This Week

You will need to get used to "house updates"- sorry but that seems to be the major project (if you don't count- the store, the Petes moving, and Ron going back to work part time :) This week, they finished the forms for the foundation and put in the plumbing. (Looks like they might be pouring the foundation about April 22 and starting the framing about a week after that.

April 11

Today...I am still celebrating my Dad and missing him. I'm really wishing he was here to help on our house building project. I hope he is proud of it when we are finished- although he wouldn't appreciate how much money we are spending :) I think he might appreciate our builder though, maybe a carpenter after his own heart. After we move in, I'll have one of Dad's cowboy hats hanging near the front door. I'll be missing him every time I drive past a golf course, near Bridlegate. And I'll be missing him as we enjoy the wildlife, trees, and river there. (Of course that area is "Texas style" nature instead of "Red Feather Lakes style" nature :)
Dad would have been 82 today.

No Turning Back Now :)

We had a great weekend! They started putting up the forms for the foundation of the house. We had an official ground breaking ceremony, thanks to the Andersons, and including the Petes. We spent the weekend in Bridlegate, Bandera, Texas. I had lots of pics. to share, so I put together a few collages, to save space :)

(Remember, you can click on the collages, to make them bigger)

 They started, Saturday morning, building the forms for the foundation. 

(the foundation won't be as tall as some of those forms :)

 Saturday morning, at the property with the Andersons.

 A few pictures from the ranch house that we stayed in. It had four bedrooms- four bathrooms- two queen beds and three sets of bunk beds. (Two of the bunk beds had a full size bed on the bottom and twin size on the top.) There is also a tennis court there and exercise room. On Saturday, with the kids, we played Easter egg hunt, tennis, bubbles, swimming, and some other outdoor games. Ron and I went to Wal Mart on Friday evening and came out with a cart full of toys for Saturday. We also met Sam and Audrey at an HEB and came out with two carts of groceries. Saturday was a great day, just staying there in Bridlegate, so that some of the kids and grand kids could begin to experience, what will be, our new neighborhood.We had a yummy dinner on Saturday night, including steaks (that Sam cooked), mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and watermelon. Ron got to wake up each morning to Don Williams music playing and bacon cooking.
(He said, "You can't get any better than that.")

 A few other pictures of Bridlegate. 

There is a park where the river flows- but still no water behind our property :(

 The Andersons planned an official ground breaking ceremony- 

complete with gold shovels and sparkling juice.

It was a happy weekend. 

(The only chance for the Petes to see where we are moving, before they move :)

(And the Andersons need to find the shortest route between Wylie and Bandera :) 

So that they can come back often.

It's Official

We have a builders sign in the front of the lot.

And we are the proud owners of 113 pages of official "legal terms", for a construction loan. (No thought of saving paper from Fema, the government, or the bank :) For example...it took 2 pages, just to say that we will actually live in the house, after it is built. It was one of those documents that no one can actually read all of it, just sign it and then find out what's in it :) 
It's kind of funny to get a loan, for money that we already have- but if we actually get our money to use, the government takes more than a third of it for taxes. Our money can actually earn more money, than the interest rate on the loan. We also had to buy flood insurance, since part of our property is in a flood plane. Keep in mind that only a small part of the property has river on it- some times the river is completely dry and the house will actually sit about 40 feet above any flood area. But we still had to pay money to get an official elevation certificate, then buy flood insurance, then later, we will pay money for a second survey, then file a form saying that we don't actually need flood insurance on the home, then get reimbursed for the flood insurance that we had to buy, that we don't really need. (Does this give you an idea of how Fema and our government functions? :)

Anyway... the official time for the builder to begin is 7 am on Thursday, April 4. (we had to get yet another form notarized, with an exact start time on it :) Yesterday, Ron spent some time breaking up some rocks with a sledge hammer, while I went to San Antonio, to shop for floor and wall tile. (Ron and the builder also met with a gentlemen to figure out details on a geothermal heat and air system)

Sam, Audrey, and Eli are meeting us there this next weekend for an official ground breaking ceremony. hehe

Easter Fun

 Here are a few pictures from Easter weekend- 

colored eggs, plastic egg caterpillars, egg pictures, sugar cookies, and Easter baskets. I did most of these activities with Hailey and Jaden on Friday. Ashley didn't get a whole day to herself, but at least she spent a little time shopping with just Mason. Ron also had the kids plant flower seeds in the yard. And they spent alittle time in the wading pool. Ron didn't want to eat any Easter eggs that were looking at him :) We glued little google eyes on them after the coloring festivities :)

Mason especially enjoyed his Easter bucket. He is at a fun age, where he can sit up and play with many of his toys now. He also loves to eat his cereal, veggies and fruits. He almost always has a big smile on his face.

 

Here are the cookies that I frosted...

Here are the cookies that the kids frosted....

 or maybe it was the other way around. hehe

Not Quite Easter

...but some new church clothes for Hailey and Jaden.

(Besides, I needed a new post :) 

Savannah Blessing

I have to admit, these pictures look better than what reality was. The way Annie put it, "It wasn't an ideal weekend, but it was, what to was". We almost postponed at the last minute,  but since we had travel plans and Mike and Carrie had travel travel plans we decided to go ahead. Alex had been sick for a couple of weeks with a staph infection- to make a long story short- by Sunday morning he was back in the ER. I was sick at our motel (probably brought a nasty stomach bug from home). Carrie was sick at their motel. Ron helped Annie get the boys and Savannah to church. Mike got his boys ready and went to sacrament meeting. (They had to head back home about noon- with Mike feeling somewhat ill at that point) Annie and Alex got permission to do the blessing at home at 12:30 on Monday. Then Annie had to take us to the airport about 1:10. Good thing the Santa Barbara airport is small and close.

Some of the good points of the weekend- besides the blessing- was the Simms boys and the Thompson boys got to play with each other. We had alittle outing to the SB zoo on Saturday afternoon. Ron spent almost all of his time on Friday, Saturday, and Monday morning, building a tree house in the back yard. The CA weather was magnificent. Savannah is a little angel and a miracle- Alex says that a Simms girl is only born every 64 years :)