Breaking News

There has been a break in the case of the dead fish. Before going to bed this evening, Emily confessed to having removed the fish from its tank several times. These episodes are suspected to have harmed the fish and ultimately led to its demise. It is still unknown if the bobby pins were involved in the crime. Emily is said to have commented tonight as she put the selfsame bobby pins in her hair, "Yeah, I think maybe they hurt the fish when I put them in the tank, but they're dry now".

Emily is reported to have shown some remorse for her actions. Nonetheless her pet privileges have been revoked indefinitely.

Update

Emily the fish perished this afternoon. Officials don't have any suspects in custody yet, but foul play is suspected. Two bobby pins were found in the deceased's tank as well as a pool of water around the tank. The only witness to the death, Emily the girl, maintains she saw nothing and insists the fish just got tired and died. Emily has been identified as a person of interest. She remains under investigation in the death of a bird last June.

Further details will be relayed as they become available.

Emily's Pet Project

Anyone who knows Emily knows that she is difficult to persuade. This can be a problem when we're trying to persuade her to be good. Thus, we had to keep going with the same negative/positive reinforcement system we've been using for the last year: Three strikes, no sticker. Forty stickers, a reward.

This time the reward was something Emily wanted more than anything in the world: her very own pet. Since Emily is allergic to just about everything with a pulse, we lucked out and were able fulfill the promise with one tiny little fish.

Here is Emily with Chart #2 of 2 required to earn her fish. How long did it take her to earn all 40 stickers? Well, she's been working on it since the end of September and she just finished last night. That makes four months.

Today we went to procure the fish.

First he needed someplace to live. (Yes, I documented the trip to the store. Don't judge me. Someday I'll be old and have nothing to live on but memories.)

Then came the agonizing decision of which fish to buy. Unfortunately, the coolest fish also require the most maintenance so we pointed Emily in the direction of a nice, small, inexpensive, pellet-eating, freshwater Betta.

She was thrilled. So thrilled that she could hardly stand to leave him alone while we got the tank ready.

But with Emily barking orders, Chris had it together in no time.

Unfortunately, we spent so much on the aquarium, we will no longer be able to afford to clothe our children so they will have to wear the aquarium box to keep out the cold. Just kidding. When you buy a four year old an aquarium you buy the cheapest one possible. That way you don't care when it breaks.

Finally the fish, whom Emily has christened "Emily", (despite its being a male - she's under the impression that both fish name and gender is decided by the owner) was installed in its new home.

 How long to I give this poor harassed fish? A week. Maybe two.

I don't really care if he dies. I'll just see it as another opportunity for another sticker chart. And don't tell Emily this but I love to have something to threaten her with.

A Toothsome Post

Someday, Jane may wonder what the most expensive thing she's ever ruined with her teeth is. I hope this will forever be the answer:

See the gray liner that goes inside the arm? It creates suction and holds her prosthesis onto her little arm. See the dark spot? It's a silicone patch... that won't last long. The bottom shot is the inside of the liner where the handiwork done with Jane's teeth is all too apparent.

If this little number appeared on Price is Right, what would you guess? You would be wrong. That is unless you said darn near $900. In that case you would be right.

Thank goodness for insurance. 

I'm wondering why anyone in their right mind would trust a 2 year old with a myoelectric arm. No judgment here... just thinking it may not be the most prudent choice for us just yet... and for a long while to come.

Your Mom Goes to College... or went, actually

When I think of college, I think of late nights (sometimes spent studying), impossible exams, hours upon hours spent in the Engineering building and this fabulous group of ladies

(if anyone has a picture of the original S.V. day please send a scan to me)

I had the best gal pals in the world. Two of these lovely ladies were my roomies (a third was almost) but we all spent a lot of time together and made some great memories. These gals (along with the guys who were then absent serving the Lord) were what made college four of the best years of my life.

So you can imagine why I was super excited when one of my old roomies told me she would be visiting our great state over Christmas and wanted to crash with us for a couple days.

We had a great time catching up on old times. I felt like I was 18 again and putting off studying to gab, instead of a worn out mom whose kids were fighting sleep upstairs.

Our kids took to each other just as immediately as we had become friends as freshmen.

I felt a little bad when our town had nothing more exciting to offer them than a "train" tour at Terry Bison Ranch, but things get a little boring round these parts in winter.

(this is why there are quotes around  the word "train")

I have always envisioned a world where camels and buffalo can live in peace and it's nice to know that it's finally been achieved.

Finally, we did see some buffalo and they were all I've ever dreamed of (or seen in a Yellowstone traffic jam)

 

The top one is a Beefalo - a buffalo with more beefy goodness.

 Emily is glad I have friends who know how to rope because there's no way I could teach her.

 I am, however, comfortable giving my professional opinion that this fancy little structure falls into the "rickety" category. It is an excellent example of this "ranch engineering" I've been hearing about my whole career.

The only problem came when Jane decided she wanted a pony. I had to tell her no.

Was the Terry Bison Ranch weird? Yessir. Was it fun? Definitely. Cleaning out the stalls at said ranch would have been fun with these friends. Still... it wasn't fun enough to tempt them back to God's Country.

Thanks for the visit, L&G!