Some recent pictures!

Picture of Katie in the river at Laity Lodge for Outdoor Education three day camp out! Sept. '07






This was Katie's spring picture in 5th grade so you can see how grown up she is getting. She has since gotten contact lenses and it has really changed her appearance even more.

I know, I know. . .It's about time!!!

Well, hi all! I know, long time no blog but life in the fast lane is just like that. Wish I could say my fast lane included some place other than Kerrville, Ingram, San Antonio. Lisa and Jason have been to Hong Kong, Thailand, Brazil, Cannes France, Prague, and Turkey in the last two months so mine is pretty boring. But, hey, it's mine! School has been going well. Katie is in 6th grade now and seems to love school. It is the first time she has been with the kids from all of the 4 elementarys in town. It has widened her scope of friends. She has her 12th birthday coming up next week which is hard to believe.Not sure where my baby has gone!

Work at the hospital is good! I reaped the benefit of the discount when Paul had a CT scan last week at half price and I got a free flu shot. Seems to have made it all worth while. Paul is fine by the way. Just checking on some plumbing problems that can be fixed with medication.

My work at Head Start / Pre-K is good. Some of my work has been delegated to others so I can take on new work. It's always nice to have a change and my days feel more productive. I am getting to work with our infant / toddler program and that is always fun! I don't mind being adored! The hugs are great and I had forgotten what cute things they say.

I am also PTO President for Katie's 6th grade campus this year. My first real PTO experience. I have a great board and these ladies have LOTS of experience. I have a career but these ladies have a career in PTO. Wow! You just turn them lose and it gets done.

I'll be up in Amarillo a week from this Friday and I can't wait. Four days off (I'm taking Friday through Monday off), staying with my BFF Donna and painting with Rosemary West. Could anything be any better? Since I haven't been any further north than Austin, east to San Antonio and west to Ingram / Hunt --I feel like I'm really traveling this time. Just hope I don't freeze to death! A few times the temp has dropped to the teens but we are going to hope for the beautiful Fall weather we've had here in South Texas.
Better close! Happy Fall! Having trouble adding pictures tonight so will try again later. Let me hear from you all.

Catching up!!!

I've caught a lot of grief this week from two of my friends for not updating our blog for 2 1/2 months!! Guess I have had end of school burn out but here it is, better late than never. My Amarillo buddy, Donna Phipps, is here visiting and painting at the Art Foundation in Ingram and it's been great having her here! She has been braving South Central Texas heat with no A/C (except at night). It has really been on the cool side, particularly today, since we keep getting rain and rain and rain! Our A/C has gone out and can be fixed to the tune of $6800.00!!! We are considering doing without this summer.
Katie leaves for Camp Honey Creek for Girls in Hunt on July 4th. She has informed me that she thinks I miss her more than she misses me!!! Friends have asked what I will do without her for a month and I have told them, "Anything I want!" That sounds harsh but actually, I am the first one in the gate when they allow parents to visit. They have a web site where they post pictures and information at least weekly and I have to admit to checking it once (or TWICE??!!) a day to see pictures of Katie while she is gone. Hmmmm, guess she is right!
Paul is busy with his new business, Rejuvenation Construction. He and his partner have several bids they have gotten the go ahead on so they will be busy for the rest of the summer.
I've slept late and traveled to Houston for my last Special Quest visits. The SQ grant is over and I mailed my last reports in today. I will miss the friends I have made through the five years we have worked together and hope we can reunion sometime in the Fall. I also have taken a part time job at our local hospital. I am working 3-11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights. It has been an interesting learning experience and the benefits are good. I do need to look up all of the doctor's kindergarten and first grade teachers however and talk to them about their HANDWRITING!!! The medical terminology is bad enough without having to decifer it in scribble. Well, better close! It is late (or early) depending on whether or not you are a half full or half empty type of person. In any case, I'm going to have trouble getting up tomorrow. Everyone take care and let me hear from you!

End of our weekend

Hi All! Well it is the end of a typical Texas weekend. We almost froze yesterday morning watching Katie's soccer game. We were all bundled up. My hands were numb while I was taking pictures so I had to stop shooting and put my gloves on. The wind was blowing and it was icy cold. Her team won but they were really glad to get off the field. They are undefeated in their U12 Division so far this Spring season. Katie's team is co-ed. It took awhile for the boys to believe that the girls could play but after a few goals, they were believers. By the afternoon, the sun had come out but it was still chilly. Not by our Yankee family and friends standard but by South Central Texas standards it was cold. Today was sunny and beautiful. Still cool and windy but really a beautiful Spring day. We went to a reception today at the Kerr Cultural Arts Center that displayed art from all the area schools. The variety was really impressive. The art teacher entered the same drawing that you saw in the previous post.

We also had an Orchestra and Honor Choir concert at the end of the week. Katie plays violin and sings in the choir. With school moving into the last six weeks, there will be more end of the school year activities. (As you can see, I am loving the new camera with the awesome zoom. )

And where are Paul and Chris in all these activities you might ask??? On the sidelines, of course, chauffeuring, cheering, shooting pictures, trying to stay warm and trying to keep up!! Bye for now!

Four Days for Easter

Katie was honored recently by having one of her drawings chosen to be displayed at the Western Art Museum in Kerrville. (Formerly the Cowboy Artist Museum). She has won a number of awards for her artwork and is in Art Club at school which is by invitation only.
She looks less than pleased that I made her pose with the exhibit. I keep telling her she will be glad when she is older that I have scrapbooked her whole childhood. Mine is thrown in a box somewhere. A project that I plan to tackle if I EVER retire.

Katie just gave me a notice that the same drawing is going to be displayed as part of the Hill Country Youth Art Exhibit at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in Kerrville. She has won ribbons for her art work before at this same show. They also have a Teacher's Art Exhibit every year and I won a blue ribbon for one of my folk art pieces a couple of years ago. I've added a link to the Center. It is Kerrville's old post office that has been remodeled into a gallery and classroom space.

Today is sunny and cool so Paul has taken the opportunity to run to the shooting range to expend some bullets. For our Yankee friends and family, that means going to a friend's property with a canyon and setting up targets. A real Testosterone filled afternoon. They also go to the "real" shooting range but this one is free.

We are looking forward to having four days off from work where our pace is a little more leisurely. Sleeping in and staying in pj's a little later than usual....Picking up a book to read longer than 10 minutes and I may even make it to my paint table that I haven't seen in weeks and listen to good music while I paint. Life is good! Happy Spring!

Spring in the Hill Country

Well, the rain has finally let up and we have had a beautiful weekend. The bluebonnets are starting to bloom. . . not many but as soon as we have more than a couple of warm days, they will explode

Paul is busy getting ready for his Black belt test in May for Tukong Moosul martial arts. He already has a Deputy Black belt (a black with a silver stripe) but a full Black belt is the next step.

Katie has started Spring soccer and is playing on a coed team. The boys have finally figured out that there are a few good girl players and if they pass the ball to them the girls won't lose it. They tied their game on Saturday 5-5 ; Katie and Anna made two of the goals. They won their first game last week, 3-1.

Katie is becoming quite the young lady as you can see from this picture. She will be in 6th grade next year which is really hard to believe. She has been an outstanding student and generally an easy child to raise, with Aunt Donna's help at critical times. Katie is signed up to go to Camp Honey Creek again this summer and talks about it almost daily. She won a gold P last summer for being high point Pawnee girl for her riding, rifle and bow shooting ability.

I am busy with work. It's time to register children for next year. I have rejoined CURVES and am looking forward to having more energy. I really missed seeing my CURVES friends and having that 1/2 hour for myself several days a week. We stay pretty busy in the afternoon running Katie to soccer practice and other events so that 30 minutes is special

Our big news is that Paul has started a construction business with a friend. He is an accountant so that is a great partner to have. They had a lawyer draw up their partnership agreement, have a new trailer for tools etc., have their cards and reserved a domain for their website. They have 3 or 4 bids out which they hope will come through about the time that Paul finishes a job he is currently working on. The business name is Rejuvenation Construction and when the website is built, I will send you all the site address.

The older kids are all doing well. Camy graduated from Texas A & M Corpus Christi in December and is working for American Bank. Lisa and her husband Jason are working for Nike and traveling all over the place - Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, Miami, New York and Beaverton, Oregon are their main trips. Paul Jr. is working for the Kerr Wildlife Area and his wife Martha is teaching Kindergarten and working on her Master's degree at Schreiner College.

That is about all of the news from the Simone's in the Hill Country. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the cool Spring weather!

SPRING BREAK!!!!

Hi everyone!!! Well, you can tell I have time off. It's time to update our family blog. The second day of SPRING BREAK and I have slept late, cleaned house and had two nights out with friends. I feel like I have re-entered the land of the living. For those of you who don't know, the Head Start I work for has just (this past week) completed our Federal Review. We came out with flying colors with only the Fiscal Dept. being possibly cited for two minor regulations (out of 1700). The weeks leading up to the review resulted in between 37 and 40 hours a week overtime for three weeks (That is a conservative estimate - there were at least two nights that were midnighters and four weekends of full days). I've learned several things from all of this - - 1) Working for a school district and putting in overtime is just another star in my crown in heaven and 2) I am a BITCH when I have no down time! Paul and Katie survived - Paul said he should have a support group for husbands. None of them did anything right while we were working overtime, including not finding the grocery store and not keeping the house clean. BUT,
everything is better now! Paul is still substituting and has gotten really good at it. He seems to like the high school kids that have problems. Better close. Katie and sleep-over friends are digging in the pantry. Bye for now.

Love the 2 day week!!!

Well, we were back at work today and then off for the weekend. How is that for a work week? Work Monday, off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and back to work on Friday. My kind of work week. It was cold and rainy all day but we had plenty of paper work to keep us busy. Lots of children absent so it was rather quiet in that department. Paul substituted today at the high school and came home whipped. Guess all of those teenagers were good and rested up after three days off.
Paul's cousin in Connecticut wasn't impressed with our ice and snow. Little does he know that businesses close, schools close, roads close and the mailman doesn't even deliver the mail. The Texans down in our part of the country fall apart when it gets the least bit icy. The grocery was doing a booming business, however, with everyone buying comfort food and fixings for homemade soup.
I pulled a graceful stunt yesterday about lunch time. I sprained my ankle and wracked my right knee! (You know, the one with a missing ligament and arthritis) Oh dear, she fell on the ice (you are probably thinking!!) Oh no! I fell out of my home office chair. So, instead of whizzing around getting last minute things done yesterday, I limped around slowly and got nothing done. If it's not one thing it's another! Well, bye for now. I'll write again Sunday when we get back in town! Glad to hear from you other bloggers. Keep warm!

3rd Snow Day

Hi, Ya'll! This is our 3rd day off due to weather. The sun was shining this morning and it sounded like rain with all of the ice melting. It is still cold and it has become overcast again so not sure what the weather holds. I know the antelope and deer were hungry as you can tell from the photo I took through the blinds. We are getting ready to run some errands. . .the first venture out of the house since Monday. Happy end of the week.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Well, here we are. Day 2 of school being out for bad weather. And what does a school employee do while they are home, you might ask? Well, create a blog, of course. This is our first blog inspired by Laura Dabney by way of Aunt Donna. We have had a great two days keeping warm by the fire, scrapbooking a present, cooking, reading, sleeping, playing games and taking pictures from the warmth of the house of the ice and snow outside. Venturing as far as the front porch has been fine with me. Paul, however, had to get out in it so he drove to the store yesterday. He and Katie also walked the dogs in the snow. They are frisky and seemed to love it. The cat has run out the door and back in. My kind of animal. I will post a few pictures so you can see our winter wonderland. Not enough for a snowman especially today since it is mostly sleet that has frozen into a sheet of ice. Not sure about school tomorrow. Hope we find out before 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. No use interrupting good sleep. To all our friends and family - keep warm, we love you!