MAMMUFF's AND INDIAN's

Kylee, Kael, Kayson, Kylan, Peyton, Teegan, Hayden, Trey, Tad, Brit, and Mattie

Rawlin, Trey, Julie, Wade, Me, Twin, Kael, and Merr

Last weekend we spent in Fairview Canyon/Huntington Reservoir for the Platt Family Reunion. We had such a great time relaxing, fishing, hiking, and playing games. The highlight of our trip was the hike all the kids and moms went on. We hiked only about a 1/2 mile (uphill with five bikes and an umbrella stroller through rough terrain) to a site where they uncovered the remains of a mammuff (or in Kael's terms, a mammoth). They found it on 8-8-88 while they were repairing the Huntington Reservoir Dam. The backhoe operator thought it was a log but when they got looking, it was the full skeletal remains of a HUGE mammoth. This is the highest elevation, @ about 9000 ft., that any remains have been found. Next to this one, the nearest mammoth found was only at about 7000 ft. and it was found in New Mexico. Anyway, they figured it went up so high because of the climate and in search of food. They believe it got stuck in a muddy bog and was unable to get out. They estimate it had been there for 11,000 years. Everything had been preserved so well because the mud the found it in was nearly freezing temp. They even found stomach content (which consisted of fir needles) and at one point said they could smell rotting flesh. After some other testing on the bones they concluded that it also had arthritis or some other bone disease. Cool HUH!!! I was pretty impressed so we took the long way home and went to Price to the museum to check it out. It was awesome to watch the kids and their expressions!!

What the bad boy looked like!!

Quite the Hike!! Hayden (yellow shirt, sitting down) was a great sport. He had just gotten up from a nap and he walked/rode the whole way. This was the final hill and he was so tired. When we got back to camp he had a 102 temp. What a good sport!!
Teegan and Uncle Jed. I think Uncle Jed needs a little girl at his house!!

My sister Rhonda was in charge this year for the reunion and she did such a great job. She took the kids on a scavenger hunt. Not just any scavenger hunt either. Her husband Nate collects arrowheads so he let her hide some to give to the kids. She also showed them a few different rocks and even some pottery that the Indians once used. There were a few different Indian displays at the museum too so it was a very educational trip for the kids.

Showing the kids the Indian artifacts. Note some (kids) are missing. Grandma and I had to keep them from jumping in the river that was behind us!!

Trey, Matt and his prize catch! I must admit - it was rather large!
Trey and his first fish. He and Peyton kept pulling moss out of the reservoir and saying "I fish".
Trey and his 'real' fish.
Kael and his catch
Dad and Mattie and all the fish. Mattie's was the biggest by far.

Jordan and Kayla with her catch. This was just after she fell in the water trying to get it on her line. Welcome to the fam!!!

We also played Family Jeopardy. Comedy Hour!!!! We had to answer questions about our childhood and since there were nine children, each of us remember things a little differently. There were great memories that we had growing up and many more were made over the weekend. THANKS RHONDA AND NATE. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Here is Kael just taking in the scenery! We were camped just over the hill from the Crandall Canyon Mine. I didn't know this until we were headed down the canyon and Matt told me. What an eerie feeling. I wish we would have had the time to go up and see the monument. Maybe next time.

Check out the view from my new windows! Okay, so it is the same view, you can just see it a lot better through clean windows!! Now I am waiting for someone to come finish the inside of them so I can finish with the trim. I will update more on this painful remodel later.

I think I have officially updated what has been going on the past month at our house. Hope you were not to bored with it all.!!

Just had to throw this one in for fun. Kayse already looks up to his older brothers=)

More of my 'so-called' life

So a few weeks ago my younger twin brothers participated in the State High School Rodeo Finals in Heber City. I took the kids down to watch because it is their final year. This year marked my parents 20th and final year. I guess you could say it is a real family tradition!! Anyhow, each night they have different themes for the Grand Entry. It just so happened that the first night we were there was their 'Tuff Enough to Wear Pink" night. All the contestants and whoever else wears a pink button-up shirt in honor of those battling breast cancer. Reams, the western store, had gotten a pink guitar signed by George Straight that they actioned off. They invited all cancer survivors into the arena and honored them. Kael got to hold the guitar and got his picture taken with it. The announcer made a big deal over him too because he was in all his cowboy gear! The guitar went for $10,000.00 and they donated it to one of the contestants who is battling cancer and has to have a bone marrow transplant. I got to visit with a few mom's that had battled breast cancer. One of them mentioned how hard it was for her to watch her husband be the caregiver. She also told me something that I have thought a lot about. She said that if we put everyone's shoe's in a room and were asked to pick out a pair, we would gladly put our own back on. So true!!

June 15th -Father's Day - marked the one-year anniversary of Kael's diagnosis. I had planned for a while now that we would call this day D-Day (diagnosis day) and celebrate the fact that we all made it. It was a lame looking cake but it tasted really good. (I never said I could cook, it's the thought that counts right??!!) Although Kael is one tough kid, so is Mattie for having to pick up the slack and take care of things and just taking a back seat to everyone else. Trey for keeping us laughing and wondering what he will pull out of his bag-of-tricks next. He is always getting lost in the middle of a new baby and a sick Kael. Kayson just keeps us going with his cute smile and easy-going attitude. Cheers to us all for making it this far!!!

P.S. So the picnic to First Dam was a hit. After we were done eating we took bread over and fed the ducks. Trey was amazed but couldnt sit still and kept scaring them away. Then he threw half of his sandwich in and a seagull ate it in one bite. Seagulls are interesting to watch. They are smaller than the ducks but insist on eating more. Perhaps they should be pink in color and have a curly tail!! Picnic location for next week is still being decided. It is Kael's turn to choose!

PICNIC OF THE WEEK

The Cache Valley Magazine came in the paper this week and had a list of 10 favorite picnic places. Although I wouldn't agree with some of them, we are going to try it out. The kids and I have designated Wed as our picnic day so we start tommorow at First Dam. Anyone wanting to join us is welcome. Lunch will be anytime between 11-1. BYOF (bring your own food). We have about 10 weeks before school starts, give or take a few weeks, so we are going to try to fit them all in before then.

RELAY EVENT

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about the Relay. I really appreciate all those who made it possible. We had a great time and had a lot of support from everyone. We handed in $3415 the night of the Relay and I handed in another $290 last week and I am still getting checks:) That makes the total over $3700. I am so overwhelmed by the generosity!! You ROCK!! I wish everyone could have been there to participate but here are some pics to prove what a great time we had! It rained the morning of the relay but we never got a drop after camp was set up. It was a little chilly but Matt's mom brought an outdoor fire pit to keep us all warm. Kael got to hold the banner for the "survivor lap" and also got to sign his name on a quilt block that will be donated to the new Cancer Treatment Center

here in Logan. Matt's sister's, Courtney and Sonnie

decorated our camp. The theme was "There is no place like HOPE" so they decorated camp like the Wizard of Oz. Kael was the Courageous Lion, Matt the Scarecrow, Trey the Tin-Man, Mattie was Dorthy, Kayse was a Munchkin, and I was Glinda (the good witch). They had a rain-bow you walked under to get into camp and even had a yellow-brick road. Thanks girls, it was awesome!! The dark pic with the bags are the Luminaries our team sponsored. We had 12 in all. Opening ceremonies was a tear jerker as well as the closing ceremonies. I am happy to report that we had someone on the track ALL NIGHT LONG!! but don't worry, it wasn't me. I almost beat the kids to bed. Courtney, Dan, Sonnie, Mitch, Mom Leak, Dad Leak, Merr, Denny, and Maurine kept the baton going. Thanks guys, your real hero's!!!

Birthday

Yes, it has almost been a month but here are Kael's birthday pics. He got a lot of cowboy paraphernalia and boy is he cute:) He also got a rocket that BLASTS into the sky and a bike. His dad (and mom) spoiled him rotten. We were just so glad that he was here to celebrate #5!! We love you Kael-Bell!!


Grandpa and Grandma gave him a fishing pole and t-ball set.

Clinic

Kael had clinic yesterday. He had to wear his cowboy outfit for the nurses. They think he is the cutest kid ever!

So the Dr. wanted to increase his chemo doses that I give him here at home. I didn't know we had to do this. Basically they want his body to be on edge at all times, meaning, as long as his counts are good they will keep increasing his doses to the limit. It makes sense but is not how I want to look at it all. His counts were down a bit so they did not increase the doses yet. I take him in (just here in Logan) for the next two monday's for blood work to check his counts.

He had a backpoke and got chemo in his spine. It took him a while to come out of his sedation. He kept asking "Where am I?" He has never done that before so it was scaring me for a bit. At one point the monitors kept beeping and he rolled over and said "What's wrong with that damn thing?" Stephanie (his nurse) almost fell off her chair because she was laughing so hard. I have to admit he probably picked up that word from me. He had a headache and was uncomfortable for the ride home but seems to be doing good today.

Kael did have a birthday but I have been to busy trying to get my "Mother of the Year" application filled out to post pics:) LOL. I have some, I promise but it will have to wait until another day because La, La is finally out of school and we are going to just play today.

Happy Birthday to Parker and Ryanne too! It is a busy birthday time for our family, nine birthdays from May 8th to June 13th. Sweet, we love Birthday's:)

SUCCESS

Thanks to all my family, friends, and neighbors for all their love and support at our BBQ. We had a great turn out and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks Barb for taking a few pics and capturing the moment:)

Here's the man of the hour, taking a break for a quick pic.

Matt, Brad, Parker, and Grandpa.

Ticket Taker's: Sonnie and Courtney (Matt's sister's, we missed you Rik!!) Thanks girls, your awesome:)))

No better help!! Trey and Kayse all tuckered out:)

Diggin' for drinks, Gma Leak, Mattie, Rylee, and Kristen

Me and Steph

Jayden - looks like your up to something!!!

A BIG THANKS to Eric and Shalice for cooking the dutchoven potatoe's. They were awesome:) What great friends we have.

Thanks Cheri, Natalie, Alida, Joni, Shauna, Merr, Lesli, Barbara, Jordan, Tim, Suzanne, Dan, Courtney, Mitch, Sonnie, Gpa, and to everyone else who made this night happen!

Matt kept asking what his job was for the night. I told him he was in charge of PR. He also did all the set-up with the table's and chairs. He did a great job at both, Thanks babe!