Baby Girl

Loving this sweet (and sassy) little Miss Sweety Pie. It is hard to believe that she is almost 1 year old.

Wrestling Season 2013

 The youth wrestling season just ended and Ben volunteered as the Head coach. The first couple of practices were like "herding cats" with all these kids running around like crazy. But we made it through and it was a successful season. I know that I am glad to have our Tuesday and Thursday nights ( from 5:30-7:30 ) back to ourselves as well as our whole Saturdays. The meets this years were a lot further drive away due to all the army posts that are shutting down so the team bus would have to leave anywhere from 2:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. and sometimes they wouldn't  get home until 7:00 or after midnight. Such a long bus ride and day to be away, but I know that the boys had a ton of fun. Cael was undefeated this year, he really didn't have any tough matches and did good with his take downs and controlling his opponents. Brecon had a near-perfect record. He lost every match except the first one. Pushing his guy over and taking him down repeatedly. He looked like a dominator!

Connor was the most enthusiastic about wrestling practice and meets. He was always the first one to get his boots and coat on so he would be ready to go and wouldn't get left behind. He would even get right in there during practice and took some pretty hard take downs from the kids that are about 20 lbs bigger than him. He is a tough little guy.

Even Brielle got in on the action. At practice I had to really keep an eye on her because she would bolt onto the wrestling mat every chance she would get, scoot around like a little bug all over the place with a big smile across her face. The kids only tripped over her while running a couple of times :) She took it like tough lady!


I love the way Brielle and Cael play together. When school is out this sweet boy runs over to his sister, spins her around and they giggle and smile. She is walking all over the place and loves her big brothers cheering her on.

LINE THEM UP!
I keep trying to get a good group photo of these crazy kids. This one looks like they are in jail. At least they are all looking at the camera, right?


Connor exhausted from leaving the house at 4 that morning. Notice the soft blanket and coat pile right next to him? He thought the bare floor was a more promising place to rest his head.

ART, Skulls, and the Eiffel Tower

We just got back from our "last" trip to Paris and Disneyland for the kids. We still hadn't been to the Louvre and the first Sunday of the month entrance is FREE. It was crazy-busy, but we didn't feel bad when the kids were ready to leave after a quick sprint through the exhibits. AMAZING!!! It was so incredible to see these statues and works of art that are world famous, and to view them (rather quickly) but to see them was an experience I will never forget. The kids did pretty good too, Brielle only cried for a little while, then she finally fell asleep. And the boys were good to follow Ben around as they navigated their way using the "treasure" map. Of all the amazing pieces in the vast collection, the boys were drawn to the little cherub choking the goose. Ben was attacked as a young boy by a rouge bird and never forgot that encounter. He said "This is what I would have done to that goose" and the boys reenacted the event with stark realism and enthusiasm to one another. It was a funny "Platt" moment.

We also had never been to the underground catacombs and thought we should give it a go. We waited longer in this line to get than at the Louvre, but they only allowed 200 people to be under there at a time. I'm sure the people around us were entertained by our "pass the time" activities, the kids were always doing something embarrassing or completely hilarious. Connor had fallen asleep on the metro ride there and didn't wake up until we were deep underground. He didn't like the millions of skulls and bones lining our path, but he made it through alive. As did we all! It is interesting to think about all the bodies that were hauled there at night across town during this monumental project



I liked the name of this shop- + a little daugher too! :)



Then to end the day we got off the metro at Trocadero to get a good view of the Eiffel Tower for our last photo opportunity with the family. The kids were climbing and dancing, smearing Nutella all over their faces from their hot crepe and waffle, and singing their own little Eiffel Tower song. I am the first to admit we were not prepared for how chilly it got when the sun began to go down. Everyone around us were bundled up tight in their winter apparel and we were in shirts with no coats. We stayed until everyone got their picture taken. My favorites are the ones where Brecon has his arms in the air, smiling so big, and singing some crazy song. We just could not get him to hold still. He loves that dang tower so much! I am only posting the clean shots... so just use your imagination with the Nutella :)

Back to the Louvre... I am having a struggle getting them in the right order