News crews closely followed the Alexander’s in 1995. It has been a year of growing the herd. What started out in January as Sam, Beth, and David , ended in December as a family of six. Durbin, the Palomino Quarter Horse, was adopted in January, Then, in May, David’s Father added an Australian Blue Heeler pup. They named the pup Roo, which is short for Kangaroo. Those who know Roo, don’t have to ask if she acts like a kangaroo. Then, on October 12^th, God blessed the family with a 5lb, 15oz baby girl. And in keeping with the traditional method of naming, when was quickly dubbed, "Cheese Head". After a day or so, they elected to change it to Avery Arianna.

The arrival of Avery was somewhat anti-climactic. David was preparing for the usual midnight madness when the water breaks and you search for the hospital bag. Secretly, he was just looking forward to the excitement of a potential police escort. It didn’t work out that way. Beth and David had gone in for a regular checkup when Dr. Mendez decided to do some more tests. Avery had not grown much in the last 2 weeks, so the doctor decided they shouldn’t wait till the 10/15 due date. "We were given our last night of freedom, and told to report promptly at 7:30 the next morning" said David. "The 14 hours of labor were not too bad after the drugs showed up about half way through." As soon as the doc gave Beth the thumbs up, Avery put up no struggle, and came sliding on out in a couple of pushes.

Avery quickly became the Princess of Quail Creek and the Duchess of Milk Mountains (left and right). As this newsletter goes to print, Avery is already at 11 pounds and speaking a foreign language (scientists are presently unsure what language it is). David and Beth know they have been blessed with an Angel.

Camp Alexander had a real workout in August with the Family Convention. Everyone had a wonderful visit when Tom, Mary Anne, and their kids Kelsey, Max, and Taylor came to spend a week in Southlake. Jean and Lee also joined the convention for a long weekend bringing along Andrew and Kathleen. They did the usual Texas style activities with horseback riding, a rodeo, and greasy barbecue. But the most fun was just hanging out by the pool playing with the kids and catching up on family time.

Part of the fun of country living is baby-sitting… or horsesitting. David’s sister also spent most of 1995 with a bun in the oven, and got to the point where she could no longer devote the needed time for her buckskin quarterhorse "Buck". So, Beth volunteered her top wrangler to the job of horse trainer. Buck was only about 2 years old when Ann became pregnant, and had only recently been broke (Buck, not Ann). Young horses tend to quickly forget how to ride if they are not ridden frequently. Also, Buck had little experience riding outside of the training arena, so the creeks and rocks around Lake Grapevine suddenly became monsters when Buck saw them. Roo learned a valuable lesson when she got a little too close to the business end of Buck’s hoof. Buck got fed up with Roo nipping at his heels one day, and performed some free dental work. The loss of 5 teeth has not changed the ways of the recently dubbed, "Extreme Puppy."

Most of the vacation time was spent with the baby, but the Alexander’s did manage to squeeze in one quick vacation to Hawaii. David had a business trip scheduled in Honolulu, so Beth flew out a few days early to hang out with some friends. Too bad Beth was carrying Avery, so she wasn’t able to dive, even though Japanese tourists mistook her for a beached Humpback Whale. All their dive buddies were either out of town, or had moved, so David was only able to take in one boat dive. They did some great hikes, snorkeling, and lots of visiting with friends.

That’s it for this edition of The Camp Advisor. We hope you will continue your subscription through the New Year. Until then…

Merry Christmas Yall!!