R-A-Y-M-O-N-D, Raymond, Raymond, Yippee!

Dear William, Ryrie, Owen, Tommy, and Georgie:
We are moving in just a little over a week from our wonderful town of Raymond. Our family has lived here for the last 8 years. William and Ryrie, you were only George's age when we moved here! Owen, Tommy, and George, you were all born while living here in Raymond. You were toddlers and preschoolers and now three of you are school-age children here.
Our first home in Raymond--40 South, 100 East

When we first moved to Raymond, we didn't know anyone here except Brother and Sister Stone, who helped hire us. Now, 8 years later, we know hundreds of people, and they know us. When we go to the Merc (grocery store), the pharmacy, the library, the school, the gas station, or the post office, people talk to you and ask how you are, and smile at you. When we walk in to the parent link center, you get to give and receive hugs from the wonderful people there.
We can get everywhere we want to by walking. When we first moved here, Will and Ry, I would load you up in the double stroller and push you everywhere. We often visited Daddy at the seminary building, where you always asked for a candy and saw some of his students. We explored out to "the T" a road that leads out of Raymond and contains lots of fields, cows, and horses--sometimes ducklings and Canada geese, and other birds--and the opposite way on the "Red Shale Path or Green Strip" on the south part of the town. We found and played at all the playgrounds--something Owen, Tommy, George and I have also done.
Will and Ry:


Every Wednesday at 10:30 we went to the library for story time with Mrs. Coates. She always reads a big stack of books on a particular topic and then has a fun craft to go along with it. The librarian would ask, "are William and Ryrie still into dinosaurs?" Because for about a year, those were the only books you wanted to check out. Then you moved on to trains. Then it was ninja turtles and bionicles, and now when you go you only look for hockey books. :-)
Every Thursday morning forever and recently Friday mornings we went to Stay and Play at the parent link center. At first it was located across from the post office in a small space. There weren't many other young moms at that time, but we made a few friends that we got to know. Mrs. McMullin and later Mrs. Keeler became surrogate grandmothers who have made a welcoming environment away from our house to go to year-round. We've loved making messes and playing together there. I have learned how to be a better mom from the classes I've attended there and the examples I have seen there.
Owen:


In the summertime we enjoyed the Raymond pool--at the old pool we had a harder time going swimming together because the water was deep and it was scary, but the new pool has been a lot of fun with water slides, water of varying depth, and always friends that we know to play with no matter when we go. There are also nice warm showers which you enjoy spending a good portion of the time in since you are all always cold when we go swimming there. :-)
In the winter we went sledding at the golf course hill (the only hill in town), or sometimes you went to our neighbors and sledded down their little hill by the sidewalk. Starting last year, I took you to shinny hockey 2 times a week where you suit up in your hockey gear and play hard for an hour or so with other kids of your same ability.
We've had many interesting trips to Lethbridge over the years. We've never broken down en route, but I've locked you in and me out while recycling (when you were little and couldn't get out of your car seats to unlock the door), our car has died in the parking lot, and we have been blocked by a train a few times coming home. I've had to time the trips we take in for groceries or banking, or fun around lunch time and nap time. Trying to keep us all awake on drives home from Lethbridge has been interesting--singing, listening to the radio, and trying to reach back and tickle whichever child is handiest.
Our ward at church has become like a family to us. I still remember the first day we stood up in church as the newest ward members. We were sitting near the front. I was holding one of you twins, and Dad was holding the other. You were shy and didn't want to go to anyone in the ward. This took you many years to get over, but they still loved you and the primary children were all good to you. They didn't make fun of you when you were too shy to give your primary part or when I gave your scripture or talk in primary because you wouldn't say a word. Owen had a different personality. When he started walking, he would walk down the aisle and find his friend Mitch (our home teacher)and sit on his lap for the rest of the meeting.
Tommy:

The first family to invite us over for dinner also became our favorite babysitters--the Drew family. Stephanie, Holly, and Julie and Jennifer all babysat you over the years. You've had wonderful primary teachers, nursery leaders, and cub leaders who have loved and guided you so well the whole time we've lived here. We will miss the Raymond 3rd Ward, and they will miss you!
When we go trick-or-treating, my visiting teachers and Grandma Kaye (across the street) always have a special treat saved for you. My visiting teachers have visited us and helped with our first move, brought you amazing treats, brought baby gifts and birthday gifts and remembered every holiday, helped with cleaning and bringing meals, and lifting my spirits the entire time we have lived here. We will miss Sister Bullock and Sister Yawney and all the love they have given us.
George:

Grandma Kaye and Grandpa Jack (the Coppieters) were our first neighbors in Raymond and helped us in many ways. I still remember pulling up to our first house in Raymond in the middle of July, hot and tired, with two little boys in the backseat and a full moving van. Eva Kaye came over almost immediately with some cold juice and cups. She must have known we had no idea where in the truck our cups were. :-) Our next-door neighbor now has given me probably a dozen eggs over the years of me borrowing--and probably that many cups of flour and tablespoons of yeast! Grandma Mary has been a wonderful neighbor to us. Whenever you return what we borrowed (when she will accept it), she gives you enough suckers for the whole family, twice over.


I hope you older four boys will remember this house that we live in. It has been a really fun house. The big family room has been used to play hockey, run to music, practice piano, build forts, make car town cities with books and car towns and train tracks and lincoln logs, watch movies on the big wall, and have many birthday parties and joy school sessions. The upstairs rooms have been fun with the sloping ceilings and connecting bedrooms. You have loved parachuting your monkeys and other toys off the landing and down the stairs and you have also liked sliding down the stairs. The laundry chute has been an interest to you all and there was just the one incident of Will and Ry locking up Owen and Thomas in the bottom of it. The basement has been your romping room, with floor hockey and the jumparoo and dress ups down there. You also love playing hide and seek all over inside and outside, and playing spy games where you run in and out of the four entries to the house and outside in the shed and clubhouse dad made you. We've had fun gardening in our square foot gardens and robbing the strawberry and raspberry bushes. Our slip and slide and little pool and sandbox and swingset and tramp have offered hours of fun all year.
Our Second Home in Raymond--67 South, 100 East

Boys, I hope you look back at these 8 years as a joyful growing up time. We have all grown so much here in this town and learned so much from the wonderful examples of the people who live here. We have loved Raymond and we will miss it! Luckily we will be living in Lethbridge--very close--and can come back for a visit anytime.