MORE ANSWERS TO THE MYSTERY

This is better than compter games, and of course I am supposed to be working. I have figured a few things out, I think

The top says, "Caitlins Christmas and birthday list

1 - make up dress up
2 - barbies
3 - shoes (we haven-----something??????????)
4 - something lip gloss
5 - jewelry
6 - something clothes
7 - ????? (still working on it)
8 - DVD
9 - doll TV
10 - popstar
11 - posters
12 - ????????? (still working on it)
13 - mirror
14 - toy something
15 - pop something

That's all I got but I am spending more time on this puzzle.

Good luck all - hope I win

MOM

THE MYSTERY WISH LIST

The mystery wish list. Boy Heather and Mason you are good. I looked at your answers and could figure some of them out with what you wrote, but................... Of course I have been gone for so long I have no clue what kids want these days. I think I will print it out too and dad and I can look at it together and see what we can come up with. Cody and Chelsea and Caitlin, you are so cute with your wish lists. Caitlin, wow - you wanted 17 things, Santa would need a sleigh just for your things. Of course Cody would want computer games so he and Mason could play computer all day. Chelsea is just prim and proper and writes hers neatly on lined paper so everyone can read it (well sort of). Heather, I am sending you a little box before Christmas. In it are three kangaroo Christmas ornaments; one for your tree, one for Bo's tree and one for Casey's tree. I hope someone does go and put a tree on Casey's grave, but if you don't, then please just leave his ornament on his headstone. Hopefully no one will steal it. Last year dad and I put up a real tree, it was less expensive that way but a headache trying to get it to stand up straight. Bo and Heather, you can do what you want, or not do anything, whatever. We just wanted you to have the ornaments from Australia to remember our time here. Love you all - MOM

Heather and Mason's guesses

1. Make up and something
2. Barbies
3. no clue
4.dress up clothes
5.jewels
6.checkers
7.roxy stuff
8.dvd
9. doll tv
10.Pop Star
11. no clue
12. Watch
13. mirror
14. no clue
15 no clue

fill in the blanks for us! Let's see how much we got right.

decoding the wish list

I'm going to need a little help from Mason on Caitlin's wish list. I'll blog later and tell you what he thinks. I think I'll print it out.

Christmas wish lists from the Ray kids

So here are the christmas lists that the kids made this year. These are actually the second version because Caitlin accidentally threw away the first lists. My main purpose in posting them was to start a little competition and see who could translate the most on Caitlin's list. If you get the most correct, you will win a fabulous........ well nothing actually because you are going to have to wait until my husband makes a million dollars first before I buy you anything. Post your answers on the blog and I will post the translation next week. Have fun!!
Love, Cass

Here is Caitlin's list. There are actually 17 items on her list. Good luck. If you can read them the first time then you must have the mindset of a kindergartener.

This is Chelsea's list. She already got all the basketball stuff for her birthday.

This is Cody's. In his first draft he also had listed: a TV in my own room complete with satellite hook-up.

I tried to make them as dark as I could but they just don't look as good when I post them to the blog. Hopefully you can read them okay.

Time for us to come home

Okay Cassandra, I can tell it is time for nana and papa Ray to quit globe trotting and come home and help. Of course, as you know, we will still be a ways away, Washington DC, but that won't be for long and then we can help out. I am glad you are not working nights any more, you need your sleep and your kids need you. Enjoy them while they are young, because boy howdy do they grow up fast. We finished our last Thanksgiving abroad, we hope. We were alone thinking of our kids and grandkids in the states. Here is a picture of us at Thanksgiving, 2006, in Sydney, Australia.

The Post Office...Ptthththththththt Who Needs Em

So, we have spent the last 32 days living in complete misery and chaos because I went back to work at the post office. I was working 5 nights a week on the graveyard shift from 11:30pm to 8:00am - and sometimes 10:00am. The laundry hasn't been done in weeks, the house looks like monkeys live in it, and the children are all acting out because mom is gone at night and tries to sleep during the day. Since I still had to take Caitlin to kindergarten, Chelsea to dance and deal with scouts and stuff, I was lucky if I got in 3 hours of sleep a day. So Bo and I decided last night that enough was enough and we would have to make it another way. We decided that last night would be my LAST night working at the post office. I felt so relieved as I got ready for work and left the house at 11pm for the last time. I got to work a few minutes early so I could turn in my resignation. Of course they tried to talk me out of it because they are so desparate for people right now and I was starting to consider staying on with cut back hours during the day. Then, there was one last thing. One of the supervisors asked me if I had another pair of shoes in my car. I told her "no". She then proceeded to tell me that the shoes I was wearing, ( a pair of those furry, mocassin, clog thingies that Heather gave me) were a safety hazard because they didn't have a strap across the back. I told her they were the same pair of shoes I had been wearing every night all month. She then told me that I couldn't clock in for the night until I went home to change my shoes. So I told them that if I had to go home to change my shoes, that I would not come back. So here I am now, writing in this blog during the time I usually spend as my lunch hour because I was not about to come home and change my shoes.

So if you are sitting at home this weekend, wondering where your letters and packages are that you were expecting,-- they will be late--, because the BEST and FASTEST keyer in the world has now quit the post office (for the third time) and is NEVER going back. I would suggest switching to email. Good night.

The beginning

This is the mother, Cheryl Ray, first starting this post to get her kids to start posting information about their lives, etc. and to get input regarding things of interest by anyone. Here is our info:

We are living in Sydney, Australia, and have been since April 3, 2006. We will stay until April of 2007 and we will transfer to Washington DC where I will work and Kelly will look for work. We have enjoyed our time in Sydney, but it is way too expensive to live here on one salary. We feel cheated that the US Consulate here would not hire Kelly, even as a veteran. I guess we weren't meant to stay here long, but feel grateful we were able to live here for at least one year. We will be selling our house in North Salt Lake, Utah, and for what we can get out of it, we will probably only be able to buy a small townhouse in Virginia. Oh well, we have always be adventurous so why not now. I hope to keep this blog going and hope my kids and grandkids will write in it. Here is a picture of me and Kelly one night on the town in Sydney.