And there's little Mr. Zachy over to the side, 10 seconds before the picture was snapped, Zachy was behind us giving us bunny ears. Look how big our boy is getting. I have said over and over and will continue to say, this boy has brought so much love, joy, happiness and laughter to our lives and to our family. Last year when he turned 11 he told us he was a "pre-pre teen" so I guess now he's a "pre-teen" and all the signs are there that being a teenager is the next step on our journey, but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, he just turned 12 today, let's enjoy the year 12 journey first!!! I'll tell you a little bit about our relationship, I woke up at 6:00 this morning (unheard of!) and basically laid in bed (going down memory lane in my mind) and was waiting until 7:30 when I thought it would be okay to call and sing the Happy Birthday song to him. At 7:20 the phone rings, it's Matty, I sing his song and tell him that I was laying in bed waiting for 7:30 so I could call him and he said "Grammy I've been waiting for 20 minutes for you to call me!" He knows he can count on his Grammy and his Grammy knows he loves me and that a "lovie" and a kiss are always there for me!!! Oh Happy Day!
The Richmond's have been very busy lately and the next couple of months prove to be equally jam packed!!! Towards the end of March we went on a week long trip to Disneyland. Kenny and I, Mike, Matt, Joe, Zach & Benji and their Mom, Jenn. We'd started planning this trip in January and picked the week we went because the kids and Jenn were all on spring break. Basically the month of March was a filled with rain, but we were going to LA where it seldoms rains and the temperatures right up until the day we left had been in the mid 70's. Well, it does rain in LA, and it rained nearly every day we were at Disneyland. BUT - we had a GREAT TIME!! I had "Googled" - "What do you do when it rains at Disneyland?" before we left. The answer was "Put on a poncho and have a great time!" And that's exactly what we did. Some of us did have shoes that filled with water (Mike) and sleeves that were soaked from below the poncho down to our fingertips (all of us). But all in all, it will always be part of our story of Disneyland. Benji our little 4 year old grandson went on Thunder Mountain Railroad like 8 times, always in the rain - shouting "Bring It On!" the whole way! Mike, Matt & Zach went on California Screamin' (a huge roller coaster over in California Adventures) 3 times and would've gone over and over if they'd had the chance, I think everyone but me went on the Matterhorn and had a great time. We saw the beautiful fireworks show, had delicious ice cream cones, pushed Matt around in a wheelchair 1 day because his ankles hurt, went on the Roaring Rapids ride, saw the Aladdin show and wished we could've seen that one again!! We went on The Pirates of the Carribean ride and all the kids thought it was "boring" - which it was - we waited in lines, ate popcorn & churros & ice creams, walked back and forth to our motel, rested on some of the many benches and sitting areas, rode the train and really had a wonderful time. Jenn took plenty of pictures, I took some and I took some short videos. I will try and figure out how to get some of the pictures on here. Memories that will last forever!!! To the left you will see a video. This is a song that they played when the Disneyland fireworks were over - I loved the song and Mike was able to find it on youtube.com ~ One of the other things that I love about it is that it is introduced by Jiminy Crickett and he's my most favorite Disney character and I wasn't able to find any souvenir of him, so Mike finding this song was perfect!!!
When we got back Erik called and asked if Chloe could spend a few days as she was going to be on her spring break the coming week. I said "Yes!" of course. Chloe was nervous about doing this because Cyrah would not be with her. Cyrah is doing an internship down at the California Academy of Sciences and got a wonderful opportunity to tour southern California colleges (all expenses paid) for the spring break week. So, Chloe was going to have to be here alone! She had a few rough moments at bedtime but other than that she had a great time. She got to play with her 2nd cousin Julia (my niece Gena's little girl) they are 2 days apart in age. We had Benji over and she and Benji had a great time in the hot tub and playing MarioKart on the Wii. And for me personally, to just be with her for an extended amount of time was great. I read to her at bedtime, brushed her hair (it's long and silky) watched Secretariat and Tangled with her. But one moment stands out in my mind, I read one of her books to her and then asked her if she would like me to read one of my favorite books that I had when I was a little girl. She said yes and so I went and got my book and read it to her. The book is like 60 years old and falling apart but I read it to Chloe and looked into her beautiful eyes as I read it to her and cherished the moment. She wasn't too thrilled with the book but it was a special, special time for me.
On Monday night Zach had his 1st Little League game for this year. He's in the Peanuts this year and Mike is his coach. His team is the Mets. Zach was very excited, as soon as we got there he started waving and turned around to show us that he is #13. This is Zach's first year on a real field with dugouts. He played in the outfield and he played catcher. He got a hit off the pitching machine every time he was up, it was the best Little League experience that Zach has had. Matt & Joe will both play at the same time on Friday night and Saturday. It works out pretty good for us because we can watch both games from one spot. It's going to be a busy couple of months ~ So, let the games begin!!
We've finally had a few nice days around here and Benji and I were out working in the yard last Saturday. He's working on a special surprise and so I took some pictures so we can have a record of his progress. He's very excited about this surprise. He's also taking karate now and loves to do his kicks and punches while jumping on the trampoline. He is so ready for school. He just turned 4 and he's telling everyone "When I am 5 I get to go to kindergarten!" He's got a bit of a wait but he's excited. If you scroll all the way to the end of my blog you will see pictures of Benji working on his project.
I am very, very pleased to report that my husband Kenny is really doing better in his recovery from his heart surgery. He still gets tired but he's playing golf every chance he gets and walking on days when he doesn't golf. He got some new golf clubs and tonight he's off to golf with his friends in a golf league that he's golfed in for years. So I'm pretty encouraged, it's been a long almost 9 months but we're making it through!!!
As for me, it's Spring and hope springs eternal for me that this year my flower beds will look nice and our yard will look nice throughout the summer. Hope springing eternal is really a good phrase for me to use, my yard is usually at whatever peak it can be by Memorial Day, then more heat comes, the need to use less water to water with and the yard becomes a giant clothes line with wet towels all over the place, goggles, squirt guns, tubes, you name it. What's the trade off?? A very nice yard and no kids or grandkids visiting OR a messy yard with kids and grandkids having a great time at Grammy's & Grumps house??? A no brainer but still I try!!! Maybe this year will be the year that I get all the plants that I buy planted and then the hope that they'll grow - Hope Springs Eternal!!!
Well, this has been a very long post, I was being harassed by one of my children, Mike, to be exact, that I hadn't written anything since March 9th and we had actually done something!!! So, here it is Mike!! Our family is well and active and we all have things we're looking forward to in the summer months, so onward & upward!!!
My thought to leave you with this time is: Making memories, we can all do it in the simplest of ways but the making of them stays with us forever!!!
Until next time . . .
