As another exciting year is about to end, the Southlake Sentinel is proud to publish the exclusive story on David and Beth Alexander, and their adventure in 1994. When we last reported, the Alexanders were in the process of moving from the ordinary life of Aiea, Hawaii to our beautiful, scenic town of Southlake, Texas. They had to live in a small rented apartment in the business center of Los Colinas for a few months while they came to their senses and concluded that Southlake IS paradise, and that they MUST live here.

Immediately after purchasing their home at 904 Quail Creek Ct., just off the south side of Lovely Lake Grapevine, the Alexanders began construction on their swimming pool (see article below). There was also building the fence around the pool, and much painting to do. The above expenses precluded any extravagant vacations, so they opted to vacation around the pool all summer. They did indulge themselves with a fall vacation to Florida where they visited with friends and family, spent some time on the beach, and, after all the work on the house,.. where did they want to go?;...to Disney World of course.

Beth and David settled into their new jobs in Los Colinas, and began to make new friends. They joined a volleyball league, and began attending the Fellowship United Methodist Church where Beth sings in the Choir. In late October, Beth decided to transfer to the Merrill Lynch office in Fort Worth. For those of you who have visited recently, you probably noticed the lovely new sofa and loveseat delivered just in time for Christmas. Christmas will be spent in Atlanta with Beth's family, and they will return to Southlake just in time for New Years day.

That wraps up our "Year in Review" section. Please stay with us throughout the rest of the Christmas edition of the Southlake Sentinel to get more skinny on the Alexanders.

Somehow, the Alexanders survived the subcontractor gauntlet and now have a beautiful swimming pool. Many stories have been told of this exciting adventure, but one story really sticks out. The design of the pool is very natural, with odd shaped rocks, and a free-flowing deck. So, David and Beth had told the Contractor to trim with pool with natural stones broken in various shapes. "NO SAW," was stressed to the stone mason. You guessed it, Beth came home from work one day only to discover a group of Mexican laborers huddled around a stone saw carving out piles of perfectly square stones! Obviously, Beth's Spanish is not quite good enough to explain the problem to the workers, so the General Contractor had to come out to have them start over. The head Mexican was so apologetic when he arrived at the job, he used the saw to carve out a stone in the shape of Texas to place at the head of the pool. In total, the Stone Masons placed almost 20,000 pounds of Stones and boulders. The pool turned out to be just what the hot summer ordered. The sand colored plaster, and stone waterfall cascading into a shallow lagoon at the end of the pool was but a brief return to the waters of Hawaii. Too bad the end of summer has transformed the favored party place of sun-seeking humans, to a collector of fallen leaves.

The "Sandblasters" volleyball team came in fourth place in the Fall league. OK, you ask, who the heck are they? The Sandblasters are one of many beach volleyball teams that frequent the Long Branch Country Club on Thursday nights for some serious spike-it-up action. They are also home to semi-non-professional V-Ball players David and Beth Alexander. Let's all cheer for the Sandblasters in the coming Spring League!

Southlake is not the destination resort that their Hawaii home was, but it's lots closer for most people. Once the Alexanders got settled into their new house, Southlake had a great year for guests at "Camp Alexander," as one guest has named it. Many of you who have visited Camp Alexander may have become attached to the old Victorian Charm of an antique saffron house. If this is true, we regret to inform you that the Alexanders have repainted the exterior of the main house with a soft, Newport blue base, white trim, with a deep navy accent around the windows. Of course, if you hated the stupid yellow eyesore, you may be somewhat excited upon your next visit to Camp.

If there is one member of the Alexander Family that enjoys the country life, it has to be Sam. While in Hawaii, Sam's favorite friend was the Gecko. If you just mentioned the word "Gecko," Sam would assume that you had seen one, and would scour the walls and baseboard to find it. Now she patrols the yard for squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, and even a stray cat that moved into the barn recently. While in the house, she maintains a vigilant watch to ensure the absolute safety of Camp Alexander at all times. According to camp director David Alexander, "The rabbits get lots of exercise when Sam goes outside."

Meet the new Job, same as the old Job? Not in the case of Merrill Lynch's hot "shott" Sales Associate, Beth Alexander who just landed a new position in the Downtown Fort Worth office. Beth had been working in the Los Colinas office since arriving in Dallas in January. Then she heard about a position in another office working for a big-time Stock Broker named Shott Miller who works out of the Fort Worth office. You guessed it, he recognized talent and snatched her up. Beth has adjusted to the additional drive, but in an exclusive interview with the Southlake Sentinel, said that her actual drive time is quite comparable due to the reduction in traffic. Beth also claims to be extremely happy with her new boss, and her new co-workers. Way to go Beth!

The Staff of the Southlake Sentinel would like to wish you and yours a very safe and happy, holiday season. May the Christmas season bring you all the joy in the world, and make 1995 your best year EVER!