Mark Your Calendars!

And save the date because you wouldn't want to miss the 2nd Annual Halfway BirthRAY Partay! It will be at the City of Kyle pool- which has a great area for toddlers, a slide, and lots of room- on July 12th from 7-10 p.m.

Be there, it won't be the same without you!

Madalyn learned to ride her bike!!

Super huge news, after just a week and half of practicing Madalyn learned to ride her bike with no training wheels. I have pictures and will post them when I finish the roll. I miss technology, this whole deferred gratification thing is way overrated. :)

Watch out at Texas Roadhouse

When Jeff and I were out on a date a couple of weeks ago my car got broken into and my purse stolen. Unfortunately, my digital camera was in my purse, so we're back to using an actual film camera. Oh, wonderous days - but pictures will be a little slower coming for awhile. And probably in clusters like these!

New Bikes & a Scooter!

The Easter Bunny must have had a great year because Madalyn and Beck got new bikes and Bristol got a toddler scooter. Beck took off on his and has not looked back. He often likes to take it up on two wheels- meaning the front wheel and one of the training wheels. I constantly cringe watching him. Bristol likes the scooter and is getting the hang of it. Madalyn got a cool pink Huffy that she is trying to ride without training wheels. Awesome! I loved the picture of Bristol- did I mention how sweet he is? :) Also the one of Jeff and Daddy teaching them how to ride down the driveway was greatness.

Easter Hunt at the Raymond Ranch

We had a super laid back Easter- Mom, Dad, Cody and Julie came over to the house for lunch and we just hung out. Until the Easter bunny came to visit of course. Then the yard was full of action and excitement. Madalyn insisted on putting her dress to hunt again, the boys could have cared less. :) Beck just wanted to hunt with his Spiderman bucket from Halloween. I loved the action shot of Madalyn too, sheer joy.

Steeplechase Easter Egg Hunt

The Saturday before Easter we went to huge hunt at the Steeplechase park in Kyle. There were thousands of eggs and it as a lot of fun- even if they didn't drop them out of a helicopter (much to Beck's dismay). We had a whole crew of kids as you can see, and two of them (Addison and Mason) didn't make the picture. Kim was in town vacationing at home from New Mexico, so we all gathered to enjoy the entertainment which included a wheel of fortune, moonwalks and this crazy bungee game that Madalyn is playing. You're strapped to the thing and see how far you can get- hopefully further than the person you're up against.
Kids are Dylan and Beau in the back, then Brenah, Makayla and Madalyn and the little ones- Beck, Bristol, Eric and Ella. I just have to say, is Bristol not the sweetest little boy ever?!

Parenting can be so much fun!

We are currently waiting for the Caldwell County Sheriff's department, no not for anything big except that Bristol is thinking of being a jail bird early in life. He decided to play with the phone in mine and Jeff's room and call 911. And apparently the more you try to assure them everything is okay, the more concerned they become and insist on sending someone out. D'oh!

And while on the lovely note of parenting, Beck tried to burn the house down a couple of weeks ago with Madalyn's Easy Bake Oven. Of course it's all kinda funny in hindsight, but when Madalyn and I came home (Jeff and Bristol were taking a nap) and the house smelled like burning it wasn't so funny. Beck decided to take advantage of the others napping and get the Easy Bake out of Maddy's closet, mix up some powder (minus the water) plug in the oven and wait. Thank goodness we came home when we did, but Maddy was pretty ticked we had to throw away her Easy Bake because of Beck. Melted plastic and smoke- I'm sure it will be the next new scent for Glade. =)

Parenting is not for the faint of heart!

Juanita Claire Watts

As many of you know by now, Jeff's grandmother passed away last Thursday. It was a tough weekend, but the vistation and funeral services were very nice. I included this picture of Ma Ma and Bristol, taken last Spring when we visited her for her birthday. It is one of my favorites and I'm so glad that we named him Bristol Watts, so that he can be a reminder of everything that Ma Ma and Pa Pa were to us.

I included a link to her obituary in the Fort Worth paper, and there is an online guestbook if anyone would like to sign.

http://www.legacy.com/dfw/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=105247997

Valeria is here!

One of my favorite people in the whole world had a beautiful baby girl last week. Valeria Judith Guzman came into the world on March 5, 2008. This is a picture of proud parents Aimee and Gerardo at the hospital the day after she was born. The little boy is Ryan Tang, Rachel's little boy who was also there during the visit. Welcome sweet princess! Both Ryan and Valeria have links to their blog just to the right if you want to find out more!

Cody's Endurance Race

Cody and my cousin Bryon participated in the Endurance Race at Thunderhill Raceway on March 2, which consisted of 200 laps in the Grandstock division cars. They worked super hard to get the car ready, and unfortunatley took a hard hit into the wall between turns 1 and 2. Even worse than that was that it was only the third lap. D'oh! Regardless, we had fun and even though the car was wrecked the kids still loved playing in it.

Basketball Season Over

And as quickly as it started, a mere 9 practices and 6 games later the season is over. On March 1, we had our last games for the season at the SMAC. The boys did a great job, and I'm very proud to say that my girl's team went undefeated. I'm sure that it's just a matter of time before UT calls me up to be an assistant. Since I was coaching and Jeff was kid wrangling we don't have many pictures from the game, but here is one I took of Madalyn and Beck at the house before Madalyn's big win. You would have though that they won the state championship- I haven't heard that many girls sreaming that loud since the Hannah Montana concert.

Politics, Religion & Sex

The three things you're not supposed to talk about, but Jeff was one of 30,000 Austinites at the Barack Obama rally at the state capitol last Friday. I thought the pictures were pretty cool, of course Jeff was right up front and got to shake hands with him twice. Jeff said the rally was inspiring, but watching the Secret Service was fascinating. Early voting is through the 29th, and the Texas primary is March 4th. Everyone go vote, whoever it's for!

The boy's check-ups

Jeff and I took Beck and Bristol for their 4-year and 2-year checkups with our pediatrician, Dr. Mouser. She is the best, even if she is an Aggie. I've said several times that I would never have an Aggie doctor because it's harder to get in their vet school than their medical program. However, she is amazing.
Beck is 45 inches and 48 pounds, and still in the 95th percentile in all measurements, and is literally 'off the charts' in his height and weight. He also had his hearing and vision checked, and got four shots - much to his dismay. 'Mama, I did not say that I wanted shots today'. He was pitiful, but survived.
Bristol was 36 inches and 27 pounds. He's still 90th percentile in height and 50th percentile in weight. String bean baby- for sure. He is healthy and doing great. Thankfully he only got one shot although he was very concerned when Beck got his shots first. He is not nearly as hard to hold down as Beck!

Bristol's 2nd Birthday-Valentine's Day

It's so hard to imagine that it's been two years since Bristol joined the Raymond crew. He is definitely the sweetest of our brood, but is starting to really flex his independence. Which Jeff and I are trying to find the patience for, but I swear it gets harder which each kid. Bristol is doing great and looks so much like Maddy its fascinating- he's a handsome boy.
We had a party for him at Miss Amy's complete with the lovely cupcakes and red icing. (Not my best idea.) We also had cake and ice cream with the immediate family where my parents gave him the sing with me Elmo that has traveled with him since he got it. I think the highlight was getting to watch him try to eat a gummy worm that came out of a chocolate apple Julie gave him. You can see a little of it in the picture, but it doesn't do it justice.
There was only one sad minute when I laid him down to sleep in the crib and looked back at his mobile lit up in the dark room and just had to stop and enjoy it. Time is flying by, and my baby is two.

Beck's Big Birthday Present

Saturday was a big day for Beck. He got to cash in on his 4th birthday present to fly on a plane. He has been fascinated with everything that moves- planes, trains, cars, monster trucks, helicopters- doesn't matter. Jeff has been travelling more and he would talk about getting to fly too. So we got him and Jeff tickets from Austin to Dallas so he would get the chance.
Beck played in his basketball game on Saturday morning and scored two baskets, and then we got some lunch and dropped off him and Jeff at the airport. He got some ice cream, went through security, checked a bag, and then made it on the plane. He met the pilot and got to play with the 'shooter thing' (i.e. the joystick) and actually moved the plane a bit. The flight attendants ate him up, and he got wings, coloring books, and of course- peanuts. He has pointed to everything in the sky since then and can't wait to get on another plane. In fact, he wasn't super thrilled that Jeff got to get on another one today and he didn't. 'It's not fair Mama.' Good luck rationalizing that one.

Coaching Basketball this Season

At the game last weekend a friend of one of the parents, who happens to be Madalyn's P.E. coach, took some pictures of the girls. The first one is of all the girls on my team that go to Tobias International Elementary School, and then of course Coach Holly in action during a time out. I thought they were pretty funny, and do I coach the cutest girls, or what? Could they be any more precious? All red and sweaty, hair all crazy- it's greatness. We're 3-0, good times!

Beck's First Day of Pre-school

Beck started his first day of pre-school at the Kid Ranch (seriously) in Kyle. It's a brand new facility that's really close to Madalyn's school. His morning got off to a rough start when Jeff tried to drop him off and Beck decided he was not ready after all. About twenty minutes of tears later, Jeff was able to pry him off his legs and get to work. I picked him up early, and of course he was totally fine after Jeff left and had a banner first day. He ate all of his lunch, took a good nap, and helped remind the other kids of the rules. WHAT?!?! Hum, I'm going to have to write that down I didn't think he even knew what those were.
There are currently 6 boys in his class. Bless Miss Norma.

Basketball Season in full swing

I thought it would be funny to put Bristol's new hanging skills to good use. Maybe a sign of things to come? A mother can dream.... that hoop is actually my old hoop from my parent's house that my Dad brought over to pass down to the next generation- and get out of thier backyard!
Madalyn and Beck are playing in the Jr.WNBA and Jr.NBA leagues in San Marcos again for the spring season. They are both doing so well I'm amazed. Beck has really matured and Madalyn is playing great offense as well as defense. I'll have to update with pics of them soon.

Raymond Kids - February 2008

The kids are always wanting to ham it up for the camera. These are a few I took of them playing on the playscape tonight. Bristol is very proud of his new trick of hanging on the swing bar and then dropping to the ground. It certainly seems like he's going to have a lot of upper body strength like Beck. He can hang for a long time! Julie, Mom and I were trying to teach him to put his arms in the air after his dismount, but to no avail.
Of course, Madalyn and Beck are just part monkey.

Cookie Sale Update

Madalyn is doing great with her cookie sales and officially reached her goal by selling the 200th box to Uncle Cody tonight during the game. Whoo hoo! We still have about 50 boxes to sell, but she is well on her way to being able to earn her way to an over-night stay at the Children's Museum or the Dell Diamond.
This is Reid, Jacqueline, Anna and Maddy selling hard this morning at the WalMart in Buda.

Hannah Montana Concert

Well, they were some of the hardest tickets to get around town, but thanks to Tara, we were able to take Madalyn to the Hannah Montana concert for her 8th birthday. She invited her friend Jacqueline, and Jac's mom, Sylvia, to go with us. We started the evening at Louie's 106 for dinner and then we were off to the Erwin Center for the show.
Aly and AJ were the opening act, and they were great. But no where near as good as Hannah Montana and then Miley Cyrus, since it was the Best of Both Worlds Tour. The show was amazing and I think I had just as much fun as the girls. I didn't know that screaming could be that loud and high-pitched, but it can and everytime that Hannah said she couldn't hear them- they actually COULD scream louder. Madalyn really enjoyed herself and we could barely drag her out of bed for school the next morning.
After much discussion with my friends, we're comparing it to the importance of going to the New Kids on the Block concert back in the day. Speaking of which - they are getting back together- maybe I can scream that much louder too. :)

Beck's 4th Birthday

For Beck's birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's the weekend before with just him, me and Julie. It was a lot of fun and he really liked this virtual game. Good times! For his birthday we went to Mom and Dad's house for homemade chilidogs, and they were awesome. We had a football cake and ice cream, and Beck was happy with his Fur Real parrot, Monster Truck rumble game (too perfect), and clothes. I think that his favorite thing was the can of Silly String that the kids ambushed Cody with.
He's doing great and will be starting a new day care on Monday, February 4th. We'll keep everyone posted.

Girl Scout Cookies are on the Way!!

Reading the blog? I'm sure we'll be contacting you to purchase some cookies after they go on sale this Saturday, the 19th at 9 a.m. Madalyn is ready for her first ever cookie selling season, so if you usually buy cookies during this time of the year please get some from her. Madalyn set a goal of selling 200 boxes - wish her luck! (We may be crazy!)

Madalyn turns 8!

I often feel old, especially with 30 approaching fast, but it was pretty clear that I am rapidly aging since Madalyn is now 8! We celebrated with cupcakes and cookies at school on Friday. We had a Girl Scout meeting on Saturday, and then dinner at Logan's per Maddy's request. Here are a few pics from dinner where we enjoyed the celebration and Madalyn loved being the center of attention at the restaurant. It was a Hannah Montana themed birthday, as Madalyn got tickets to the show in Austin next week. Tickets to the show complete with rock star outfit, wig, and guitar. Rock on!

Sunday Morning Fun

Here is a random picture from this morning that Jeff took while I was cooking breakfast- its the small things in life, right?

Makeovers continued

After the game, we took Brenah back to her house where the girls couldn't wait to use their face masks that they made at Libby Lu. I have no idea what was in that concoction, but it smelled really good. They got the boys to volunteer to be part of a makeover. Beck's face is classic.