New Years Weekend.

This weekend The Grandkids are staying with their NANA. Katy is gone for the weekend and both her kids are here. We are in tight quarters right now,back in our old little house but it all seems to work just fine. Friday eve was gym for laurel for 4 hrs and Isaiah participates in the new Urban Gymnastics,Parkour at the gym so he is able to run and jump there friday eve,he loves it. I will write more and post pics as the day and New Years eve progress. 2 of the 4 ohh wait,3 of the 4 are awake. Best run for now....till later Happy 2012!!

Jammie day at Vallejo Charter School 2011

Each year right before Christmas break,the kids have jammie day at school. They are free to wear their jammies,robes etc,they play some games,read or watch the Polar express and have hot choc and cookies. They enjoy this day tremendously.

Christmas 2011

Christmas has come on gone. And today is New Years eve. Good Grief,how the time flies!!
Christmas was wonderful as usual. Christmas eve day we just hung out and played,didnt do much but wrapped gifts,ohhhh ya,that is what i did. LOL yes and got them all done.
Christmas eve we have a tradition that we started when the kids came home. WE get them in their jammies and go out for Mexican dinner and then go around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights,then home to bed so Santa can come. Well last year we discovered that the Mexican restaurants had gotton smart and taken that night off so we had to start our tradition of restaurants again and start to go Chinese. So Katy and kids joined us this year,now that they are living right near by again. 4 kids in jammies and three adults climb into the van and go to dinner. A delicious big Chinese meal,we are waiting for the bill which never came,very unusual,this place knows us and has very good service. Dad decides the kids are done,let me just go pay the bill,no big deal. He goes up to the front and comes back with no receipt. It seems that the couple sitting across from us had paid our bill,and asked that they throw in dessert for us as well. Now this was a bill for a family of 7. Evidently they loved what we were doing with the children,now im not sure how they knew for sure what we were/are doing with the kids(haha) but we sure found that to be nice and really really a wonderful surprise.
Off we went to look for lights and then home to bed to await Santas arrival.

Christams am,Santa had arrived,Katy and kids came back over,Chris and his wife came early to do gifts with the little ones,seems all got just what they wanted,laurel an easy bake oven,Zak a nrew DSI and scrap booking materials. It was all a success and now we are onto New Years,2012!!!  Chris and Destiny this year rather than toys and such gave each child a card with something going to a child elsewhere,Isaiah loves to play soccer so his was a donation of two soccer balls to some kids in Uganda. Kates an animal for food to Uganda,laurel and zak each duck and chickens to wherever they were needed most at that time. A new tradition for them,the kids are looking forward to sharieing about that at school.

Lost teeth and COLD nights 2011

During all this activity Zakary has lost yet his second lower tooth,so he looks quite 6-7yr old now. lol he does quite well eating BUT just as his speech therapist told him he would have some funny sounds coming out with those two teeth gone. LOL

We have been having some might cold nights for us here anbd since our heater which was never good isnt working at all right now.we are using warm jammies and blankets. Small space heaters where needed. Zak has been wrestling a cold which always seems to last a liottle longer thna the other kids and presents a bit different than the other kids. He was exhausted and climbed into bed,and fell aslwwp the other night,all on his own,not even a good night kiss.

Gymnastics Wintershow case and holiday parade. 2011

Winter brings alot of activity to the Raymond family and to Gymnastics for sure. It starts out with a wonderful winter showcase that they put on each year. This year laurel and her team "Dynamites" did their routine to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It was sooooooooooo cute. They wore reindeer antlers and a red nose(although they spent more time worrying about where their accessories were landing than really getting to show off their amazing skills. Never the less,it was very cute.  No sooner is that over,you run home,shower and go to bed so that you can be down at the Main street of Benicia to again,walk in a holiday parade... Zak and dad both have been wrestling colds so they stayed home and Laurel and i went to the parade. Its fun, the kids do some of their skills on the main street and show off their abilities. laurel seemed to be a little bit afraid of the cement this year,of course,i would be very afraid of the cement if it were me. She did great,the parade was not too long and we had a great time. I have attacehd pics of the girls in their white tanks and green shorts for their winter showcase and Laurel and I in our red tops and black pants heading out for the parade.

Discovery Kingdom 2011

Our annual Discovery Kingdom trip with the Toyoma's took place last weekend. This year Clara was not able to join us as She was working,last year it was me that was unable to make it. We had a great time as always and its fun to bring in the holidays together with special friends and fun. the kids went sledding on their pretend ski slope,and thre snow balls at each other in their man made snow park.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 has come and gone. Busy Busy Busy.......Both little grandkids were here for the three day Thanksgiving weekend as Katy had to work. We prepared our meal,Zak had a bit of a cold so 88yr old grama decided that she would pass that day,she doesnt do colds well these days.

Katy came to eat after work and Chris and Destiny drove to Redding to visit her grandparents who are ageing as well. The day was laid back,quiet,well as quiet as a small house with 2 adults and 4 small children can be.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.....2011.

Things will be busy here as usual,the christmas picture has been taken and the cards have all addressed. Grandkids will be here with me Tomorrow,Thanksgiving day and the day after(mommy has to work). Enjoy your holiday and I will post more after i survive(if i do) all the activities and all the kids. lol

November 2011

I have been trying to keep track of things that these kids say,some of them are sooooooooooooooooo funny,or at least cute. i of course,think of them during something where I cant do anything about it. I told you all that Zak had lost a tooth the other day,an official lost tooth. he was so excited that he could hardley wait to go to bed so the tooth fairy could come. Now you know the rule,if you are NOT asleep,the tooth fairy,as well as Santa and the Easter bunny DONT show up. So zak is sitting on my lap reading and he is yawning,loud,throwing his head back,finally i said "its bed time,your so tired,he went pee and leaped into bed,closing his eyes very tight. Laurel climbs up into her top bunk and while they are laying there doing there pre sleep visiting,he says to laurel "ok,now laurel,go to sleep,im expecting the tooth fairy". I was sitting in the next room and heard this,laughed right out loud.  Yes the tooth fairy did come.

The kids go to a wonderful Charter shool here in Vallejo and it is a "expeditionary learning" setting,lots of outdoor study,ecology etc etc. So the first graders,Zaks class this year their first expedition is "weather" and i am going to tell you he has learned some really interesting things and can explain each thing to you,clouds,the types and what they each do,thunder,lightning and tornados. Earthquakes are big talk right now as well. Soo I am having Zak explain a tornado to me,he explains the hot and the cold air,they get togehter and start switching it up,using his hands to show me and discribe,and then it becomes a summin summin nimbus cloud(im not half  as bright as he is,or perhaps i forgot all this or wasnt paying nearly the attention when i was in first grade as he does. Finally he explains that when it all gets going and is twisting around that you have a tornado and stuff starts flying around,like cows. LOL LOL obviously some kid had seen the movie twister.(not my kids). Stan and I laughed right out lous. lol
Kids do say the darndest things.

The first official lost tooth November 6 2011

So we had been told that Zak would probobly NOT loose teeth as regularly and at the same ages that other kids would,due to his cleft. Zak waited and waited thru laurel loosing her usual age according pattern of teeth and still nothing. He was convinced that he would never loose a tooth and the tooth fairy would never ever come for him. Now he has had a couple teeth pulled out during palate and bone graft surgery, and the tooth fairy has come of course for those teeth but those he didnt really count as "teeth" and actually they did look more like a grain of sand one of them and a racoon claw the second than any teeth that I have ever seen but never the less,they were teeth.Zaks teeth. Sooooooooooooo finally a loose lower tooth.....then a real loose lower tooth....Then Zak and dad playing around,Dad tickled Zak,he hit his mouth on dads ear,hurt dads ear and knocked out the little lower loose tooth. OFFICIAL....Zakary has lost his first tooth and the toothfairy did in fact,finally make a trip to Zaks pillow!!! He awoks this am and ran into my room at god knows what hour "mom the toothfairy came".

Nov 2011 Katy and kids are back!!

Katy and her children,isaiah and kate have left napa and moved back to vallejo. She has been living in Napa for a couple years now and found it to be,surprisingly enough,california in the year 2011 that Napa is NOT nearly the place to be that she had thought for the young sinlge mom and a bi racial family. Vallejo is the place to be,all are accepted and embraced. Now Napa is not a BAD place to be,dont get me wrong. No one was mean or nasty to Katy and children but its just not nearly as embraceing or accomodationg to them. Katy had to come to Vallejo for hair products for kate,she couldnt find what she needede in lilly white Napa. She and kids are near by,she has a nice apartment where they each have their own room and katy even has her own bathroom. YAHOOOOO...She is glad to be back and we are glad to have her back.

lots of living 2011

Things are just moving along so darn fast,life is like a whirl wind and we can barely keep up.
There have been 2 gymnastics meets at our gym(laurel is not competing ) but we all help pout to earn our volunteer hours towards when she does compete. So two weekends in a row,several hours each day,nights seetting up,cleaning up and then the meet and then the take down,set up the gym for the week again. EXHAUSTION.....school,classes and work.

Laurels class had a field trip and took a long and quite difficult hike,Zak had stripe testing in Tae Kwon do.....I have just posted some random pictures.... We do have some hoiliday activities coming up soon and will blog and powt pictures as each of them happen.

Apple Hill Oct 2011

Today was our annual family trip to Apple Hill. Unfortunatly though, this year,so far, Chris and Destiny were not able to join us. Poor Destiny is sick,sounds like a nasty flu bug so we are going to try to go again later in the season to do some more that we were not able to get to today,like the trout farm,thats the activity that big Chris does with the little ones. The weater was perfect and we did have a nice day,a yummy bbq and just fun being together. I have attacehd some fun pictures and we will certainly update more Apple Hill when we get back there with Chris and Destiny. The fishing pond is always the high light of the day.