Landon O'le

Landon's Spanish class made a little music video ... I guess Landon DID inherit some of my dramatic flair ... who knew? My kid is the one in the hat and mustache!

... and then they did it again ...

Fear Factor!

During the month of September the youth had several "fun" activities ... one week for mutual it was ... Fear Factor! The above picture is Landon in the "Ice Cream Drop" portion of the activity. One kid would lay on the ground holding a cup above their face, while another youth would climb a ladder and drop ice cream ... trying to get it into the cup. There were other gross activities ... one was swallowing a live goldfish. YUCK! But I think the youth were entertained.

Then at the neighborhood park, the kids were given nylon stockings filled with flour ... you can see the results! And a couple weeks before that, it was paintball (below) ... I guess it all keeps the kids coming!

The month culminated in a Court of Honor where Landon received his "Life" ... next up, Eagle.

Family Photos

The family was all in town, so the entire Blackham/Bailey clan got together for a family photo. We went to Wheeler Farm, and although I've been there before, I hadn't really noticed that it has a ton of nice picture places. Of course getting everyone there was the challenge. You should have heard my boys moaning and groaning ... "Why do we have to go take pictures?" "Do we have to smile?" "We have to wear PANTS? It's HOT!" I'd had to run around in the days preceding to locate brown shirts for everyone, the boys did NOT want to wear brown socks and shoes. I brought my own camera and tried to take a few shots of the boys myself ... they were less than cooperative and then the camera battery died. But it is good to have a nice family photo *Ü*

Alarmed *Ü*

Every weekday at about 3:00, we pick up Landon (and company ... carpool) from the middle school. We get home and have just 45 minutes or so before it's time to head to the elementary school to pick up the Columbia Kids Carpool ... during those 45 minutes ... Colton takes off. He's usually fairly close, downstairs, or at one of two neighbor's homes ... but trying to locate him quickly so that we can leave has proved problematic (he's always the last place I look!). So I bought him a watch and set the alarm. Every day at 3:55 the watch starts to beep, and Colton knows he is supposed to come find me because it's time to leave. I'm SO happy to report, it's been a couple of weeks since we first bought the watch, and it's working like a charm!

Games on the Go

While we're out driving in the car, we play many of the usual travel games. The boys have been spotting VW Bugs for as long as I can remember... I do try to discourage the "slug" part of that game (don't the kids hit each other enough?) When Cooper noticed certain little cars carried his name, we started to point out Mini Coopers as well. As the older boys got interested in "cool" cars, they would oooh and ahhh over as we would see them on the road (cool cars being a Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Charger, Corvette, etc.) I have to say I'm pretty good at pointing them out now too *Ü*

I know there are many variations of the "License Plate Game" ... spotting all the letters in alphabetical order, making words from the letters, sighting different states ... Cooper especially LOVES finding plates from different states. The boys also call out patterns in the numbers or letters ... if they are double or triple, or "skippy" (the same number or letter with one number or letter in between).

So if you're ever in the car with us, don't be surprised to hear the kids (or me) calling out "Mustang" or "Skippy Two" or "Look, Texas" ... in fact, the picture at the top I took because I Cooper had fallen asleep during our drive and I happened to have my camera on my lap ... I knew he would be sad if he missed the "Triple O from Idaho" ...

Happy Birthday Landon!

We don't have "friend" birthday parties every year, but we do usually get together with family to celebrate the boy's birthdays. Last Sunday, the Blackham Bunch got together, and this Sunday, it was the Westra side. We celebrated Cooper, Keaton and Landon (as Cooper and Keaton blew out candles last week, we let Landon have the honor this week). We also celebrated cousins Rella and Taylee, and Uncle Chris. The end of August/first week of September is busy for birthdays! Just like last week (and last year), we brought the two yummy cakes (one white buttercream, one chocolate fudge) and like last week, the chocolate cake was almost gone, while there was still half the white cake left. We didn't bring any leftovers home with us this week though (too tempting). Landon's actual birthday was today, and Landon got lots of Facebook birthday wishes. His main gift was making his ownership of Dad's old Iphone official (no service, so basically an Ipod Touch ... Landon had absconded with it when Gray upgraded to the Iphone4). He also got a couple hackysacks, some Silly Bandz, and a UofU backpack. For dinner he requested french dip and of course ... we finished up with MORE cake (this time, an Oreo Ice Cream cake ... yum!). Here's a look back at the last 15 years!

Last but not Least

Colton and his new Buzz Backpack

The Columbia kids started school first, then Landon was off to Elkridge ... and last but NOT least, Colton started preschool. He's back at Ms. Cindy's, where he went last year. This year, it is three hours twice a week (last year it was just two hour days). The preschool is right in the neighborhood, so (weather permitting) Mommy walks Colton there in the stroller. Colton loves school, loves seeing friends and just really does NOT like being home alone with just Mom. I was worried about how he would do, now that Cooper is in school ALL day (instead of the half day kindergarten like last year) and it is tough. As soon as the brothers are gone, Colton wants to check with the two nearby neighbors to play, and if they aren't home ... it isn't good. So I have arranged set playdates four afternoons each week, and that is helping. I think Colton will be very ready for kindergarten next year.

Happy Birthday Keaton!

Happy Birthday to Keaton ... 10 years old ... Yes, there was just a birthday post for Cooper, and guess what ... there will be another one for Landon right around the corner. All three boys actually had Sept. 5 as their due date. Cooper and Keaton came before, and Landon later. I makes for a busy birthday week. But as I have really like both the chocolate cake (pictured above) and the white cake (in Cooper's birthday post below), with THREE birthdays, I do figure I'm justified in getting them both! The chocolate cake seemed to be the family favorite.

Lighting multiple candles can be a bit of a chore ... have you seen these "fast light" ones? It's a package of 10 ... so PERFECT for Keaton this year. You just light one ... and then they are all aflame! My boys love them! Here's a quick video (it's just a few seconds) *Ü*

For his actual birthday, Keaton took Airheads (candy) to school to share with friends, and we went out to SubZero for ice cream in the evening. He got a couple new caps (maybe you'll see something OTHER than the yellow big bird one on his head in future photos), Wii Sports Resort, a hacky sack, Legos and a Magic 8 Ball.

Often at the family parties, we pull out the scrapbooks, photo albums and family videos featuring the birthday boy. Keeping that tradition alive in blog format, here is a slide show of favorite photos from the last 10 years (you can also scroll through them here).

Happy Birthday Cooper!

Seven candles on the cake. Happy birthday to Cooper! Each one of his brothers gave him a pack of basketball cards (his latest obsession) and then he ended up getting LOTS more packs too (don't ask). He also got a red light saber and some Legos.

The Bishop came and gave Cooper (&Colton)

a ride in his Mini Cooper.

The coming week, Cooper will also be STAR STUDENT in his first grade class. We made a little poster with photographs and pictures to let his class learn more about Cooper. He loves basketball, baseball and soccer. Cooper is a great artist (he colored the Spongebob picture). His latest favorite show is "Avatar" ... we glued on a pack of the basketball cards, and Mario fruit snacks (as Cooper loves both) ... and of course, ICE CREAM.

So ... Happy Birthday Cooper, hope you had a good one! We don't do "friend" parties every year, but we had a family celebration on the Blackham side this Sunday and will have one on the Westra side next Sunday. Yea ... more cake! To remember the last seven years, I put together a slide show of favorite photos featuring the birthday boy!

9th Grade

A little trivia about the photo below ... Landon is super tan from a recent return from scout camp and several trips to local pools (the pink wristband is from Cowabunga Bay, which he went to with friends on Tuesday) ... notice the big, braces-free smile ... and look to the left, to see the "Grayson" ghost in the window ... a repeat of a similar photo from last year ...

While the Columbia Kids went back to school a couple weeks ago, back to school for Landon was a little later (yesterday). Continuing with the Blackham tradition, I caught Landon and had him hold up NINE fingers, to create a picture portrait of which grade he would be entering into ... here's a flash from the past ...

He's gotten big, hasn't he?

What will I do for 11th and 12th grade ...

He won't have enough fingers!

So Landon is still going to Elkridge Middle School ... this was actually in question as there was a boundary change, and our neighborhood/elementary school now flows into a different middle school. Rather than shifting schools his final year, we applied and were approved for a permit to still attend. However, now there is no bus, so getting to and from school is much more of a hassle, and several friends did not get permits turned in and were forced to change schools.

So here's hoping for a good year. There is Science, Geography, Algebra, Language Arts, Technology, Spanish, PE and Seminary. Landon is really good about getting up and ready on his own, which as a mom, I appreciate SO much. He's also pretty good about doing homework and such ... sometimes I wish he would ask for a little help (Mom was an editor for a publication a little bit back ... maybe she should read through your essay?)

Some miscellaneous memories from MY ninth grade year ... the high school was doing "Annie" as their school play, and they needed some younger kids for the orphans (I was almost too tall!). We had practice everyday after school (this really helped ease the transition to high school as I had made many friends there during the musical rehearsals). I was on the track team, running the 200, 400 and 800 relay. I took type, and got a B- (my lowest grade EVER) the very first quarter that grades counted cumulatively. I wrote a song for the Reflections contest and went to District with it. I also performed it at 9th grade promotion. My friends and I would sometimes bring cold cereal and milk for our lunch (we thought we were SO funny). I wonder what memories will be made for Landon?