For being one of those classic PE class activities featured in movies, this was my first ever attempt. I saw others using a technique with their feet, but I just brute forced through it. My favorite obstacle was the Hercules Hoist. It was a sandbag attached to a rope and run through a pulley. The objective is to pull the other end of the rope to raise the sandbag to the top, and bring it back down softly. I quickly noticed that the technique was to use your bodyweight to hoist up the bag. You jump up the rope a bit, throw your body back, and repeat. I thought it was so fun (even though the previous obstacle had just ripped up my hand!)  One of the final obstacles was a 5’ hurdle. Leading into the jump for the first one, my right calve almost cramped on me. Luckily I shook it off and finished the race. 

For whatever reason I didn’t eat breakfast before, which wasn’t great, but nor was a real issue. Overall, I felt really good about the race. It was a challenge for sure, but I'm glad to say I conquered it.

 You can read a little more about the event and see some pictures HERE.

Wiffleball

 

The 4th of July was on a Tuesday, and the guys had the day off work. We decided we'd get an extra edition of pickleball in ... but apparently we weren't the only ones with that thought. The eight courts at Constitution Park were completely packed, as were the ones at Ron Woods. The baseball diamond however, was available, and Landon had been wanting to try some wiffleball ...

We were missing Cal&Kate, and while Gray had joined us for the pickleball attempt, he had since jogged home, getting in his workout for the day. So I filmed the four Blackham Brothers as they got some wiffle in ... hitting the ball, catching, stealing bases. Landon and Cooper both ended up with some skinned knees, but there was a lot of laughter, as often happens when these guys hang out together. 

https://youtu.be/wr5TlgeF4v0