Home Improvement 2022

Hard things happening in 2022 ... like concrete and marble. The backyard area and driveway redone, and the master bath remodeled. Here's a peek at the process, the before and after. 

The Blackham backyard ... the back and side area. Once upon a time, when the kids were small, there was a swing set and a big sandbox here. As the boys got older, there was a trampoline. Gray almost put in an in-ground trampoline at one point.  Then came the ducks ... and for a few years, this was definitely duck domain! Then, it went a little wild. Time for transformation in 2022. Gray hired some guys to do a "cleanup" taking out all the trees/weeds and junk that had accumulated. The after was nice(er) ... but we knew it wouldn't stay that way. So we had concrete poured, a secondary patio, and also extra parking as needed. Let's see the weeds try to grow through that! 

The backyard patio was completed in June. 

... and as long as we were contracting concrete, might as well redo the driveway, right?

The driveway never looked so good ... seriously. On the original pour, the third car section got away and was lumpy/bumpy from the start (you can see it in the corner of one of the photos above).  The driveway was done at the end of September. 

Inside the house ... the master shower was getting a redo. A jetted tub can be nice. A shower/bath combo is fine. A jetted bath/shower combo ... no. The jets had become infested with yuck, just from the water from the shower coming down. We didn't dare use the tub ... so the tub had to go. Might as well have a nice roomy walk-in shower. Ala October. 

Gray and the boys tore the old shower/bath out. As the biggest piece of marble (back wall/window) was being installed ... crack. We could either wait for a new piece, or they could put a long piece over the defect ... we chose the latter option, and actually really like the look of the little ledge under the window. The new shower has two side sprays as well as the head, and it's all electronic. Just press a button, and the shower (within a couple of seconds) is at the exact temperature you have it set for. You can have two profiles, if you like different levels of warm/hot (and of course you can always adjust things manually). After Jen's fall in January, safety handles and a shower bench were additions. 

The two toilets upstairs (master and main) were also replaced ... fancy schmancy bidet for the master. It has a heated seat, and soft-close lids. They are both a little higher too.  What will the next home improvements be?

UnbeLEAFable

 

Butterfield Canyon is just a little to the West of us. Close enough that it can be a quick trip to check out the fall colors. We went once in September, then again in early October (pictures above are from the second visit). The road is a little narrow, with steep cliffs as you progress to the top. Makes Jen nervous! The second trip was in the RZR, which was a different, open air, experience.

Here's a little video highlight from the drive ...

Gray did a few drives up Bountiful Canyon after work ... he really loves looking at the leaves. He'd hoped we might make it to check out Nebo, or the Alpine Loop, but we didn't find the time this year.

September 2022

September 2022... it started with new concrete in the driveway, and ended with the demolition of the master shower. Home Improvement oh-oh-oh (think Tim the tool-man Taylor). There were some little get-aways, family fun, looking at leaves and a birthday.  The most momentous moment was Cooper getting his license!

• License to Drive: It's been a loooong road. We originally attempted getting a learner's permit before his sophomore year, but he didn't pass the test on the first try and wasn't up to a second attempt. We let it go. When it was time for Colton to get his learner's, I made an appointment for Coop too, and we did some group study. They both passed that time. Then, practice. Just the small roads, just to/from his work (very close by). He had to get his license by October 2022, or he'd need to re-take the written test. As the deadline grew closer, we pushed a little more. He had one session with a driving school, and then we arranged for a driving test with one of Cal's old coaches (who had given Cal his driving test back in the day). Coop passed! So the final step was a stop at the DLD. Now, Mom doesn't have to drive him to/from work. 
• Park City: Gray, Jen, Landon and Coop did a little Park City day, riding the lifts up looking at the leaves and enjoying the cooler temperatures the mountains provide. Jen got in some PokemonGo and left a pokemon in a "gym" there on the mountain, where it stayed for the next month and a half. Maybe I'll get a separate post up with additional photos/details of the day.
• Eating Out: We had a family dinner (Landon's birthday) at Cheesecake Factory, and a full cheesecake was Landon's birthday cake this year. There was a breakfast out at Virg's, and Olivia took Landon out for some Auntie time. 
• How Does Your Garden Grow: It's been harvest time! Tons of tomatoes, so many cucumbers, lots of zucchini. Several pumpkins, and a couple of them are really good sized! Our tomato plants got hit with tomato worms. We had a caterpillar conundrum as I brought a couple in, thinking we might watch them pupate into moths ... but they eat SO much, and there is so much poop. And then ... the lid was left a little open, and one of them disappeared. It was later found outside ... we're not exactly sure how that happened (did it escape through a door left open? did a cat carry it out?) but was glad it was found. The next hornworm went to a friend who has toads, who like to eat the worms for dinner. 
• Getaways: Gray had a weekend away in Moab with work buddies ... and this coincided with Cal and Keaton down there for their work. The guys did manage a meet up. Cal and Kate had a little overnighter camping trip with friends. Gray went to Oktoberfest with a friend.
• Homecoming: Colton and his basketball buds did a group date to the school homecoming. I did get Colton to give me a little write up. See it here (Homecoming Colton ~ Junior Year). We even let him show off by taking the Tesla.
• Looking at Leaves: Grayson LOVE Autumn! He took several rides in the mountains checking out the leaves, and then He and Jen went up Butterfield Canyon (to the West, close to home). 
• Family Fun: There have been lots of board games and card games per usual for the Blackham Bunch. Hackysack is another activity the boys enjoy. Pickleball has continued to happen each week. The Seattle Blackhams were in town, so we had a Blackham Bash, food and fun.
• Basketball and Football: Colton has been playing in a Fall league with his Wolves. Most of the games have been later Saturday nights, often a double header (8:00/9:00), and in Lehi ... so Jen hasn't been going to watch or video (but might get some footage from another mom). One game that was earlier (7:00) and closer to home (APA in Draper) had Mom and Landon cheering Colton on (they got an easy win). Colton has also been working out with Coach Scott, and we will be working with him for college recruitment possibilities,  and as the rest of the Wolves are seniors and won't be playing club ball next year, Colton signed on with Salt Lake Metro, and he'll play with them next Spring. We're all signed up with NBA League Pass to watch upcoming basketball games, but September ... was FOOTBALL. The NFL has started, and Coop is in a fantasy league again (with both Blackham Uncles). If there is football on ... Cooper is watching!
• K8's New Job: Kate was offered the Humanities and Social Sciences Career Coach position at SLCC. It comes with health benefits and a 401k and she's excited for the new challenge. 
• Lots of Landon: We've got to see more of Landon lately ... sadly, he and Sol have been struggling and to give space while they figure things out, Landon has moved back home. We've actually loved having him around again. ♥

So that's our September ... on to October!

Homecoming Colton - Junior Year

Colton didn't hit Homecoming his sophomore year, but as junior year started up, he and his basketball buddies were definitely doing the dance. The "ask" is always a bit stressful, coming up with a creative way to pop the question. Once he came up with an idea, he turned to Kate to help with the lettering (Kate has helped the boys with almost all of their dance ask/answers!)

So "Simply Lemonade" was was the theme Colton went with for the ask. The asking is different in this day and age ... seems like the girls know ahead of time (Colton's date was inside waiting and then came out for a picture). The answer was drink themed too ... Kool-Aid.  We still have a little Beta fish from Colton's prom answer back in April. 

Saturday, September 3, 2022 was the day of the dance.

Colton asked if he might take the Tesla, to make the date super cool. Grayson said okay.  Colton said he had a lot of fun, and even cooperated when I asked him to do a little write-up of the date:

I started off the homecoming day by picking up Cashlee in the Tesla and we made our way down to Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman. We met up with everyone else there, and started setting up some of the games we had. We had a couple of paddleboards, a large mat for the water, a crossnet, then the stuff that I brought (KanJam and a football). We spent a fun couple of hours there, took a group picture, then all headed back to our houses for a few hours until it was time to take pictures. During that time, I hurried and picked up my corsage. A little before 4:00, I headed to Cashlee’s house to pick her up for pictures. After putting on our corsage and boutonnière, we met up with everyone else at the picture sight at this little walkway across from Gardner Village. There we took our group pictures in some 90 degree heat.

The group consisted of me and Cashlee, Ethan and Emmalee, Carter and Christie, Steven and Abby, Daniel and Ashlyn, Kyle and Jovi, Zac and Abby, Tyler and Lexi, Drew and Avery, and finally Brody and Bryn. Pictures didn’t take too long and after about an hour, we all went to pick up some food to take back to Kyle’s house. Quite a few of us went to Costa Vida for food, and then arrived at Kyle’s to eat together. We had the Utes football game on the tv at the house. Dinner was a lot of fun and we just messed around a lot at the house with everyone. The dance started at 7:00, but no one wanted to get there nearly that early. At around 8:15, we finally left for the dance. We spent nearly two hours there and the whole thing is pretty much just a mosh pit so you get tired really quickly. It is still a lot of fun though, I entered the dance circle a couple of times, one time being really cool where Carter went into the middle of the circle and then I came in and jumped over him as the beat dropped. At 10:00, the dance ended and I was pretty glad to get out of there. Cashlee and I went and got some slurpees at the Maverick on 13th, then we all headed back to Kyle’s house to end the night. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the dance, so what we did was put on Creed II in the main basement and put on Top Gun: Maverick in a separate little movie theater room that Kyle has right next to the basement. Most of us stayed in the basement and watched Creed. I was crazy tired and was dozing off for a while then I definitely fell asleep for almost an hour. Cashlee woke me up around 12:15 and a lot of us left then because curfew for a lot of the girls was 12:30. So I took Cashlee home then got back to my house for the night.

August 2022

 

Ah, August is over, time for an update. August means the start of school ... Colton started his junior year at West Jordan High. There was quite a bit of family fun, some work travel for Gray and Keaton, birthdays and some memorable Mother Nature moments.

• Colton ... started school. He goes at 6:00 in the morning to get some shooting in, and stays after school, to get some shooting in. That's not enough, so he joined a gym (Vasa) so he could get more basketball in. He's been hitting the Friday night football games and asked a gal to Homecoming. Colton finally cleaned out his closet (not a lot of color, blues/blacks/gray), so lots of clothes gone to goodwill, although we passed on a few to Cousin Will. Colton finished up his summer work with Home Depot, filling in his final shifts and turning in his orange apron for now.
• Cooper ... turned 19! The birthday cake was a bust (Sam'sClub no longer makes the round chocolate and/or the white buttercream, which have been our goto birthday cakes for years. The cookies&icecream cake the boys like was also not found). Coop has been practicing his driving, and is back to working afternoons at the elementary school. 
• Keaton ... also had a birthday, 22 years old. I made him a lemon jello cake, which he didn't deign to eat. We hardly saw him. It's his party and he can cry if he wants to. He took a parachuting class & got some jumps in, has been studying (tradeschool) and working hard. Keaton spent a few days with his work down at Bear Lake.

There's been a lot of family fun ... weekly pickleball matches. Jen/Coop and Landon are the core team, then they bug one of the remaining family members to fill in as the fourth. We got Grayson out once, Colton out once, and Callahan a couple of times. Keaton, it's your turn!  Jen and Cooper also gave racquetball a try (Herriman Rec Center, really nice court setup) and Cooper is a natural! There have been board games, and PopDarts, video games, hackysack and KanJam. 

Gray and a few of the boys made another trip up to Pineview. Gray and Landon did some target practice at the gun range. Grayson took the RZR for some riding in Logan Canyon, and went to watch some racing at the Knolls. For work, he went to Nebraska (Buildertrend).  Both Colton and Cooper attended a few farewells, as their friends head out on missions. Colton and Callahan had a basketball game together (Cal's Men's League). They won. Aunt Olivia came out to give haircuts. 

It was HOT! August is still summer, but still, there was quite the heat wave. The garden has been growing ... lots of cucumbers this year. There was also a slight boom one morning ... which turned out to be a meteor streaking by. There were some crazy winds one day, which took out our gate.

Grayson hit his goal weight and is moving into maintenance. He has been jogging a lot, Jen and Coop stick to the treadmill. There was an old fan at the house, so Jen brought it to her Zumba church, love that little bit of air movement. A fan of fans!

The collage above shows some of the still shots from the month.

Here's a LIVE look ... one second every day style. 

https://youtu.be/Xltw0y-phXY

July 2022

 

July 2022 ... there were some smoky skies one week, and a couple big, beautiful rainbows the next.  Basketball, getaways, food and fun. Here's a run down of what the Blackham Bunch has been up to this summer: 

• Getaways: L&S started the month in Mexico. Grayson had a Bear Lake weekend with work buddies, Colton went to Las Vegas for basketball, and the whole family made it up to Pineview.
• Beach Day: We got the whole crew up for a day at the beach/Pineview, first time the waverunners have been out in a couple years (water levels and Covid complications). We forgot the paddle for the paddleboard, so Grayson rented a paddleboard. Ironically enough, Keaton then found a paddle buried in the mud in the lake ... could it be the paddle we lost a couple years ago? It looks the same! It was hot, but we had fun. Coop didn't go in the water but there was a lot of frisbee and football throwing going on.
• Lagoon with Livi: Aunt Olivia planned a day at Lagoon and got most of the nephews out (Coop and Cal didn't make it). Another hot day, but the group had fun on the rides and taking an old fashioned photo. 
• Anniversary: Gray and Jen celebrated 30 years. A big, beautiful bouquet of long stemmed roses arrived, and then there was dinner at Market Street followed by a movie (Topgun) ... Jen's first movie in theaters in over two years. 
• Basketball: Callahan is playing in a men's league over at Gene Fullmer, so Jen went to watch a couple of those games. Colton played a team from Chile with his Wolves team, then they went and spent a weekend playing in Las Vegas. He also participated in a 3x3 tournament downtown.
• Colton's First Job: Colton put in an application at Home Depot and got hired right away. He begrudgingly took a photo in his cute orange apron. He is a "lot" employee, gathering carts, helping customers load items, etc. He's enjoyed having a little money of his own.
• Food: We had a big burger night ... Gray ate his with a lovely lettuce "bun". Cal requested corn on the cob. We had Grayson's fried green beans another night, and Jen successfully made Mongolian Beef (a recipe Gray found and made that the boys really like) so that will now be in the recipe rotation. Jen is still making sourdough, 12 loaves a week. 
• Staying Active: The pickleball Jen and Cooper were attending at a local church ended, so they have tried the group at the local rec center a few times. Coop finished up the "Ring Fit" quest, but still gets plenty of steps with his treadmill time. Jen uses the home gym a lot too, treadmill, elliptical, bike ... and while weight workouts haven't been happening, she's been doing her physical therapy for her shoulder. Still Zumba-ing three times a week - Red/White &Blue for the Fourth of July holiday. Gray has been jogging too, treadmill (home and at work) and outside.
• Family History: It was "Christmas in July" on the Westra Way blog, with 10 posts, covering Christmases from 1991-2000.  Cal and Kate also enjoyed looking through Callahan's "box" where Jen has kept many mementos from the past years. 
• Room Rearrange: Working on shifting things up again, there was a lot of time spent reorganizing, taking trips to DI and the storage unit, and lots of garbage to go. 
• Medical: Jen had another trip to the dentist for a troublesome crown (the dentist said he'll just redo it next time it falls off). Still doing physical therapy for the shoulder. Keaton got in to an orthopedic specialist for his hand (carpal tunnel) and got a shot in his wrist, which has seemed to help. 
• Cal and K8's New Car: After a couple years living with one car (Cal has a van for work) Cal and Kate added a 2022 Subaru Crosstrek to their family.

So there's a peek at some July activities from the Blackham Bunch. Cooper was on dog duty as the neighbors had a weekend away, and had fun blowing bubbles with Oreo kitty. Derek ran into Cal and Kate at a Bees game and snapped a selfie with them. The Blackham Boys (sans Cal) had breakfast out at Kneaders. The dang winds/weather have kept Keaton from jumping out of planes. Colton is all registered and ready to start school again next month. August awaits ...

June 2022

 

June 2022 ... there were a lot of quick rainstorms that weren't really adding much water, but ruining a recently washed car. Very windy too. Unlike past years where the Westra Father's Day party had to be pushed into the evening to avoid the heat, here we had to shift it earlier before it cooled down too much. The gardens are growing (flowers and veggies, see the difference in a couple of plants from the beginning of month compared to the end of the month - photos in the top left corner, Hibiscus and milkweed). Here's a quick recap of the month ...

• Medical: Jen had weekly PT appointments and at home workouts for her shoulder ... only slight improvement. There was also an echocardiogram (doctor suggested after the fall) which came back without any serious issues. Keaton got in for an annual exam and will try to follow up (skin issues, carpal tunnel). Colton has been under the weather. We pulled out one of the Covid tests - but it was negative. In the extended family, Grayson's sister Ana was diagnosed with MS.
• Family Gatherings: Big group gatherings on both sides. The annual Westra Father's Day party (last one at Scott&Amy's house - on the market and sold!) and a Zundel Family Reunion - originally planned at a park in Hyland, but moved to a church per the windy weather. The 9-square was played at both parties.
• Treadmill Troubles & Other Exercise: Cooper is a regular on the treadmill down in J&G's gym, but it's had some sudden stops, flipping the circuit breaker and throwing an error code. It's made Coop wary of going fast (Jen has never had an issue on it, but she's just been walking). Looking into repair. Meanwhile Coop returned to RingFit (he'd gotten into it a couple years ago, but only for a couple of months - I little like WiiFit) which has given him a good set of new exercises. Jen and Coop played pickleball every Thursday, and Jen Zumba's Mon/Wed/Fri. Gray has been running again.
• Weight Loss: Gray started a weight loss program a while ago, and is down 50 pounds!
• Golf: After spending several years in storage, Gray got out the clubs and went golfing with some work colleagues. Ironically enough, the very next day, Colton went golfing with his friends ... so the clubs which haven't been used in forever got a workout two days in a row!
• Gray's Getaways: Gray took the RZR down to the dunes for a day, and then did an impromptu outing to Arizona for a couple of days (first time he's been able to fly without a mask since Covid). He's meant to get the wave runners up to the reservoir but hasn't made that happen yet, but did play some "lake poker" on a boat with buds. 
• Basketball: Colton had some travel too, going to St. George for a couple of days with the school team. They also their team camp  and have been having "conditioning" at the school almost every day. The team also hosted a car wash to raise funds and played several games up at the University of Utah. Colton's Wolves team played in a tournament at the Expo Center in Sandy - so Jen was there to watch as Colton got a new high score, 46 points in a single game! 
• Kitties: Snagged a couple cute shots of Oreo (he's conversing with a magpie out the window, and posing with the plants). The other picture looks a little like Joy, but it's the "wild" kitty who comes over every day to see if we've put food out for him ... which of course we have. He's super skittish and will run away if anyone gets close. We don't know if he has a home, but he's gotten quite comfortable hanging out here.

There's a new DEAD END sign at the entrance to the circle, a nice addition after living here for 25+ years. Gray and Jen had a date to Desert Star - Hunkules, and got a cute picture of Cal&Kate as they went to a wedding (and they celebrated their two year anniversary).  There was a  family dinner at Tepanyaki to celebrate Coop's recent graduation. Keaton has returned to jumping out of airplanes. Concrete poured in the back. It's watermelon season, but pineapple has been the big favorite recently. We go through two a week at least. Colton is a "Stranger Things" fan, and when Season Four dropped May 27 ... he'd watched it all before June even started. Coop was catching up, so he and Jen watched it this month... the last two episodes drop July 1 (and as this recap is going out a little late, I can say that we've all already watched the rest). 

Here's a look at the month ONE SECOND style ...

Cooper - Class of 2022

ConGRADulations to Cooper! There was a time or two when he was struggling with school when I wondered if he might just get his GED instead of finishing up traditional high school. We'd already gone a non-traditional route, with Mountain Heights Academy, a local, but online school. 

A few years earlier, after trying a couple days at Bingham High School, Coop decided that traditional school wasn't for him. This is something that had come up for years. He'd wanted to be home schooled (we'd had a few days of it here and there) in elementary. We'd switched from year-round at Columbia (every off track time was last starting again) to traditional at Terra Linda, and Coop had met some great friends there. He went with those buddies (on permit) to Elkridge, but the school struggles started up again, hitting hard 8th and 9th grade. We managed to get the permit to Bingham, went in and scouted out all his classes ... but it was not to be. And that was okay. I'd had some online options on the back burner, and Mountain Heights started a bit after the in-person schools, so Coop was still able to take a week off, and then start on time.

Mountain Heights Academy was a perfect fit for Cooper. Every class had the year planned out, schedules were flexible - with weekly assignments due on Friday each week. Students could do their work when/where they wanted ... a little from each class each day, or as Cooper tended to do, he'd do everything for one class on Monday and be done with that, then do another class on Tuesday, etc. He could sleep in, he and I could get some pickleball in during the day. I'd watch some of the school lectures, take notes, then go over assignments with him. His math teacher gave him personal tutoring (as I'm NO help there) as needed. When it was time for the ACT, he went in to the main offices (here in WJ) and scored higher than his brothers to date. He graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.93.  

Cooper started Mountain Heights Academy as a sophomore, Fall of 2019 ... BEFORE Covid hit. Mountain Heights had started back in 2009, so they had 10 years of online education under their belt already. It was interesting to see how well they were set up, much better than all the traditional schools switching to online education during the pandemic (not really a fair comparison due to the circumstances, but we felt lucky that Cooper's school had everything so organized and was so on top of things). Even before the pandemic hit, I remember a snow day giving Colton the day off, and Cooper sighed "just a regular school day for me!"

When graduation time came ... it was set for Wednesday, June 1, 2022, downtown at the Capitol Theater. There were 154 graduating seniors. Unlike the Jordan District schools, where you "rent" a gown, this was an actual purchase (and I think cost less!) ... and I went ahead and ordered one, even though Coop said he wasn't planning on attending the ceremony. Which ... was okay with me, as I really struggle with ceremony and crowds and downtown. It was livestreamed, and I tuned in for part of it. 

I loved that the school came over personally to place a "congratulations graduate" sign in the yard! Graduations were back in effect ... the year before, when Covid concerns were so prevalent, graduations were cancelled and "drive by" parades were done instead. 

Just out of curiosity, I looked up the size of the graduating classes for the other boys - Landon's was 759, Callahan's was 914, Keaton's was 895. Still waiting to see what Colton's will be (probably in the 500s). Couldn't find the actual numbers for the other schools in 2022 - but this document had some interesting stats. 

(Posted in May2024 and backdated to it's chronological spot. With Colton's graduation upon us ... I realized I never did an official post for Cooper! Blogging, and life, got away from me a bit in 2022 when I had a seizure and ended up in the ER early in the year. Can that be my excuse? Updating now, and will backdate to June 2022 ...)

May 2022

 

The month of May ... there were birthdays (Kate, UncleShane and Uncle Derek, Grandpa and Pammy), Mother's Day and Graduations. There was basketball, pickleball, Zumba. Some get-aways and group gatherings. Here's a rundown ...

• Out of Town ~ Cal and Kate were in Holland for the first week of May. I did get a blog post up about their Tulip Trip. Gray had a weekend down in St. George, and it happened to overlap a Zions trip for Landon and Sol, so while it hadn't been pre-planned, they met up for some RZR riding on the red rocks. Blog post about that HERE. Cal and Kate made it down to St. George on a different weekend.
• Basketball ~ Colton played in a "shot clock" tournament with the WJ team (a shot clock IS being added to high school play next year). He also had three tournaments with his Wolves (in Heber, Juan Diego High and the Expo Center in Sandy). I didn't travel to Heber, but was able to hit all the other games. Cal has been playing in a men's league and they needed an extra player, so Colton stepped in there and I went to watch. At home, Coop has been watching the NBA playoffs.
• Mother's Day ~ I got a lovely bouquet from Olivia, and Gray arranged for all the kids to come to the house for brunch. 
• Out to Lunch ~ Jen made it out to the folks a couple times this month, taking Mom to lunch for Mother's Day. Gathering up some family history stuff and seeing all the progress the folks are making clearing out the house.
• Jobs ~ Landon's office is moving from right by our house to a building out on Mountain View, so we may not be seeing him as often on his lunch break. Sol changed jobs recently, and Cooper is going to do summer work at the school again (it's just so close/flexible) and then hopes to find something else once he gets his driver's license (aiming for October on that, before his Learner's Permit expires). We love having an in-house electrician ... Gray had Keaton install an outlet in the island. Colton SHOULD get a job, but it is hard with all the basketball and such still going on.
• Gray the Party Planner ~ Grayson threw his second baby shower for a woman at work. He also arranged a private screening of TopGun for Symphony employees and their families (unfortunately none of our family made it). 
• Mountain Mikes Group Gathering ~ Aunt Jami was in town from Seattle, so we got the Blackham Bunch together at the local pizza place for some conversation and catching up.
• Backyard Cleanup ~ There is an area in the back that has been a play area (with a swing set, then later a trampoline) and home for our ducks ... but the last year or so it got a little out of control. Gray hired a couple guys to come clear it out, and now we're prepping it for concrete (extra storage space for vehicles, patio, maybe basketball? It will keep the weeds from coming back.)
• Graduations ~ Sol got her Associates from SLCC and Cooper finished up his senior year and graduated from Mountain Heights Academy. He wasn't interested in the ceremony (downtown, and he hadn't really met his peers in person) but we had to have a cap and gown photoshoot. 
• Medical ~ I finally did a follow-up with my PCP after my fall in January. He wants me to check in with a neurologist, but that appointment isn't until October. He also referred me to a Physical Therapist, as I've been struggling with shoulder/arm pain for a while (nothing too bad most of the time although it does interfere with some things, like sleep, and it just doesn't seem to be going away). 

Here's the One Second Everyday in May video ...

https://youtu.be/uoKqAIjmYZY

We were lucky enough to get Aunt Olivia to make a HairCut Housecall ... got the boys, and Gray, trimmed up. Beyond family, there was a "blood moon" (that wasn't really very visible here due to cloud cover) and the tragic news of the shooting at Robb Elementary School. Prices have continued to escalate - eggs were very noticeable this month, with prices more than doubling. Gas prices continue to climb, almost $5 a gallon (thankful for the Tesla right now although the guys drive a lot more than me). There has been a shortage of formula - and as I've gone through items for family history, I found an old "recipe" for formula in my Dad's baby book. Similar recipes and options have been making the rounds on FB.  School is out, so moving into the summer schedule. On to June!

Impromptu Party In Hurricane Utah

 

The second weekend in May, Grayson headed down to St. George with his buddy Jon. Landon and Sol and a couple friends were heading down to Zions. As Landon updated me via text, I let him know his dad was down in that area ... and although it hadn't been planned ahead of time, they met up and hit some red rocks on the RZRs together.

Here's a little video Sol took (she said she thought they were going to tip over and die!)

https://youtu.be/EVFKljdS3nc