Keaton's Journeyman Journey

Keaton has been working as an apprentice electrician with Camson (and Callahan) and has been taking the classes and tests to move up to Journeyman status. That has two parts, residential Journeyman and Full Journeyman. Keaton had completed the necessary requirements for the first a while back, and had continued moving toward full status, studying for the exams, finishing up the hours and schooling.  He had some funny stories to tell as he wrapped it up these last few weeks, and I asked him to write it all up in his own words.  So here's Keaton's Journeyman journey ...

When I took the residential tests, I don’t think I was that nervous. Probably because I didn’t fully grasp how difficult the tests could be. Somehow I was able to pass all of them first try.

The practical was pretty easy. The 3 way / 4 way and doorbell were easy because I do those every day at work. The torque wrench was also easy because at that point in time, Cal and I had got our own torque wrenches to start using on equipment in the field. The only tricky one was the motor control / swamp cooler and that’s because it’s what I was least familiar with. Houses nowadays don’t have swamp coolers typically, but this is one of the only semi-complicated motors you would ever see in a house, so that’s why it was included on the test. But even that wasn’t that hard after looking up some YouTube videos.

Then I took the code test. Looking back, I should’ve scheduled the theory test and then the code test. I think theory is easier than code in general. That way the tests are being taken easiest to hardest, in hopes for a snowball effect. The code test is 80 questions in 180 minutes. Roughly 2 min and 15 seconds per question. That’s a tight window. Especially because, for each question, you have to find the answer in the book, so flipping through the pages takes some time, and you have to remember to use the correct formulas, look at exceptions, etc… I finished through to the 80th question and I had 30 minutes left, but I was unsure on about 20 questions. So I took the time to double check those and the rest of my answers, leaving me with 5 minutes left and 5 questions still “flagged.” I was able to find 1 more answer and then I submitted. They emailed me back the scores within a few minutes. 76%, 61/80 - barely passed.

Next was theory, scheduled a couple days later. Figured I’d want a day in between to let my brain relax. That backfired because my buddy Marko texted me saying it was the last day to take our midterm test for school. I definitely forgot about that. I had to revert my brain into everything I was learning at that time in school, which was way more specific than code and theory. So we took the test, aced it, and then the next day it was time for theory.

I didn’t know what to expect on theory because the topics were very vague. Unlike code, which tells you how many questions are on box fill, or grounding and bonding, or definitions and general requirements, the theory topics just said voltage, amperage, power, resistance, and voltage drop. I knew the equation for voltage drop so I wasn’t worried about that so much, but I didn’t know what kind of questions the other topics would be. Turns out I was worried for nothing, because most of those questions were basic ohms law or terminology questions. Either I knew the answer off the top of my head, or it was a very simple equation that I had memorized. I finished the theory tests with over an hour to spare, and I scored 94%, 57/60.

With that, the resi tests were over and I could relax again. 

That was almost a couple years, so fast forwarding to now where I had to take the full journeyman tests, I had quite a different testing experience. I was a lot more nervous this time around. Probably because I had taken the tests before, but also because I knew they were going to be harder. For the practical, I’ve got to bend two pieces of conduit and wire a motor control with a relay, neither of which I do at work. And for the code, I have to incorporate everything else I learned in third and fourth year. AND remember to change my formulas whenever they’re incorporating commercial wiring instead of residential. I didn’t think the theory test would be that different or that hard, seeing that I got a high score in the resi theory test. So I decided to take that first.

My full journeyman tests, there was a lot more things that happened. So get ready.

• CODE: Right before taking the test, I was super nervous. I shouldn’t have been, because I was feeling good on the topics, I knew I had crushed it before, and I studied, so everything should be fine. I got 10 questions in and I realized I severely overestimated this test. It was already way harder than the resi. I wasn’t even sure about half the questions at this point. I figured I wouldn’t finish an hour early this time, but whatever the question is, I’ll figure it out one way or another. I get to the end and I’m feeling a lot better. The first 10 questions were some of the harder ones. I go back and double check all my answers, figure out the equations for the ones I didn’t know, and submitted. This time, no response. I’ve heard sometimes it takes a little while for them to score it, so I just went to bed, very nervous. I was pretty confident I passed, probably not as high of a score as last time, but that’s okay. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw they sent my score. I couldn’t wait til later to see, so I opened it then. FAILED. That. Sucks. It was 2:00 in the morning and I felt like crap. I didn’t fall asleep for two more hours, and then I went to work. I was pretty depressed that morning, but also angry because the score they sent me didn’t actually tell me my score. Not a percentage, not a number out of 50. It should say that, so I called them that morning and asked if they could find my score and tell me. They said they’ll work on it and send me another email. So the day went on, and I was a sad boy, but then they emailed me back in the early afternoon. I figured it had my score on it, so I checked to see how bad I did. 88%, 44/50, PASS. It took me a second, but I quickly realized that it was a technical difficulty. That was my score, and I did actually pass. No more sad boy. That made my day. I had already told a couple people I failed, so I texted them back, “JK I actually passed. There was this thing, blah blah blah, yay.” And with that done, we got the snowball rolling once again. 1 down, 2 to go.
• PRACTICAL: I scheduled the practical next. Figured it’ll be harder than the last practical, but not as hard as the code test. Marko and I had been practicing bending a bunch of conduit in the garage for our labs, so we did it once more before my test. We looked at the motor control boards we wired at the labs and I figured that’s about as much as I can study for that. When I got there, the proctor let me pick which task to do first. That was very nice of him because I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to do the conduit first and be all sweaty for the next two. I chose the motor control, he gave me the line diagram, and clicked the timer. One thing that made me nervous was that in the past, the proctor lets you choose which line diagram to wire. This time, the proctor said that wasn’t an option. Everyone has to do the ice cube relay. I didn’t like the sound of that because the ice cube relay is the harder variant for me. I looked at the line diagram, started wiring, and finished with plenty of time to spare. Called the proctor over, we plugged it in, everything worked, onto the next. I did the transformer next. I was not worried about this task at all. It’s color coding. You memorize the colors in the right order and you wire it. I did it in 30 seconds, called the proctor over, he said it’s good, onto the next.
• CONDUIT: Conduit was last. We had to bend a 4 point saddle and a 3 point saddle. Those bends were exactly what Marko and I were practicing, so I was happy to see it. They had rolling box offsets which kinda sucked, but I figured it wouldn’t be that bad. I did the 4 point saddle. That looked pretty good and didn’t take a lot of time. Then I did the 3 point. I don’t know how this happened, but when I went to cut my pipe to length, I forgot that I flipped it around. So I ended up cutting off the wrong end, which in turn ruined my whole pipe. My saddle was a few inches off center and there was no easy way to fix it. At the point, my heart sank and I accepted failure. That was a critical mistake that I figured I could laugh at a year from now. But I didn’t want to not have a pipe to present, so I decided I’m going re bend this pipe and just try to get it to fit on the board as best I can. Then, in my mind, I didn’t completely give up. I un-did all my bends and this pipe was looking wonky. It wasn’t straight, it was doglegged, and kinked. But beggars can’t be choosers. I made all my new marks and bent the saddled correctly this time, but it still wasn’t looking great. I spent a few minutes just tweaking it by eye, and with 10 seconds left, I made one final cut and placed it on the board. It fit, but didn’t look good. To pass this test, the main things you need to do is have 1/4”-3/4” clearance from the obstruction, the ends of the saddle have to be touching the board, and it has to fit. I stepped back and looked at my 3 point and realized it actually met all those standards. Despite all the kinks and it not being level, I thought there was a very small chance this could actually pass.  I sat down with one of the other guys that was taking the tests and we were chatting while the last guy was finishing his two conduits. The proctor started grading my pipes. Apparently, there’s an algorithm on his computer that he inputs the numbers he got from my pipes. The clearances, how many kinks it has, how off center it is, etc… He clicked enter, then looked at me with the faintest smile and nod. I pretended I didn’t see that. There was just no way that I actually passed. I was fully prepared to go home and schedule this test again asap. The other guy finished his pipes, so we all started talking while the proctor was grading theirs. Normally when you’re done, you just leave and you get an email within an hour that has your scores, but the proctor said it was a Saturday so no one was in the office. They probably won’t send us our scores for a couple days. But, he said he could just tell us our scores there and now if we wanted. So I said let’s hear it. He said I passed motor control, I passed transformer, and my 4 point passed. I knew all that. Moment of truth… he said my 3 point barely passed.

I actually jumped, I didn’t believe it. He was laughing too because he said it’s the worst pipe he’s ever seen that passed. He said if I literally had one more kink on the pipe, or it was slightly more off level, or if I was another 1/16” off, it would’ve failed. So that was that. I stayed to hear the other guys scores, they both passed all the tests too. They also had a couple mistakes, but we all made it work. It was a pretty fun time. The proctor said this was one of the most fun groups he’s watched. 2 out of 3 done. Onto the next.

I think I was the most stressed for the code test, but I did study a lot for it. Even a couple days before the test I felt ready. I had a game plan. I didn’t want to just have 30 minutes at the end to work through all the hard questions. I wanted a lot more time, so instead of limiting myself to 2 minutes per question, I did 1 minute. The hard thing with doing that is that it can be very, very difficult to flip through the pages and find the answer within a minute. But I thought it would be worth it to have a ton of time at the end for the more difficult questions and checking my work. Taking the test, I actually was able to keep up with that pace. Better than I thought. I knew a ton of the answers off the top of my head, and I was able to find a lot more within that 1 minute. I was cruising. I eventually slowed down at question 60 because I had more time than I thought I was going to have. I made it to question 80, I had about 25 flags, 80 minutes left. I just relaxed. It wasn’t over, but I felt like I set myself up perfectly that there was no way I wouldn’t pass. I burned through 10-15 flags in 20 minutes, spent another 20 minutes double checking all my other answers, then another 20 minutes on 5 of the harder questions, and I felt like I was golden. I figured I would pass, but in my head I was hoping to get a 90%. That would be cool. I didn’t think it was very realistic because most of the time I hear people taking this test? they get anywhere in the 80s. I submitted, got my score a few minutes later, 95%, 76/80, PASS.

I saved the hardest for last and it ended up being the easiest. I’m pretty stoked that I passed them all first try again. And I’m happy it’s all done. Time to relax.

 

Camson Cabin and RZR Riding

 

Cal and Keaton work for Camson Electric, and at the end of August, the company had a team-building getaway. Hanging out at a cabin, with ping-pong challenges, and then hitting the muddy roads on the razors. I didn't get a lot of feedback from the brothers, other than it was MUDDY, and the tires threw the damp dirt up all over the machines, and the people in them.

Thanks to Keaton - we have some pictures!

At least there were no issues as with some of Grayson's earlier rides (Off-Road Reality). 

A Little Look at Lightning

 

Monday, May 13 was a stormy night! I can recall seeing the flashes and hearing the thunder. But Keaton actually went outside to see nature's fireworks. He caught some cool shots on camera, purplish skies. At times it was as light as day, even though it was fairly late in the evening. He shared his pictures with me, and with today's camera setting, live video to see it in action!

https://youtu.be/IxNb1jw63xI?si=X2co5R85nUO_BUhh

Cooper was already in bed, and quite sheltered in the basement bedroom. He's outgrown his weather phobia, although he probably wouldn't go out and stand in the storm as Keaton did. I remember when storms like this would be SO stressful for a little Blackham boy (and therefore his mommy too). Now, like Keaton, I kind of enjoy the light show. 

*** Updated in August after another lightning show. I sat out in the backyard and watched for about 30 minutes and I don't think it really ever stopped. It was far North, enough so that I never heard any thunder. My pictures aren't nearly as impressive as Keaton's captures, but I tried.

... I don't actually have a lightning tracker app on my phone, but this was shared on social media the next day and I snagged the visual ... that's a lot of dots!

Keaton's Corner

 

Keaton had been thinking he'd like to try this "adulting" thing and get a place of his own. After looking at apartment possibilities for a few months, he found one he liked and signed a lease. He's not far, about 10 minutes away in South Jordan, just a little NorthEast of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  It's a house, and he's in a newly finished basement apartment. It doesn't feel like a basement though, there is a lot light. He has off-street parking, then he walks around the side of the house to a rear entrance. 

Here's a peek at the inside ...

Home Sweet Keaton Home.

Keaton - 2021 Recap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keaton - Jumping From Planes

 

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

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

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

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

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

https://youtu.be/SpLwsoy553k

9-Square in the Air (Blackham Style)

 

Have you heard of 9-Square (in the Air)? It's similar to four-square, where you bop a ball from square to square, but instead of the squares being painted on pavement, these squares are above your head, framed from PVP pipe. There is an official website and sets can be purchased (well, they are backordered as of this posting) but they are pricy! $700. Keaton decided he wanted to make his own. It really IS just PVC pipe and the correct connectors (he found those on Amazon). He went with a sturdier size (1.5 inch) too. It still added up to $250, but he said the hardest part was picking up the pipe from the store and getting it home. A few hours of cutting pipe to the correct length, and he was good to go. Did you know that with the addition of two daughters-in-law ... there are NINE Blackhams in the bunch? We even got Gray to play (grudgingly). Perfect for play.

    

On a different day ... had to stop and snap a photo.

All five Blackham boys in chronological order (the center is the #1 spot)

Next up ... Westra Father's Day party!

As Keaton got quite a bit of feedback (how did you do it, was it hard, how much did it cost, where do you find the supplies) I had him write up a little "how-to" if you wanted to do it on your own.  So here you go!

Get the PVC sticks at Lowe’s or Home Depot. They come in 10’ sticks (you will need 28 total, maybe grab an extra in case you cut something incorrectly). You’re going to trim the pipe (I used a sawzall, buy a chop saw would work too) to 7’ for the vertical legs (you need 16 of these) and 4 1/2’ for the top connectors (you need 24 of these). (Height and width are pretty standard but you can adjust how you’d like. 5’ height is preferable for children under 10.)

Home Depot and Lowe’s most likely do not carry any of the connectors because they may not be frequently used in construction or other places, so I got mine from Amazon. Make sure the fittings match the PVC Pipe size (I used 1 1/2”) and note that some of the connectors are sold in sets, while others are sold individually.

• 4 3 way PVC fittings for the corners.
• 8 4 ways for the sides.
• 4 5 ways for the middle square.

I found the ball  at Walmart for $2. 

Setting up the game is pretty straight forward but does take some time. It's good to have a ladder and hammer. I start with the middle square and 5 way fittings so we can move it to its desired location. Then you start adding on leg by leg to the middle square. I do the corners last. It’s important that you have the center square where you want it because once the whole thing is built, it isn't going anywhere.

You may want to prepare a carry bag for all of the fittings (I don’t glue any of them on to play so that it can be stored easier and it works just fine). To store and transport the pipe, I wrapped the 7’ sticks together with a bungee on both sides and did the same for the 4 1/2’ sticks.

Hawaii 2021

 

In April, Grayson and Keaton joined Kolby's family in Hawaii for a week. This was Gray's second trip (see Hawaii 5-0). Because of Covid, they both had to have a specific Covid test (only certain providers were accepted by Hawaii). Luckily, Clay and Courtney had just gone on a family trip to Hawaii, so they were able to give us some pointers. I was able to get both guys scheduled for a drive-through test at the local Walgreens on April 17, Saturday morning before they flew out to Seattle. They got their results quickly, and were both negative, so the vacation was on. They spent Saturday evening, Sunday, and Monday morning in Seattle, and flew out to Hawaii Monday, April 19, on a 6:00 flight. Tuesday-Saturday the guys got some sightseeing, snorkeling and eating exotic foods. They flew home LATE Saturday night and arrived back in SLC Sunday, April 25. They hadn't really been able to sleep on the flight, and were dealing with jet-lag and time changes. Keaton still had Monday off, but Gray was back to the grind and a full inbox at work. I asked Keaton to write up his memories from the week, and here they are ...

Me and pops went on a 9 day vacation to Hawaii. Here’s how it went...

We first had to get a COVID test within 3 days of the flight to Hawaii. This was a little tense because if we were positive then the trip probably would’ve been outright cancelled for that person. Luckily, we were both negative so we headed to the airport to leave for Seattle and meet up with the fam there. We got there around 7:00 pm on Saturday and hung out and ate Indian food while Bogdan said his goodbyes.

On Sunday, Dad, Kolby, and I went to breakfast at Pomegranate. I had a massive sandwich and those two had avocado toast. We went home to chill while Mia and Jamie were working. A big part of this trip for me was Kolby introducing me to a ton of great movies that I’d never seen before. We watched Kung Fu Hustle, Pulp Fiction, Django, and Fargo. They were really fun and Kolby would geek out at little bits during the movies that only a movie nerd like him would know, but it was also for clarifying purposes to understand the story even more so. We also watched a few Simpsons episodes and I can’t believe I’ve never watched those before haha. All of us went to dinner that night at Din Thai Fung at my request. This place is one of my favorite restaurants and there’s not even one in Utah. They have green beans, dumplings, pot stickers, rice and noodles and there’s nothing that I don’t like.

Monday we watched some more shows and movies. Kolby and I took Hazel and Otis to the park so they can run around. I definitely fell in love with these pups there. We left for the flight at 6:00 pm and it was a 6 hour flight. I listened to music and watched Invincible on Amazon Prime. The flight wasn’t so bad. We get to Kauai and the humidity punched me in the face. It’s 9:30 pm there (4 hour difference from Utah and 1 from Seattle). We check into the hotel suite at the Koloa Resort after getting our rental cars; a red Jeep for me and pops, and then a Buick for the Seattle crew. There’s a master for Kolby and Jamie, bedroom with a queen for Dad, bedroom with two twins for me and Maddie, and then a fold over couch-bed for Mia and her boyfriend Jack. There was an outdoor balcony and that’s where we all hung out most of the time at the hotel. We were 3 stories up overlooking a pool with palm trees all around and music playing on a speaker at all times while birds came to hangout with us.

 

Tuesday morning, Maddie had class at 6:00 am Hawaii time. Mia and Jack get up early to work on school too. Dad and I went down to the resorts restaurant Holoholo Grill for breakfast. They served POG juice, banana nut pancakes, taro bread French toast, loco moco, surfer burrito, and pork hash. Everything there was delicious, especially the side of Portuguese sausage. Then, Dad and I explored around a bit visiting the other resorts, finding the beaches, places we’ll hit later and such. I had no idea there were roosters everywhere around the island. Holy crap. We found a bunch of sea turtles swimming near a shore and no one was around! There was probably 8 or so. Dad, Kolby, and Jamie went to Costco later to get groceries while Maddie, Mia and I got in the pool. When they got back, we visited the beach to see 5 or so sea turtles sleeping on the shore, and a seal too if you walk down a ways. We had Puka Dog and if it’s not the best hot dog you’ll eat, I don’t know what is. When we got back Kolby, Dad and I watch stand ups of Nate Bargatze and Daniel Sloss. This turned into a nightly thing of the trip, and one that I looked forward to throughout the day.

Wednesday, Jamie, Mia, Jack, and I went to get Açaí for breakfast. We brought Maddie back her bowl and I went down to the pool to hangout with Dad and Kolby. Kolby and I went down the slide a few times while the lifeguard made fun of us, but whatever. It started to rain pretty hard and Pops was all too happy about it. I had no idea warm rain was his favorite thing ever. People were getting out of the pool and under umbrellas or heading back to their crib while he was, just now, cannonballing into the pool, the only one in there, and he’s just gliding around wishing that he can be in that moment forever. Kolby and I were making fun of him during all this. I went back and got lunch with the same crew from this morning and right next to the açaí place. We went to Da Crack which is similar to Cafe Rio but to no ones surprise was really, really good. Then all of us, except Dad, went snorkeling for only an hour because it was a bit windy. That night we watched John Mulaney, a personal favorite of mine.

Thursday, all of us went to Holoholo for breakfast. It was a lot nicer that day so we immediately went to the beach to hangout and snorkel. We were there for a few hours. We got some Puka, Maddie got some cool shells, Jack flew his Kite, it was solid. Most everyone took a nap after that and then we went to a fancy restaurant called Beach House. When we came home from dinner, we watched Mulaney’s other two stand ups.

Friday was the highlight of the trip for me. Holoholo for breakfast and then we were splitting into two groups. Those that were going on the catamaran to the Na Pali coast and those that were doing a bike ride because they’d get motion sickness from the boat. Dad, Kolby, Maddie, and I went on the catamaran. It started at noon and lasted for about 6 hours. Setting sail was so much fun! This boat was a party boat and everyone was feeling it. There was about 25 other people on there with us, drinks, food, music, and the best crew mates ever. I cannot describe how awesome they were. 30 minutes out and we stopped at a snorkeling spot. We’re there for about another 30 minutes and got a couple sea turtles swimming by. Everyone hopped back on and right before we set sail again, Maddie got sick. It didn’t affect her much, she was just bummed she got motion sickness and was probably going to be like that the rest of the ride. We make it to the coastline and the cliffs there are so cool to see. When we turned around to go back, there was a double rainbow, clear skies, and we saw a whale breach out of the water! Some of these waves were rocking us back and forth. On the way back, more people got sick and you can see all the crew mates just running with buckets, cleaning up peoples messes, back and forth and back forth. It was pretty funny (sorry Maddie haha). That night we watched Ryan Hamilton.

The last day of the trip, I wondered around a bit for souvenirs. Then all of us except Maddie and Jack went on the bike ride the others did the day before. It was really fun and the view of the ocean was great. After that, all of us hiked to Secret Beach. I really liked it there because the sand felt great, the waves were fun to get pushed around in, Maddie and I found thousands of tadpoles and frogs the size of flies, Jack flew his kite, and then we went home for homemade steak dinner. It was really good, but then we had to say goodbye because the Seattle crew was staying another day while me and Pops left at 10:00 that night. Some real sad goodbyes looking back at a truly epic week. It was a solid group and a solid trip.

Gray and Keaton didn't take a ton of photos, but I was glad for the few I got. In addition to what they took (the first photo collage at top) Maddie took some spectacular scenic shots (middle and below).

Classic Keaton - Disco Skating

Keaton has a good crew of friends he's kept in touch with since high school. One of the fun activities they like to do is hit Classic for their Disco Skating nights. Bright colors, funky music ... and skating with friends. They've done it quite a bit.

I'll often say "take a picture" as the kids leave for an activity. I'm THAT mom. One who scrapbooks and blogs. I like to have photos. The kids aren't always cooperative. After a skating night in January I got a text from Keaton ...

... there were over 100 files in online album he shared with me!  What a kid! Not just one picture, but a whole bunch. It gave me a little peek at what his disco skating nights are like, and hopefully he'll be grateful to have the memories in the future as well.  I took the photos/videos and made a video snapshot of the night. 

Doing Disney - Keaton Goes to Cali

Last year, Olivia gifted Ana's boys Disneyland tickets - the trip was set for September 2019, Halloween season. She asked if any of the West Jordan Blackham Boys would like to go too ... Coop and Colton had recently had to make up school after the cruise, and they weren't sure about going through that again (Colton also had games, and Coop ended up on a Seattle trip overlapping this excursion). Keaton though ... he was up for it, and he went to represent our family.  He drove out with Maga and Olivia, and Ana's family and Clay and Courtney's crew met them there.

The littles LOVED having Keaton along!

I asked Keaton for a recap of the trip, and he delivered!

My memory might be off for some of the things we did on certain days so bear with me. 

It was Saturday night, September 28th. I had everything packed for the week and headed over to Maga's house to spend the night as we were waking up bright and early the next morning to begin the trip. I passed out pretty quickly being that it was around midnight. Livi had grabbed me and Aidan a McDonald's midnight snack, and we had turned on Big Hero 6 (which is my type of sleepy ambiance given that I practiced falling asleep to movies and shows my whole childhood). Clay was hoping to leave by about 7:30 and what that means to us Blackhams is 10:00 basically (yes, 10:00 is bright and early). Maga wanted to drive and wouldn't back down on the possibility of her grandson taking over (until later, muahaha). We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast, where I soon learned that was going to be my first meal of the day for the upcoming week. And so began our journey of 14 hours on I-15 with frequent steps on the brake, and history lessons on the legends of Gordy, how Maga's life was growing up in California, and my pa when he had hair (which I believe to be a myth). 

The drive was actually really great, granted I spent a majority of the time on Netflix. But it was fun spending time with Maga and crazy Aunt Livi. After a heap of traffic, we finally arrived in Anaheim and stopped at the Travelodge Inn and Suites so Livi could help Ana and Adrian get settled into their reserved room. Clay was staying in another hotel and we didn't see him that night. Meanwhile. Maga, Liv, and I found our way to Maga's old friend Joyce's apartment, where she was sweet enough to let us stay while she, ironically, was staying in Florida visiting Disneyworld. It was a very great place to stay for us, and from what I heard about Ana's location, better than their hotel. Beds were comfy, it had a well-organized bathroom, I had no complaints.

The first morning? Head to Disneyland! Again, didn't leave until 10:00. We all got ready with our landyards, Disney outfits, and bags to prepare ourselves for the day. Maga introduced me to Airborne vitamins. They boost your immune system, which greatly helped me for the week as I was fighting off a cold. The three of us took one every morning and every night of the week. By the time we got there, Clay, Courtney and their kids had already been in the park for an hour. We drove over to Ana's hotel and met the boys there so we could all walk to the park together. It was, I want to say about 3/4 of a mile, so not too bad. We made it to the back entrance of Downtown Disney and security stops the one and only crazy Aunt Livi. Turns out she brought butterknives so we could spread mayo onto our sandwiches for lunch. Metal ones. Joyce's. We all thought it was pretty funny except for Livi who was genuinely upset thinking she had to throw away Joyce's knives, but instead she walked a ways back in the parking lot and stashed them oh so sneakily behind a bush and made her way back. To add to the humor, she was stopped yet again by security claiming they watched her stash the butterknives on site and declared her too dangerous to enter. My aunt, decked out in Disney gear, with homemade Minie Mouse ears down to the colored toenails on her feet. At this point, Adrian and Maga step in and try to work it out and security said if she just throws the knives away in the garbage, then she can come in. But Livi wouldn't accept, realizing that the knives were not hers ... so she walked all the way back to the hotel and back, all was well. We walked through Downtown Disney to the park entrances where we upgraded our 3 tickets to Park Hoppers so we could bounce between Disneyland and California Adventure's whenever we pleased. I appreciated this a lot.

So, the first day we headed into Disneyland and immediately went to Indiana Jones. I was really excited because I've never been on in even though I've been to Disneyland at least two other times before. Aidan and Amare are excited because it's INDIANA JONES! We waited in line for about 45 minutes, which seemed bad at first but we all got used to pretty quickly, and onto the ride. It was great I loved it! Amare was pretty scared at the beginning because it's a fairly dark and scary placeto start, but after it was done, he said he would gladly go again. We went on a few more rides in the Disneyland park for probably another couple hours and decided to hit California Adventures. I remember California Adventures being the better park from my previous times so I was certainly pushing it. We met up with Clay's crew at the Guardian's of the Galaxy tower. It was new to me because the last time I was on it, it was the Tower of Terror. Aidan backed out at the last minute (Cooper did when our family went years ago). Not as scary this time, but I definitely think it was better! I'm not the biggest fan of Guardians of the Galaxy but it goes to show that you don't have to be a fan to enjoy the ride. Instead of jump scares and feeling like you're in a busted elevator, it's pump up music and like a 360 experience joining Rocket fighting off bad guys and finding little baby Groot. Definitely one of my favorite rides, and in the fan gift shop they had really well-designed robot hands featuring the six infinity stones used in End Game. I got to try on the Thanos glove and the Iron Man glove just for the fun of it. We then headed over to the Incredicoaster, after seeing on the Disneyland app on our phones that it was about a 15 minute wait. We all went over there and waited in a much longer than 15 minute line, but it was worth it. Before, it used to just be the California Screamin' but after a crimson red paint job and lots of sound effects became the Incredicoaster. Definitely did not disappoint! To me at least... Sam didn't want to go on and he backed out with Coco, the picture at the end greatly captured Livi's opinion, and Maga announced that was probably her last roller coaster haha. We found a snowcone shack based on Monsters Inc the abominable snowman that served "yellow snow." I had a special snowcone with blue raspberry filling at the bottom, the yellow snow and a cherry on top so it looked like the Pixar ball and it was delicious. Throughout the day, we went on a few more rides and bounced back to Disneyland to get a feel for everything we have to discover. The last ride I remember going on was Splash Mountain with Ana, Adrian and the boys and I have a fantastic picture on that ride that I will cherish forever our shared enjoyment of getting soaked at 9:00 at night in cotton shirts and socks. Overall, Monday dragged on a little longer than most the other days because no one was really sure what to do or where to go and we're all still getting the feel for it. We headed for home at about 10:00pm and had dinner at a little strip mall with plenty of options that didn't disappoint. Nothing super special, but we ate there most nights and I for one was fine with that.

Day two Tuesday, we decided to focus on California Adventure for the morning and afternoon because that night they were doing the special Halloween event called the Oogie Boogie Bash and you had to have that reserved. We have it planned for Thursday night. Everyone was pretty sore from walking all about the day before and Liv and I had the idea that we can use Joyce's wheelchair for Maga (that she so kindly laid out for us for this specific reason. Maga has been struggling with hip pain). Maga refused saying she can walk just fine. Yeah, sure Maga. We said we'll bring it just in case *wink wink.* This was the first time Maga allowed me to drive and it was because I beat her to the driver's seat. This time, we drove to a little landing zone to drop off Maga and I and had Livi take the car back to the hotel and walk with Ana and them. I convinced Maga to get in the wheelchair and I didn't mind pushing. Turns out, you get into Disneyland a lot faster with a wheelchair so it was awesome! Blew by the line to get in, and everyone waiting in their normal people lines are like, "awww look at that! Grandson pushing Grandma so cute." And me and Maga are like, "muahahahahahaha suckas!" So we headed into California Adventures and we got there about the same time as Courtney and the kids. Clay was up late working the night prior so he was catching up on a little sleep. In the meantime, we went to Cars, Guardians, Toy Story Mania, Incredicoaster, Grizzly Rapids (we got soaked) and we were flying through the lines. Tuesday is already better than Monday. We met back up with Clay, Ana, Adrian, Liv and went to the lazy adults favorite ride Soarin' Through California. Yeah I mean it's cool when you're a kid, but the cousins would all rather go on Incredicoaster haha. We split up into two groups one going to Guardian's and the other Grizzly Rapids (Guardian's is quickly becoming a fan favorite). I went to the Rapids with Livi and some of the littles. After, we got lunch and headed back into California Adventures towards Incredicoaster, so that those who haven't gone can go. I stayed back with Maga and Sam and we watched them takeoff.

While they were waiting in line, my little churro quest began. Nearby there was a Señor Buzz's Churros stand and I got one covered with red hot cinnamon powder. After they're done, we walk back around towards a Cocoa live street performance and we got horchata churros and a cream dipping sauce. Those were amazing. Then, we headed towards Grizzly Rapids for my third time but before going on we got these gourmet-looking S'more churros and that was definitely my favorite one. A few more rides and a pumpkin spice and green apple churro before we headed to the other park. Indiana Jones again, and then the Buzz shooter game ride and right close by to that Star Tours. That made me decide to check out the new Star Wars land where they had an exclusive lightsaber shop where you get to build and keep your very own lightsaber along with a whole surrounding experience. You did have to pay for it ($200) and only two people can come with you so I took the two littles, Amare and Sam, and they helped me build my lightsaber (video here). We three met back up with the fam and we walked through a mythical forest with lots of lights and fog and eerie sounds. At this point it was pretty late and none of us were looking to go on anymore rides, but some of the littles convinced us to go on Autopia which was fun. We ate at Pizza Planet from Toy Story and then to our respective sleeping spaces.

Wednesday was a little bit of a different agenda. We were going to Universal Studios. A farther drive but we only get one day of it (Clay's family didn't do Universal because they did it the year before and went to the beach instead). We got there and the first ride we went on is the brand new Jurassic World. I'm not too big into Universal so I really didn't know what to expect. Turns out, you get absolutely soaked in the first minute of the ride by some giant dinosaur looking whale whatever it was awesome! After that, we did Transformers and it was basically a 360 version watching the movie in 3D, but it was awesome too! Then we went to the Mummy ride, and it's a Space Mountain sort of dark roller coaster really fast ride and I loved it. We learned that those were basically the three best rides in the whole park besides some Harry Potter ride Clay's family say we greatly missed out on. We went on Simpson's, Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda, and they're all kinda the same boring thing. The last thing we did was the Studio Tour which was pretty cool just seeing all the studios and props they use for popular movies. Fruity Pebbles churro there. Then, that night we went swimming at the hotel pool and hot tub which felt nice for our poor sore legs and feet.

Thursday we didn't have an actual Disneyland ticket. We had the Oogie Boogie Bash that night in California Adventures when it opened. In the meantime, that morning, we went to a taco restaurant in Newport Beach that was delicious, and following breakfast, we went to the beach for about an hour and a half. Of course the boys couldn't help themselves and jumped straight in the water, but Ana and I hadn't expected anything else of them. Then we headed to some famous frozen banana shop. I loved it. I got two bananas and Adrian got a frozen cheesecake. We headed back home and got in our costumes, which was necessary for the Halloween bash, and headed for the park. Basically, there are a lot less people, a bunch of cool lights, free candy, and you can go on any of the rides with almost no wait. Cars, Guardians a couple a times, Incredicoaster three or four times, Toy Story Mania a couple times (me and Clay had a little rivalry and I ended up winning of course because I had a Buzz jacket on), Goofy's Sky School, Swings, Soarin', a couple more churros, and yeah. Fun day, dinner, and home.

Our last Disneyland day, Maga, Liv and I had to pack our things and get to a hotel because Joyce was coming home that day while we would be gone to the park. So we did that, and the met everyone at the Disney gate entrance. We actually got fast passes this day, so we used that to our advantage. I first went with Clay's family to Smuggler's Run, the new Star Wars Millenium Falcon ride and I (a Star Wars nerd) geeked out at about everything I saw (video here). When you get into the cockpit, there are six seats: two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. They let me have one of the pilot seats because they said that's the most fun one to do. The six of us were easily the best crew ever. Really amazing ride definitely one of my favorites. We all met up and split up a bunch of different times in the day. I went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones a couple times, Buzz a couple times, Star Tours again, and time flew by. Sure, you're waiting in lines but you barely notice after you get off the ride. For the big finale, we watched a water show called Fantasmic that was pretty neat we all enjoyed it. A GIANT corn dog later, Clay, the kids and I went on Pirate's for our last ride and then we get pictures, souvenirs, last moments and head home to sleep before the long drive back the following day. Maga thought our hotel was absolutely treacherous, and she was right. But it was just for one night (bless Joyce's heart).

Clay hit the road first while the rest of us went to breakfast at a local Denny's. I got to drive my first road trip, the entire trip home. Maga woke in and out of sleep a couple times, asked for a Whopper and Dr. P stop at Burger King which Livi mistakenly thought was a "whoopee" stop. They dropped me home first, talked to the fam, as Dad and Cooper were just returning from their trip too. Everyone was home safe, including my lightsaber ... which I think is broken now, but I would definitely do it all over again!

Skydiving!

 Belated Blogging - this will be backdated to June 3, 2019

"Mom, I'm going skydiving" ... Keaton was over 18 and didn't even need a parental signature or anything. I'm not one to jump from a plane, but I guess it was something Keaton wanted to try. Pictures are part of the process, and I had Keaton write up his memories of the event. 

It started as a joke when me and my friend Daud considered going skydiving when we were thinking of things to do for his birthday. It had always been an idea, but no one in our friend group had actually done it. One night, Daud and I finally pulled the trigger and said we’re going to do it for his birthday. We were both so excited in the moment, not thinking ahead. The next day, I got on the skydiving website and went through all of the precautions and paperwork to prepare for our journey in the sky. I got our tickets booked for the morning of Daud’s birthday, and the second I clicked and made the purchase, my heart sank. That was the first moment it became real in my head. That I was going to jump out of a plane, thousands of feet in the air, above the mountains. I immediately texted Daud and he said he was freaking out too. So we’re off to a great start! As the days went on with the big day getting closer and closer, the anxiety would come and go blended with adrenaline and also tears. Overall, we were hyped. 

On the day of his birthday, Daud comes to my house and we make waffles for breakfast. It’s 11:00 and we start making the drive out to Tooele in complete silence. Knowing the time and date of when your life is going to end is pretty gnarly. I don’t know why, but I was expecting some huge facility made of brick with UTAH SKYDIVE in big blocky led letters pointed at a parking lot and there would be multiple sets of double doors. But alas, when we get to the place, it’s down this abandoned road with a big old white tent. That’s the place. We walk inside, now content with how our lives were lived, and we tell the receptionist our reservation, sign a couple papers saying when we die we’re not allowed to sue, and then watch a cheesy tutorial video. We start getting our harnesses attached and laced up, got, introduced to our tandem instructors and they were both really awesome guys. Now we just wait for our plane to get prepared and ready for takeoff with a load of other people. 

Daud and I sat outside the tent toward the massive landing zone. The skydiving crew said there was a group ahead of us that was getting ready to jump, so we stepped out and looked in the sky for a plane. I looked to the left and there was a plane about 2000 feet in the air and I looked at Daud and said, “Okay that’s not too bad. We can do that.” Then, my instructor tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that’s not the plane they’re jumping from. We look directly up from where we are standing and there’s another plane 13000 feet up and it’s smaller than the size of an ant on the floor. Mine and Daud’s hearts dropped along with our jaws. When the crew ahead of us started jumping you couldn’t even see them they were so small. They made it to the ground high on adrenaline. They look at me and Daud and tell us that our plane is ready and it’s our turn. Go time. 

About a dozen of us in a small propeller airplane zigzagging our way up and up higher and higher for about 15 minutes. We make it to the top, get strapped in, goggles on. The people ahead of us opened the door and started jumping out the plane dropping like flies and me and Daud are just scooting forward like we’re inmates about to walk the plank on a pirate ship. I go first. Right before we jump, my instructor told me, “don’t forget to tuck in your legs and fall like you’re doing a backflip so I can release the stability chute. Don’t want it to get caught up! Alright let’s go!” Yeah okay. 1... 2... jump. 

I saw the plane above me as I backflip towards the earth. I flip around, my instructor taps me on the shoulder, indicating I can release my arms and legs to fully free fall. It was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard; falling for 50 seconds at 120 mph. It was breezy, but that’s the last concern on my mind. I’m gonna die. Oh well, who cares, might as well enjoy this crazy view for my last moments. We can see over the Wasatch Mountains (keep in mind, we’re on the other side of the smaller mountains west of the Wasatch Mountains. It was a little hard to catch a breath, but every time I could, I immediately used it to yell at the top of my lungs of enjoyment. You can see all over the valley, both Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake. 

My instructor pulls the chute and we jerk forward. He takes off my goggles and plugs my nose so I can blow and pop my ears. The satisfaction of your ears popping with that much adrenaline... so nice. People might think that once the chute is pulled that’s its smooth sailing all the way to the bottom. It could be, but not for me. He gave me the handles to control the direction of the parachute and it’s like a customized, insanely fast rollercoaster. That feeling that you get when you’re going really fast and making a sharp turn on a roller coaster where your head feels like it’s being pushed into your shoulders as you feel the G-Force almost separate your body. Yeah that. Not smooth sailing for me it was awesome. As you near closer to the surface of Earth, you start thinking how’s it’s been so long since you’ve been on land and at the same time you’ve only been in the air for 2 minutes but you don’t want it to end, but you wonder again what gravity feels like. Still hundreds of feet in the air, there’s that thought like the chute can still rip and we’re going crashing down. So there’s still adrenaline from that fear. 

Eventually, we make it to the ground and lay the chute flat. Almost feeling reborn and I’m so happy. Daud made it to the ground and he runs over to me to tell me about it, and well, he had a similar experience. It was the greatest 3 minutes of my life.

Keaton ... Class of 2019

High school for Keaton. I think it was as much a social experience as an academic one.  Cheering on school teams, going to dances, leaving for lunch, hanging with friends. He got a 4.0 his final quarter though. A couple years ago at Callahan's graduation, I was so stressed (I don't do well with crowds and chaos, no parking, no seating, hoping the car didn't get towed) that I texted Keaton right then and there and asked "Do I have to come to your graduation?" ... I went.  

It was at the Maverick Center again, like Callahan's two years ago (Landon's had been downtown in the Vivent Arena). Instead of trying to have FIVE school graduations in one day there, the lesson had been learned, and there were just three. Time enough in between that hopefully one group had left before the next school came. Parking (getting IN anyway) wasn't really an issue. Cal and Kate and her parents had gone earlier than us and saved us some seats (Kate's brother was also graduating). So overall, this year wasn't AS stressful for me. 

I didn't know as many of the speakers this year, but the valedictorian was one of Keaton's good buddies. As the kids came in to sit, they had it alternate boy/girl (until the end, as there were a lot more girls than boys in this graduating class). But as I was watching Keaton and crew during the program, I saw some squirming, and the guys changed seats so they were sitting together and would get their diplomas one after the other.  They keep things interesting! 

Grayson had a derby scheduled, and it was a little (or a lot) stressful trying to get out of the parking lot and make it there on time. Keaton hit the "Senior Sunset" school activity graduation night. Held at West Valley Fitness Center. There was ice skating, swimming, a rock wall ... lots to do, lots to eat. There were a couple of friend parties on Friday night, and then over the weekend we had a family dinner out to Tepankaki to celebrate ourselves. ConGRADulations Keaton!