Visiting Clackamas

When the basketball schedule came out (Clackamas Colton) I saw that there were three games at Clackamas the weekend after Christmas. I wanted to visit and check out Colton's apartment and area in person, and getting three games seemed like the best time to plan for, to cheer him on in person and get some video. Gray was on board, and I suggested taking Cooper (who had the week off work anyway) and Keaton (who hadn't used much of his PTO). Then we figured we'd see if Landon and Cal&Kate wanted to join. Kate decided to stay home with Vera, but everyone else was on board. Grayson booked the flights, found a place to stay, typed up an itinerary ...

In the week before Christmas ... Keaton wasn't feeling well. After a few days he bounced back. Then it struck Cooper. If the thermometer was reading right, he hit 105° and yes, tested positive for Covid. Then Gray said "I'm feeling poorly" ... both missed the Westra Christmas Eve party. Christmas was low key with just the family. Gray and Coop were both feeling better and the trip was going on as planned. Except the morning we were to leave, I got sick. I didn't feel like I could spend the day traveling and sadly decided to sit the trip out. It was now a BlackhamBOYS activity, with me vacationing vicariously.

Originally, we were all flying out together, but Colton had a practice and had to be back earlier, so he had flown out at 8:00 in the morning. The rest of the crew was scheduled to fly out at 5:15. The flight was delayed almost an hour, but they made it to Portland. With one less person, it actually made the travel a bit easier, as the rental car could fit five people (maybe not comfortably, but they fit). As they went to check into their VRBO ... Gray realized he'd been ghosted. No responses from the host.  Luckily, they were able to find three rooms at a hotel that wasn't too far. That was Thursday (Dec26).

No game on Friday (games were Saturday, Sunday and Monday) but Colton still had practice in the afternoon. The gang got together for breakfast, Colton joining the crew. After eating, Colton gave the family a tour of the college campus and gym. The boys humored their father, going to Benchmade (a knife store. Gray likes knives. A lot) and then dinner out at Oswego Grill. 

Up next? Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop Gray and Keaton had visited when they dropped Colton off in August. As the trip had been coming up, Keaton had said "I'm SO excited to go to Oregon... I'm going to eat so much ice cream!" And they did.  They went to Salt & Straw four times...

Cal and Keaton tended to stick to a favorite flavor - salted caramel. Gray was a little more adventurous (olive oil ice cream anyone?) and liked to take advantage of the free taste samples. Of course Salt&Straw was dessert. There was lots of eating out for meals. Here's a peek ...

The group had McDonalds a few times. Breakfast at various locals to try pancakes, eggs benedict and hashbrowns. For more meals; Oswego Grill,  Din Tai Fung,  Bamboo Sushi, more than once ... the Green Machine rolls were a hit. 

The hotel worked out (and was about half what the VRBO cost was) ... A Safeway and McDonalds next door. A gym ... both Gray and Coop hit the treadmill there. Cal and Keaton shared a room, Landon and Cooper shared a room, and Gray had his own. 

No central location to hang out, so they'd just pick a room and gather there to watch a show together, or to play their nightly game of The Great Dalmuti. 

Originally part of the plan was to go visit Kolby and Jami at their new house in Portland. But with the recent sickness, that got shifted to another time (they had just barely moved in too, hadn't really unpacked and settled yet). 

The gang hit Ground Control, and old school arcade instead. 

Oh course the REAL reason for the trip, was to cheer Colton on in his tournament!

The Clackamas Holiday tournament ... Clackamas played Green River on Saturday, Walla Walla on Sunday (you can see the BlackhamBoys in the stands a few times here, and Clackamas got the win!), and Edmonds on Monday.  The games were livestreamed, so I was at home watching, and sharing texts with the crew.

The guys were good about keeping me updated on everything. Pictures and texts, and even write-ups of how things were going. Grayson had an itinerary that he added his personal thoughts/memories to (see it here), and both Cal and Keaton wrote up their memories of the trip. It's so fun to get the different perspectives, see what mentioned (or not) by each person, and to hear their unique voices!

On Tuesday (Dec31) it was time to return home ... sans Colton.

Some pictures of the travel along the way ... the flight into Portland, stuffing into the rental car, the Delta SkyClub on the return trip home. Wrapping up 2024 and welcoming in the new year. 

Autumn Aloft

I'd heard about the hot air balloon festival up in Park City. It's called Autumn Aloft - mid September (the 14th and 15th). Jami was in town with her girls and thought it sounded fun. Maga's always up for anything if it's with family, and Grayson always likes to be involved. While I like hot air balloons, I don't care for driving and crowds, but I decided to give it a go and I was glad I went. 

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. We got off a little late (we're Blackhams) and stopped by Maga's house so we could all drive up together. Olivia decided to come too, and she drove separate, because she wasn't ready and there wasn't room in the car. 

As we got closer ... the cars and the crowds were obvious. Not unexpected. No parking anywhere. Gray stopped and dropped off Maga and the girls, and then Gray and I drove around, figuring we'd just watch from the road (it was pretty much a parking lot anyway).  Then suddenly, a road that had been closed before was no open. We pulled in, and there was parking! We guessed it had been set aside and reserved, but then opened up this late into the event.

As Gray and I started to wander in ... it seemed everyone else was heading out. We hadn't seen any balloons go up. Maybe one. There were still others "up" but on the ground. Weather plays a part, and although it didn't seem windy or anything, I guess the actual "aloft" part wasn't going to happen. We still got some fun photos and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. Good for all ages. Free. No pets please (yea, that rule wasn't followed at all! Dogs everywhere!)

After the non-liftoff, we stopped for breakfast at the Porcupine Grill.

Red Robin with the Westras

Shane and Adria were in town from California ... doing a little visiting, then flying out and taking the folks with them back for a California visit. But while they were here, we had a group get-together. We were able to get seated in the back room and had it almost all to ourselves. Landon had just returned from his mission in February, so it was the first time he'd been able to see many in the extended family. Keaton was so cute entertaining D&D's girls with snapchat filters ...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JenB (@jenblackham) on Apr 9, 2017 at 2:50pm PDT

... and the classic picture of Dad in Mom's glasses! He had to see to pay the bill!

Fall Food Tour ... Eat and Repeat

Stuffing the Stomach in Seattle with Siblings

...otherwise known as the "Fall Food Tour"

(October 2015 and 2016)

Last year, in 2015 ...Grayson got bit by the travel bug. He'd had his work trip to Vegas in January, family trips to Moab and St. George  (sans Mom both times), then the trip to Europe in the summer... but that wasn't enough! In the Fall, he figured it would be fun to catch a quick flight to Seattle and spent the weekend with his bro. They decided to bring Ana along, and then they proceeded to try out various restaurants in the area. LOTS of eating. 

They got out and enjoyed the fall foliage as well.

It was such a success, that they decided to do it again this year ... maybe every year? Jami is great at planning, so she was setting everything up. Grayson put in a request to hit Din Tai Fung, one of the favorites from last year. Jami responded "okay, that is the ONE place we'll go again" indicating everything else was going to be new.

As Gray and Ana flew in on Friday, Kolby and Jami were still hard at work and the girls were in school. So the two out-of-towners hit up "Lunchbox Laboratory"  ... the Blackham boys back home were jealous!

I don't know if it was that first night or one of the following, but they did hit Din Tai Fung. I remember Grayson texting me that it was quite the wait (two hours?) and was very late when they finally ate.  Kolby and Jami's girls are much more adventurous in the eating ... I'm not sure how the Blackham Boys would fare on such an eating outing. Gray took lots of pictures ... and honestly, half the time I couldn't even tell what anything was.  I'm a pretty Plain Jane "steak and potatoes" gal, so it's good Grayson has family to support his adventurous streak!

 Food (and family) photos!

They did some of the touring again, but it wasn't until Grayson returned home that Jami posted some truly spectacular photos, as even without guests, they are getting out and about and discovering new things to see in their own backyard.

Gray and the boys had planned on going to Seattle in the summer. Unfortunately, some medical issues squashed those plans.  Grayson had really missed not it making out then... hopefully, this trip made up for it a little.

Eating Out 2015

Eating out ... whether it's just for a pretzel or a nice sit down dinner, we don't always catch the moments on camera. But every year I look back and see quite a few "food" photos, so I figured I'd organize them all into a blog post. Landon's "Last Supper" was blogged separately, as was Cal at KFC and Grayson's Food Fest in Seattle ... but everything else I found pictures for is here ...

A couple pictures with Landon in them before he left ...

 Ice cream with cousins ...

... and a final Salt City Burger

Then Landon was gone, but we still tried to include him.

Verg's with the whole family!

An adults-only dinner at Asian Star

A simple stop at Sam's Club

We always love Tepanyaki!

 Donuts ...

HotDogs (on a stick!)

Desert Star is a show ... but there's also EATS!

More cousin outings ...

Rodizio

Tepanyaki again ...

It's not so much photographing the food ...

But the friends and family that gather as we eat out.

Most of the time we eat in ...
Like Taco Tuesday.

... and sometimes I still get snapshots!

The Last Supper

Before Landon leaves for Mexico for two years, the Blackham Clan got together for "the last supper" per say.  Many years ago, we'd had a fun celebration at Bucca De Beppo's Pope table, and Grayson reserved it again for this event. 

Landon and the Pope.

Of course it was a bit of crazy chaos, as it always is when all the Blackhams get together. Plenty of Italian yumminess. Cheesey bread, cheese sticks, pizza, chicken alfredo, macaroni rosa, baked ziti ... I can't remember what all else. Served family style, just help yourself! Uncle Clayton took a panoramic video, I'll try to link to it HERE. 

... and the traditional selfie, only capturing a glimpse of Gray.

Ah ... the last supper.

Eating Out (and In)

 I don't think we eat out as much as many families, but we do hit our fair share of restaurants through the year. I included some in my Belated Birthdays, Landon's Graduation and our Anniversary posts, because eating out does often accompany celebrations and such. As I glanced through photos from the past year however, I found quite a few random "eating out" pictures, so I thought I'd gather them together to reflect on some eats in 2014 ...

Wendys ... always a favorite! \

Chicken nuggets, fries and frostys (also known as "dipping sauce!)

Kneaders is a family favorite. Nice and close over in Jordan Landing. I'll often sit this one out (trying to conserve calories) but several times during the year, Daddy and the boys would go for the famous french toast. The milk containers are SO puny though!

After priesthood session, Daddy took Callahan and Keaton (and Travis) to his old high school haunt Italian Village. Gray introduced them to the infamous PIZZA BENDER. We did go back as a family once too (I think I'll leave it to Gray and the boys!)

Every year for Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Westra give the local siblings a gift of "going out to eat" once a month. Their effort and getting the families together for food and fun. Red Robin is often a favorite, especially if the kids are coming too ...

... a couple different Red Robin trips.

For Mom's birthday, we all took HER out. 

Wendy was in town and so Chris and Kim and 

Gray and I and the folks all had dinner at Asian Star. 

Occasionally Gray and I get out alone on a date too.

Here, we are at Rodizio.

At the end of the year, Kolby flew into town as a Christmas surprise for Pammy. 

All the adults went out to dinner downtown at Ruths Chris. Fine dining!

I'm sure there were many other dinners out, and probably some more pictures in my files of photos ... but these ones I had set aside for blogging purposes. It's fun to look back on the different places and groups and remember the food and fun.

As for eating IN, aka "Take Out" ... I don't have a lot of pictures, but I thought I'd mention a couple family favorites. Papa Murphy Pizza has been a bit hit over the last year. We pretty much have "Papa Murphy Mondays".  Basic cheese and pepperoni are the favorites, but Gray and Landon enjoy the chicken garlic ... and I do too, as long as there is no tomato or green onion on it, and I pick the chicken off first (so by then it's basically breadsticks).  Another restaurant that peaked the interest of the family was Popeyes. It moved in over at Jordan Landing, and our family picked up many boxes of chicken tenders over the past few months. Chick-fil-a has become a favorite as well ... pretty much replacing Wendy's (it was Cooper's birthday choice).

I'll have to do a repeat post for next year, to see which places we hit again!

Yum

Kneaders French Toast ... Can you really call it "french toast"? I mean it's HUGE. It's almost more of a cinnamon roll.  We went out to Kneaders on Labor Day morning with the extended Blackham Clan. Good times.

On Saturday (Landon's birthday) we went out to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  There was a University of Utah football game that day ... we look like big fans with four boys all in red (two were even U shirts). 

 Ipods are good for keeping the kids entertained while waiting.

 Ipods are also great for reflecting the sun into poor Callahan's eyes.

The boys all got lemonade with their meals ... the tops of the glasses had been dipped in sugar.

Keaton licked his all off.

Of course there was cheesecake for dessert. 

We got a whole cheesecake to go as well.

(Pictures will be in the next post ... Landon's birthday).

Who Wants Pancakes?

It's a Blackham Family tradition ... the "end of summer" breakfast. Before the boys go back to school, we go out to breakfast, and Virg's is the family favorite. Cooper WAS there, between Colton and Landon, we didn't notice he hadn't made the picture until we were gone. Huge pancakes!  And speaking of pancakes, "Psych" has become a favorite show around the house this past summer, and Callahan has a new favorite quote ...

Prior to looking up this clip, I had not seen the original ...

but I've heard Callahan say this 100+ times.

I'm still not exactly sure WHY it is so hilarious,
but this IS Callahan now.