Simba the bionic cat!

Our yellow tabby cat, Simba, had been missing for 2 long weeks. He was found Thanksgiving Day by a wonderful neighbor who took him to the emergency vet because his left hip/leg was dangling. X-Rays the next day verified that his femur is broken, and several bones are fractured. Luckily, there are no internal organs damaged, so its just the leg that needs to be rebuilt. Another wonderful neighbor picked him up Saturday (we were in Utopia for the holiday) and set him up in our bathroom so he couldn't run around the house and do more damage to his leg. Chris and Dallas went home Saturday, so they kept him on his pain meds. He is in pretty good spirits considering what he has probably been through! He wants constant attention, and is very vocal about getting someone to visit him. Simba loves to lay in the middle of the living room, so we let him flop there when we are watching TV. The dogs seem to be aware that he is hurt; they lick him and are very gentle! So our Christmas present to each other is a new leg for Simba!

Friday the 14th

TGIF! Today is going to be a great day at work! We have our Divisional Quarterly Meeting, then lunch. This group of people loves to eat and have fun! I brought 2 huge lasagne's, there are 3 more plus a ton of other food! (Including the obligatory carne asada, queso, chips, salsa, etc) How lunch morphed from Italian to Mexican I have no idea, but it seems to happen every time! I guess we could take Texas away from Mexico, from leave the food!!

Last night one of my co-workers and I went to dinner then the Paramount Theater to see "Rockapella" with tickets I had won on the radio. They are 5 men singing without music, except that 1 guy makes percussion sounds somehow with his mouth! He has 2 mics on his throat and constantly making noise into a mic. It was a great show and lots of fun. Chris would have been miserable! Visit this website and listen! They are great!

http://www.last.fm/music/Rockapella/+videos/+1-kDJsgzNTiPQ

Another weekend of the Olsens being scattered across Texas! Chris is going to Afton (near Lubbock) hunting, Christy is going to Round Rock to a weekend birthday bash, Amy and I are going to College Station to the Aggieland Swim Meet. I am staying overnight with my friend Deborah Cannon who I grew up with in Utopia. I am really looking forward to spending time with her. I have missed her company.

Back to work......

Friday November 7th - ALREADY??

It doesn't seem possible that it is already November! Where has the year gone? I have a new job at Texas Parks and Wildlife that I LOVE, the kids are doing great, Chris is healthy, the weather is beautiful, what more could we want? Winning the Lottery would give us more to ponder on that. It is Friday afternoon, no one wants to work, including me. Amy is at UT for the AISD Invitational Swim Meet, went her best time this morning in the 50 Free (26.1) and will be in the finals tonight! She had a little wardrobe malfunction in the 100 Free and went 59.05. Considering her booby was exposed half the race, she should have been able to go faster, what with more skin exposed!! I don't think she will see the humor in that vision! Anyway, my friend Mia was on deck taking pictures and got a very clear shot as proof of the "malfunction" so now we have to believe the "excuse" for this race! Next week we are off to College Station for the Aggieland Meet, then the next week to Corpus Christi. I love swim season! Good thing, because it is year round....

Almost August!

I can't believe it is July 31st! Time is flying with all the activities and work. My job is going GREAT!! I love working at Texas Parks and Wildlife. Some of the projects I am working on are a 170' radio tower in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, a floating fishing dock in Meridian SP, and repairs at Matador and Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area. Never a dull day at TPWD!

Christy is going to Junior Ranger Camp at McKinney Falls SP this week with her friend Sydney. They are excited because today they are going to learn how to fly fish. They have been swimming, hiking, birdwatching and all kinds of fun things in the great HOT outdoors!

Amy has been swimming every morning, and this week has been painting. This is one she did this week. She is very talented. She paints on cardboard or whatever else she can find! The picture above is a flower she painted.

August is a very busy month, and I am so excited! My son Jon is coming in from California on the 14th (with girlfriend Laura Marie), then on the 15th we are all going to Utopia for our family reunion/birthday celebration for Mom and Dad! More on that later....

Dallas is here from Waco for a few days. She wants to go shopping, etc. I don't know why she doesn't shop at work (Old Navy), but she likes Banana Republic. I sure hope she does well in Law School and gets a great job to support her expensive tastes!

Chris has been working hard at Benchmark. We enjoy going to the community pool every evening after dinner to cool off and swim a bit. Great time to unwind.

We went to see "Dark Knight" at the IMAX Tuesday night! It was AWESOME! I hid my eyes a few times, got kinda gross... Now I can't wait to see Mama Mia!

Christy in Butterfly!

Hey world..... Today we are recovering from the Marathon Austin Aquatics League Championship meet at UT! Amy did very well, 1st in 50 Free, 2nd in 50 Breast and Back. She was "aged up" to the 15-18 relays, and both won 1st Place! Christy is at the bottom of her age group, and had lots of competition, she placed in 4 events, but not in the top three. There is always next year! Tomorrow is Christy's 12th Birthday! We are having a cookout at the pool with 15 of her closest friends! Next Monday is Jon's 26th Birthday! My tribe is getting older!

Today is the first day of my Blog.....

This is my first time at doing a blog. I decided I would try this to keep track of what I am doing, in case I lose myself somehow, and to let my peeps know what's up at our place!

I will post more info about my family later, maybe. The big thing in our house now is our oldest daughter Dallas, (a Junior at Baylor University) is in Paris, France, for a summer class. She is having a great time, but who wouldn't? last week at Notre Dame she saw our Pastor from our church! What a small world, or God's hand in letting us know she is okay. I see the world thru rose colored glasses, so I always look for the good in everything. You should try them on, the view is great!