Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to me ... 

17 roses for 17 years.

In our bedroom, we have this quote

"The Art of Marriage"

not only is this a great quote,

but the original (which is what we have on our wall)

was written in calligraphy by Gray's dad.

Pineview 2009

Backdated to June 2009. Remembered/Written July2024.

Thanks Callahan (currently camping) for the push to get it blogged :)

We'd planned a camping trip, our usual spot in Anderson Cove next to Pineview Reservoir. We had the trailer and reserved the spot for two days. We went up Friday, June 19. Gray got home from work earlier than expected, so we were off and able to avoid rush hour traffic.

Pulling the pop-up trailer, we arrived and got set up. After the initial hesitation, the two little ones seemed very happy to be camping (old hat for the three older boys). Colton couldn’t open the door to the camper so he would stand outside the door and yell “Ding Dong the Door!” which made us all laugh and was a statement that wouldn't soon be forgotten.

We had a little negative excitement ...

I remember seeing Keaton across the firepit when he started, shook his head and started screaming. He said a bug had flown into his ear. This was a time when Keaton had tendency toward hyperbole and hypochondria, and the fact that we couldn’t see anything, we weren’t sure what to think. 

Keaton settled down a little, but then he'd move his head a little and his eyes would grow wide again. "It's buzzing" and he insisted something was in there. I took a flashlight, pulled his earlobe down to open things up as much as possible and ... there was something in there. A black, not so little, bug butt. What to do? It was getting late and we weren't sure if this was something a doctor/ER/instacare should handle, if we could even find one (and could we get back into the campground or did the gates close for the evening?) Gray then got the idea to have Keaton lay with his ear up, and he poured water into the ear canal. Whatever was in there didn't like being drowned, and it started moving around and backing up. It was like a scene from a science fiction movie, with the legs coming out, then the body. It was a medium sized housefly or black bee, not really a small bug! The stuff that nightmares are made of! Not a great picture, but you get the idea. Gray had the file from some clippers to encourage and nudge the bug all the way out. Poor Keaton ... it was actually traumatizing for all involved. Keaton's main memory from this event was that no one believed him :(

The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly. Some cheese sandwiches, hotdogs and smores (lots of smores!), some Uno around the table. Milk and mini chocolate donuts. Keaton had his favorite striped pajamas (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ... Cooper never got a turn wearing them but Colton eventually did, Striped Pajama Sequel). When it was time for bed, Gray turned out the light and Colton gave a little gasp at the darkness, but the night went fairly smoothly. Noisy neighbors kept us up for a while, and Colton cried a couple times. I don’t know if I really slept at all.

Saturday morning, Grayson had planned a run around the lake. I didn't note exactly when he left, but he was gone a long time. He had thought the path around the lake would be about 10 miles, it was actually over 15! This on top of a killer bike ride he did yesterday (which he said was probably his hardest workout ever). When he finally made it back, we had a yummy breakfast, pancakes, french toast and bacon ... and smores. For breakfast.

A little rest, a little time at the beach...

There wasn’t much beach as the water level was so high. It was cool, and rained off and on. No Keaton in the pictures ... maybe still recovering from the bug in the ear.

The extended family (Blackham and some Bailey) was planning on coming up. Gray called them and told them the weather and water weren’t really cooperating, but they came up anyway ..

... and we all got dumped on! There was still some food and fire and family visiting. After everyone left, we retreated to the camper. There was a break in the rain, and we decided to pack up and go home rather than stay another night as originally planned. We were able to get off pretty quickly and got home without incident. Home again home again, jiggity jig.

Kicking It with the Kindergarten Crew

There are two main recreational soccer leagues here in West Jordan. One signs the kids up in the spring, for the following fall/spring season (I can never plan that far in advance), the other has registration shortly before each season starts. Several of the kids in the neighborhood had signed up with the former league, and had already played fall together when spring rolled around. A couple of the kids had dropped off the team however, and as a spot opened up, I was able to add Cooper to the team. All the kids were already in kindergarten (Coop was still in preschool) but they were friends from the neighborhood and church. Cooper LOVED playing soccer and it really helped with his independence and socialization skills too.

A Full Family 5k

Saturday, June 6, 2009, there was a 5k race in Bountiful. Cousin Nikki (Mom/Margie's niece, daughter of her brother Merrill) and her Callahan (can you believe there are two Callahan's in the family?) were hosting a run to raise fund and awareness for MLD. Their daughter Eliza was diagnosed with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that affects nerves, muscles, other organs, and behavior.

Here's an excerpt from my journal from the day of the race ...

We had talked about going as a family and had decided to do it, all of us. The older boys were pretty excited, I brought a scooter for Keaton to participate and keep up easily, and the two babies would be in the stroller. The two oldest were up and at it early, but I practically had to dress Colton while he was sleeping. We were out the door by about quarter to 7:00 and made it there in good time (in Bountiful). Shane and Alicia were there. I had known they were coming, but was surprised to see Chris and Corin and my dad, and Derek and Danielle. So lots of support from the Westra side, plus of course many of my cousins. Gray was pushing the stroller (I’d end up walking if I did) and he started with Keaton, while I started closer to the front with the big boys. They were off at the start and I didn’t have a chance of catching up to them. Gray caught up to me shortly, passed Keaton off to me and took off. Keaton was good, going just a little faster than me, keeping me jogging the entire time. My only stops were at a stoplight as needed for traffic, or when we came upon Landon near the end (his sprint at the start had used up all his energy, and he was sitting by the side of the road).  He took over the scooter and Keaton ran the remaining half to quarter mile. I was just under 32 minutes ... usually I’m at least 40 for three miles *Ü* so that made me happy. I felt pretty dang good. I wished I had remembered the camera!

 As I mention not having a camera - I'm not positive where the pictures came from. Maybe Alicia? Or an event photographer, with the photos shared online afterward? It was fun to see so much family and community support.

Eliza passed away July 8, 2015. You can read a little of her story here. 

We'd gotten up and off so early we hadn't really had a proper breakfast, so we stopped at a family favorite Virg's for some food on the way home. Landon was wiped out though, and elected to stay in the car and nap. I thought for sure he'd come in ... but he didn't, and once home, he went to bed there too! Gray and I had another activity for the day, a hike. It was around 3 miles too. I remember noting the difference in my Fitbit steps. "Running" (in quotes because I can't say I was really running) those three miles got bigger, but fewer steps (around 5000). The hike, both uphill and down called for small steps, so the three miles there netted around 8000 steps! The "average" number of steps for a mile is 2000, but it sure can vary!

Doing the Derby

We had two boys in the derby this year. It was Keaton's first year, and Callahan's last year. Neither placed in the top four, but I think they still had fun.

Half Marathon in Moab

 

It's great that the blog can be backdated ... this post, written in March 2024 will be backdated to March 2009 (I didn't officially start blogging until 2010). In the present day (2024) Grayson is preparing again for the Canyonlands Half-Marathon. So after 15 years, I figured I'd see what pictures and memories were available from the first race in 2009.

According to my journal, Grayson was set to head down on Friday, March 20. Uncle Clay was going, and Maga must have gone too, as Grayson took a few of the boys. Landon, Keaton and Colton went with Daddy (even though Landon was in a cast, having broken his wrist just a few days before). Callahan had too many activities (basketball games, plans with friends) and Coop (a bit of a homebody like Mom) stayed back.

Gray had checked in a few times. Said Colton seemed sick, had the sick eyes, had coughed so badly once he threw up. Landon seemed to be fine. He did good on his time in the race, 1:35, which was 10 minutes faster than he had anticipated. They went to the park, saw Grandma Henry and stopped at the rock shop.

Here's a fun "review" of the race by another blogger ... Reviewed: Canyonlands Half Marathon which describes this as a "a spectacular well-run race, in a beautiful location, with perfect weather, and a gently rolling downhill course." Another article in the Moab Times gives some additional details. From MadMooseEvents, it's said ...

The first Canyonlands Half Marathon was run on May 1, 1976 had just 22 finishers, including a dog. Today, thousands of runners come together in March to enjoy the scenic red rock formations and winding Colorado River that Moab has come to be known for! Running parallel to Arches National Park and the mighty river, runners are in for a real treat. Long considered a "Bucket List" race, in the July 18 issue of Runners World UK, Canyonlands Half Marathon was mentioned in their article "The Worlds Greatest Races." It's easy to see why runners return year after year to experience spring in Moab on this famous road race!

Good luck to Gray as he hits the half again - 15 year later! 

Interesting Injuries

As I just started the blog in 2010, I'll be backdating some "reference" posts ... one thing the kids always try to remember and compare are their "owies" ... and to date we've had a few, so here is a quick review, and if you're squeamish, you might NOT want to see some of these pictures! 

LANDON: When Landon was little (around five) he cut off the tip of his finger with my sharp scrapbooking scissors. It wasn't enough to do anything about it, we just had to wrap it and hope it healed (it did). For several weeks he had a "mummy finger" ... which was ok because it was around Halloween. Landon also had bad teeth, needing fillings at just two years old, and then having to have his front teeth pulled when he was pre-school age. But as for fun photos ...

We'd gone to JumpingJacks (big inflatables) and hadn't even been there for five minutes before Landon came yelling that he'd broken his arm ... yep, it was pretty obvious! We had to go up to Primary Children's, where he was sedated and they set it under the x-ray. He'd broken his arm once before (up by the shoulder several years earlier) ... both times it was his left arm. BUT ... he's left handed.

CALLAHAN broke his wrist one summer. It was pretty mild, more of a crack. After playing basketball year round, I took him to the Instacare for some knee pain and he was diagnosed with a fractured kneecap. The followup to the orthopedic amended that injury to "jumper's knee" which just needed some rest. He has had a couple notable owies though ... 

 

(Athlete's Foot) He'd been suffering from Athlete's Foot for a while. We tried all the creams and powders to no avail. Then one day it morphed into THIS ... I ran him to the Instacare, and he was in so much pain as they tried to clean it. The doctor even started to cry. We had to go back daily for about a week, they almost hospitalized him. We followed up with a pediatric dermatologist at PRMC and it finally cleared up!

(BIG Bruise) He was trying to flip a wheelie on his bike (on the grass) ... the bike flipped and smashed into his leg. It bruised immediately. It continued to change colors over the following days. Very impressive bruise!

KEATON was the first Blackham Boy to break a bone. At just two years old he slipped off a kitchen stool and broke his arm. He was also the first to need stitches, cutting his head right above his eyebrow. Keaton could be a bit of a hypochondriac, which is why it was ironic that the next situation happened to him ... not really an "ouch" but it certainly fits the description of "interesting" ... almost required a visit to the ER ...

We were camping up at Pineview, gathered around our campfire when Keaton suddenly cried out and pulled at his ear. He said there was something in there ... a bug, he could feel it moving, hear it buzzing. I looked and could not see anything. He continued to complain and I took a flashlight and looked again and ... thought perhaps I saw what could be a bug deep in the ear canal. Gray tried having Keaton place his ear upward, then poured water into his ear, hoping to "encourage" the bug to come out on its own. It did ... it was horrible though, like a scene from "Alien" with a couple of legs, then the body emerging. It was a fly, but it wasn't a small one.  YUCK!

COOPER got a broken leg when he was just 17 months old. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Landon came sledding down, slamming into him. Gray and I were out of the country (a trip to Mexico) and it was hard to receive that news when we were so far away. But it wasn't really too bad of a break. The main issue was, that Cooper was a belated walker, and he has JUST started trying to walk, and this pushed him back a couple more months. This break wouldn't be his last ... but the others happened while I was blogging, so they have their own posts. Broken Arm #1. Broken Arm #2

COLTON was the first Blackham Boy to have to go to the Emergency Room. With all the other kids injuries to date, we had been able to get by at the Instacare.  It was flu season when Colton was born, and pretty much the whole family got it ... and baby Colton, only seven days old, spiked a fever. We had to take him to PCMC where he had to spend several days (although thankfully he never got as sick as the rest of us).  Unfortunately that wasn't his last visit ... 

(Allergic Reaction) We'd had some allergy issues with Keaton and Landon ... and also with Colton. While at a family party, Colton ingested something that started to trigger at allergic reaction (peanut butter we think). His face and lips were visibly swollen and we were quite concerned about what we couldn't see (if his throat was closing up). PCMC was close by and we rushed there, they gave him epinephrine and then we had to stay overnight for observation. The picture above actually isn't from THAT episode, but another one (that didn't require an ER trip). Poor baby! 

GRAYSON has had a couple notable owies too ... Shortly before Colton was born, Gray had been at a work outing, walking along when he heard a pop and a pressure in his ankle ... he could barely walk. He had ruptured his Achilles Tendon. 

He opted for surgery ... luckily he's had a full recovery. 

Another "owie" occurred when Gray was going snowmobiling with work. I wasn't crazy about him going, as I've been aware of a couple horror stories (my brother Scott had a couple accidents, as did a college friend) ... so when I got a call just shortly after they had left, I had a mini-heart attack.  Grayson hadn't even made it onto the snowmobile, but had slipped on the ice while getting out of his truck ... hadn't even made it out of the parking lot.

This is the picture he emailed me while waiting at the ER ...

Like Keaton's injury needing stitches, the gash was just over his eyebrow, so neither Blackham Boy really shows any scars from their stitches.

You notice I'm not on this list of interesting injuries ...
maybe I'm doing something right?

Let's Get Cooking *Ü*

Keeping a collection of Blackham family favorites ...

Desserts

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Coconut Goodies
• Cookie Press Cookies
• Gingersnaps
• Ice Cream
• Lemon Jello Cake
• Meringue Nests
• Oreos (Homemade)
• Peanut Butter Bars

Breads

• Banana Bread
• Cheesy Breadsticks
• Rolls (dinner rolls and sweet rolls)

Dinner Meals

• Baked Ziti
• Lasagna
• Macaroni Rosa
• Chicken Pillows
• Sanpete Marinated Meat
• Soup - Chicken and Wild Rice
• Crack Chicken

Muvees ...

A little Muvee magic ... our home videos/photos set to music ...

Check out my YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/ScrapJenB

For all the Basketball Muvees, go to

Hoop Dreams

Halloween Party. Keaton'sClass. Oct2010

Soccer - Cooper (Fall2010)

Summer Swimming (Summer2010)

Soccer - Colton (Summer 2010)

BottleRockets (Summer 2010)

Derby Days (May2010)

StreetBall (Spring2010)

Derby Days (May 2009)

Soccer - Cooper (Spring 2009)

Aiden's Birthday Bash (June2008)

Rockets (Summer2004)

Ana's Wedding (2004)

Westra Waterballoons (Aug2004)

Park Play (June2004)

Landon's First Derby (May2004)

Playing with Puppies (Summer 2004)

MiscMayMemories (2004)

Buca Birthday (May2004)

Soccer - Callahan (Spring2004)

Landon Allstar (2004)

MiscMemories (Spring2004)

Halloween (Oct2003)

Keaton's Birthday (Aug2003)

Welcome Cooper (Aug2003)

MiscSummer (2003)

Christmas (2002)

Basketball Keaton Jr. Jazz 12112010

Basketball Cooper Jr. Jazz 12112010

Basketball.Callahan.GF.11062010

Basketball.Callahan.GF.09252010

Basketball.Callahan.GF.05222010

Basketball.Callahan.GF.04172010

Moab ~ Reunion, Music Park and Sand Hill

Family Reunion Time. It was the end of August, 2008, and the Blackham Bunch and the Extended Blackham Bunch, all headed down to Moab. This was to see Grandma Henry (Grayson's Dad's Mom) and those relations. In past years, everyone had stayed on Grandma Henry's property or next door, and we thought that was the plan this year. We hooked up the trailer and took it with us. We had some issues though ... got pulled over for a light not working, and then realized we weren't up to date on the registration. Oops! We stopped in Price and ended up staying at a hotel ... and then leaving the trailer there rather than risking any more problems. We'd discovered the rest of the family (Maga, Ana and Clay's family) were staying at a local hotel, and figured that would be more fun anyway. And it was.

The reunion was held at the same park we'd had it in previous years. The kids ran and played. I had forgotten it was this reunion where we got the classic picture of Maga in the funny glasses. We also visited Grandma Henry's house ... the dollhouse. A real house, but so named because of all the dolls inside. She was clearing things out and gifting items. We received a "RedBull" and a little SpongeBob couch.

We then went to a local park ... it was SO unique and different! Instead of the usual slides and swings, this was full of "musical instruments" of all sizes and shapes. There is some video under the pictures ... because you really need video to get how cool a concept this "Percussion Park" is!

... the final activity was the big red sand hill. Running up, falling down. 

Getting sweaty, and getting sand stuck. All. Over. Right before the car ride home!

Here's video from the weekend away ...

... we picked up the trailer in Price on the way home. Got hit with a huge rainstorm for the last little bit. Poor Colton had a bad cough much of the trip. The nights had been long. It was good to be back home.