Kids These Days

In the spirit of all of our friends posting about their kids, we wanted to put up a quick update on how ours are doing.As always, Abby is the boss. She still sleeps above my head and the matress has a permanent indentation claimed by her. She loves to sit in the sun in the morning, chittering at the pigeons in the backyard. We've even had a few instances of her lunging at them and running into the sliding glass door. In addition to watching for birds, she likes to sleep, eat, wait to eat and avoid all attempts by her brother to play. She is definitely aging well as she enters her senior years. Butch Mbwa is as cute as ever. We've started going to the dog park about once a week, and he joins us in the little dog area. This works a lot better for him, and he's starting to inch away from our sides to meet other dogs as well as other humans. We recently took him into the vet and he has a touch of arthritis now, but it's nothing a couple pills haven't been able to help. He got a teddy bear for Christmas which he snuggles with at night - gotta love a man with a squishy heart.

Our little man Toby is happier and healthier than ever. He loves to entertain himself, but when he's looking for a lap, he is all purrs. His most awake hours are between 3:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m., which can make for some challenging early mornings, but once we finally get out of bed, there's nothing he wants more than to play with us in his cubes. He's particularly static-y, so in the dark, he sparks green. Good times.

Bianca has settled well into the family. She's our little shadow and will follow humans around for hours, just to keep them in sight. She is almost completely deaf so she needs to be able to see people; hearing us talk isn't enough. The shelter called to check up on her the other day, and I was happy to report that she also loves the dog park, though she just spends her time running around the perimeter and isn't much of a social girl. The other people at the park think she's adorable though, and they always ask if she's a puppy. I guess that's proof of how spritely she really is at her ten-year mark.

Barks and meows,

JoAnna

A Dog's Tail

August 1 marked one full year for us in Las Vegas, but what a year it’s been! Two fantastic new jobs, one successful writing career, homeownership, travel adventures and the general knowledge that we might actually be adults now! The final piece of our Las Vegas transition was made complete a couple weeks ago when Butch Mbwa, the dog who adopted us in Kenya, made the journey from Wisconsin to Nevada and officially moved back in with his mom and dad.

Butch Mbwa has always been a sun dog. He loves the heat, and we have to force him to take “cool breaks” throughout the day to come inside where the air conditioning is set to 80 degrees. The backyard is still in a state of flux, but he does like the fake grass and he’s taken up his old habit of digging holes to lie in—unfortunately he likes to dig those holes where the irrigation tubing is buried. We take two or three walks a day. For a lazy dog this isn’t a lot of fun, but he’s up to speed on the latest neighborhood news and frequently leaves pee-mail for his fellow canines.

The cats took no time at all to adjust to life with Butch Mbwa again. He’s so laid back that they barely even notice he’s around. He has a special spot in the living room and every night we take some time to canoodle. Last night I was reminded of how sharp his little doggy elbows are when he laid across my chest—it was a welcome recollection of how lucky we are to have Butch Mbwa at all. What better way to mark our one-year anniversary in Las Vegas than with a homecoming and reunion of the final member of our family?

With licks and kisses,
JoAnna