SMILEY GUYS

I love smiles. I love to smile and I love it when my boys smile... it just makes me (you guessed it) SMILE!

Here are some of my favorites for the moment. (ABOVE) My honey on the 4th of JULY 2008! He's proud to be an American... or he's in a good mood. Either way, it's a great shot! (Those tree branches aren't really shooting right out of his head...but they sure look like it)

This-river-is-really-great SMILE. You just know this kid is having a good time, right?

And just for fun: The classic yell-and-have-your-mouth-open kinda smile. (check out my nephew in the background. THAT is a happy kid!)
"AHHHHHH!!"

and I-just-got-some-candy-that-really-is SWEEET SMILE

You know what they say "a smile is contagious"... now that's something I don't mind sharing! Go ahead and spread some today!

A Random Post- by Becky

I don't usually participate in this sort of thing, I don't know why but I'm going to do this one. It was probably the deadly threat that was given along with it, but hey... whatever gets the job done.

So here it goes: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 obsessions/collections, 3 random/surprising facts about me.

RANDOM:

1) I broke both of my arms (at the same time) when I was in 3rd grade... AND it was on APRIL FOOLS DAY. It was a regular game of "chase the boy" gone wrong. I should have known that running on top of folded up bleachers wasn't safe and I had to go and fall (I was kind of pushed). So when the hospital called my mom, she didn't believe it was true. After the second call, she came and felt so bad for not coming the first time. Poor lady. Anywho, I learned a valuable lesson about heights and breaking bones. A valuable lesson indeed.

2) I love the feeling of a clean house, but it very rarely stays that way. I seriously try so hard to make sure things are put away but somehow it all gets very messy very fast. This goes along with an obsession because I love to vacuum! There is something about it that I love, don't ask me why.

3) I have a dent in my head, that's right, a dent. It's basically hidden by my hair, but anytime I get my hair done by someone, it never fails they are quite surprised and shocked to discover it. I calmly reassure them it's nothing serious and we get back to business, hair cutting business.

OBSESSIONS

1) You already know I love a clean house, I don't love to clean the house, but I love the feeling.

2) There is seriously something wrong with me... I have to look at CRAIGSLIST for something that I need. It doesn't matter that I don't "need" it, but if it's a great deal I feel a desire to get it. I'm trying to stop this one, it's eating up a lot of my free time.

3)... sorry I just had to check Craigslist one more time :)

GOALS

1) Finish my Bachelors degree in something amazing! I already have the most fabulous job in the world, but it would be nice to have that cute little diploma, just in case. And it's also something I want so I can say to my kids "I did it, so you can too".

2) Stop checking Craigslist so many times :) AND practice speaking in front of a large group of people without sounding like a total idiot. Slow down, get to the point, and be precise. Sounds easy enough, but I struggle.

3) Set more goals... I really came up short on this one.

FEARS (this is the scary one)

1) I have a fear of something terrible happening to family members and I can't do anything to help. This includes death and injury to my boys and Cael does not sit in a chair all day long, so his chances are pretty much doubled, right? Don't we all have this one?

2) Burglary. I have this terrible front door with a nice round window that anyone can look right in and see what's going on. I scream every time someone knocks on the door, or if I'm close by and I catch a glimpse of people on the street, I scream again. So I'm afraid that a bad guy is going to break in and I run to rescue my boys and then we are trapped. I know.. it's a scary one.

3) I don't really fear this one, but I'm not looking forward to the time when Ben is deployed with the Army. I guess I am afraid that he will leave and not make it home, that would not be cool... moving on...

JOYS

1) MY little FAMILY. I am amazed at how much JOY I have during the day, during the simple days where nothing too special happens but maybe the boys play really well together, or I am able to hold them as they giggle over a silly game that we are playing. I love them more than words can describe. Also my sweet and caring HUSBAND who is often at the point beyond total exhaustion after working all day (and sometimes all night) but still grabs and plays with the boys as they laugh with delight! Their reactions when he comes home is priceless: instant smiles and screams as they run to greet him at the front door.

2) OF COURSE... another JOY I have comes from the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This knowledge brings peace and hope to my life and I know many things that are true. One of my favorites is that this life is not the end, and our family can be together FOREVER!

3) and last but not least... another JOY I have is finishing! TA-DA!!

well that was a fun one... I'm feeling a little like that was enough for me for my first "tag". Baby steps...Oh. I'm not going to tag anyone else. But if you get bored... be my guest!

A first for us.

I never really thought that this day would come. It seemed so far in the future that I never really was concerned about it.......... until now. Everyone says how "they grow up so fast" and it is something I believe. But what made us take this step, the answers really aren't that clear. Ben and I discussed how this would help Cael in developing social skills, adjusting to different environments, and other well intentioned thoughts. There was no turning back. We were going to do this.... and we have done this. The elementary school in our area offers a 3 hour Pre-K program for several categories of children. One of the qualifications include active duty military families (which we are). So after making the necessary steps, we enrolled him in and the wheels were set it motion.

Monday September 25th. Cael's first day of School (Pre-K, but still)

There is a small gathering of parents and children in front of the school. There are several emotions present: nervousness, excitement, and even joy on some "veteran" parents faces. My boy was excited, I could tell, but I wasn't so sure I felt the same. Was I doing the right thing? Could I really do it?

After the teacher walked through the doors and had the kids form a line. Cael stood dutifully and waited for the line to make the move for the inside of the building. I gave him a kiss, told him to be good, and hugged him tightly. He looked so big, and yet he is only my 4 year old boy. As he began to move forward, he looks back at me and smiles.

My boy is going to do just fine....

but am I?

Well.... After wiping away my tears (and seeing a few other mothers doing the same) I took my other little man away and we spend some quality time together. And by quality time and mean he takes a nap and I clean the house. Hey, it works. Yes I will be fine. It is only 3 hours. It's been a week now. I've adjusted and I made it.

but No-- I haven't got over the fact that Cael is growing up and our family is "busy" during the week. He has school EVERY DAY from 12-3 (I know, it's not that long) but everyday? It is just something we've adjusted to and I'm sure I'll get used to the fact that he is no longer my little baby. It will take time... but I will be fine.

Wyoming part 2

I better finish up our vacation... so here it goes:

My mom and dad planned a "family reunion" the weekend of Aug 1-3, so after the wedding (mentioned earlier) down in UTAH and the dinner party that evening in Evanston, we drove another 2 1/2 hours up to my parents new home on the 'ranch' that night! Believe me, that was a busy day for sure. Saturday morning rolls in (after a very chilly night sleeping in a tent) and we begin by playing some doubles tennis... lots of fun... Then after breakfast, whom ever was able loaded up and we played 9 holes of golf. It was one of my better rounds so that made me happy! ****Thanks Jess and Mom for watching my boys so I could go play! We also floated down the Salt River and then the rest of the day was spent chatting and playing yard games together. It was a blast!

I tried to get pictures, but I didn't get everyone. Here are the ones I got:

My brother Derek, his lovely wife Allie and munchkin Lily



next my Sister Aimee and her main squeeze Eric (It was nice to meet him for the first time)


My brother Dusty, his honey Jess and little man Tyson

My Brother Ryan and our lovely Grandma Mary Hoopes and Denise Ivory


Here the men are loading up the truck with as many tubes as we can for floating down the river. Good Job GUYS!


That Monday, most everyone that was still around headed to a traditional summer family spot on the North Shore of Bear Lake. The weather was gorgeous and the water was fantastic! This was Brecon's first experience with sand and it was a great one! He only ate a couple of handfuls of the stuff :) No really, he loved it! He really was so excited about the "shallow" wash area, you know where the water is almost "too warm"? Well, he just would get so excited, lay on his tummy and soak it all in. It was a party!

Cousin Tyson and Brecon enjoying some play time in the water... so cute!


This was taken immediately after Cael had been buried up to his neck in sand. He fought his way out and he doesn't look happy at all, does he? More like "BRING IT ON AGAIN"!


Like I said before, we really enjoyed seeing our brothers and sisters and moms and dads and other extended family and spending time with them. It has been a long time since we have ALL been together. So even though it was only a short while, it really meant so much to us. We often feel sad because we live so far away from all of our family members. We talk on the phone and we hear about a family party or how the family all went camping, or any other simple or special occasion where most all of our family is getting together, and we are sad. There is just something wonderful about having family close by and we feel like we miss out.... That's why we enjoy seeing our family when we get the chance, we appreciate and love and cherish it. We also know that getting together all the time isn't going to be easy, but we will try our best when we get the chance. So thank you to our families for putting up with us during our visit and letting us enjoy our time with you! We love you!



SO....Not to say that we don't love our home, because we do. We have amazing friends who love us and take care of us and they are like our family, only they live close by. Really, they love us and we love them back. It's just nice to have people who feel like family when we live so far away from our real ones. So thank you to our very wonderful friends who put up with us all the time! You guys are the best and we love you too!

OUR TRIP TO WYOMING Part 1

Our trip began when my brother Ryan picked the boys and I up at the airport after a very early flight from San Antonio. We stopped in at my Grandma/pa Bowers house for some yummy sandwiches and then took a gorgeous drive over Guardsmans Pass into Heber City. I've been telling Cael about this mysterious "snow" and we had a fun snowball fight, until Ryan got some snow right in the ear (sorry again brother) You really forget how cold your hands can get holding onto that stuff!

THEN it was on to EVANSTON and our gracious hosts Derek (my brother) and Allie and LILY, who let us play with them for about 4 days. We enjoyed summer school lunches, playing at the park, an "everyone" birthday party (lots of fun), and just relaxing.

UNCLE DEREK and baby BRECON having fun in the Bear River in EVANSTON. We really had some quality time with that body of water. It was cold, but really fun!

Then our journey continued on to Star Valley to stay with my parents. We worked on framing in their unfinished basement, visited family and friends, and spent some RELAXING time on the golf course.

The Whole family on horseback... all we need is a 20 mile ride over the mountains and then we would be set! I guess Grandmas' field and around Fairview will just have to do...

Ben and the boys after a good ride.

Spending time at the SVR Pool... what a view! The water is warm, but when you get out that coooooooolllll breeze makes you start the shiver.

ALSO, exciting events took place while we were up visiting. Ben's little brother Joseph went through the Temple and Ben was his escort. It was a beautiful and special day to be at the Temple with most of the Platt siblings and spouses. We were very glad we were there for Joseph's special day!

And..... The next week Ben's Dad Eugene and Doreen were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Congratulations to the happy couple!

and All the beautiful people (family) who was there included:

Brandon and Mandi and their boys: Corbin (4), Hadley(2) and Brayden (5 weeks). Mandi is my hero--- she seriously just had a baby and here she is!

Shawn and Carissa (minus Carissa) Her brother was getting married in Rexburg the same day. We missed you Carissa! We're going to photoshop her in... as soon as we get around to it :0)

Garrett and Cynthia and their boys: Jonathan(4), Gabe (2) and Jacob (4 months). What a beautiful FAMILY!

Amanda and Benjamin Haws and Vince... (also Ben and Brecon in the background, and Cael next to Vince) It's my favorite picture of their family... plus most of my family too!

Josh and Necha and their girls: TESSA (almost2) and MAGGIE (almost1). Bless Necha's heart... she was running and fever and not feeling well at all, but she was there with a smile. She's my hero too!

And last but not least... Ben and Becky and the boys: Cael (4) and Brecon (1). This was taken in Evanston, but if anyone took our picture at the Temple in UTAH, please send it to me :) I would greatly appreciate it.

Really... there is nothing like spending quality time with family and being there for special family events. It is a great way to spend the summer! We were very thankful to make the journey (and put a few miles on my mothers car while we're at it). But our trip isn't over yet.... it's just getting late and I need to go to bed.

Coming up:

The Hoopes Family Reunion, BEAR LAKE, and traveling back home....

Summer Time!

People, I have to apologize for being out of the loop. If anyone was wondering: Yes, we are still alive. We are up in WYOMING and having a great time with family (on both sides) and just enjoying our vacation. I don't have any pictures to post, just know that we've been swimming and floating in rivers, playing golf, and enjoying some R & R!
We hope you all are doing well! We'll be back in Texas next week!

JUNE for the Platts

This month has been a great one for the family and We've been having a lot of fun. Here are some pictures a good friend took of us at the ZOO. I'm terrible at remembering to bring my camera, thankfully I had my 'people' with me.
My little baby Brecon is his big man shoes! He was walking all over the place and brushed up against a lady as she was looking at the python... she was quite startled to say the least and I bet she thought the snake had escaped. She was glad it to see a baby instead.

And the CAEL-MY-ster. MR. SMILEY or MR. MISCHIEF, you decide.

There is something that June 10th, 25th and July 6th all have in common. Any guesses?

Maybe a few pictures can help with the answer.

Alright, CAEL turned 4 YEARS OLD! it boggles my mind this child of mine is growing up. He really is my sunshine kid and Ben and I absolutely adore him. He has been a joy and is such a wonderful big brother! 4 years really do fly by... here's to many more......

This picture is blurry, but you get the idea. We had an very fun get together for my birthday, the BIG 25, a quarter of a century (yadda-yadda-yadda). We had dinner and played some sand volleyball, swam in the pool, and ate some delicious Coconut Cake! It really was a lot of fun, even though while we were playing some of the babies were eating, falling, and laying in the sand. Did I mention that some were crying? Regardless, we had some mad skills on the court. Players holding kiddos and STILL making the hit!!! It was AMAZING! THANKS for the fun you guys.

 

and last but not least.....

JULY 6th is BRECON's 1st Birthday. We don't have pictures yet, but seriously... a whole year?! It's incredible. We're leaving for Wyoming the next day, so I'm not going to make any promises... but I'll try to post something in honor of my big boy!

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!