11.05.2008

orville plays with a new friend

Orville found a new friend outside recently, a little mole that had escaped the mortal coil. He played a quick game of hot potato.

fall pictures

Last weekend was beautiful - a last splurt of glorious weather before winter. We took a walk to appreciate the wonderful season of fall.





The last shot is of the meadow in our backyard. We have seen many animals in this clearing including deer, wild turkey, pheasant, raccoons, and ,most surprisingly, a coyote!

Took a picture of seven turkeys in the clearing today, perhaps they are searching for a hiding spot for Thanksgiving!

11.04.2008

#44



Tonight the U.S. of A elected its first non-white president. No matter who you voted for its a proud moment for our country and hopefully marks the moment we turned the page towards a brighter future.

10.22.2008

Orville the famous

A few weeks ago we attended an outdoor church service inspired by St. Francis and held on St. Francis day at the local church we have attended since moving to Des Moines. Pets were invited to the service and were blessed during the celebration. A newspaper photographer came and took many pictures.




Orville ended up on the Des Moines Register website. Colbert elected not to go so he missed his chance at stardom. Orville was well behaved and sat comfortably on our laps during the entire event, much to our surprise. At home he rarely holds still and is best behaved when he is sleeping. Maybe we should take him to church more often.

Orville the hunter

This weekend Josh was napping peacefully on the couch and I was folding laundry. We had the windows and sliding glass door open to enjoy one of the last beautiful days of the year. The open door also facilitated the ins/outs of the cats with out the need for meowing every 5 minutes to go in or out.

When I returned from the bedroom after putting away laundry I saw that Orville had come in. And he had something in his mouth. It was a bird he had found outside. Luckily, it was very much dead and after some coaxing he gave it up. I took it back outside far from the house. When i got back he was sitting on the patio with a disappointed look on his face. Thank goodness I saw him with it, otherwise we would have found it weeks later, probably in one of his hiding spots inside the couch or behind the oven.

7.21.2008

The dog days of summer are here in all their humid glory! Luckily we have a swimming pool at our apartment complex so we try to enjoy as often as we can. josh got a new pair of trunks this weekend - he has lost a little bit of weight and his old ones almost came off in the water last time he swam!

In other news, we got a bird feeder and the kitties love watching it. Thats about it.

How exciting we are, yes?

7.02.2008

new member of the family and independence day plans

Two weeks ago we went to the pet store to pick up litter and food for colbert. While there we walked past the humane society area and saw many puppies and kitties available for adoption. We had been discussing finding a friend for Colbert for awhile, he needs a buddy to pal around with while we are gone and to discuss important cat subjects like grooming and the best place for an afternoon nap (on the bed or on top of the cupboards). We happened upon a small black kitten sleeping with his sister who was already claimed. His name is Orville and he was rescued by a family in town. He is a very purry kitty and loves to run and play. After two days of sniffing and uneasy slinking colbert accepted his new brother and they sleep, eat, and play together all the time. Orville's full name is Orville Proctor Wilson and that goes nicely with Colbert Joseph Wilson, we think.


In other news Josh is really enjoying his internship and is working on a variety of web based projects, including a website for a local gymnast going to the Olympics and building a website for a housing nonprofit group. Web design wasn't something he thought he would like but he is discovering it is more interesting that he thought.

Sarah passed her first month of goals (she thinks) so one more month to go before she gets a promotion from RSI to RSII. Once she has this classification she can look outside the department at other positions that interest her to post to after she completes a year in her current position. She is very interested in travel and Principal's expansion into spanish speaking markets.

This weekend the USA celebrates the 232nd anniversary from the tyrannical oppression of the redcoats (kidding, british friends, heehee?) and we are participating by going to the first ever seriously decent music festival Des Moines and Iowa has ever hosted. 80/35 named for the interstates that cross in Des Moines will have shows from The Flaming Lips, The Roots, Black Francis, Andrew Bird, Jakob Dylan and others. Hopefully good time will be had by all.