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Olympics

On to something more positive. How about M. Phelps?!?!? What a stud. We have totally enjoyed watching the Games this past week together. GO USA!! I have gained a new appreciation/respect for some athlete's (I won't give names because I would be eating a lot of crow) and think it is a great distraction from everyday life. I am even thinking about trying out for the 2020 Games. I would be in my 40's and maybe Dara and I could swim side by side (ya, since I would drown in two feet of water with arm floatie's and one around my waist!!). Isn't she just amazing:)

To the Lazy Piece of Work . . .

who thinks it is cool to steal debit card numbers and place bets online for your addiction to some lame poker game (and who knows what else) . . . GET A LIFE!! I hope you are caught, sooner than later, and may you reap what you sow.

NUMBER NINE

This past week we celebrated nine years of marrige. We spent the morning at Clinic getting Chemo and advice on what move to make next with Kael. We spent the afternoon at the Gateway with Crystal and her boys (picnic of the week) letting the kids run in the fountain while the biggest kid of them all stood in line to get an iPhone. It was worth it.

"NINE" things I STILL Love About my Husband:

1. He is Matt Leak. There is only one in this world (thank goodness) and I got him, neener, neener. He has a great personality and makes me laugh everyday.

2. He is a GREAT DAD! He makes such an effort to spend time with each of the kids and gets on their level to play with them. They look forward to him coming home at night and love to help him with chores and sprinklers.

3. His BRAIN. Just when I think it is not humanly possible to know one more thing . . . he suprises me. He uses new words every week that I swear he has made up on his own but he always proves me wrong. (These are words that were not there when I read the dictionary)LOL.
4. His ability to act JUST like his DAD. Didn't know this was possible either, however, I am so thankful he has chosen to take on the same attributes and characteristics of such a great man. Love you both:)

5. His great WORK ethic. He is always working hard to provide for his family but he never complains.

6. His TESTIMONY. The experiences he has had throughout his life has made him the man that he is and increased his love for the Lord. I admire everthing he has accomplished and the service he provides in our community.

7. His EYES. Yes, I admit they 'had me at hello'.

8. His RESPECT for others. In the ten years I have known him he has always treated his mother and sisters (and others) with great respect. This is one attribute that was extremely important to me when I was looking for Mr. Right.

9. His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. He is always concerned about my well-being and my opinion over what would be best for him. His love and sacrifice for me and the kids is so totally attractive:)

I love you - thanks for the past nine years and all the great memories. I can't wait to see what the next nine will bring!!

Olympia, Washington

July 17-20 we spent in Olympia, Washington for Matt's district meetings. It was so good to get away and spend time with each other. As you can see we didn't get away without the 'tiny' one but we had a good time anyway. This is the first time I have left Kael and it was a struggle but I left him, Mattie, and Trey in good hands with my sisters Rhonda and Kayla. Thanks girls:)
I found myself very emotional after first day (I had Matt all confused)!?! The truth is it was hard to see everyone that has been so supportive this past year. All of his co-workers have truly become good friends and we are so appreciative of their concern, love, and prayers on our behalf. Thanks Cargill Family!!!
So for entertainment on Friday afternoon we rode go-karts. This is the second year we have found ourselves at such a place. The first time was in Walla-Walla (2 years ago) complete with a true red-neck theme: straw bales, beat-up carts, Uncle Joe in his cut-off-t-shirt-tank-top and cigar, as well as the family dog and home with wheels ( i know you get the picture). Anyway, this year was a major step up from that but it came with a price. They bearly let Matt and I in because of our height. Our poor children do not stand a chance. Matt finished second over all (21 racers) just behind Jed who had to have a Red Bull before the final run to give him a boost. He was actually leading until the last lap. But we are not sore losers Jed, we will catch you next year!

In our beautiful racing caps.

Kayse giving mom a few last minute pointers: "keep your weight on the outside wheel, don't break, and accelerate through the turns. Oh, and don't make dad look to bad or it will be a long ride back to Utah."

We didn't have a lot of time to sight-see but the wives did manage to make it to the Farmers Market and the Capitol. The Market was wonderful and I wish I could have brought stuff home, I just don't trust the airlines that much.
The Capitol was amazing, complete with marble everywhere. I hate to admit that I haven't been to ours so I have nothing to compare it to.

Matt had a great showing at the meetings and was recognized for his great skills, keeping with his tradition of increasing sales every year. He won a trip for two on a 7-day Alaska Cruise in September. I hope he picks me to go with him:) Thanks babe for all your hard work. I love you!!

PICNIC OF THE WEEK

THis was our picnic in the middle of July. (sorry these posts are not in order) We went to Green Canyon in North Logan. It wasn't my favorite spot but I found this cool cave and thought it would be fun to hike to it. It was a short hike and we were not in hiking attire. Turns out the cave is the meeting place for any college/high school drink-a-thon. My bad.

Hiking shoes. Would not advise them on shell rock surfaces!!

Cave. It was slightly steeper than it looks in the pic.

PICNIC OF THE WEEK

So our picnic this week took us to the Card Picnic area in Logan Canyon. I rate this a 5 star spot! Kael took us on a mini-hike and if dad would have been there to help us cross the river we could have done much more exploring!! Here are some fun pics.

Mattie and Kael all ready to 'get wet'.

Logan River

CHEESE!

Yes, I can't wait to finish filling out my 'mother of the year' application. One might ask if a true picnic can be ordered from the McDonald's menu. I say, why not??

Where else could your 7-month-old get his own 1/4 - pounder?

PICNIC OF THE WEEK

So for the week of the 4th we went to Mack Park in Smithfield for our picnic. Mattie took us on a hike and if you have ever been to this park you know the hiking trails are in the overgrowth. Kayse was in the backpack so he and I tried our best to not get caught in the tree's and brush. They played on the equipment for a minute but everything was HOT! It is a beautiful, beautiful park and we love to play there.

This past week we were in NewCastle and we didn't exactly get to a park but we had a picnic everyday at Aunt Julie and Uncle Rawlin's new house. We went down to help them paint so we ate at their place. The kids had a blast playing on the dirt piles and Kael, Teegan, and 'Jake' (the dog) took lots of walks. On Friday we celebrated Brit's Birthday at the Veyo Pool. I haven't been there for at least 10 years. Great memorie's!!

All of us in the pool!

'Weegan's' sporting the eye-glass look. She is such a little cutie. I wish you could all hear her voice. It make's me laugh. "Aunt Wena, what are you doing?"

Justin, Mattie, Jordan, and the Birthday Girl!! You would think the twins are old enough to sit still for a pic but they were worse than Trey and Teegan!!

This week it is back to yardwork - thanks Matt for keeping my lawn green while I was gone - and cleaning up the house. While I was gone I got my windows and trim finished. It looks so great!! I have a grundle of painting to do now but it can be done a little at a time:) Matt and I get to take a trip to Washington for his district meetings at the end of the week. I am so excited to go spend time with Matt. He works with some great people and we all have a lot of fun together.

This weeks picnic place is Green Canyon (North Logan) - haven't ever been so can't give you directions but everyone is welcome to come:=)

Congrats to the little bro's. They were in Fallon, NV the week of the 4th for the SSI Rodeo. All the Western State's are invited and they ended up 5th in the Team Roping and Jordan was 4th in the Calf Roping. Jordan was awarded the All-Around and ended up bringing home a new horse trailer and a saddle. They also brought a few buckle's home from placing in each go and Utah won the team trophy. What a great way to end the Rodeo Chapter in my parent's life. They were so excited!! It was great to see. We love you!!!

So these pics are in our backyard. Matt is such a great DAD. Two Saturday's ago he made the kids a slip and slide. The next thing I knew he was showing them how to do it. I think he was having more fun than them ( i was having the most fun watching). I am so glad he is willing to make great memorie's with them. I know his dad has been a great example to him in that respect and I appreciate it more than either one of them will ever know. What a great family I have and what an AWESOME MAN I HAVE!!

MRI

Kael had his MRI two weeks ago. For the most part things looked good. The radiologist said they did an MRV which scans the veins in the brain to make sure there has been no hemmorraging. That all checked out fine but they did find a mark in his 'basal ganglia' (the part of the brain that sits on top of the brain stem) that resembles a small stroke. Now we start over trying to decide what caused all the pain last August. Dr. Affify thought it was the chemo in the spine but now she says that it doesn't make sense. So we will sit down with her in two weeks and decide if we want to rechallenge the chemo in the spine. Although there are side affects and damage is being done we have to weigh the options - continue with the chemo or take the chance of the leukemia coming back. BiG Decisions!

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!!!