Father's Day 2016

 Father's Day ...

Ah, the annual Westra gathering at Scott and Amy's house. This year ... sans Scott and Amy, who were in Switzerland for a work trip! Their kids stepped up and hosted though.  The Blackham bunch, was almost missing, as it was the scheduled Seattle vacation. But Grayson decided to pull the plug on it as his Meniere's has been acting up, and he's had so much pinched nerve pain. 

Grayson pulled out a slackline kit. He had purchased it months ago (maybe even a year or two?) and we'd never gotten around to putting it up. There were two trees in the backyard that were perfect. It was a hit with the kids!

It was fun to visit ... Shane and Alicia were even in town from California, and Jensens had made the trip (they usually do, but not always). So other than our missing missionaries, Callahan working, Mckenna and Spencer back East ... and of course Scott and Amy, we had a pretty full house.

 There was some frog kissing 

(okay, it's a toad from under the tramp).

... and some baby throwing.

(There MAY have been some photoshopping of this photo). 

Easter 2016

Easter was early ... March 27

 There was a Westra Party but was small this year!
Just compare it to the crowd from last year (Easter 2015). 

(There's a cute picture of Derek's family in ears then too ... with one less little one.)

Not sure why we didn't get pictures of more people in the ears.

Here is Jen's journal entry about the day ...

Saturday morning I finished up some easter prep; filling eggs (I'd had the boys work on it yesterday, and we don't need that many this year so it was pretty easy) and made some chex mix. Hubs left early, jogging, and we picked him up on the way to my folks, which we did. He got about five miles in and said he felt pretty good. Only my oldest and youngest brother and their families were able to attend this year, my three other siblings didn't make it. Mom's Wii had gone out. I brought an extra power cord we had, and luckily that was the problem, so it was a fix. It was a nice afternoon, although a little chilly. Got to meet my new little niece for the first time too. The older kids hid the eggs and the two little girls found them. When they were done we had to send out the 10 and two 12-year olds to gather the rest (as there were too many for just the two little ones).  

Shane's family was in California. Jensens didn't make it up from St. George, and Chris and kids were helping Cassandra with a move, which was nice of them! So a small gathering, even though Mom and Dad invited Uncle Merrill and Aunt Lori out, and Kemery brought her significant other.

Here's some additional Easter pictures from this year ...

Welcome 2016 - Grandparents and Games

Jen and Gray have hosted New Years for several years - back in 2010,  the whole Westra clan came out (Dancing in the New Year). This year it was just the folks. There was some Speed RummyKube and Tapple, a new game Blackhams got for Christmas. It's a bit like Scattergories, thinking of things to fit a topic that begin with a certain letter. It was fun (silly Grandma ... something green that starts with K ... "kangaroo"? Then the grownups moved onto Progressive Rummy, which was a little too slow-moving and complex for the little boys. We actually played all seven hands (usually we skip the 5th/6th ones), and although Gray won the final hand, Jen won the game! 

The two littles fell asleep before midnight. As we giggled and gathered to take a picture around the sleeping boys, Cooper woke up (even though Grandma tried to get him to close his eyes again). We surrounded sleeping Colton and even put a little "Happy New Year" tiara on his head for the photo. Grandma couldn't stop giggling (she'd gotten a little silly during rummy too, with "three legs" and "multiple possibilities" and "it's just a little 2". I think it was past her bed time!)

Last year, Grandma/LaMar brought out a big box of "New Year" stuff. Hats, tiarias, horns, etc. Then he gifted the Blackham family with said box. Jen stored it for the year,  brought it out ...  and gave it back to him this year!

2015 Christmas Letter

The PDF of the letter is in Dropbox (2015)

Christmas 2015

Christmas Eve 2015 was on a Thursday. All the families met at Grandma and Grandpa's house per usual. There were several soups, breadsticks and treats. Grandpa had the idea to put santa hats upside-down in the big vases, with poinsetta flowers. It was a fun and unique decor idea. 

After eating, everyone gathered for the candy bar game ...

... and then there was the annual slideshow.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

2015 Recap - Slideshow and Calendar Pages

 As the end of the year rolls around, it's time for the calendar and slideshow. 

It is always interesting to reflect on all that happened on the Westra side in 2015.

Most memorable, was Dad(Grandpa) having a heart attack.  Jase, who had been with him when it happened, had to make the phone calls to all the siblings. Dad has been in excellent health and very active, so this was absolutely unexpected. All the siblings gathered at the hospital and it was touch and go for a bit. Then, it seemed he would pull through physically, but his mental health was still in question. Happily, after just a few rough days, Daddy was back.

In Scott's family ... we had a wedding!

The first wedding of a Westra grandchild.

... it was the year of the missionaries! Chris and Kim and THREE missionaries out for 2015. Kim's two girls, Crystal and Kourtney. They both finished their missions here at the end of the year. Kaden is almost home (January) and Corin will be leaving. They will have a combined "homecoming/farewell" for their family! Landon left of course, but so did Janika, Wendy's oldest. 

Shane's family made a big move as the year came to a close ... literally. Due to job changes, they are leaving Utah and heading to California! We've been so lucky to have all our family close by. We will really miss having them around.

Derek and Danielle had some unexpected, but wonderful news! They are pregnant! After infertility and two darling adopted daughters, they were going to get to experience the entire pregnancy process themselves as well. Derek has been so cute documenting Danielle's pregnancy progression. It's another girl, and she's expected in January.

So THAT's what has been up with the Westra bunch this past year. 

Here's the Slideshow 

(it is a little long, I mean it's the WHOLE year from seven families!)

... and there are the calendar pages

 January

 February

 March

April

 May

 June

 July

 August

 September

 October

 November

December

Breadsticks and Rolls

Okay - this was not a classic Westra recipe during the early years. Jen discovered it after she was married. There has been many a Christmas dinner with breadsticks, which everyone seems to enjoy (sans the Celiac folks, sorry!), so they are part of the Westra experience now. Jen picked up this recipe at a Homemaking meeting. A neighbor's mother taught home economics at the high school and after years of students making this recipe, she said that it rarely goes wrong. It's great for dinner rolls, breadsticks, sweet rolls (cinnamon rolls and orange rolls) and even scones. It's flexible, you can use it the day you make it, or you can make it ahead and refrigerate it (which can be a timesaver for rushed mornings or a great way to spread out your "right out of the oven" rolls without having to make it all from scratch each day).

2 Tbls. Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water

2 Cups  Milk

1 Cup Shortening

2 Cups Reconstituted Instant Potatoes

1 Cup Sugar

2 Tsp. Salt

4 Beaten Eggs

10-12 Cups Flour

Dissolve yeast in water and set aside.  Combine milk and shortening in pan and scald. Mix up the potatoes ... let the milk and potatoes cool to lukewarm. Add milk, potatoes, sugar, salt and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix.  Add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides. Knead. Cover and let the dough double in size (or place in refrigerator until ready for use, up to a week). Shape into rolls and let rise until double.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes... ovens to vary, so I always keep an eye on them, leave them in until they are golden brown on top. Spread melted butter over the tops as soon as you pull them out of the oven.

For dinner roll shapes, I like 

• Crescents: Roll dough into a large circle and spread butter over the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut into pie-shaped pieces and roll up, starting with the larger end. Place the rolls on a large, buttered cookie sheet (with sides), cover and let them rise.
• Butterflake: Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Cut the dough into strips about 1 1/2 inch wide. Stack four strips and then cut into individual rolls. Place in greased muffin tins to rise.
• Breadsticks:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Take a large cookie sheet (with sides) and spread butter all over the pan. sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese over the butter in the pan. Cut the dough into strips and lay them side by side in the pan. Sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese over the dough and let them rise.

For sweet rolls

• Orange Rolls:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with sugar and orange rind. Roll the dough (jellyroll style) and then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place them in buttered muffin tins to rise. Bake. Make icing from powdered sugar and orange juice. Spread over cooled rolls.
• Cinnamon Rolls:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the dough. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over the dough as well. If you like raisins, add them at this point. Roll the dough jelly roll style. Cut into individual rolls (about 2" thick) and position them on a buttered cookie sheet. Leave space between the rolls for them to rise. Bake. Make icing from powdered sugar and milk, or top with cream cheese frosting.

For scones ... simply roll out the dough, cut into strips or squares, and fry them in hot oil. There is also Aunt Lorrie's recipe specifically for scones (which calls for them to rise) but this "frybread" seems to be a hit too. Top with butter and sugar.