What Do I Get to Do Every Friday...

mow my parent's lawn! I found it to be one of the most relaxing fun things to do there. I love to be out there on the lawnmower all by myself for an hour or two. I also have this weird thing for great looking lines in a lawn. I like seeing the old mowed making way for the fresh look of mowed grass. I love to think out there. I like to pretend that I am a racecar driver on a lawnmower. Weird I know. I love that their lawnmower is spankin' new, as of last year, so it is really easy to use. Because it is newer it also has a larger mow area so the lawn doesn't take as long as it used to.

BUT...there is one thing that has to take place before I mow. I can't stand doing it. I refused to do it at my own house. If I have to do it, I gag. I gag no matter what. I just do. I can't help it. It is poop scooping. When my dad left, there were two dogs. My parents two. To date, there are 4 sometimes 5 dogs that I clean up after. It is SO gross! Mindy brings her two over every weekend and Heidi's sometimes comes over making that 5. My dog, Kaika, has come over twice but I don't count her because she is my dog. Just gross I tell ya. Especially when they eat wood, or play toys, or birds or .... whatever. It is just gross. So lets look at the regular culprits:

Kalea: She is old. She is as old as our dog. She is about 10 years old. She is such an old lady. Not very tolerant of little kids. Very large and furry. One of her nicknames is "K" but the other one is "fatty". She loves to chase balls and toys. She gets to it first everytime. She loves to walk across the dirt road to the canal for a dip in the water. Her original name was Ginger but it was changed to Kalea (bright in Hawaiian) when my parents got her. She is part golden retriever and Belgium shephard.

Nani: She is the same age as Gunnar. She is just a couple of months younger. She is a purebred white german shephard and still acts very much like a puppy. She drives us insane most days but she really is a good girl. She sheds like crazy. Think of shedding and then magnify that about 10 times. It is pretty bad. She is pretty tolerant of young kids. She still acts like a puppy so she quickly forgets that she can be a little too much for younger children. She loves to walk right in front of cars when coming up the driveway. You always think that she is going to get hit. She is just a silly, huge goofball. Her name is Hawaiian for beautiful or pretty.Simon: Boy is this dog nutso. He is probably about 2 years old. He is a purebred brindle Cairn Terrier (think Toto). Mindy got him off of craigslist last year. He has a mind of his own like most terriers do. He is not allowed off of the tether or else he will run. He loves to poop under my mom's dining room table which is soooo gross. Nobody knows why. The best thing going for him is that he does not shed. Now that would be nice. I can't remember his name before Simon. All that we know is that he wouldn't listen to anything for a time. Malu: She is the latest edition of the Hollingsworth family dogs. Mindy got her off of craigslist for her boyfriend Rillz. He always wanted a boxer, so he got one. She is about 8 months old (I think, can't remember). However old she is, I do know that she is very much in the puppy months. She is pretty cute and obedient. I just can't get over the stubby tail. It is so weird to watch it wag and move around. We have always had dogs with long tails so this is new to me. Her original name was Mala. They wanted to change it so it ended up being Malu which means shade, shelter, protection, peace, control, strength, quiet, safe, reserved. Hurley: He is a purebred golden retriever that Heidi got off of craigslist. He is the perfect golden color with a big blocky head. His original name was Cinnamon. He is about 2.5-3 years old (I think). He is a typical golden in that he LOVES water. He is nuts for water. I love seeing him after he runs through my parent's sprinklers because he is as curly as can be. Such a high energy cutie. He is named after the Hurley brand.

Kaika: my girly. She is about 10.5 years old. We got her as a puppy and named her Kaikamahine which means daughter in Hawaiian. She is my baby. I just love her to death. She is a yellow lab/bloodhound mix. I will never, ever own any sort of hound again. Her nose gets her into so much trouble. When she gets out of the yard she is so hard to catch because of that nose. She loves sprinklers but hates ponds/lakes/rivers. She tolerates Gunnar pretty well. She is extremely protective of her family especially me. We just love her so much.

As you can see, the majority of the dogs are HUGE. Huge equals big poop. Gross. Anyway, I now wish that I was just poop scooping my house with one dog not 4,5 or sometimes 6!

On a funny dog note. We decided to stick with one dog for now. We realized that our yard is really made for one dog if we want it to look good. And our budget has really liked one dog. Plus we aren't around much. My dad told Gunnar on the phone a couple of weeks ago that he would get him a puppy when he got home. My mom was sure that that would never happen. Knowing my dad, he would easily make that happen. Gunnar has now told several people that papa is getting him a puppy. Oh great!