THE PLATT FAMILY

CLARA DAWN PLATT

2012-02-06T12:42:00.008-07:00

After 22 hours of labor Clara was born on January 26th at 6:11 A.M. She was 6 lb and 18 in long. She is such a great baby and I still can't believe I have a little girl! We are loving having a baby in our house again. She is such a sweet addition to our home.

NOVEMBER

2011-11-29T14:38:00.015-07:00

Harvey, Henry, Colten and Lucy

Harvey's 7 th Birthday Party with his grandparents, Bruce and Helga and Mike, Maren and the kids. Thanks to all that came! Harvey had a fun time!

Ben Ten cake

Colten with his hot shot ready to load the trucks

Jay with the boys after shipping

Harvey on cowgirl. He is getting to be a good little rider.

Colten watching the calves get on the truck

Gathering and weaning

Thanksgiving
All the Platt grand kids

November has come and gone as fast as the rest of the fall and was filled with all kinds of fun. We started the month with Harvey's 7th birthday. We had some family and friends come out for a party and Harvey had a great time. Its hard to believe that he is 7. Most of the rest of the month was busy with more hunts and gathering and weaning the calves and getting them shipped to St. Johns. It ended by enjoying a great weekend in St. Johns for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see all our families and enjoy a relaxing weekend. I can't believe that December is here and Christmas is just around the corner. This year has gone by so fast.

Halloween

2011-11-29T14:26:00.006-07:00

Colten the little monkey
Sinbad and Mr. Monkey
Harvey and Colten had a fun Halloween at the school halloween carnival. We did no trick or treating since we don't have a lot of options for homes any where near us but the boys really didn't know any different.

October

2011-10-24T15:08:00.007-06:00

Colten and Oompa counting the cows getting on the trucks

Colten helping load the cattle trucks

It seemed like all the oak leaves turned yellow with in a few days and it was a beautiful sight, unfortunately it only lasted about 3 or 4 days and most of the leaves are completely gone now. So sad to see them fall I just love all the colors. This month has been busy like the last. We started the muzzle loader season and have a few more hunts to go. We went and helped my dad load the cattle truck on Sat. and Colten absolutely loved it. He had himself a poking stick and poked them all the way into the trucks. He has a little bit of an obsession. He stayed down at the corrals until all 10 trucks where loaded then helped Oompa for another hour situating everything else. I can't believe how fast October has past. This week will be a fun filled week with all the Halloween stuff at the school.

Fall

2011-10-06T19:34:00.006-06:00

September was a crazy month. The fall is always a very busy time for us. We have had hunters since the first of September and Jay will not have a break until December. The fall is one of my favorite times of the year! The leaves changing and the cool weather is so nice, although this week has been feeling like winter almost. We really enjoy and look forward to all the guys that come hunting with us and it is usually really fun yet exhausting at the same time.
The ranch has been so beautiful all through Aug till now. The flowers and green were so beautiful and refreshing after such a dry summer and are gone way to soon but the bright yellow leaves are making up for it. I can't believe it is already October. Jay and I just had our 11th wedding anniversary and we are getting so excited for our new little addition to our family. I look forward to the coming months, even though it is a crazy time with so much going on it is always fun to look forward to the holidays and all the fun the fall and winter will bring this year.

IT'S A GIRL

2011-09-13T16:53:00.004-06:00

ITS A GIRL !!

A few weeks ago we found out we are having a girl!! We are very excited. The boys can't wait to have a sister. The boys told me, " mom now you won't be boy trapped anymore."

August Happenings

2011-08-28T22:16:00.005-06:00

Harvey' s first day of 1st grade

Beautiful flowers and the boys aren't to bad either

Notice the river behind them that normally has no water

Colten hot roding in the lake in front of the house

Harvey to the rescue

August has been a great month of relief from the terrible dry spell we have been in. We have been enjoying the wonderful rain that has been coming all month and as a result the transformation of the scenery from desolate to beautiful green and flowers. It is amazing what a little rain can do. I love it!!! Harvey started 1st grade a few weeks ago. He is loving being back in school. I can't believe the summer is gone and the crazy fall season is right here. All in all it has been a busy, good month.

One of the last brandings

2011-08-28T21:49:00.005-06:00

Colten and Jay gathering

JULY

2011-08-08T12:17:00.005-06:00

24th parade

Colten helping gather cows

Heap reunion getting ready to run down greens peek

All the Heap cousins

4th of July at the ranch

Harvey showing off his tricks

Colten scaring off the Minos

Harvey catching Minos

We have had a crazy month of July. It seems like we have been traveling every weekend for something or another. It started with the 4th of July which we spent at the ranch swimming in the pond and a few sparklers that night. Then we headed down to the valley to see Jay's parents arrive home from their mission and also the same weekend had a hunting show in Utah. The next week mom and dad's homecoming and the next week the 24th celebration and then the Heap reunion, not to mention a new niece born and a few birthdays in between along with trying to get some work done at the ranch. I don't think I have unpacked my suite case for over a month. It was a lot of fun seeing all of our family but I am definitely ready to stay put for a while before the craze of the fall and hunting happens. If only they had a grocery delivery service that would deliver out in the middle of no where I really don't think I would leave. I am very grateful though to see all the green coming up. It has been a scary summer with the dry but we have received some good rain lately and it is looking really good. I love this time of year!

2011-07-14T20:54:00.004-06:00

We took a trip down to the valley to see Jays mom and dad come home from there mission, which I am regretting the fact that my camera was not functioning and I missed all the fun at the airport but we are so happy to have them home! We also stayed in the valley for a few days and Boyd and Jen took us to the lake. It was such a great time. The kids loved riding in the tube and on the jet skies. Colten did get a little traumatized when they hit a wake in the tube and he bounced about 3 ft in the air and did a back flip out of the tube. Pretty funny to watch but he did get over it when he saw the rest of them get pitched out. He was calling the tube big Bertha the bucking bull. Great weekend.

Branding

2011-06-17T20:39:00.005-06:00

Branding is always something to look forward to in the summer. Even though it is so dry and dusty it always is a good time. There are so many cute calves this year. We had a great time with all that came to help on both days.

Week with the cousins

2011-06-09T18:01:00.008-06:00

Colten with his new pet

the crew ready for a ranger ride

Colten and Jay

Harvey getting ready to go gather cows

We had a fun week with the cousins. Josh and Savannah spent the week with us while Jen and Boyd were on the trek. They had a great time running wild.

2011-06-08T12:34:00.004-06:00

smoke at the NH two days ago

smoke from horsesprings

This fire is making me sick! We spent the last few days over at the NH and the smoke was so bad. It looked like the fire was right there by the color of the smoke. It got really bad a few days ago that I just had this sick feeling of having it make it our way. Then that night two sheriffs came to the door and gave us a pre evacuation notice saying the fire isn't real close now but it could come this way in a hurry. I can not imagine what everyone who has that fire in there back yards are feeling like. It is a horrible thing. I hope they can get it under control!

Harveys Graduation

2011-06-01T09:34:00.002-06:00

Harvey with his teachers

Harvey is officially done with his first year of school. They had a little kindergarten graduation and spotlighted him. They also had an award ceremony and he got the best artist award and also awards for his track meet and reading. He is glad to be finished but had a really fun year.

Part 2 Europe Trip

2011-06-01T08:55:00.004-06:00

Vatican City

Tuscany

Florence

Vatican
Rome

Inside the Vatican

Vatican City

Tuscany, Italy

England

Europe Adventures

2011-05-24T14:08:00.011-06:00

Jay and dad had quite the pool rivalry going. Dad has become a pool shark. Jay could hardly sleep at night thinking about how to beat him.

dad with his game face on

Yorkshire Dales

One of the manner homes
near Leeds

Venice

Our Gondola ride in the Grand Canal. It was so awesome!
This city almost looks fake. It is so neat.
I was very disappointed in our gondola man he wouldn't sing to us, but he was a little on the tipsy side had a few to many drinks so he took us on a lot longer ride than expected which was really cool and he gave us a really good tour of Venice.

Florence

Rome

The Colosseum

The ruins and the Colosseum in the back ground

England

These fields where so beautiful next to all the green.

We went to England a few weeks ago to visit Jay's parents who are on a mission in Leeds. It was such a beautiful place. The green was almost eye piercing after coming from so brown and dry at home. It looked like green lawn with sheep and rock walls everywhere you go. It was so much fun to spent time touring around with mom and dad and seeing where they are living. We got to meet all the kids at the institute and spend a little time with them. Talk about some hilarious kids. We really enjoyed seeing mom and dad in action with them. One of the highlights at the institute for Jay was playing his dad in pool. They would have played all night if we would have let them. Dad has learned some serious moves! We spent 5 days in Leeds then went to Italy for 5 days. We started in Pisa then went to Rome then Florence and last of all Venice. What a beautiful place Italy is we loved it. We rode trains in between the cities through Tuscany it was just like in the pictures, beautiful. Then we returned to Leeds for a few more days before heading home. It was such a fun trip!

HARV THE SNAKE TAMER

2011-05-23T22:01:00.004-06:00

Jay brought this 5 ft snake for the boys the other day. It coiled up and was hissing and not very happy. I thought it was going to strike. Then Harvey put his magical touch on it. He is the new snake tamer. Crazy kid.

NEW YORK

2011-04-21T17:02:00.009-06:00

Central Park
Looking back at the city going to the Statue of Liberty

The Brooklyn Bridge

NY at night from the top of the Rockefeller Center

It was such an awesome view!

Me with my mom and Jen at the Statue of Liberty

We saw the Lion King on Broadway it was so much fun.

Great show!

Central Park on one of the only warm days in that week. It was packed.

It was so cool to see this huge beautiful park in the middle of this crazy city.

Time Square

Remember the movie "Big" Jen and I had to go to FAO Swartzs and play a little chop sticks on the giant piano.

Getting ready to see WICKED. It was such an awesome performance. Loved it!

I went on a girl trip to NY with my mom and sister Jen a few weeks ago. My cousin Kristin lives there and kindly let us intrude on her studio apartment for a week. She was a great tour guide and host! We had such a great time and went to as much stuff as we could possibly fit into a week. I have to say that by the end of the week my feet were aching and I could barley function from a major lack of sleep but it was all very worth it!

SPRING BREAK

2011-03-31T17:49:00.005-06:00

We went to Scottsdale for spring break. It was so nice to get out of the wind for a week. We had a few rainy days but we had a blast swimming and relaxing. Thank you grandma and papa. We also went to the wildlife park zoo and aquarium. It was really cool. In the zoo the animals where all really active and really close. You could almost touch them. They also had a really neat aquarium with a all white alligator, penguins, eels, stingrays ( which the kids could touch) tons of cool stuff. It also had a really cool petting zoo with baby deer, llamas, giant tortoise's. The kids LOVED it! It was a great break and fun week!

Harvey and his cousin Jordan

touching the sting rays

white alligator

Harvey's Science Project

2011-03-31T17:09:00.006-06:00

track after it came out of the ground

the form around the Javalina track

stirring the plaster

pouring plaster of Paris into the track

Harvey was in a science fair at his school. He did his project on animal tracks. He had to find the animal tracks and make casts out of them, then explain how he was able to get them and research which animal they belonged to. He found a wild turkey, elk, javalina and cow tracks. It was a lot of fun. He had to make a presentation on a board and also do a oral presentation in front of the judges. He did really well.

Feels Like Spring

2011-03-03T16:53:00.004-07:00

Colten with his roping bag ready to roll

What a face, coolade mustach and all.

Jay riding with his messed up arm

The weather this week has been so nice. It feels like spring but I know I can't get my hopes up to much yet. Colten and I enjoyed a day out with Jay to move some cows. It was just nice to be out and enjoy the weather. I had to snap a few photo's. Colten told us " now that was sure a fun day wasn't it dad and my favorite part was getting that cow in the shoot and doctoring her she was pretty mad wasn't she dad. Mom you better be careful cause when you go out those cows run over you." That kid lives for days when he gets to mess with cows and ride.

Happy Birthday Colten

2011-02-13T17:53:00.007-07:00

Bruce and Colten shared a cake for their birthdays

Colten loved his new bull and calves.
Thank you Grandma and Papa!

His own rope that came with a bag

and his own roping glove

Where did 3 years go? We had a great day celebrating Colten's birthday. We had Bruce and Helga and Grammie and oompa over for pizza and cake. It was also Bruces B-Day so Colten was excited to share his cake. It was a great evening.

FRIGID

2011-02-07T12:57:00.009-07:00

feeding the cows

Sunshine roughing the cold

Horse Peak

Colten's new spurs

We had a frigid week last week. It was so cold we could hardly bare stepping foot out of the house. For 2 days the temp. never got over 2 degrees and got as low as neg 37. They cancelled Harvey's school for two days because the buses would not run from the cold. One morning school was delayed a few hours so when I went to start up the truck at 9:00 AM it would barely start and the temp read neg 27. I think that day at noon it was still neg 9. That kind of cold is just not right! Luckily it has finally warmed up a little bit.

2011-02-07T12:12:00.004-07:00

We had a great year this year with our outfitting business. Jay works very hard all year on the ranch and guiding and hunting everyone else so this year he was able to hunt a little bit for himself. He was able to get a big tom, bull and a buck. Not bat for only being able to hunt a few days.

White Sands National Park

2011-01-20T13:30:00.008-07:00

Jay and my dad trying to spot an oryx

White Sands

A few weekends ago we went down to Alamagordo to spend the weekend. I had an oryx hunt down on one of the missile ranges so we took the kids and my mom and dad. Mom took the kids around the sites in Alamagordo while Jay and I and my dad went hunting we had an awesome time! We all went to the White Sands Park and it was amazing. It looks just like a sea of snow as you can see in the pic but it is pure white sand and it feels so cool. The kids got some sleds and we went sledding down a few hills. We had a great weekend.

2011-01-13T09:14:00.014-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately how great it is to be experiencing the life we live every day here at the ranch. To be able to work together and include our kids in the work and in the fun stuff of the ranch. No better place to raise a family. My kids love this life to be able to run free and do the things they love to do. The western, ranch life style is a great one in my mind. It brings a lot of memories to my mind of being raised in a similar setting. Jay and I always say what a great experience our children are having and we will always treasure the memories we have made here on the ranch.

WINTER HAS FINALLY COME!

2011-01-04T19:18:00.006-07:00

Snow in St. Johns

Jay breaking ice

Well the nice 60 degree weather is gone. It was really nice while it lasted. I knew it was only a matter of time. It has been in the negatives for the last several nights and not over 20's in the day. On New Years Eve it got down to -30 pretty crazy. It is very bitter cold. We drove over the creek we cross all the time the other day and it didn't even crack. I don't ever remember it being like that even in the crazy winter we had last year.

More Christmas break

2011-01-04T19:07:00.003-07:00

Learning how to ride a bike

oompa helping Colten ride

Enjoying a day at the park

Grammie, Savannah and Colten

Christmas

2011-01-03T15:14:00.009-07:00

Jay made these corrals for Colten

Colten and Brits making candy trains

Colten loading his cattle truck

Harvey finally got screature, he loves it!

Going caroling with the Heap family

We had a great Christmas this year. It was much quieter than usual with many people missing this year but it was nice. We had a fun party with the Platt family which mom and dad where missed very much! We also did our normal progressive dinner with the Heaps and had a great time.

Christmas Time Is Here!

2010-12-16T10:43:00.008-07:00

The boys were so excited to see Santa. Colten kept following him around with the biggest grin on his face. He told Santa " I just really want a bull and cow. Santa thought that was pretty funny.

Harvey had his school Christmas program. He played the part of a soldier in the toy shop and did a great job on his parts and songs.

Jay and Harvey topping the tree with the star

The boys insisted on there on tree for there room
we found a good one

Jay and the boys cutting our tree down

I love this time of year . It seems to have come so fast we are a little slow at getting all the decorations up but thanks to Harvey and Colten's excitement we finally got most of them up including our trees and they even talked me into putting a few lights outside even though we live in the middle of no where. I love when it is all up though. There is something about the lights, tree, decorations and music that just puts you in the Christmas spirit.

November Update

2010-12-02T08:46:00.018-07:00

Well November has come and gone. I can't believe it is December where does the time go? We had a busy month of gathering, weaning, and trying to get things back to somewhat normal life again after the hunts. It has been fun to have a change from hunting to cattle. Colten and I went out a few times to help with the gathering and getting the calves ready to ship. Colten is just loving life being able to help. That kid loves it. We had Thanksgiving at the NH with my family it was a lot of fun to have everyone of my siblings and there families there. We had a few very cold days and some snow but it didn't stop the kids from running crazy outside.

Harvey's birthday party

2010-11-12T16:09:00.019-07:00

Colten was loving having Jane to play with

Brits trying to hit the pinata

Lucy finally got some cake. Isn't black frosting the best!

One of the dragons he loves

The kids loved the pinata

Night fury cake

Thanks to everyone for the cool presents!

Oh man what is it?

The crazy crew. Notice Lucy trying here hardest to not dive into the cake

Harvey had such a fun party with most of his Platt cousins and grammy and umpa there. If you can't tell he is so into the movie How to train your dragon. So he insisted upon having a night fury cake which I did my best at trying to create. He had such a fun time seeing his cousins and we are so glad everyone was able to come out. Thanks for making Harvey have such a fun day!

Birthday Boy Harvey #6

2010-11-04T12:58:00.009-06:00

I can hardly believe he is 6. I have been looking through a bunch of pictures and I had to post a few of Harvey through the years. He is definitely a funny kid! We are so glad he is ours!

Halloween

2010-11-03T23:00:00.003-06:00

Harvey won most spectacular costume at the Halloween carnival

Colten the lion and Harvey night fury dragon

Lots of baking for the carnival!!

We spent Halloween at the ranch this year. Harvey's school had a really fun Halloween carnival so we went to that. Harvey won most spectacular costume in the costume contest and he thought that was pretty cool.

FALL

2010-10-26T09:52:00.015-06:00

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love the chill in the air and the leaves changing. It is so beautiful at the ranches right now. The leaves are all bright yellow and a little orange all along the river bottoms and at the farm, so pretty. The sun rise and sun sets have been so pretty bright pink and so pretty over the St. Augustine plains. Colten was really funny the other day when we were driving at sunset I said "look at the pretty sunset." and he sat there for a minute then said " I really wish I could saddle up my horse and ride him into that sunset" where he got that from I don't know but it was pretty funny.

Camping at Mineral Creek

2010-10-05T09:58:00.010-06:00

Colten sliding down the river

hiking up the creek

awesome rock slide

Harvey loved this swimming spot

catching fish

Gila trout

This weekend we had a little break from hunting and decided to go camp down by Alma at Mineral Creek. We spent a few days hiking up this awesome canyon. It was full of berries and tons of beautiful scenery. The river was so fun there was tons of water holes with fish in them. Jay had a line and a hook that he connected to a stick and made Harvey a fishing pole they were pulling fish out as fast as they put the line in. Harvey loved it. There were lots of water falls that you could slide off of into these pools of water. The canyon had a mine at the top. We had a great day. On our way home we went through Mogollon the ghost town which was very neat its like you stepped way back in time in a western mining town. Then we made the loop home on the dirt road through beautiful country. It was a great weekend.

2010-09-30T16:36:00.003-06:00

wild berries

more wild berries

Jay bear hunted this year in a really cool place. He took the kids back down to hike and do a little swimming in the river at the bottom of these huge rock canyons. Jay said that there were berrries and apples growing everywhere. It is a beautiful place.

Rain

2010-09-14T08:48:00.002-06:00

water running down our road

Flooding the meadows

So much for our road

Flooding down the road

rain brings the green its so pretty

A few weeks ago we had a rain that dumped for about 3 hours. It completely flooded our road where I could not get out. It took fences down and flooded the meadow where it looked like there was a lake out there. It ran a full river down our road for hours. We had to do some serious work on the road so that we where able to drive on it.

Harvey's First Day of School

2010-08-18T13:53:00.003-06:00

First day all ready to go.

The new backpack

Harvey and Jeremiah

Colten couldn't contain how happy

he was for Harv to go to school

I really can't believe that Harvey is starting school. It was kind of a sad day for me to let him go but very exciting at the same time. He got home after the first day and could not stop talking about it. He loves it. When he was going to bed that night he said " mom I wish I could go back to school right now." Oh to be in kindergarten again. Hopefully the excitement lasts.

Ranch

2010-08-18T12:22:00.007-06:00

Colten and I farming

flooding from the rain

It is so pretty right now. We have had so much rain in the last month and everything is green and beautiful!

Tribute to Nana

2010-08-03T15:15:00.007-06:00

Harvey with Nana

funeral

Nana's funeral

Nana with all her grand kidsNana and her sisters

This was one of the most amazing women you will ever meet. She was the greatest grandmother in the world and loved her grand kids more than anything. I don't think a day went by growing up that we were not at Nana's. We loved cruising town with her as she would blast El Vira. Many days of playing, chocolate milk bottles, and being spoiled to no end with Nana. Papa always said he would love to be reincarnated as one of Nana's grad kids. Harvey and Colten loved her dearly. She was always one of the first people we would go see when ever we would come to St. Johns. Harvey especially had a closeness to her. They would talk once or twice a week on the phone. He loved to play her in crazy eights. She was one of my best friends and always the one no matter what was going on that would give you a smile and make you feel great. She was an amazing example of someone who lived in so much pain for so many years yet never complained and always had a smile she definitely was an amazing example of enduring to the end. She lived to serve others especially her husband and her family. So very selfless. I will greatly miss her!

24th of July

2010-08-01T21:26:00.002-06:00

Everyone at the Parade
Colten, Jay, Maren and Lucy at the Rodeo

Spence and Treys band

Awesome hair guys

Colten so happy to get some candy

ENTERTAINMENT IN THE WOODS

2010-07-09T16:03:00.005-06:00

We had a few weeks of some night entertainment at our house. It all began about two weeks ago when I woke up one morning to garbage scattered all over. I would pick it up and then a few days later it would happen again. I was starting to get tired of it so I would wait up at night to see if I could catch the culprit, and nothing. Well I left to a family reunion and the night I got back I had unloaded most everything out of the back of the truck but a big storage container full of snack stuff ( candy, crackers,etc.) well the next morning I went to go get the container for some bread and it was gone. I thought Jay had taken it or something so I start looking around

and I see some big tracks all over. I followed them up the mountain a little ways and way back in there was my container and everything had been eaten out of it and it was torn up. So I waited up that night and about midnight I heard the garbage can crash I went running out to see a white trash bag being carried up the hill behind the house. I never heard anything after that so the next night Jay got home and I was doing some laundry and looked out the window and there was the bear standing right outside the door just about to get into the trash again. I yelled for Jay and he and the kids came. We opened up the door and Jay started videoing the whole thing. That bear just stood there eating the garbage about 5 ft from the door Jay had open. Finally Jay yelled at him and he would run up the hill and stand there until we would shut the door then he would come back again. At one point he walked right up to the window that Harvey was standing in and put his face right up to Harvey's, then walked right up to Jay almost. This went on for a few hours. Then he disappeared for a while. We went to bed. At about 3Am Jay and I woke up to a loud whack at our window we both jumped out of bed and ran to the front door just to see the bear coming up on the front porch. Jay opened the door and yelled at him and he just stood there looking at us. Finally he left then a little while later we heard him again so we looked out the door and he was laying on the front lawn eating the grass. Jay wacked him with a piece of wood and he took off. We were up all night wondering if he was going to get into the house. The next day we found his prints all over our trucks on all the windows in the house all over. We called the game and fish and they brought up a live trap. That night we were sure that he would be in the trap when we got back from doing fireworks. When we got there he hadn't come yet. It was late so we got the kids down for bed and I was up getting some church stuff ready. Jay had taken the garbage and put it in the back of the truck while we were gone so the truck was parked right outside the kitchen window. I was doing some dishes and walked away for a minute and when I came back I could see a trash bag on the ground not to far from the truck and then there he was again. So Jay came in and then the bear disappeared into the dark. I was looking for him and then I saw him on the hood of the truck standing there. He went up the windshield and onto the roof. He then slipped into the back of the truck and started trying to get the trash barrel out. He would hop out and then back over the side of the truck and back in. Jay was ready to shoot him. We scared him off and moved the truck. We put the trash right in front of the entrance into the bear trap and finally he came back and jumped in. It was a crazy few days. I don't doubt that if he would have had another night he probably would have been in our house. A little scary. The game and fish came and got him the next day. Oh the adventures of living in the woods. Here are a few pictures. We did get some good video that I am trying to see if I can post. The kids thought it was great.

Teeth marks in my container

Foot prints on the kitchen window

Bear track

trash scattered up the mountain

Print on the truck window

more tracks

Where he had bit into the container
it was funny he even ate the suckers off the ring pops and left the rings

Here is the bandit right outside our door

He loved the trash!

2010-07-09T15:40:00.002-06:00

Colten riding on the boat They all ended up getting in the pond to swim

Colten and Jane

going for a ride in the boat

Colten, charlie, Jane and Harv

Harvey jumping to jay off the high dive
(in the pond our swimming pool)
4th of July

Jay doing a flip into the pond
4th of July

Gramme with all the grand boys except Brig
at the reunion

Branding at Horsesprings

2010-06-29T16:39:00.003-06:00

Getting some shade and lunch
Colten helping vaccinate

What a face!

Its so hot

Jay roping

FLORIDA TRIP

2010-06-15T17:04:00.005-06:00

Swimming by the dolphins

One of the only public beaches in the keys

Key West

dolphins coming up to the boat

View from the house

Swimming with the dolphins

scuba diving in the keys
Me, Casey, Mckelle and Jen diving (mom taking the picture)

I just went to Florida with my mom, Jen, Casey and Mckelle. It was such a great time. We stayed in the Florida keys. The first day we went out on a boat and watched the dolphins the guy we went with was so great. Usually you don't get to get in with them but he waited to see if they were in a playful mood then told us to get our snorkeling gear on and we jumped in with them . It was so cool. They were swimming all around us. One of the highlights of the trip. The next few days we went scuba diving and snorkeling which was also very cool. We saw an eagle ray, sting rays. sharks, sea turtle, tons of awesome fish and eels the reef was so beautiful. We also went to Key West a few times and saw the sunset celebration and all the fun shops. All in all it was such a great trip. The only bad thing was that it went way to fast!

Ranch

2010-05-29T12:30:00.002-06:00

Jay caught Harvey this collard lizard

He loves it!!!

The calves this year are so cute

Colten could ride with Jay all day everyday and be in heaven!

BRANDING IN ST.JOHNS

2010-05-28T22:40:00.003-06:00

We went to St.Johns last weekend to help brand. It was a crazy windy day and the dust was terrible but branding is always fun and it was fun to see everyone.

Spring

2010-05-11T12:06:00.008-06:00

Off to the pond

Green coming up at the farm

Pond overflowing from the run off

+Horn hunting

Preston and Jay with the truck
buried in the mud

more horns

roasting marshmallow's with Josh

Colten lounging by the bomb fire

catching salamanders

Coming back from the creek catching water dogs

Its been nice to have a little warm after so long of cold, even though there has been a lot of very windy and cold days we have enjoyed the nice ones. The boys have been in full force catching horny toads, lizards and toads there new favorite place is a big puddle down at the creek where they have been catching water dogs and salamanders. At one point we had a salamander,water dog two toads, and 3 horny toads. The boys have been in heaven. We were catching water dogs one day at this pretty deep hole and the next thing I know colten went in head first. I practically had to go in after him so that he wouldn't drown. When he came up out of the water I asked him what he was doing and he said " I was trying to get the water dog. Thus explains the picture above of him in his crocks and diaper. What a little boy heaven! We have also been doing a lot of hiking. Spring time means horns dropping off the elk. Jay has been a few times with some friends and Ive gone a few times. It is just nice to get out and it helps to find a few horns too.

2010-05-11T11:01:00.003-06:00

stuck in the mud

The result. Oh how we love mud!

Harvey petting the bulls

lots of water

climbing the windmill

Jay and the boys feeding

Condo and Easter

2010-04-20T15:07:00.010-06:00

Harvey spent hours diving for the dive sticks
and loving the goggles

Taking a break from swimming
Phoenix zoo

Jay and the boys riding a camel at the Phoenix zoo

Hunting Easter eggs

We spent Easter down in the valley which was so nice. The Condo had such a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids and the boys were so excited to meet the Easter bunny. It was such a nice break! We did a lot of swimming and lounging. Thank you mom and dad for the fun week .

FUN IN THE SUN

2010-03-24T22:40:00.003-06:00

It has been so nice to be out of the cold and into the sun for a few days. It is so green and the weather is awesome. The kids have been having so much. Thank you grandma and papa we wish you were here!

SNOWING AND MELTING

2010-03-24T19:27:00.008-06:00

This usually is dry except some times in the monsoon season

There has been a coyote overload
Jay and the boys

This is normally a small little creek

These are some pictures at the ranch in the middle of March. We are still getting snow but it is also melting very quick! There are rivers running in places that have never run before. The meadows in front of the house are lakes and it sounds like we are living next to a huge waterfall. You can here the water poring off the mountain it is crazy but so beautiful.

COLTEN'S BIRTHDAY

2010-02-17T13:56:00.002-07:00

Colten's cowboy riding the bull

It is crazy how fast these 2 years have gone by. Colten told me he wanted a chocolate elmo cake and horses, tows(as he says) and bulls. So he got a horse with a cow boy roping and a bull with big horns. He was so funny, he would put the cow boy on the bull and say ride him cowboy yeeha. It was funny to watch. This kid is completely obsessed with horses cows and bulls, that is all he talks about and thinks of. He is constantly riding something. If he can straddle it he is riding on it. He is such a funny kid!

FEEDING

2010-02-17T13:41:00.003-07:00

Harvey's favorite bull frosty

The boys are loving riding on the hay and feeding the cows!

SNOW AND MORE SNOW

2010-02-11T13:04:00.005-07:00

Stocking up on our wood pile

Harvey helping Jay feed the cows

We have had a crazy winter. More snow than they have seen in a long time. We are finding out how crazy it is to live in extreme conditions. In the last storm we got we had about 3ft at least of snow and we could not get into our house because the blades could not come and push the snow to where we could get to the house. Jay ended up hiking in and getting my dads back hoe and got over to the house. The electricity was off for 6 days and that means we had no water and luckily we have a wood stove that heats ok. When Jay got to the house he found that our house had flooded and the carpets were all wet. We thought that our pipes had frozen because of how cold it was with no heat. To make a long story short once we got all the carpets pulled up and we realized that it had snowed so much and then rained and snowed on top of that again and built up against the house that it had just run in through the walls. Luckily we did not have broken pipes. So now we are trying to put our house back together and trying to keep up with the snow. But we keep telling ourselves that it will be a good spring!

Catch up

2010-02-11T12:43:00.002-07:00

Taking a break from the snow in Albuquerque
Colten holding our newest pet Fredy the iguana

The Platt Grand kids
8 Boys 2 girls and 2 more on the way

Lots of boys but we are excited for this girl kick were on!

Colten and his new horse Huck

Harvey and his Christmas Present Fredy the iguana
What did we get ourselves into!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-17T19:43:00.002-07:00

We have had a crazy winter. It has snowed more in the month of December than all of last winter. It is also very beautiful as long as I can sit in my house by a roaring fire and enjoy the kids playing in it. Harvey was so excited though to make a snow man. One of the storms he was standing on the porch and diving off into the snow drifts loving life. We were loving life and enjoying it until the temp were so cold for so long and this last week we have had frozen pipes and no water in the house for a week. Lots of fun let me tell you. Well several days of huge fires and heat lamps not to mention digging up the pipe line and trying to unthaw with a torch. In the wee hours of the morning we woke up to one of the showers running full blast. I have never been so happy to hear running water!!!!!! Moral of the story is don't take turning on a faucet and water coming out for granted.

Fall /Catch up

2009-11-19T15:15:00.006-07:00

Colten with Savannah his newest cousin

(Jens baby)

Colten helping dad with the cows

He loves riding

hiding in the flowers

Jay helping Preston with his elk

Colten in the back ground taking a closer look

Boys mud and elk horns( coltens favorite)

We are still alive and well. We have had a very busy and crazy fall. We have had hunters since August and are just finishing the last of the hunts these next few weeks. We are very ready for the season to end even though we have had a lot of fun with it. It is fun for Jay and I to be able to work together with the outfitting. It makes it not seem so long and it is fun for me to meet most of the people that Jay guides. Jay was able to hunt a couse deer down by the border of Mexico. He packed in 12 miles and camped with a few other guys and said it was quite an experience. We look forward to things calming down a bit!

Harvey Turns 5 and Halloween

2009-11-19T14:15:00.003-07:00

All the Platt grand kids

Platt grandparents and cousins in Alpine

The cake request this year a iguana

I tried my best!

Party at the ranch with umpa grammie and Josh

Colten and Harvey the leopard and the skunk

Halloween party in Mesa Jordan ,Josh, Colten and Harvey

Halloween and Harvey's birthday were a little disappointing this year. We were all completely down for almost 2 weeks with the worst flu ever. So we didn't go out at all on Halloween and Harvey's birthday was celebrated a little late but turned out to be a good time. We had a little party here at the ranch with us , mom and dad and Josh. Then since Harvey was feeling much better we meet up in Alpine with all the Platt cousins and grandma and papa and had a really fun party.

Catch up

2009-06-22T14:08:00.004-06:00

Fathers day

Harvey's first arrow head

Harvey's newest giant lizard friend

Colten enjoying corn at the Hamblin reunion

One of the biggest horny toads I've ever seen

One of the many horny toads of the year

Josh and Colten helping in the garden

Summer is always a fun time at the ranch. Harvey has had great fun lizard hunting everyday. We have had a huge variety of lizards, horny toads and the giant lizard we are still trying to figure out what it is. It is funny I keep seeing lizards without tails around the house from the little boys pulling a little to hard on them. Harvey always seems to have something in his aquarium. We planted a garden with my parents and have been trying to get a yard in at our house. It has been an eventful summer thus far and we look forward to the rest of it.

BRANDING

2009-06-22T13:52:00.003-06:00

the branding crew
Robert flanking a calf

Randy and Justen

Harvey riding a calf

Jay roping

Branding is always one of the favorite things to do in the summer. It is always entertaining!

CATWALK

2009-06-22T13:30:00.003-06:00

Dad and Colten

Casey, Jen and Josh

Harvey playing in the river

Jen, Josh , Casey and Mckelle and Brigden came to visit so we went to the catwalk to celebrate Mckelle's B- Day. It was fun to see everyone.

Life on the Range

2009-05-08T13:51:00.003-06:00

Harvey playing in the mud
Randy the moss monster

This is a cow boy swimming pool (dirt pond)

Harvey, Jay Randy and Justin

Swimming in the pond

Colten and Jay

It is starting to get warm and it has been so nice to play outside. The boys got so hot working the other day that they decided to go for a swim in the dirt pond. It was cold but felt pretty good after the heat all day. The kids loved it. It is always fun to go for a ride on the horses. Colten lives to see and ride horses. He has a little bit of an obsession. I guess we live in the right place for it. That's all he wants to do. It is constantly on his mind. It is kind of funny though.

2009-05-08T13:36:00.002-06:00

Colten begging worms off Uncle Casey
Josh and Colten

Mary and Rebecca with Colten

The Newest arrival to the Heap clan

Brigden Casey Heap

We(mom, Jen and I ) took a trip to see Casey and Mckelle and there new little baby. It was so much fun to see them and to meet Brigden he is so little and so cute.

Easter

2009-04-14T16:13:00.005-06:00

Easter morning

Jay, Harvey, Justen, Colten, Randy

The Easter bunny found us

A horse and a cow

Easter was fun. We woke up to snow, not quite the nice spring Easter day but the snow didn't stay to long and it turned into a nice day. We spent most of the day on our trek to church and back. Then had a Easter meal and Harvey and his friend Agustus went on an Easter egg hunt.

Taste of Summer

2009-04-14T15:50:00.004-06:00

Harvey at the zoo

Colten loved the pool!

The crew

Colten, Charlie, T, Parker, Jane, Brit, Harvey

We went down to Scottsdale to the condos a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun to be able to swim and enjoy a little warmer weather. It was such a fun place for the kids. We enjoyed spending time with all of Jays family. Thanks for the fun trip mom and dad!

Its still Winter

2009-03-16T14:29:00.004-06:00

It has been feeling so much like spring weather lately and then on Friday morning we woke up to this. It was so beautiful. The trees were packed with snow. Even though we have had spring fever this snow was much needed so we were very glad!

Colten's First Year

2009-02-16T13:21:00.006-07:00

Colten's blessing day

Colten at 2 weeks

Birthday Boy

Jay with all the boys

blowing out the candles with a little of help from Harvey

The Cake

Happy Birthday to Colten. I can hardly believe it has been a year. That went so fast! Colten has been so much fun to have and is such a good little boy. In his first year he: rolled over, sat up mastered crawling and walking around things, got his first two teeth (bottom two), said his first few words hot, horse, dad, mama, nana, dat(that), cow is Moo. He LOVES farm animals mostly horses and cows. We had a fun little party for him. I made him a farm cake and we had Aunt Mar Mar and Uncle Mikey come with all of Kristen's kids and there new little baby(sooo cute). We had a fun night with everyone!

HOME SWEET HOME

2009-02-05T15:26:00.003-07:00

Catching minoes at the pond

Ride him Harvey Yee- Haw

Colten going for a ride with Umpa

Grammie and Harvey

Harvey and Jay getting calves on the trucks

Harvey found a great hiding spot in the hay feeder

Colten sitting on the horse, his favorite place to be

I love where we live. It has been such a fun time to be able to do what we do each day. The kids LOVE it here. Colten can never get enough of going down to see the horses and cows and Harvey loves to catch what ever he can that is crawling or swimming. We just spent a few days at Horse Springs with Jay and helped put the calves on the trucks and went for a little ride after. Harvey also helped Umpa and Grammie get some cows in the other day and rode an Blue all by himself. ( what a great horse) Harvey could not get enough of his outings with Umpa when he recently came up.( feeding the cows, riding on the horses and 4 wheelers, pond trips movies) He told me " Umpa and Grammie are a lot more fun than you mom."

oh well I guess that's the way that it should be.

ELK

2009-02-05T15:20:00.002-07:00

The elk have been coming in by the hundreds every night in front of our house. It has been fun to sit and watch them. These are just a few shots I got the other day.

KIDS

2009-01-28T16:35:00.002-07:00

Colten started saying horse and making the sound of a cow. He is crazy about horses and cows it is so funny. He is constantly looking out the window for them. He wakes up saying horse. This little rocking horse is his favorite he loves to be on it.

Safarie Club International Show

2009-01-28T15:52:00.003-07:00

These are some of the cool mounts at the show

John Michael Montgomery

So Jay and I got a little escape this last week. We went to Reno to the SCI Hunting show. It was really amazing to see all the cool mounts and get to see people from all over the world. We went to a night auction and dinner show with John Michael Montgomery which was really good. We had an awesome time and are very grateful for mom and dad and Jen for taking the kids!

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS

2009-01-09T15:42:00.004-07:00

Harvey and Charlie found the best thing at the dance.

Harvey said " I love dances" (donuts and chocolate milk)

Jay and Colten at the New Years dance

This tiger is such a cool toy. It comes to "life". It moves it' s eyes and purrs, growls and falls asleep. The perfect toy for Harvey. He loves it.

Colten's favorite thing. A picture book!

Christmas was bitter sweet this year. We were in St. Johns and most all of the family was there on both sides. We had a great program and party with the Platt family and Harvey and Charlie(Kristen's) did a really cute poem along with the rest of the cousins performing. The Heap family also did a party which was a little hard this year with Papa so sick we were not able to have it at there house like normal and it was sad. All of my sibling were home and it was fun to watch all the kids on Christmas morning. Harvey really got into it this year. Christmas Eve started good and ended up being very sad. That evening Papa passed away and it was a ruff night. What a heartbreaking thing to see happen especially for Nana on Christmas eve. All in all it was a good Christmas and a good New Year. One we will probably never forget!

SNOW

2009-01-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

Papa's Funeral

2009-01-09T15:23:00.002-07:00

This was a ball that was given to Papa just weeks before he died. SJ dedicated a game to him and all the players signed this ball. The nets are some from one of Papa's State champion games.

Great job on the flowers mom!

Nana with all her grand kids

Papa' funeral was good and it was so great to see so many people there.

Everyone of Papa and Nana's grand kids were there for the first time in about 10 years. What a great man Papa was and he will be missed dearly!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-16T11:02:00.004-07:00

Colten ready for the winter weather
Harvey and I made this ginger bread house.
This is one of my favorite traditions!

We had a great pick at Christmas trees

this year right out our front door

Winter has come!

The stockings are hung

Harvey decorated these sheds for

his own horn tree in his room
(his own creation)

Hooray for Christmas!

Colten and Harvey with Nana(great grandma)

Happy Birthday Harvey

2008-11-08T15:16:00.003-07:00

The crew Jordan, Colten, Harvey and Sam
Big 4

Colten's first big ride on Jasper

Harvey turned four on Monday. We had a little party for him on Sunday with his requested ocean Birthday cake. He told me that "it must have a whale on it". On his birthday we went on a little ride at the the ranch. Harvey thought he was pretty big stuff riding on his own.

Halloween

2008-11-08T14:56:00.002-07:00

That is a cute red hot chili
Me and the boys at the parade

Harvey was a successful bear hunter this year

carving the pumpkins

Halloween was fun we spent it in St. Johns. Harvey had a real hard time this year deciding what he would be and finally he decided on a hunter. Colten was a bear and a hot chili pepper. He was the bear on our ward trunk or treat and the chili on Halloween. Harvey loaded up on the treat or treating and over all had a fun time. One down fall about the night we had just put our carved spider pumpkin out to light and some kid came up trick or treated and took our pumpkin and smashed it all over the road in front of the house. We didn't even get to light it. Harvey was very angry to say the least. I guess we are getting pay backs for Jays teen years. Ha Ha

RANCH

2008-10-02T16:10:00.004-06:00

The flowers and the grama grass were so beautiful
Elk in the meadow in front of our house
Colten is ready to go hunting
Jay taking a break from hunting
Fall view out my front door
Summer view out my front door
Our house

Well it has been a while since I have given an update so I will give the down low on what has been going on the past few months. Jay has been in between Horse spring and our house working. We have been rushing to get our house done before the hunts and winter. It is just about there. Jay has been guiding hunts since the first of September. I have been cooking for them and he guides it has been a little busy. We have one more big group coming this next week then we will be done for a while. We feel so blessed to live where we do. It has been so much fun to watch the elk and here them bugle right outside our door. It is starting to cool down and is definitely looking like fall.

KIDS

2008-10-02T15:20:00.005-06:00

Colten 7 months

Flowers were so beautiful this year
mom and dad and the 5 grandkids
Three youngest

Josh, Sam and Colten
Here is a kid update. They are both growing so fast and they are a lot of fun. Colten is wanting to crawl so bad but hasn't quite got it yet but scoots on his bum and gets what he needs. Harvey is so much fun. He loves to explore and find pretty rocks and any kind of animal, bugs or reptiles he can find. We just found a snake taller than him that he wanted to have so bad but I ran over it and so now he has been carrying it in a sack so he can show everyone.( I will have to show pictures another time.) We were able to have my whole family up here for a reunion last month and it was so much fun to have all those little boys together.

HEAP REUNION

2008-08-07T18:52:00.002-06:00

Shucking corn
Umpa on babysitting duty

Colten, Sam, and Josh

Uncle Boyd taking all the kids for a ride
Josh and Colten

Kason, Harv, Mason going for a ride
Jordan and Harvey

We had a great time at the Heap reunion. Everyone was there and we spent almost the whole week camping at Greens Peak. It was so much fun to see everyone. Harvey loved camping and especially the fire. He is a little pyro. I had a great time playing with the kids and playing games with all the cousins. We have a tradition to run down greens peak every year. This year a few of us decided that we would hike up greens peak and then run down. Well we did make it to the top and ran down despite our shaky knees and upset stomachs from eating a big breakfast. Thanks for all the fun.

24TH CELEBRATION

2008-08-07T18:42:00.002-06:00

Cousins at the rodeo

Crewse and Harvey riding Blue
Loading up on candy at the parade

RANCH LIFE

2008-08-07T18:08:00.003-06:00

Colten on old Blue
Colten's first branding
Harvey and Jay farming at Horse Springs

Learning the branding technique

Taking a break
We have had an eventful, fun summer. Ranch work and the house have kept us busy along with family reunions, the 24th and other family events. It has been raining a lot and both ranches are so beautiful and green. This place is hard to beat when it is green! It has been so much fun to have our kids enjoy the lifestyle that Jay and I both had growing up. It is a kid paradise especially if you are a kid like Harvey who loves insects ,snakes, horny toads, frogs, trianchalas and what ever other thing he can come across. You can imagine what it is like keeping those out of my house. How we love little boys!

CAT WALK

2008-07-03T14:37:00.002-06:00

We went to the catwalk a few weekends ago. It was a lot of fun. Harvey loved it. He is such a little dare devil and will try anything. He was hiking down in the caves and jumping in the freezing cold water and water falls. Usually its so hot that the cold water feels really nice, but it was a rainy day so it was kinda cool, but Harvey didn't seem to mind.

FATHERS DAY

2008-06-20T11:28:00.002-06:00

We went to the Hamblin reunion this last weekend and spent Fathers Day there. It was fun to camp and see everyone. Happy Fathers Day.

MOVING ON

2008-06-13T15:57:00.005-06:00

Here are the 3 newest arrivals in the Platt family
and yes you do see pink.
Little Trey, Anna Jane, Colten

CONGRATS

Jay is a graduated free man and as you can see that he is loving it.

I don't have a picture of his graduation cuz he didn't go but this is better than sitting through graduation ceremony anyway.

Harvey and I on old Blue

This was my Mothers Day/B-day breakfast.

Yes Jay made it(crepes) and brought it to me in bed. He is so awesome!
Harvey helping baby sit while I was packing. You can't start them to young!
Jen and Boyd came for the weekend. We had a great time on Boyd's ranger
Harvey on Blue

May came and went. It has been a crazy few weeks for us. Jay graduated from the university of New Mexico the 2nd week in May and is sooooo happy to finally be finished with school. We are so proud of him for his sacrifice and hard work to get his degree. We are so happy to end that chapter of our lives! We moved from Albuquerque the next week and are living at the ranch in New Mexico. Jay has been working everyday trying to renovate the home we will be living in and it is looking awesome. We are so excited to be here. Here are some of the fun things we did this month.

COLTEN'S BLESSING

2008-05-03T18:08:00.003-06:00

We blessed Colten this past Sunday. Jay gave him such a nice blessing. It was such a fun day. Both of our parents were here and Jeniffer and Josh flew in. There were also a few of our friends there. Colten looked so cute in his little tux. Harvey gave his first talk in primary on Noah's Ark. The whole family went into primary to watch him. He did so good, it was really cute I wish I could have been able to video it. We had dinner at our house after and had a great day with everyone. Thank you everyone who was able to come.

FUN WEEK

2008-05-03T17:45:00.002-06:00

Harvey, Colten and Josh
Jen and Josh

All ready for church
Harvey braving the big slide
Josh and Harvey on the Lion at the zoo
We had such a fun week. Jen and Josh came for the blessing and stayed the week. It was fun to have someone to go to the park and zoo with and to be able to have a conversation with an adult instead of just a 3 year old all day not to mention the much needed breaks from Harvey every once in a while. Thank you Jen and Josh for the coming to see us we had so much fun!

FEELS LIKE SUMMER

2008-04-15T17:55:00.005-06:00

These past few days have really been feeling like summer is here. It has been so warm. Time to get the shorts out and have some fun out side. We went to the park yesterday and had a lot of fun. Harvey is getting to where he can climb on and up about anything. He finally was able to climb this spider web rope he has been trying for a while. It seems like he is growing up so fast. I have to comment on the picture at the heading of the blog. I was going through some pictures and came upon this one of Harvey helping plant the garden a few years ago it is one of my favorite so since it is almost time to plant a garden I thought it would be fun to share it with you.