Confessions to My Better Half

Dear TravelDaddy,

I have a confession to make. I may have spent our family fortune--such as it is--on two very cramped hermit crabs. You see, after we went to Learning Things (and we'll discuss the monetary repercussions of that visit when you get home), I couldn't help but stop at the PetSmart across the street (incidentally, it was right next to Starbucks).

Because you do not have as close a relationship with Hermit and Lightening as I do, you probably do not know that it has been rather tight quarters for the two of them in their little carry-along tote. Because that little pint-size plastic tote was $5.00 by itself, imagine my surprise when I found a 10-gallon, glass aquarium for $13.00! What a deal! A deal I couldn't pass up.

The problem is that the 10-gallon aquarium had to be filled with stuff. You know, to make it feel homey and all. And Hermit and Lightening appreciated having a new home set up for them. Really, they did. It was actually quite fascinating to see them explore their new digs. I know...you don't care one way or the other about the crabs' emotions.

However, you do care about your children's education. And let me tell you that despite the fact that I may have dropped our fortune in the nation's largest pet franchise, the children got a great educational experience out of it. They all gathered around the tank and declared themselves "Hermit Crab Scientists." Then the two oldest ones wrote books about them. (I know that will surprise you, especially about our young gentleman who, I guess, didn't realize he was doing school because he wouldn't be caught dead doing school and enjoying it.)

So, you see, this was actually money very wisely spent. Experiences like these are sure to build a foundation for future lucrative careers. Even though we are now fortune-less, we needn't worry because someday those futures will come to fruition and we can just move in with one of them. Reminding them, of course, about their great education and all of our sacrifice, etc., etc.

Your Loving Wife

Beach Chronicles 6

My neglect of our last day at the beach is not due to a lack of details. On the contrary, we had a lovely, busy finale at the beach. Dear friends of our from Georgia also made the trip through Podunk County, Georgia, and Middle-of-Nowhere, Alabama, to join us in the Panhandle. It was fun on our last day to have friends to:

Go beachin' with...

Enjoy dinner with at The Back Porch...

And play mini-golf with...

They also shared their delicious, homemade ice cream with us, after which we had a little kid swap. They got my two girls, and we got their boy. I know...a 2-for-1 doesn't sound fair--at least for them. However, since they just welcomed their 5th baby 3 weeks ago, I thought my quieter, more--ahem--well-mannered girls might make life easier for them.

This was Audrey's first "real", non-family member sleepover, and she loved it. Of course, Mom felt better knowing her baby was just 11 floors down (Actually 10 since they left out Floor #13, which means we were actually on Floor 21, not 22. You know, they cater to the superstitious but completely ignore the obsessive compulsive. I smell a frivolous lawsuit.).

Bring me the sunset...

I stink at writing poetry. But...I discovered this writing prompt over at Diapers and Dragons (TeacherMommy's is 1002% better than mine, so be sure to check it out!), plus it's making its rounds on Facebook, so I thought I'd give it a try. I actually gave it two tries. Because I thought I would bless all 6 of my readers with double stinky poetry.

Which do you like best?

And why don't you give it a try?

Write a poem that begins with Bring me the sunset in a cup...

Poem #1
Bring me the sunset in a cup
to pour out over sunsets past
and all those still to come.

To remember
African sunsets,
their brilliant colors made more vivid
by fiery flames and ashes.

To remember
beach sunsets,
their reflections mirrored on the waters,
capturing poignant moments.

To anticipate
sunsets with those I love,
moments wrapped in the laughter and warmth,
that only a sunset can bring.


Poem #2
Bring me the sunset in a cup,
and I will remember my Father
who holds all of Creation in His hands,
who holds all of my
circumstances, good and bad;
hopes, great and small;
dreams, attainable and lofty.

Bring me the sunset in a cup,
and I will pour it out,
knowing it is not I who can contain it.

Hatching Isn't Just for Eggs

To avoid the Mother's Day Rush tomorrow noon, we decided to go out for lunch today. I chose Long Horn. The kids love this restaurant because they are served a bowl of peanuts as an appetizer, peanuts which have not yet been shelled. Because I know it's difficult to catch on to shelling peanuts--especially with little fingers--I started shelling some for Audrey. She stopped me, however. "I don't want you to hatch my peanuts," she protested indignantly. "I want to hatch them by myself!"

Alright, alright.

She worked on "hatching" a couple by herself and finally handed one to me. "Will you please help me hatch this one?"


On the way home from lunch, she was quite the jokester:

Audrey: Knock, knock!
Me: Who's there?
Audrey: Sock on your head.
Me: Sock on your head who?
Audrey: Purple!

Huh?

In Flight

See other wildlife photos at Photo Friday.

Beach Chronicles 5

We woke up this morning to the sound of a little boy's heartbroken sobs. Apparently, the hermit crab which we, against our better judgment, allowed Michael to bring home, had gone to hermit crab heaven. I say "apparently" because he hadn't really. He just wasn't active, and Michael assumed he was dead.

Still, in my research, I heard many say that it is difficult to keep a saltwater hermit crab alive in captivity, so I encouraged our little boy to return "Hermit" to the ocean. We made a big to-do about Hermit's return , and there was much fanfare as the waves swept him out to the deeps beyond. Although I didn't tell my little boy, my research also revealed that even saltwater crabs need some freshwater, so I'm not sure what Hermit's fate will be, but at least his graveyard will be "home" to him.

After our big production, and against our better judgment, we headed down the beach to a tourist trap store that advertised hermit crabs. And we bought two. Because my research shows that hermit crabs are social animals.

It's not like this is our only pet here on the ocean. We also have about 50 tadpoles who made the journey through Podunk County, Georgia, and Middle-of-Nowhere, Alabama, with us. Because I am fascinated by them and didn't want to miss out on their growth and development didn't want the children to miss out on their growth and development in our absence.

So it'll be a full car when we head home on Friday. Until then, we have lots of critters to observe, including the fever (go ahead--look it up) of stingrays that swim along the beach in front of our condo every evening.

Beach Chronicles 4

My husband made reservations yesterday for a "Dolphin Tour" today. And I complained bitterly because

a) I didn't want to disappoint the kids. They call it a "dolphin tour" like you're guaranteed to see dolphins and like you'll be taken on an actual tour when in actuality there's no dolphin guarantee, and you take the pontoon boat out yourself (which, I have to admit, I prefer over having to play nice with a guide). I have done the jet ski dolphin tour before, and we saw dolphins, but we had a guide who seemed to know where to find them.

b) I've been very cold down here, and the thought of being out on the open sea with the chilly air rattling my body gave me goose bumps.

c) He scheduled our "tour" for 9am. (See letter b.)

Well, as usual for once, I have to say my husband used good judgment. It turned out to be a lovely day and was warming up nicely--even at 9am. And the kids had a great time on our boat, which we took to Shell Island. Turns out on the way to Shell Island we actually did run (almost literally) into a lone dolphin. He was a little shy, though, and didn't even stick around long enough for us to photograph him; however, he did provide for us bragging rights just because he briefly popped up to greet us.

When we got t0 Shell Island, we had all 7 miles of the island to ourselves for about a half hour before one other boat showed up. And it wasn't until we were leaving that another boat beached itself. The kids had some great science lessons while on the island, most of which centered around hermit crabs as they were plentiful. Against our better judgment, we even let Michael take one of the hermit crabs home.

After an hour or so on our private island, we headed home and then enjoyed lunch at Treasure Ship.