Yuck, yuck, YUCK!!

Iwa and Kawika had strep throat about two weeks ago. Apparently, it's my turn now. I haven't felt like this since I had chicken pox in the 5th grade. I just don't get sick often. I don't think I got it from the kids, though. Whenever I tell doctors I work at an elementary school, they take a step back and say, "oh. Well, there you go." It's a petri dish.

Anyway, it's really hard to be a mommy and be sick. John is doing a great job of taking care of things for me so it's not that. I just don't like having to be careful with them and worrying that they might get it. They don't really get it when I don't feel good that I can't get down and play with them.

Iwa was so sweet yesterday when she said, "Mommy, if I danced crazy and sang a goofy song, would it make you feel better?" Of course, it did.

Diesel

Here are some pictures of the new boy:

We're not sure if he's totally a Dane but, like I mentioned earlier, we don't care. He's cute, pretty calmn, and hasn't had an accident in his kennel so far. All those are pretty good to me.

General is taking very well to him. When we brought him home there was no agression, just a lot of sniffing. It's like General was expecting him. It's cute, too, because you can tell General is helping him learn the way we do things around here. He herds him in when it's time to come inside.

Iwa's on her knees in this picture so he's not THAT huge, but I still can't believe they think he's only 4 months old.

When I told Iwa that we got a new puppy, she shrieked, "Is she a girl?!" to which I had to tell her, "No." Then she got excited and said, "Is he little? Can me and Kawika pick him up and cuddle like Grandma's new kitties?" And... well... "No." She loves him anyway.

It's a boy!

We've been casually looking here and there for a buddy for General that would be about his size. We really love Great Danes, but we never wanted to pay the hundreds of dollars for them as we found them.

Once I talked to a breeder about an ad he put out that mentioned less than perfect Danes being sold for less than the "show quality" ones. I told him we didn't want a show dog, just one that would look kinda like a Dane and have the temperament, but he'd be a family dog. He told me that after he put that ad out he decided he didn't want his name associated with less than perfect dogs and drowned the inferior puppies. That turned me off to breeders completely.

That brought me to the Arkansas Great Dane Rescue. The few times they had puppies we were interested in, they were difficult to deal with and still wanted hundreds of dollars for them. I realize it costs a lot to neuter and vet these animals but surely there's going to be one out there for the Friskys: practically free.

Our patience paid off.

We kept in touch with the lady from the place we got General. She was a mail lady who fostered him with her Pomeranians and Chihuahuas and fell in love with him. She told us that if we ever wanted to get rid of him to call her first. I'd like to say that's why I kept in touch with her but really, he's an awesome dog and I just felt sorry for her and knew she would love to know how loved he is.

One day on her mail route, she found an abandoned house with four grey puppies pinned in the back. Two brothers, two sisters.

They're all vetted and ready for adoption. His brother and sisters were adopted out this weekend and someone wanted him- they were holding him for us- so we made the quick decision to bring him home yesterday.

He's what they call a blue merle- dark grayish with black spots all over. He's almost as big as General, although I forget just how big (and handsome) General is until there's another dog around to compare. He looks very muscular and graceful next to this awkward, gangly puppy. He seems to be a sweet relatively calm boy- cuddly- and so far knows the meaning of "no".

I'll post pictures once he gets comfortable.

Mommy's a girl, Daddy's a human.

For a few weeks Iwalani was convinced that girls are to be referred to as "girls" and boys are referred to as "humans".

I think I straightened her out, but sometimes I'd say she's more insightful than a 4 year old should be.

I birthed a cowgirl?

Somehow it happened- no one would believe it (including me) but my oldest child says "ya'll", loves grits, and is happiest on the back of a horse. Yesterday, Iwalani became the 4th generation of Friskillos to ride in the Woodstock Saddle Club Horse Show.

This summer I planned on signing Iwa up for some activity and never did. Soccer, little league, dance.. something. I felt kinda bad. Then I realized that she's already signed up for an activity just by being in the family. Kinda like she signed herself up.

I was really surprised how serious she is about this. I mean, she's still a four year old girl, but when it comes to riding horses she's all business.

Here she is before we left the house in her western gear. We're definitely going to have to get her a cowgirl hat. a

Here are Iwa and Uncle Buck getting Savannah ready to ride. She normally rides a 2 year old colt named Snooky but he was just broke and has never been ridden in a crowd. It didn't matter to her, though, because according to her, all the animals at Grandpa's house are hers- she just shares.

She borrowed one of Tootie's hats. All the other kids were matching their lead-in partners but Buck didn't have a pink western shirt with glittery stars. We'll work on that, too.

Iwa and Savannah and the pink halter she "bought" for her (or got Buck to buy for her) because "everything has to match me" and of course that means everything needs to be pink.

Iwa and Buck in the arena:

Iwa and Grandpa Tony and a beautiful sky. We stayed later and rode around and watched the barrel racing. She's looking forward to doing that.

She got 4th place (out of four) but she really had no idea it was a competition. The other girls were on ponys and were all dolled up. She was just happy to be out there...

...and that's how a true cowgirl should be.

Finally- Dallas pics

In no particular order, here are photos from our trip to Dallas to seem Sam and James:

Here is a ginormous painting of one of our hosts, James, and his horse, Cadillac. He designed the ALR center, seen in following pictures. It's even more amazing in person.


Here's a view of the building from the back of the pool.
The fastest water slide in the world.
More ALR center
Here's the pool from the building side. There's a mosaic in the bottom and a rock wall with water running down it on the far side of the pool.
Gearing up to step outside the Romper Stomper (the big truck they use to get around off-road- by the way, it's all off-road down there).
This is what I was gearing up for. Beautiful skies.
I got to drive the Romper Stomper.
The view from the back porch at the house.
The white vehicle is the Romper Stomper. Sam and John were fishing in that pond. This was taken with a zoom lense from the back porch.

Good morning starshine. The earth says hello

Imagine.... it's 5a.m. Everyone in the Frisky house is asleep as I put on my shoes. Leilea is cuddled in a chubby pile in the corner of her crib, Kawika- a mass on the floor behind the door of his room, and that sneaky little Iwalani and John in my bed, sleeping hard, and loud, congested heads, mouths open.

Since school has started, I have been getting up at 5 and either walking with Nani or running the neighborhood and let me tell you- the world is an interesting place right before the sun comes up.

Nani and I are both pretty scared when it comes to creepy things. We're not a good team because we really freak each other out. One of the first days we went out at our new time we saw someone- a figure- moving in a way that can only be described as loping- towards us. He's a tall and thin older man.

We were like rats in a sinking ship. We scrambled to find the nearest side street and hauled it out. We evaded him for a few more days until one day we had to face him. There was nowhere to run- no side streets. As it turns out, he's a nice old man who now says hello from blocks away because he probably knows we're scared. It made me think of Home Alone when everyone thinks the old man who shovels his snow is a murderer but is really a nice old man. He really should correct his posture, though.

We've also noticed, for the past week, that the people in one of the houses near Grandma's street consistently steal the newspaper from their neighbor's driveway. This happens closer to 6a.m. I wonder what would happen if we got there before them and replaced the newspaper with a note that said, "WE KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING."

Finally, here's a hit to the people of the neighborhoods we walk/run through: your curtains aren't as closed as you think they are. 'Nuff said about that one.

**On a side note, I have made it to 28 minutes of straight running (my program considers 30 min to be about 3.2 miles). I am planning on doing the Race for the Cure 5K on Halloween. I may not be the fastest but it's a heck of a lot better than I could have done last year or any other year in my life for that matter.

We're grrrrrrrreat!

Last night was faculty meeting night and I forgot to thaw something so we went to Lenny's for family night. I love Lenny's but we haven't been eating out so we haven't eaten there lately. Still, every time Iwa passes that place she tells people, "If my mommy could, she'd live there." I don't know where she gets these things, but she's probably right.

I've heard of family night at Lenny's before from a friend who didn't have kids at the time. It wasn't a flattering description: kids everywhere (they eat free), food everywhere, and a pushy balloon artist who works for tips. Total chaos.

We got there early so it wasn't packed but let's just say we weren't the rowdiest crowd in the place this time. Also, instead of a pushy balloon blower there was a guy painting faces for tips. We had a dollar and this is what Iwa got (after waiting patiently- which was a visible struggle for her- till we finished eating):

Update: I found my camera. I still didn't have it when I needed it (this picture is from Auntie Kaylani's Facebook page) but I know where it is. One step forward.

Bum

I've been the biggest Blogging bum lately, haven't I? Here are my top three excuses:

1- I have three kids under 5. That's my excuse for everything.

2- School has started back. This is the first week with the kids, but the teachers have been back for a week. Only 178 more days left! (I joke, but I do love my job and this is one of the most exciting times of the year.)

3- I haven't found the camera yet. I mean, I guess I haven't really started a full-on recovery mission for it yet, but it hasn't magically appeared in my hand when I needed it so pictures have not been taken. Leilea's 10th month of life went undocumented. Parents of the year strike again.

Of course, there's much more but those are the main ones. The recovery mission for the camera will begin tonight.