Christmas, 1998

Executive Summary -

Allie – New addition born April 1^st, 1998

Avery – May organize the worlds first trampoline wedding

Beth – Still trying to convince David that watching the kids on Tuesday nite is NOT babysitting!

David – Can haul his horse and 3 of his horse friends in new trailer

Sam – Losing her hearing, but still spunky at dinner

Roo – Lost some weight during the summer, but still thinks she is a pig.

Ham – Still is a pig, and growing tusks to prove it.

Durban – Taking refresher course in round pen work and safe trailering

Trooper – Red quarterhorse who enjoys $5 a bale imported hay while staying at Camp Alexander

Alice Grace

As many of you who follow Camp activities closely know, a bright and shining Angel joined the clan on April 1^st, 1998. Alice Grace Alexander the beautiful girl, was transformed in an instant from Gordon Philip the boy. What,.. "how can that be"?,.. you ask. Did the Alexander’s not know that a baby girl was forthcoming? The short answer is no, Beth and David told the doctors not to tell them what it was. So, Beth used her own scientific methods involving a pencil, needle and string (call for details). Even the doctor did not know for sure as he "avoided that area" during the ultrasound. He said he was afraid to know too much and risk accidentally telling us. So, fully expecting a boy, the name Gordon Philip was chosen. Of course a backup girl name had been tossed around, but not expected to come to print.

The Wedding Singer

This year, Beth didn’t take her annual "girl vacation" to Vegas with her friends from Hawaii. Instead, she took the whole family to the wedding of one the aforementioned friends. But wait, if you’re thinking, "great, they went to Hawaii", you would be wrong. This particular friend has moved to Tucson, Arizona, and the wedding was in July. However, Texas was in

the middle of a severe heat wave, so it was simply a low humidity version of home. Now that you have

been properly setup, Ill move on to the point. This was the second wedding that Avery had seen. In the spring, she went to April and Pat’s wedding, and was in total amazement. After returning from Arizona, all Avery wanted to talk about for a week was the wedding and how her wedding would be just a wonderful. She has a pretend bride dress, with all the trimmings that she loves to parade in. (Makes David really nervous)

In the News

Back in the spring, environmentalist protesting the destruction of the natural habitat of the Texas variety of Poison Ivy overran Camp Alexander. David had just begun construction of a new playground under the trees in the main pasture. The master plan included a plastic barrier, a load of gravel, and 9 yards of wood chips to keep vegetation such as poison ivy and grass burrs from returning to the site. Unfortunately, David was unaware that a covert group of environmentalists has placed a wiretap at checkout number 7 of the local Home Depot. News of the playground plan spread quickly, and a group of protesters marched on Camp Alexander holding hands and singing, "your gonna need an ocean….dun da dun da dun…. of calamine lotion…. You’ll be scratchin like a hound…. The minute you start to mess around…. with poison ivy, poison ivy, poison ivy." However, David was undeterred, and the playground was completed on schedule and under budget without a single incident. He simply explained that kiddy cushion (wood chips) absorb greenhouse gasses, and that all the swinging, sliding, and trampoline jumping, and other party activities would produce lots of this, and other types of gas.

Trooper Scoop

Camp Alexander took on a new tenant this summer with the addition of "Trooper". A new friend of Camp Alexander, Greg Isaacson, worked out a great deal to lease the horse and board it at Camp Alexander. He needed some training (Trooper, not Greg), but is perfect for whoopin up trail rides around the lake.

Heavy Haulin

Al, what we need here is more power. In the true spirit of Tim Taylor and all those like him, David got more power this fall with a way cool 4x4 Ford crew cab diesel. Perfect for hauling Camp critters and even a guest now and then. But wouldn’t ya know, when you get a bigger truck, you MUST get a bigger trailer, so David went shopping. What he found was that because of the drought, horse trailers were really cheap, and buyers were really getting more for their money… So he got more.

It’s Always Somthing

In September, Avery and Allie’s daycare center in Solana decided they did not want to have a daycare in Solana anymore. So, they called all the parents to a "special" meeting and said, "you have 30 days to find another daycare." Beth contacted an agency who found only one place within 20 miles that had room for them both. It just happened to be the remodeled, new owner daycare that Avery had attended before! Beth and David heard through the grapevine that the new owners were doing a much better job. Plus, they didn’t have much choice, so the kids got a new daycare. Now, the news is another Christian based company has decided to open another daycare at the Solana location. Stay tuned for exciting details as this real-life drama unfolds.

The Church Family

Beth and David are still singing in the choir at Fellowship United Methodist. David is in his 3^rd year on the Pastor Parish Relations committee, and Beth is in her second year on Administrative Council. Beth is also the head of the Member Care committee, and started a Stephen Ministry this summer. While Beth was in San Antonio for a week training for the ministry, David got to play Mr. Mom. Don’t worry, they all survived and nothing even caught on fire the whole week. (at least there’s no proof to the contrary) Even though Avery has been singing to herself and small audiences for quite sometime, she finally has decided to make an official career out of it. So, when she turned 3 she joined the children’s choir at Church.

The Alexanders tried their hand at senior high Sunday School last year and had a great time. So, they thought, "how much different could 4^th and 5^th grade be"? OK, you can stop laughing now. Yes, it is very different. David mistakenly thought that he could negotiate peace when disruption broke out… WRONG!@!#&. There is no negotiation. It is a total dictatorship, or it is total anarchy. In case you didn’t know.

Part-time for Beth

After the birth of Allie, Beth decided to begin working part-time at Merrill Lynch. While on maternity leave the girls made a historical trek to Charleston South Carolina to watch Brother/Uncle Rob graduate from profusionist school. Then off to Hotlanta (6 hours in a car with "no air") for a few days then back to an anxious Daddy in Southlake. After maternaty, she started working Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. However, due to some changes in the daycare program (see article in this issue), she changed to working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she sits by the pool sipping margaritas and listening to Jimmy Buffet music. Motherhood suits her!

1st Christmas in Texas

This will be the first year that Camp Alexander has remained in operation through Christmas. Many new traditions will be in the making, so if a visit from you is to become tradition, better make plans!! The Alexander family spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta, and had a wonderful time. Avery played with all her Georgia cousins, and basically took over Nana and Dadee’s house.

Surfer Alert~

Next time your out surfin the web, don’t forget to stop by the only official site of Camp Alexander. Forget those cheap imitations! The address is: http://home1.gte.net/david The webmaster has advised that anyone who visits without signing the guestpage will be sent a computer virus that will take over your screen saver and flash "I am an inconsiderate Surfer" on your terminal.