I have to say . . .

. . . I absolutely loved the weather yesterday, loved the pumpkin roll I just ate, and am loving a quiet Sunday evening at home:) I know it is still October but I have to express my thanks to a loving Father in Heaven that has given me so many blessings; two wonderful families, 4 great kids, an awesome Husband, a nice home, fall, caring friends, health, strength, the Gospel, and the list goes on . . . . Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We had the Primary Program today and it was a great success! Gma Leak, Aunt Merr and Uncle Denny came and watched. Why is it that kids always get to the 'heart' of the matter?? Anyway, great program.

Yesterday while the weather was nice:

Matt and Lonnie. I don't know which one I am more impressed with - Matt or the horse. I think they are a great fit for both being beginners and I am so excited to beable to get to use her . . . that is, if he will let me:)

Kael just shootin' the breeze with his sister. He wasn't feeling well so didn't stay out with us long but he did get to enjoy riding a little.

Trey. I don't know if you can see the expression on his face but he was so excited when he would get Mego off of a walk. He would giggle. So fun!!

Here's Mattie trying to get on by herself. I have been trying to teach her how for quite sometime but I think she has it mastered. It brings back so many memories for me. When I was her age my horse was twice that tall (anyone remember JJ) and my stirrup didn't hang down that far (here goes my "walked barefoot in the snow uphill for five miles one way barefoot, just to get to school" story). I think it is so cute and if I looked that good doing it, all the better!!
Madness and Mego

Matt came home one night with all the stuff to make homemade Strawberry icecream. The kids had a great time and I thought it was extremely thoughtful!!


It's football season at our house!! Kael and Trey have their game faces on. I have tried and tried to capture this face that Trey pulls (he actually talks out of the side of his mouth when he does it) but no luck. Guess we will take it through the football helmet.

Kays' favorite time of the day - chore time! He really thinks he is big enough to pull the cart all by himself when we feed calves. It is just so cute:) (Nice photo op Molly.)

Yikes!!

. . . it's October!!

We chopped corn a few weeks back and Trey was just dying to ride in the chopper. Matt told him that he would come and get him after he did a few things. Trey sat at the door and waited for him like this for a half hour . . . then he spotted the chopper in the field and his poor little heart broke. He thought his dad had forgotten him and wasn't coming back. I have never heard him cry like that before. So sad but luckily Matt came to get him after a few minutes!

YAY!! It is DONE!!

Here are a few of the family pics we had taken before J & J left.

Wish you all could have been there for the drama that preceeded this pic. It turned out well considering . . .

These little angels are the only reason my parents had kids:) Kidding!!

Peyton, Trey, Kays, Mattie, Teegan, Kylan, Landree, Kylee, Britnee, Kirby

Front: Kael, Hayden, Tad

(Sorry I can't get it any larger) I am so happy with the way they turned out. What a great family I have. Love you all!!

We had a really great suprise a few weeks back. We were getting ready for bed and around 9:30 the doorbell rang. One of the kids went to the door and then came and told Matt he was wanted at he door. A few minutes later Matt came and got me with a smile that went from one side of his face to the other:) A gentleman from his mission, Reimonis P . . . (I will not even attempt his last name) was driving (truck) cross-country and took the time to look us up (and drive out of his way by about an 1 1/2 hours)! He and his family live in Chicago where they own a plumbing business and his wife teaches piano lessons. Reimonis was never baptized because at the time they did not have a Book of Mormon in the Lithuanian language. Most Lithuanians dispise the Russians so they would not read anything that was written in the Russian language. According to Matt, this was the biggest barrier for investigators. What an awesome experience and proof that we don't really know what kind of impact we have on people!! Awesome, Awesome!!

T in a pair of Kayson's pant's! He thought he was cool and didn't want to change:)

Playing games with Grandma-Great in her hospital room. We take Leap Frog Bingo up and play with Grandma to help break-up the long days in the hospital. It keeps the kids semi-quiet while we visit but I am waiting for them to kick us all out! Matt's dad and Uncle Kevin 'busted' her out last Saturday and we met at the park for a picnic. We had a good time and always love visiting with family!!

Kael had clinic a few weeks ago. His counts were great but he came home complaining of itching. He is doing better now, I hope it was just the steroids. They will do another liver test in two weeks.

I am looking forward to cooler weather . . . perhaps life will slow a bit!

Twinners

They have landed! Jordan will be serving in Liberty, KY for his first area, he left Monday. Justin arrived today and no word on where his first area will be.

So happy for the little stinkers:) We love you guys!!

Check it out

Check out Taylie's Blog

tayliebug.com

to keep updated on her fight against AML.

ABC

(Matt is making fun of me because he thinks I have pics posted and blog updated before they even got on the bus.)

Not very excited to have the kids back in school. It's nice to have a schedule and I will get to spend my much anticipated one-on-one time with Trey that I have wanted for the past three years, but I already miss Mad and Kael. I am trying to stay positive:)

On a brighter note, I set their alarms for 7:30 am. They had a late night because of our crazy life so I figured I would be dragging them out of bed. I got up just before 7 and was getting ready to go out and do chores and they both start running up the stairs - dressed and ready to go!! It was fun to see them so excited and ready for their first day.

Kael has been nervous to start first grade. He has been telling me for a while now that he didn't want to go back to school. Last week I told him that he would get to pack a lunch and eat in the lunch room. His reaction "When do we start"!!

Last night he got to meet his teacher. He was nervous and didn't want to leave my side. I introduced him to the teacher and told her that he would have to miss one Monday a month for clinic. She didn't skip a beat and said "I miss one day every six weeks. I have a port too Kael." (She is a 6 year breast cancer survivor but had it so bad that the dr. will not take her port out for 10 years) I was extremely caught off guard and almost had a moment with myself in front of all the kids and parents!! Thanks Mr. Baker and anyone else that had anything to do with getting Kael in Mrs. Brough's first grade class!!!! Little things that make me soooo happy!!!!

Mattie is going to have a great year. She is just estatic to be socializing with all her friends again!!! (I had nothing to do with her getting this in her DNA profile!!) Her teacher is Mrs. Williams and she has a few of the same kids from her class last year.

The weekend of the 9th we took another trip back down home. Brit was baptized on Saturday, we had family pics that night, and J and J gave their farewell speach on Sunday. All 5 brothers sang "Army of Heleman" (highlight) and we had an excellent dinner afterward. We were able to see cousins that we haven't seen for a few years so it was a great time to catch up!! We had the traditional Basketball game that the men play everytime we all get together. Like usual there are no fouls so it is 'play until someone gets hurt' ball. Probably to much for two missionaries that were to report to the MTC three days later!! They were walking funny when we left Monday morning but sounds like they made it and are doing well so far!! We love you J and J!!

We added new members to our Cancer Family this week. Our old neighbors and good friends Bret and Lacey just had their little Taylee (4) diagnosed with AML (leukemia). Sounds like they will be staying at Primary's for 6-8 months while she is in treatments. Bret is camping in the Uinta's and as of last night when I talked to Lacey, he still doesn't know. (Lacey is three weeks away from having their third child). Please say a prayer for them. We love you Abbott's, stay strong!

spirit lake

Last weekend we spent high in the Uinta's at the beautiful "Spirit Lake". My sister and her family invited us to go for a little pre-school vaca.

Our trip was cut a little short by some white, pea-sized, balls of snow. I believe they call it 'hail' or maybe it is 'hell'?!?!!! Anyway it didn't matter because it was very fun and extremely relaxing to get away to the mountains. Can't wait to do it again!!

Clinic

We had clinic and a backpoke yesterday. Things went smoothly and we were out of there in record time. Counts are still down so we are decreasing dosages again and doing blood draws to watch counts closely. I am officially sick of Cancer. We are on the bridge between 'Being Done' and 'Going Backward' and I am ready to jump off! . . . then I am reminded how good I do have it so I am picking up and moving on. One day at a time, right??

Trey Tymes Two

Trey has been spending every chance he can with Matt this week. Here are a few Treyisms Matt has shared:

* "I poun-ed yat sut-er!" (I pounded that sucker. Usually stated after downing a glass of milk)

* Matt and Trey were walking through the parts store when Trey spotted a Gator (John Deere 4-wheel ATV). "Dad wets buy yat fing" "No Trey, we don't have any money" "Wets buy some-mow money!"

and these are the days of our lives . . .

The following posts are in no paticular order but have happened sometime

in the last 6 weeks of our lives.* EnJoY!

*They, however, do not include all the water that has been moved, hay cut, baled and hauled and happy memories we have shared as a family doing so:) Matt has worked extra hard this summer and even with all our other set-backs has created some pretty awesome crops. I am so thankful for him and the many hours he puts in at all his jobs!!

CUNDICK REUNION

We spent the 27th of June over in Bear Lake with Matt's moms side of the family. We did a lot of visiting and had a great time seeing his cousins and their kids from Boston. We spent a little time at the water, still a bit cold, but the kids had a blast.

Matt's sister Rikki and her family was here from Mississippi for a few weeks. I miss having them close but enjoy what time we did get to spend together. Between family reunions we snuck in a sleepover with her boys, Jackson and Shade. What a riot!! Whenever someone got hurt Jackson would yell "man down"! and poor Shade didn't sleep well because the blanket I gave him was "weawy uncomf-toble"!! I'm sad I didn't get any pic of their time here so if any of you have any, please share!!
Grandpa took us all fishing at the Weston Reservoir just before they left. Not to many bites but a relaxing, enjoyable evening. Thanks Grandpa!!

PLATT REUNION

My family reunion was held at Pinto Springs this year (not that I expect any of you to know where that is because most of you have no clue where NewCastle is!!) We enjoyed visiting, jet-skiing, and a nice session at the temple. Thanks Wade and Kayla for all the fun!

All thirteen grandkids!! (with only 1 on the way:) They all played so well together. At one point they were collecting little berries off the trees and calling them nuts. Next thing we knew Hayden had climbed up into a tree and was jumping on the limb, trying to shake the nuts out, and yelling "Save my nuts, save my nuts"!! So cute:)

Brit and Mattie. Mattie was able to take a ride in the semi this past week with my brother. He was up this way so he took her to Grandma's for the week. She was so excited to be able to spend time with Brit and Grandma. She hasn't stopped talking about it and she says Kayson grew an inch while she was gone:)

Kael and Hayden. Soakin' up som rays!!



I was able to spend a little time with both Grandma's while I was down home. I hadn't been home since Thanksgiving so it was so GREAT to go! The twins session was very good. I can't believe it is time for them to serve missions!


Jordan, Grandma Platt, Grandma Hunt, Justin

(no there is not that much height difference in the twins, the sidewalk slopes)

Current sibling pic. We are missing Merr.

Me, Jordan, Warren, Wade, Rhonda, Rawlin, Justin, Crystal
Pretty stinkin' AWESOME!!

UPDATE

At Kael's last clinic visit the Dr. and I had a discussion about med dosages. What they had written in his charts were different than what I was giving him ( I was giving him a lower dose by 1/2 a pill). Not a big deal his Dr says - it's just a 1/2 a pill - but start giving him the extra 1/2. His counts came back and were down again so we are not giving him the extra 1/2 after all. They had us pull blood this past Monday and counts were unbelievably HIGH!?!?! We go again tomorrow for another blood draw.

RELAY

The reason we RELAY!

Our youngest 'relay-er', Aleigha, 4-months. (Dan and Courts baby) She even stayed the night - what a cutie:)

I belive this was Saturday morning. Shauna and Court got us through the night again!! (You will be glad to know I did make it past 10:00 this year!!) It would not have been possible if it wasn't for Matt's family. Everyone was busy this year and I was not as dilligent in getting things organized so a big THANK YOU to my MOTHER-IN-LAW, (and father-in-law for making a huge effort to come) COURTNEY, DAN, a sick SONNIE, MITCH, WADE, and KAYLA!! Thanks to some dedicated friends that came on Friday night to support us: Eric and Shalice and their 2 boys, and Zak and Marcy and their 2 girls. MATT was terribly busy with the farm this year so it wasn't very ideal timing for him. He missed the walk and the dinner so I experienced single parenthood for the evening. He was able to make a few laps on Saturday. Thanks again to my in-laws for taking care of my other kids so I could be with Kael. Kael was very excited to Relay this year and he and Mattie ran quite a few laps for our team. They even did laps by themselves at times so someone was always on the track!!

This wagon came in very handy:) Trey, Ryanne, Mattie, and Kace taking one of their laps. (Every one of their laps included a trip to the bathroom. Seriously - I didn't know it was even possible to have to go so much!!)

Uncle Wade and Aunt Kayla represented my side of the family:) They were able to come for a few hours on Saturday. The kids thought it was fun to pull Uncle Wade in the wagon! Thanks guys!!

One view from our camp-site. It was Relay for Life's 25th Anniversary so we actually Relayed for 25 hours instead of 24. The theme this year was "Back to the Future" so we decorated our camp-site with a dance floor, jukebox, 45's, and poodle skirts. Our sign read "Stepping BACK in time TO find a cure for THE FUTURE". We won for sticking to the theme the best:)

They do not make shirts small enough for Kace and Trey so I made these about an hour before I left the house. It is one of my most favorite pics of Kael with his nurses kissing him on his cheeks. The shirt says "I relay for Kael".

I am trying to hold it together in this pic. They had the survivors walk on one side of the quad and the cargivers walked toward them on the other side. We met in the middle and then walked under an arch of purple balloons. It was done very well!

Kael is on the left. The kid just to the right of him is JT.

He had ALL too and is 3-years cancer free.

Team Leak was able to raise over $800 thanks to all of you!

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE!! THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU!

Just a side note: The landslide that happened in Logan last week was just off the hill from where the Relay was held. Sad and scary.

Play BALL . . .

In June we decided we were bored (haha) so we took up T-Ball/coach-pitch. For the first few weeks we had practice once a week and games twice a week. CRAZY. Mad and Kael were on seperate teams and most games were at different locations. Thanks to Mattie's coach, we made it work. Kael was pretty ticked he had to hit it off the T but I made him stick to it. Next year he can play coach-pitch and it will be a little more of a challenge to him. Mattie had to play coach-pitch and she did awesome. Her coach was very energetic (even at 7-8 months pregnant) and did a really great job teaching them the fundamentals. This was not competitive ball so there were no winners. ( That is a soapbox for another day). GOOD JOB MATTIE AND KAEL!!

We are starting Kace early!! I can't believe he could hold the bat up like that:)

BAtteR UP!

KaeL


Matt practiced grounders with them whenever he had a minute so I had to get this pose. I forgot to mention that both teams were the "Newton Skeeters". For any of you that know the area, it fits!!