Frankie April 22, 1992 - August 13, 2009

I've dreaded this day for so long, finally it has happened. My beloved Frankie, my sweet old lady, Froo Froo La La, has left me.

17 glorious years I had with Frankie and yet, I wanted more. 17 fur filled years and yet it passed in the snap of my fingers.

She was the image of perfect health until a few months ago. Rapidly she got weaker and skinnier, she would follow me around the house meowing really loud. She fell down the stairs one day and I knew then something was wrong.

The vet said she had dementia and the weight loss and weakness was just something that happens, just like in humans as they age. She was the equivalent to a 95 year old lady and we all know what happens to Grandma's body when she ages. She had been about 14 pounds her entire life and suddenly, she was only 7lbs. The vet thought she might have had a heart attack or stroke but didn't think bloodwork or scans were necessary because what are you going to do at this point and that it would just upset her. She really didn't like going to the vet, and that is the understatement of her life!

Two weeks ago she started to really deteriorate. I could not just sit and do nothing. I couldn't stand to think that there might be some underlying health issue with her and that I was doing nothing to treat it. I took her back to the vet on Monday and insisted on bloodwork. I weighed her again and she was now down to 5lbs. 1/3 of her normal weight.

Results came back on Wednesday. She was in total renal failure and was so far advanced, there was nothing that could be done for her.

By this point I had to carry her around the house, to the litter box, to bed, outside, wherever she wanted to go. I had to bring water and food to her every hour or so or else she just wouldn't bother eating or drinking, it was too much effort for her to walk to her dishes. She was so dehydrated, even though I would have her drink often. Her kidneys were just shot.

We made the painful, heart-wrenching decision to not let her suffer and Thursday we had her put to sleep. We were with her through the end and I am so happy that I could be the last face she saw as she left this earth.
I gave that girly everything, she gave me more than I can ever thank her for.

Here are some pictures of our last days with her.

My boys and Frankie:


Frankie rarely ever sat on anyone but me. Mark, sometimes, but rarely the boys. In her last few days, she came and sat on Rayden twice and he was in heaven when she did it. I think she's only sat on Zander once in his life, pictures are somewhere...

Look how proud he is...



Sweet Frankie:













The boys and Frankie:







Rayden drew this pictures for her as she sat in the sunshine the other day.
Is it just me? Or does it look like Frankie is pooping flowers?


What do you think of it, Frankie?



Mark did this one:



The fur-kids:



They would each try to get that patch of sun first. Sometimes one would push the other out, other times they would lay together in harmony.



We wanted some family pictures before she had to go. The first attempt was inside. Peter wanted to pose, for us. Not for the camera.



This is the only picture we have of the whole family. The only other family picture we have is pre-Peter.



This is what Frankie looked like for the last week of her life. Not happy. Just staring. I see it in her eyes now. She was saying "help me".



Peter is very sad to have lost his girlfriend. He is an only fur--child now.



Okay, that's enough for now. I had told a friend that I just can't imagine life without her. Our family is Team Tinis and Frankie is a team member. We have our own family language around our animals. She's been with me my entire adult life! She slept in the crook of my arm nearly every single night. She moved with me from Vancouver back to Alberta and throughout the province. Every decision I (or we) have made involves her somehow. The kids have never know life without her. I accidentally call my kids Frankie sometimes!

Even though it's only been one day, we all see her everywhere. Out of the corner of our eye's, certain sounds... My oldest said he came in the room and thought he saw her, it was his black bike helmet, sitting in the sunshine by the back door, one of her favourite spots. It was just the right shape and color and in just the right place, he thought he was seeing Frankie at first. We've all had instances like that today, and I'm sure we will have them for years to come. The shock and sinking feeling in my stomach when I realize it's not her has been overwhelming today.
My poor baby girl...
I love you forever. Thank you for all you've given me and our family.

Summer camping vacation

We just got back from a 2 week camping trip down through Crowsnest Pass, over to Kimberly and then to Fairmont Hot Springs before heading home. It was a fantastic trip, everything was perfect, relaxing, exciting and fun.
The night before we left we had a bad storm roll through. It did some major damage in the city but nothing too bad here.
This picture was of the first wave that went though:



Hail!



Later that night we had an amazing lightening show. I'd never tried to take images of lightening before and this was my chance.





how cool! Looks like a lower case "b"!



We left the next morning and just north of Airdrie we went through another wicked storm. There were cars pulled over all over the highway, the rain was crazy and the clouds were so scary looking. I took this picture just outside of Okotoks which was about 1 1/2 hours south of when we first went through the storm. It's enormous!



Our first stop was in the Crowsnest Pass. As soon as you enter the Pass, the first thing you see to the east (right hand side of the road) is the famous Burmis Tree. This tree is approximately 300 years old and one of the most photographed trees in the world. It died in 1978 and in 1998, winds blew it over. Members of the Crowsnest Pass community came together to stand the tree back up, using brackets and straps. In 2005 vandals broke off the lower branch that sticks straight out. The community once again fixed the tree, propping the broken limb back up with a rod.






My boys at the Burmis Tree:



I photoshopped the rod out of this one:



A black and white of the old boy:



With the sun behind him:



We stayed at this cool little campground called Crowsnest Mountain Resort in Coleman the first night. Right behind us was a little forest where the kids found a pile to play fort in. Notice how all the trees are leaning to the left? That is because this region is so windy, the trees just lean that way. Thankfully there was no wind while we were there.





Gorgeous meadow in our campground.



Pretty bluebells.



This weird tree in our campground had grown up about 3 feet then took a complete 90 degree angle turn and kept growing. It was still alive and thriving!



This was the view from our camping spot:



The next day we took the kids to Frank Slide. On April 29, 1903, Turtle Mountain gave way and partially buried the town of Frank below. The rocks sped down the mountain and traveled 3 kilometers over the valley floor, killing 76 people. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide







Here are my guys at Frank Slide. The boys just couldn't believe the amount of rock that came off that mountain. It really does make you feel quite small when you are in the middle of it.



In front of an RCMP memorial:



Here's Mark and Peter in the rocks.



The kids climbing through the rocks. When you get down in there, it's not hard to see why this mountain came crashing down. It's made of limestone and it just shreds when you smash it on the ground, it seems so fragile.



Hello up there!



Later that afternoon we went driving around the back roads looking for a good angle of the Crowsnest Mountain to take pictures of when we stumbled upon Chinook Lake. It is pretty secluded, not too many people were there and you had to go down a very steep road to the lake and campground that had a sign recommending no trailers attempt the road! But what a sight, the lake was a spectacular color.





While we were there we watched this Bald Eagle glide right over the lake!







He flew right up to an tree that an osprey was in and they began to fight. I ran up to the truck to get my longer lens to catch the action but by time I got back it was over!! Oh well, at least I got the eagle!

That afternoon we left for Kimberley! We stayed there for 5 days camping with some wonderful friends that I didn't take any pictures of! Too busy yapping! This is the campground we stayed at, I totally recommend it: http://www.kimberleycampground.com/index.html It is a great campground, clean and had a free pool.

Boys relaxing and reading in the gorgeous weather.



To the right of Rayden about 15 feet is the edge of a cliff that drops down about 100 feet to the river below!

So down we went to play.





Mark heaving rocks into the river.



How handsome is he??



Okay, we got one group shot of us, but that is all!



Sweet Katie:



She just loved Peter:



Peter and Paul are having a very in depth discussion about how to properly BBQ hamburgers. Paul says slow roasting is the way to go. Peter says "just gimme"!



5 days with these people and that's all the pictures I took?? WTH! Guess we are going to have to plan another camping trip next year then!

After leaving the campground in Kimberley, drove into town to walk around. Spotted this street and had to stop for pictures!



He's quite proud of himself for having the street named after him. He doesn't know what he did to deserve such honour. And he probably won't tell you it was really more like an alley than a street.

Anyway! We walked down the Platzl to the kid's favourite shop where they bought crystals last time we came through. Too bad the owner wasn't out playing his accordion that day like last time, that was really cool to watch. Kimberley is a cool little mountain town with a Bavarian flavour to it. The Platzl is closed to traffic and has the neatest little shops down there. They do plays and hold events in the town square all the time. Worth the visit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley,_British_Columbia



The gorgeous Platzl:



Look! A shop just for Peter!



Notice the woman laughing at us in the background??

Why oh why would someone name their shop The Back Door? Don't you know some JA like Mark is going to come along and want his picture taken with it??? Oh Mark, you are so immature! And hilarious.


And you get a view of Peter's back door while your at it.

Off to Fairmont Hot Springs!
This is one of my favourite places on earth. I spent a lot of summers here with my family, mostly my grandparents, while growing up and it hold a lot of fond memories for me. Our kids love it just the same.

http://www.fairmonthotsprings.com/

Here are several of the Historical Indian Bathhouse:





Brick and doorway:



The ceiling inside one of the rooms.



Looking out the window:



On to the hot pools. Those kids spent hours every day in that pool. They took swimming lessons there every morning, Monday through Friday (PS, if you are heading to Fairmont, sign your kids up for swim lessons there! It's the same program as anywhere else, is only 1 week and they both passed with flying colors. They learned more there in 1 week than at our local pool in 2 weeks) and on top of that, went back 2-3 times each day. Mark, who never dove off a diving board, did so for the first time in his life but for the most part, he was cannonballing his fool arse off.
On Sunday we were sitting on the grass having lunch when they announced the weekly cannonball competition was about to begin. He had only done a few prior to this but suddenly, something came over him and he HAD to enter the competition. In fact he signed himself and the boys up as well! Zander took 2nd place in the 5-8 year olds, Rayden took 3rd place in the 9-14 year olds and Mark tied for 1st place in the 18 and over category. He won an ice cream cone!

Some shots of the what they did every day for the next week:










Look at that board bend.



Airtime!




Ker-fricken-splash! That is how Mark won the cannonball contest, he directed his tsunami right at the judges and they loved it!



Proud!



Some beautiful sights to see in Fairmont:

The beautiful new tipi they put in the lower area of the RV park.






Gorgeous waterfall that you have to hike down to. I was never allowed down there as a kid because that's were all the partying went on.



Zander in the waterfall:



Above the falls.





Even Peter posed for a picture!


Fallen bird's nest in our campsite.



While we were in Fairmont for the week, we took a couple day trips to Invermere, once to the Saturday morning market (amazing stuff) and once to the beach. I would love to move to Invermere, it's such a cool little town.

We saw this shop as soon as we hit town and had to get a picture. We often call Peter a donkey, because, well, we are sure he really is half Black and Tan Coonhound and half Donkey. And because he's just so sweet, this sign is perfect for him.



We couldn't believe it when we came across Ray Ray's Beach Pub! What is this? The trip of signs for this family??



On the way home we saw a bear! This was just before Banff. Blew right past him even though both Mark and I saw him coming. It was the shock of it all I guess! Then Mark tried to back up the truck and 28 foot trailer along the highway so I could get this picture! Thanks shmoopie!


Okay, that's enough. It's 1am and I'm cross eyed from processing pictures and it's taken forever to load them up here. G'night!