James Is Beginning Construction On New School

Well, a year ago at this time James was finishing up his work on publicizing the bond issue for Bangs ISD.  He worked diligently to educate voters and, in the end, his hard work paid off for the district and the community.  Last April, voters passed the bond by a huge margin and even elected to tack on the option of a new auditorium.  This 9+ million bond is a big deal in Bangs, since the last one was passed in '77 (we think).  The hurricanes and other delays have added to an extended time frame before construction could begin and brought along with them a more expensive price tag for buildings than what was originally planned.  However, lots of hard work and cost cutting has gotten the budget back on track and now we're all ready to begin.  Except....Mother Nature had one more thing in store for the ribbon cutting ceremony.  Everyone remember that we've been in the middle of a huge drought w/ absolutely no rainfall.  Until 3 pm (ceremony at 6:30)......and when it rains, it pours.

School trustees and adminstrators broke ground in a soggy parking lot Thursday evening for the new Bangs High School. Pictured are construction manager Paul Waldrop Jr., left, and Superintendent James Hartman, third from left, with school board members Jimmy Conner, Robert Tucker, Larry Lehman, Gary Hamrick and Brad Davis, from left. The new school, being built next to the gymnasium shown in the background, was funded by a bond issue approved in May 2005. Photo by Gene Deason  (Brownwood Bulletin April 21, 2006)

Wow....I can't believe Hayden wass 18 months old on the 6th!  He didn't stay a "baby" long.  He walked at 9 months, was climbing furniture and running at a year.  Now there's nothing that can stop him!  I really enjoy watching him play.  He loves  being outdoors and finds water and mud to be among his favorite things.  We know that we are so very blessed to have him in our lives.  We are so thankful that he's ours!

For All the Katie Fans Out There

      O.K., O.K.....the middle child was the last to appear on the blog!!!  Here are the pics for all of the Katie fans who want to know how her basketball season has been going!  I had fallen behind on my computer time thanks in part to the little guy and work.  I have now finished journaling on some of these pics of Kate.  I take so many during the games that I want to share with everyone and it's hard for me to just post one pic.  Here are a few.

Katie played in the Brooksmith Tournament two weekends ago.  We lost to SWAT, again.  As usual, it was a VERY physical game.  Katie took a good bang to the noggin just after this shot.

  Luckily, MiMi was in town and was able to help console Katie......if you haven't seen her after a loss, there are usually tears.

Grandmother and Granddad came to the game and played with Hayden.

 Mimi came to the track meet on Friday and helped Mae learn blocks on Saturday.  It's nice to have a State Record holder in the family when you need some tutorials in sprinting!

This weekend we went to Ballinger on Friday night to watch Mae run.  Saturday morning we headed to Gustine for Katie's basketball tournament.  Kate missed the game on Friday night b/c she's been a little puny with a stomach bug.  She was back in full force on Saturday.  They played at 11:00 and then at 2:00......so we stayed in Gustine and watched 3 other games in between.  Yeah...fun.  By this point, my sciatic nerve was really acting up and I limped like an old cripple woman.  Back injuries just thrive while sitting in bleachers for two days.  It was worth the agony b/c Katie's team defeated Brownwood's Fusion team for 1st place!

  Can you believe Katie is that tall?  Short, little Katie is one of the tallest girls on the team!  Wow!  I sit and watch in amazement as she posts up and is usually taller than the girls she's playing against.

Katie played hard and really helped to shut down their post who scored the majority of Fusion's points in the previous games.  Luckily, Kinsie was on her game with lay-ups and the good offense and defense combined for a win.  Everyone played a really good game.  We went to CiCi's for our "End of the Season" party afterwards.  We made it home about 6 p.m. and were really glad to see the place....even if I needed to pick up the living room AGAIN!!!  Does everyone have stickers stuck to their coffee table?  If not, you should really try it.  Hayden can come by and decorate your place beyond your imagination in 10 minutes or less.  Just give me a call and I'll schedule you in.  He is quite busy working on our place, but he'll make room for you in his schedule!

(By the way, if any of us disappear in the near future, remember to send a search party into Mae's room.  We're probably in there somewhere...It's a total disaster area.  I thought girls weren't supposed to have stinky, yucky rooms.....just boys.  However, I'm quickly learning that I don't know much.......Mae and Kate tell me that frequently.)

We aren't playing softball this year, so I don't know what the future holds for Katie.  Summer track leadership is still up in the air, so we don't know about that yet.  I do know that Katie is going to start training for track.......can you hear Katie moaning in the background?  Her 400m time isn't much slower than some of the jr. high girls, so that's encouraging.  Mae starts volleyball next week.

This Saturday is Mae's district track meet.  Field events start at 9 but they will run  8th and 7th boys first, then 8th grade girls.  Running events start at 2:30 w/ the 400 m. relay (Mae) and then it will follow a normal schedule after that.  Mae will run the 400 m approx. half way into in the running events and then her last event is the last event of the day, the 1600m relay.  We're hoping for new records in the 400m relay and 400m.  I'll try to get pics posted ASAP but I'm photographing prom that night and will probably even have to miss the 1600m relay.  

Eventually, I'll get through scrapbooking our spring break and I'll post those pictures......eventually.

Mae's 2nd Junior High Record: 400 m Relay