Mothers Day 2017

This Mother's Day will be memorable to me. The boys recreated some favorite photos from back in the day. They were SO cute! We had to print extra copies to give to the grandma's as well.  You can see one of the pictures in the frame here (being a FLAG PHOTO, I stuck it one a patriotic blog post, so you can see it better there) and I'll include the other two below. 

The morning was fairly standard. They always do up a breakfast in bed ... although I don't always stay in bed. It's fun to come into the kitchen and see all the boys busy helping out. 

We were able to have both grandmas over in the evening too, to pass on pictures and presents.

The day before, Olivia set up a surprise for Pam, Courtney, Ana and I ... pedicures. It was fun to get together and chat and relax while we got our piggies prettied up. 

Grayson got me a lovely boquet ... and an Amazon gift card.

I do love Amazon!

... and as promised, here's the cute photo recreations!

Little Landon

Cute Callahan

April 2017

It's April ... it was pretty full! 

• Basketball: Cal was off to Idaho for a tournament and Colton had doubleheaders most weeks, with both his Wolves and Grizzlies. Keaton's Spring ball started. March Madness wrapped up, and Landon and Coop hit a Jazz game and the NBA playoffs were always on at the house.
• Gray's Getaways: Gray started the month in Moab, and then did some biking, and took Landon and Keaton to the shooting range. 
• Bowling: I took the littles to All-Star Lanes during Spring Break. Landon set up Janika (and she set him up) and they did a double date bowling. 
• Group Gatherings: Kolby's family was in town, so we got together with them a few times. Had them over for breakfast, and for a smoked dinner. Memorial meeting at Gordy's grave. Red Robin with the Westra side, as Uncle Shane was in from California. 
• Late Spring Snow: Near the end of the month, it blanketed all the flowers, but didn't last long. 
• Easter & Spring Break: Both were pretty low-key this year!
• Ducks&Geese: I saw a black and white duck at the canal ... wondered if it was one of ours from last year. Gray brought home eggs and stuck them in the incubator. Then he brought home two goslings! 

What else ...

Jen got about six inches cut off her hair.  Cooper and Landon did a 5k race.  Cal got his senior pictures taken.  Gray had EIGHT derbies.  Keaton interviewed at In&Out. He needs a car, it's been hard sharing, but the driveway is pretty full!  New tires for the Durango.  The boys had Ana bring her boy kitty over to meet Joy ... it did not go well! Poor Cosmo!  Landon went to "The Lion King" with Maga and Olivia. Cooper upgraded his Fitbit to the Alta, and Landon got a Blaze. Keaton got registered for classes next year (a stressful couple of minutes!) Landon is in training at Discover Card. 

A Super 5K

Ever since my #4 ran a race last year (My Little Man Ran) he'd wanted to try it again. Hubs health slipped, and I certainly didn't feel up to it (anxiety issues dealing more with driving there, checking in, dealing with crowds affect me more than the actual "running" although that is a challenge for me too!) But big brother came home from his mission to Mexico, and he said he'd be willing to go give it a try. So I scanned the local 5k races and signed the boys up.

It was the end of April, and it was COLD. The boys almost wimped out due to the weather. But after paying the registration fees (I think it was $35 a person) I told them they better not wimp out. The theme was "Calling All Heroes" ... and they dressed up appropriately (minus capes). They both had on Superhero socks too!

I watched (stalked) them with the Find my Friends app, and noticed they stayed together the entire time. #1 pushed #4 a little ... and they crossed the finish line together. There were 74 racers, and the Blackham boys took 4th and 5th. Not sure WHY it says my #4 is 98 years of age (he's thirteen). Maybe I did a typo on the entry? Probably would have been first in his age division, if they'd had age divisions.

... another race under #4's belt. Speaking of belts, Hubs had purchased a Flipbelt ages ago, and had never worn it. We'd pulled it out when #1 son started running and he loves it. I guess I might need to invest in another one!

Easter Edition - 2017

We didn't get around to decorating eggs this year ... not actual eggs anyway. 

I made some sugar cookies in egg shape, 

and frosting them counts as decorating, right?

 I don't eat hard boiled eggs ... but I DO eat these!

And Reeses eggs, M&M eggs ... I don't care for Cadbury though.

Easter was pretty underwhelming. Callahan was out of town playing basketball (Idaho tournament) and Kolby&Jami had been in town (big breakfast get-together yesterday) but before Kolby headed out (flying separately from the family to a work location) he and Gray made breakfast plans Sunday morning (Easter morning). I put the buckets out Saturday night and told the kids not to look through them, but then said, what the hey ... I did grab a picture Easter morning though.  Everyone was SO Egg-cited don't you think? ;)

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!

March 2017

March ... it was a meaty month! Blackham's hosted the monthly Westra party, and there was brisket, ribs and burnt ends. Can you say "smokin"?  With Landon home, he got a car (white charger) and a job (DiscoverCard). There was Daylight Savings, Parent/Teacher conferences, Grandparent's day at the elementary (Colton's moving onto middle school, so that was the last one for our crew). Olivia came out for some much needed haircuts (even Jen got a trim) and Girl Scout cookies came. Mmmm, Tagalongs are our favorite.

It was the end of basketball ... Cal and the Copper Hills team made it to the semi-finals but got beat. So instead of playing ball on Saturday, they had Prom.  The boys have been over to the Blackham basement gym to workout, and there was the big end of season basketball banquet.

Gray and three boys went to a Jazz game (Coop has got to go almost every time before, so he sat this one out). There was a breakfast trip to Virg's, and the adults had a reunion dinner with neighbors who had moved away. There was a quick getaway to Portland, surprising Uncle Kolby ... Gray, Landon and Keaton flew out. Grayson hit the bike trails on Antelope Island.

The boys were watching "Stranger Things" and enjoyed taking care of the neighbor's dog while they were away. Oh and DERBY ... Gray hosted his annual "Pinewood Derby Workshop" in the garage where he provides tools and help for anyone building cars. He then had the weigh-in ... Derby is next month.

I think that about sums up March!

February 2017

For only having 28 days, we sure packed a lot into February this year. Hubs and Maga had left to Mexico Jan30, and Monday, Feb 6 was when we were all reunited. Thanks to Cal and K8 for making the banner! Landon's "homecoming" was on the 12th and we set up the chocolate fountain, had chicken salad croissants and saw a lot of family and friends. What else was going on?

• Basketball of course ... Landon was able to see Cal play in his final regular games. CHHS were region champs (tied w/B) and the other boys wrapped up their seasons as State started for Varsity. I stayed busy making muvees of all the highlights.
• Birthday Boy ... Callahan got cake! I think there were actually three, as I'd made a lemon jello cake, picked up a red velvet, and then Maga brought over ice cream cake.
• Smokin Stuff ... the basketball team has parents provide dinner for the boys before home games, and Grayson did ribs for the whole crew! That was a LOT of ribs. He also smoked brisket and keeps us fat and happy all the time!
• Eating Out ... We had a birthday dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate Callahan. We took a family trip to Kneaders for breakfast and met up with the Varsity basketball team there! Maga took the adults to "The 5 Alls". 
• Injuries ... Coop was playing football with friends and got a whopper of a black eye. It took a while to heal and turned some interesting colors along the way. The picture of Gray's head above isn't an ouch, but an oops; a missed spot after a haircut. He didn't realize it until he was at work and had to run to a salon to have them fix his home haircut (he is usually fine!) Jen's car tire got an ouchie too ... screw in the wheel, but it was able to be patched.
• Holidays ... if you call the Superbowl a holiday. Coop watched it at home, but Gray/Landon were in Mexico, and Cal was working at KFC. I made football cookies though. Valentine's Day too, We made a little basketball court box for Colton.

Here's the one second every day ...

I think that's February 2017 in a nutshell ... nice to have everyone home again!

Feeding a Basketball Team

Team dinners before home games ... I guess it's a tradition, eat together, play together, get the parents involved. I always stressed out about it. This year, Gray stepped up and said he'd smoke stuff for the team dinner.  How many ribs exactly for 35+ athletic boys, plus coaches. A LOT.  And it was a lot of work. Seasoning them all, sticking them on the smoker, then dividing them, adding sauce, and wrapping them up in individual packs, 4-5 ribs each for ease of assembly line eating. 

Grayson was even prepared with little bottles of BBQ sauce and "wipes" for messy fingers.

Other parents provided salad, rolls and paper products.

This was for all the teams, not just varsity, so Keaton and his crew were there to eat as well. 

The ribs got rave reviews. 

He's HOME

Gray, Landon and Maga had been checking in from Mexico ... and then, they were on their way back to the US of A. We headed out to the airport and stood in the "returning missionary" spot, watching the escalator and ...

Landon snuck in behind us.

International travel came in a different door.

 There was a lot of hugging and picture taking.

All together again!

Exploring Mexico!

Where in the World is Grayson Blackham?

As Elder Blackham's mission to Mexico came to its conclusion, Grayson thought it would be great to go and pick Landon up. They could travel around for a bit, see the sites, explore the country, before heading home. Maga decided to go too, and the two of them took off.

... and, together again!

My men and Maga visited a bunch of different places, experimented with the cuisine,  and met quite a few friends and families Elder Blackham had worked with in his two years there. Grayson took a TON of pictures, and kept family back home updated on our doings via group text and Facebook. I uploaded the photos into an album (Blackham Mexico 2017). 

I've also included a few favorites below. 

... and then, it was time to head home.

by bus, from Puebla to Mexico City 

Then the flight home ...

We were waiting ...