Jared had to go on a "run" this week and the "exciting destination" he was sent to was Las Vegas. He had decided that he was going to take Eli because he just really needed the company.
While they were there, Jared (being in tuned to his son's interests) opted to take him to see the "sharks" as Mandalay Bay. (I was completely jealous at this point! I've always wanted to go) Anywho...what father doesn't feel the need to heighten their child's experience by buying some ridiculously over priced "souvenir"? Well they just HAPPENED to have those trigger activated shark heads that "chomp" down. (You know the kind that has a trigger handle with a 3ft pole and then the chomping shark head at top?) Well, he just HAPPENED to buy one for Eli. Now mind you... any OTHER child would probably use that toy responsibly? (ok maybe not, but for arguments sake...work with me here.)
There also just HAPPENED to be some kind of IBM/computer convention going on as well and a LOT of people in stiff business suits. Probably having a "lunch break" and decided to see the sharks for themselves. (you know where I'm going with this, don't ya? Oh it gets better!) Unfortunately for THEM...ELI was on the loose with his "chomping shark head". I don't know why, but every time I talked to Eli on the phone, he would say, "sharks" and then growl REALLY loud. Sharks don't even growl, so who knows where he got that from. Perhaps big mouths make big noises. (right, Oli? hee hee hee) Well now lets put the two together....
Eli's little shark head must have been super hungry and there just HAPPENED to be A LOT of business men to be devoured. He was going around"biting" them and growling as loudly as he could! (I wish I was there to see it!) I wonder if he nipped any one's bum?
Gwen...I'm sorry, but the bragging rights I had "awarded" you for coming up with Oogie's name will need to be revoked, considering he/she is no longer with us.
I don't know what happened but the other day, Jade comes up one morning and mentions that Oogie looked like he was dying. I didn't think he/she looked that bad, so I brushed it off and continued on with my day. Later as I was taking a "breather" and staring at the fish (because I do that from time to time), he/she did start to look a little "not-normal-behavior-ish" to me and started to worry. I called my "fish expert Bonnie" and she said that with as clean of a tank as mine was...he/she was probably starving. OH! The horror I felt. Remember? I'm suppose to be the "RESPONSIBLE fish owner" and I have failed YET AGAIN! (We can't forget Elbow!) The advice was given to let the tank get "good and dirty" before purchasing a new one, and to buy one that was a little bit bigger/older.(Apparently Oogie was just an infant! I KILLED AN INFANT! I'm such an unfit mother. I think my own children have survived as long as they have ONLY because there's been a lot and I mean A LOT of divine intervention!!) *Food for thought, I make take the dirty tank to the extreme as well considering I'm probably be a bit dramatic with this whole Oogie thing. It's ok to emblish a little, right? Anyhow....to sum it all up, another fish died and to compensate for the guilt...I flushed him rather than trashing him in hopes that if he miraculously rose from the dead, he'd still be swimming and not rotting.
So, You know how Jared planted all those "melons" in the spring? Well, we really didn't get very many melons, BUT got PLENTY of gourds, pumpkins, squash, and whatever else is in 'that family'.
I've got a friend in the neighborhood that I spend quite a bit of time on the phone with or hanging out with or sitting with at church, and she has a girl that's just a bit younger than Dylan. They play SO cute together and sometimes takes my, (and everyone else in the class at church) attention. When I got to watch her and her sister the other day, I couldn't help it, the camera just fell into my hands and started snapping. (I'll have to look into that more, it was the oddest thing.)
We had a small party for Eli the other day when G&G Meow came to visit. It was a nice time and I would say that everyone enjoyed themselves. Here's a few high lights from that day.
String, glorious string!
He was so focused on this particular gift.
Time for grape harvest. I've had to wait for the "first frost" before I could pick these. (I guess the frost sweetens them up)
I was able to get a fair amount for myself before I started giving some away just because I had so many!
I steamed one batch last night and was surprised with how much juice concentrate I got. I have intentions of making jelly and with the juice I got, it's going to be a really "pretty" jelly. Nice and clear and a good color. (too bad I'm not a wine connoisseur, you'd hear me making funny noises too!)
What's left over of the grapes.
I felt like for a while there all I would talk about was my fish so thankfully we had family pictures and Eli had a birthday to break it up a bit. None-the-less, the tank is never calm....So here's the update.
The sucker's name is Oogie. I just couldn't live with Oscar. (Too common) Gwen, I now award you bragging rights to naming our trash eating neat freak. I just KNEW you'd be excited! (and, you're welcome!)
The "triplets" Aaron, Omner, and Himni...are doing GREAT! (I'll tell you why in just a minute.)
Jon has "moved". He is now at Bonnie's and hopefully doing well and being "humbled". (She has the same kind of fish but MUCH bigger. Maybe they'll pick on him like he was picking on the others here.) We had to get "rid" of him because not only did he nip Omner's fins to almost nothing, (I'm amazed the fish can still swim.) But he went after Ra and Sunburst's. (We couldn't allow that to happen...(that was the point in purchasing those fish in the first place!)....which brings us to those two.
Ra and Sunburst- doing well, I assume, because they are still alive. Ra, started hanging out at the bottom of the tank in the rocks, not swimming. I was worried that he/she wasn't doing well. BUT...during feedings he/she would come up and swim around and eat. But then to resume his lazy behavior shortly after. I stopped worrying too much about it, but now Sunburst does it too. They eat and swim spuratically so we will assume that that's what they're suppose to do.
Jared picked out a larger fish (Larger in comparison to the other fish in the tank) I've forgotten what kind it is, but looks similar to an angel fish. Big frilly fins is all that it really has going for it because it's an ugly gray color. He/she was named Dante'.
"Pip-squeak, yo-yo, pickle, and fish-that-has-no-name yet", are our latest and last, additions to our aquarium. (I promise. The satisfaction as been met. At least until one dies and I have to get a new one.) They are "neon" fish. Neon yellow, neon orange (although this one looks very yellow to me.) and Neon pink. The last one...black and white striped. I question this last bunch because they are SUPER active and my other fish have kind of had to move out of the way when it comes to these 4. PLUS...Black and white striped "Pickle", had little yellow "Pip-squeak" chasing HER around the tank doing some "funny" swimming maneuvers and she started dropping eggs. WHOA! Didn't plan on a breeding tank! Then, little horny pip-squeak went after pink "fish-that-has-no-name yet", luckily she hasn't dropped any eggs. (At least they got the right color when they injected these fish with the right gender. I was considering getting rid of them, but they have somewhat calmed down a bit. For now...they are all good.
I probably spend more time than what is necessary staring at them all but it's pretty cool to watch all their behavior.
...well, not yet at least.
....we've just made a "memorial" in his name. I'm sure Elbow would approve the changes that were made so that none of his "friends" would succumb to the same fate as he. We bought this "upgrade" today
I woke up this morning and found Elbow dead. I'm sad because he was my favorite and I really liked his name. I don't know what happened, he seemed fine yesterday. (Spending a lot of time up by the bubbles.) I'm conflicted on what to do now. Jon still picks on the triplets and Omner's tail is getting shorter and shorter and I think that if anymore of it is bitten off, he won't be able to swim, and he too will die. I called my "fish expert" (Bonnie) and she said it could be a number of things. We are going to go for a bigger tank and see if that helps. (Too many fish in a small tank can throw off the ph balance and kill them.) I'm hoping that it will work. (I'm actually excited because it will be fun to put plants and figurines in with them. Maybe I'll get a treasure chest.) If Jon continues to pick on Omner, I may have to keep him in the small tank alone for isolation.
During one of my "breaks" (time that was spent all by myself), Jared took all the kids to the store and came home with "friends" for Jon and Elbow. THREE of them! I don't think he takes into consideration the amount of space needed for fish to survive and the little tank we had was already pushing it for just Jon and Elbow. And the new roomies were bigger in length. I figured, that we'd see what happened (actually thought that it would just speed up the process of their short lived lives....and unbelieveably, they are ALL still very much alive and well. At first Jon and Elbow showed there anger of having to share by nipping at their tails. I was starting to get a little worried because the tails were starting to look a bit tattered. I was considering buying a new tank just for "Aaron, Omner, and Himni." (Jared named them on the way home.) I guess they eventually gave in to having to accept what now invaded their territory and learned to appreciate them. The "triplets" (it's easier to say that when referring to them, than it is to say all their names.) are kind of boring and give Jon and Elbow something to pester when bored. They don't nip anymore, but will chase them every now and then. Kind of reminds me of herding cattle. J & E are very good at it.
I'm going to use Alisha's idea and post a cool picture every now and then. This one was taken by Mykael on a trip we took and she did pretty darn good! I love the different shades of the same color for the mountains. Makes me think that I could draw/color this. I don't think that it would turn out as good though.
There's nothing like a good session of blowing Spit Bubbles. Eli has been mastering his technique lately, and I do have to admit...He's getting pretty good.
I absolutely LOVE it when someone just "drops" in. I don't get very many visitors and when I do, I drop all plans and chill for a bit. Joe and Natalee did just that while they were on their way further south. Anywho....
I was able to catch a few pics during their brief pit stop.
Jane
Nat, Angelle, Dylan
Joesph-ine
Miriam (I can't get enough of this sweet cherub face.)
Eli, Ash, Corbin, Lydia
It's been hard to find the time and motivation to blog any more. (And facebook has kind of stolen the show for a while too.) With the economy the way that it is and work harder and harder to find, I find it hard not to loose yourself in the hopelessness and depression that inevitably follows suit. I have found myself pondering the times in which our grandparents went through similar situations and wonder, "How did they do it?" "What were they feeling?" "What did they focus on to get their mind off the chaos that was exploding around them?" Obviously, what they went through didn't kill them and they survived. I keep telling myself that and patiently wait the impact.
With watching some of conference this last weekend, a particular talk reached out to me. (I don't remember who or when) but was told that through difficult trials in your life, try to be optimistic. Look for the lesson and learn from it. Don't let the harshness of the hurdle get you down.
The reason I have done so much canning; peaches, pears, apples, pickles, bananas, tomatoes... is to help with what may come and have come to find the peace of mind I get from ensuring that my family is cared for.
(I strongly suggest that when your in the grocery store next, that you buy an extra item in which you are purchasing.)
If any of you are going through an extremely hard time in your life, know that you are not a lone and that you will be ok. Consider it the refiners fire. How beautiful you will be once you have learned and overcame your obstacle.
