Project New House: Update 11/04/06

Okay, so I know that the whole reason I started this blog was to keep you up to date our the buildling of our new house. Although, it has turned into more of a "keep in touch" or "this is what is going on" in our lives kind of thing, which is fun!! But, just in case you were wondering, we have made some small progress on the house project! YEAH!! This last week we went to meet with our architect, Thayne with Distinctive Dwellings for the first time. It was great! I was a little worried about it because I didn't know if I was going to be able to communicate what we wanted, but it went better than we ever thought it would. We left feeling really excited about moving towards the next steps to building our new house. The next step is that he will draw us up a mock up on the floor plan for us to look at and make changes, etc. That should happen in the next few weeks...so we will keep you posted!!

Halloween - Oh what fun!

So, I know that we usually don't "celebrate" Halloween, but I have truly come to enjoy some of the traditions that the day brings to the Simons house. For the past 3 years, we have got together with our great friends Chad and Chantelle to carve pumpkins, hang out and eat candy. This year was no different...Chad and Chantelle chose to carve a spider in a web and Kevin and I tried our best to do the Mavericks logo with the horse and basketball. The words seemed to be a bit more challenging then we had thought, but you can judge what you think...














The next great thing that has become a tradition is the dressing up of my "babies"...otherwise known as my puppies...Rockefeller and Liberty. This year is extra special because Liberty has joined our family. With her being a girl, it has given me extra joy to be able to dress her up as much as possible and even put bows in her hair. Her hair is just now getting long enough that bows even work in her hair, but we tried. I actually started preparing early to make sure that her and Rocky would have similar themed outfits. I found a tuxedo for Rocky and a princess outfit for Liberty. I was greatly disappointed when I tried the outfit on her a week ago and it was still HUGE on her little 2 lb body. Although, I thought about it on Tuesday afternoon and thought I would try and use my new sewing machine to see if I could fix it. It was awesome because with just a few adjustments I made it fit perfectly!! (Thanks Mom and Dad for the great sewing machine!!) So, here are some of their cute pictures!!















The newest joy of Halloween is going to see my nephews and new neice in their outfits. This year Paxton was "Wolverine" and Blaton was "Thing" from X-men.




Charlie was a Motorcycle rider, I think it is called Motorcross or something like that...his Daddy has a "vroom vroom" aka a motorcycle that he rides. They even had matching outfits. Charlie even wanted his Uncle Kevin to try on the mask...nice look huh?



And Baby Kaitlyn was a little bunny (I think) or something really sweet like that...she is so cute!

So overall a fun time!!

My Niece Kaitlyn has arrived!

Tuesday, September 26th at around 12:30pm my niece Kaitlyn arrived. She is so cute!! As usual the Simons Family has a competition to guess her weight. I guessed 7 lb 15oz and Grandma Simons guessed 8 lbs. Well, she arrived in the nursery and they weighed her at it said 7lb 15.7oz...which they rounded up to 8lbs!! Can you believe it...I was only .1 off?!?! Oh well, it was fun anyway. She is 21 inches long. Mommy Kathy did great! She even got to come home the next day after a C-section?! That is a super mom!!


Baby Charlie (who is no longer a baby) was SO excited to see his little sister! I loved this picture of him pressing his nose up against the window.

Liberty is here!

That is right, Liberty is here! We got to pick her up early last Friday. It took her a day or so to get used to the new environment...but, now she is VERY comfortable. She is very different from Rockefeller...she is very spunky and full of personality. She only weighs 1.7 lbs currently, but should be around 4.5 by the time she is full grown. That means that she will be smaller than Rocky, but that is good for him...since he is the man "dog" of the house!


Rocky and Liberty aren't really friends yet. Liberty really wants to play with Rocky, but he is not very interested in that. He runs away from her everytime she runs towards him. We are praying that he will be more excited about playing with her...soon!!

Other than that, we are now trying to teach Liberty her name...which is key to learning instructions. We are also working on the whole pottie training thing...which is not working very well yet. Thank the Lord that she is tiny!!

The first trip to see Rockefeller's sister!

Tonight we got to meet the puppies for the first time!! There are two girls in the liter and they are so cute...they were born on the 4th of July. So they are 6 weeks old today! Kevin and I went to see them tonight and there are two to choose from...we cannot decide which one we like the best. Puppy number 1 is really sweet and is regular size for a puppy. She looks a lot like Rockefeller when he was a puppy. The only problem is that she wasn't super interested in me...she was more timid and scared. But, we woke her up from her nap as well this is the first week that they are seperated from their mommy for part of the day. So...i am hoping that might be why.

Puppy number 2 is really cute, although she is TINY!! She fits in the palm of Kevin's hand! She was born really small and hasn't been growing. She is so cute and sweet and she really liked Kevin and I today. She kept licking our hands and Kevin's face. But, if she doesn't have a growth spurt from eating the dog food in the next 3 weeks there is a chance that she is only going to be 1 1/2 lbs to 2 lbs. That would be neat, except scary because Rocky is 7 lbs and I think he is small!

We didn't have to decide because we are going to see them again in 3 weeks with Rocky. By then we will be able to see if Puppy 2 grows any, if Puppy 1 likes us more and which one Rocky bonds with! I am sure that it is not a big deal with anyone but us...but I thought I would share the pictures with you! We will keep you posted.

Puppy #1 - she is a cutie!!

Puppy #1 - close up

Puppy #2 - I could barely hold her up to see the camera...she is so sweet!

Puppy #2 - Here she is in Kevin's palm...so sweet!

Ryan, Laura and Baby Kately come to visit!

My cousin Laura, her husband Ryan and baby Kately came to visit from Missouri! It was so fun! Kately is about to turn 1 on the day before Kevin's birthday. We swam at my Mom and Dad's house, went to Sam Moon, went to the movies and just hung out! Oh yeah, we also learned so much about having a 1 year old...Kevin and I were so tired...I guess we aren't quite ready! hehe...we also got to watch some Baby Einstein dvd's and I have to say they are pretty interesting!!

Laura and Kately...she is so cute!

Don't you like her bathing suit!

She liked Kevin!! Their hair kind of matches!

Mom and Dad baby sat when we went to the movies...they really liked it! I told them to REALLY enjoy it!!

Simons Family trip to Sea World!

We went on a family trip with all of Kevin's family...Pop Phil, Mom Rosie, me and Kevin, Kevin's sister Malisa and her boys Paxton and Blaton, sister Kathy and Charlie with baby Charlie and baby #2 on the way, brother Rodney and Chelsie. So 12 all together!! It was a fun time but, hectic with so many people. It was fun for Kevin and I because on the way down we got to stop in Austin and see Jamie and her new puppy Jax...he is too cute! (see picture below)

When we got to San Antonio we relaxed then got up early the next day to start our first day at Sea World...lots of fun! We saw some neat shows with fancy dolphins, synchronized swimmers and crazy aerobic jumper people. Then it was so hot, we decided to go to the water part of the park. We ate lunch saw another show and then were done for the day.

That night we went to the Riverwalk...I think I had been once before a long time ago...so, it was neat to see again. Not the greatest day to go since it was Saturday night and we were trying to find a place to eat with 12 people! The Lord must have been looking out for us though because He provided a GREAT mexican resturant that had great food. As well, they had this band that played songs for money...Kevin of course had them play...he chose devil went down to georgia...you wouldn't think that it would sound that great with those three guys...but it was AWESOME!!! Worth a bunch of dollars!! After dinner, some of us went to ride the boats around the Riverwalk and hear all about the interesting buildings and stuff.

Day 2 we got up and went to Sea World...we saw the Shamu show, which was a pretty cool show, but somehow I remember it as a much bigger show when I was younger. Then we went to see the horses (which baby Charlie was REALLY excited about) and then I got to feed the dolphins...pretty cool...stinky, but cool!! After that we left the park and went back to the hotel to relax and swim.

Other than that we just hung out and finally made it back home late on Monday! Here are some pictures of our trip below...enjoy!

Here is Jax!! He is so cute!



Kevin and me before day 1 starts!! Whew we looked happy and cool!

Shamu show....yahoo!!

Feeding the dolphins!

Here is the great band!

Kevin, Charlie and Baby Charlie at the Alamo!

4th of July with friends!

For the fourth of July we decided to go to the Rangers game with our friends Chad and Chantelle. It was a really fun time except that it rained and the game got delayed like FOREVER!! We were super lucky because our seats were one row back from getting wet...it was perfect. Except when the fireworks started and we couldn't see them very well...It was still fun...

Chad, Chantelle and me at the game

Me and my sweet hubby Kevin

Here is the view we had for like 2 hours during the delay of game...and all the wet people with umbrellas!

Fireworks!!

more fireworks!!

Goodbye USS Haslet!

So, I know this is late, but I finally took a picture of the USS Haslet at night time...As you can see it is very much like a space shuttle launching. It is a sad day because I guess they finally got done digging because it is gone. All we have now is the picture...

Moving to the country...gonna eat a lot of peaches

Okay, so it is offical...we live in the country!! I never really thought that would happen...me (city girl) move to the country. But, I LOVE IT!! In my last post I told you how sad it was to leave the Toplea house. But, what I didn't tell you that everything happen so fast and we happen to find a house in the HUGE neighborhood called Sendera Ranch that is across the street from our land! So, it worked out great! The only problem that we ran into was that the house is 300 square foot smaller than the Toplea house. We really didn't think it would be that big of a problem until we moved in and realized that 300 square feet is ALOT when you don't have it. So, needless to say...our garage is full of boxes that we are keeping packed until the final move and the house is a bit cramped and cluttered. So, if you happen to come visit us in the country...you will have to overlook our clutter...after all I keep reminding myself "short term sacrafice for long term blessings!"

Well, I decided to include some pictures of our new house...I will name it Roping Reins! It is brand new and situated at the back of one part of the neighborhood. It is actually really nice because it is really quite and we have some really nice neighbors.

There are a few interesting things that are here...first of all looking out the front window of the house (which I do often because my office is in that room) you see what looks to be a dead end of the street. One day Kevin and I were getting the mail and one of neighbors were outside with their daughter...she said "did you see the cows?" We looked across and there they were...right at the end of the street...so that is when we decided we in fact lived in the country! I will have to try and get a picture the next time because they haven't come to visit since then...


Another interesting thing is there is an oil or gas riggy thingy off to the north of our house. But, because there are no houses between us, we can see it in our back yard. During the day there is nothing special about it, but at night time it lights up like a big space shuttle is about to launch...so, I named it USS HASLET. The great thing about it is that you can see it all the way from highway 287...so I always think...there is USS HASLET...we are almost home!! It is quite a site...I will have to try and get a night shot of it!! Pretty sad...but, it is something that is exciting out here! or...i am just easily amused!
Well, that is about it for the new house so far...other than on the road that we have to take there is a ZEBRA...yes...a ZEBRA. My friend Chantelle told me that she saw it one day on her way to come to work and i thought she was crazy...but sure enough the next time I drove on that rode I saw him!

Well, I am glad to share a little more about our new home! Many have asked when we are starting to build our house and the answer is not yet...I will keep you posted though...think of the fun we will have waiting for the new house to be built! Best wishes from Roping Reins!

Goodbye Toplea!

It is true...good ole Toplea is no longer ours! After a few months of trying to sell our house we finally closed on it and moved everything out. I have to say that eventhough I know that this is the next step towards getting closer to our dream of building our own house, it was a bit sad for me. Toplea had so many memories...fun times with roomates, many parties with friends and family and most of all the entire relationship from friends to marriage with Kevin!! Oh well, I hope that it will bring as many great memories to the new owners as it has to us! So long Toplea!

Our New Land!

You heard correctly! This week Kevin and I became proud owners of a 1 acre lot in Haslet, Texas. The LONG process has now begun. As most of you know, we are in the process of trying to sell our house so that we can save money and start working on the plans for building our new house in Haslet. The first step was to get the land purchased...and it was a HUGE step!! We are so excited about it...I know you think, why?? There is nothing there...but, it is one step closer to starting to build our house! YEAH!!