RIP Blueberry Sparkle!

Well, I guess fish (unlike cats) do not have 9 lives. About a week ago I noticed our fish-of-many-aliases went belly up, literally. I then had a horrible dilemma on my hands, I could a) hurry to Petco and replace our little beta Blueberry Sparkle with a look alike, b) dispose of his remains quickly and quietly and hope the kids just didn't notice, or c) somberly gather the kids round and tell the truth of what happened while wisely turning it into a great FHE lesson about the Gospel and life and death, etc. Naturally being the lazy bones that I am, I opted for "b." Unfortunately, that lasted about 3 days before Luce went to feed BS (Blueberry Sparkle from here on out) and totally FREAKED. OUT. Now I was reeeally stuck! I tried a bit about how he was on vacation for awhile, but that didn't go over so well, so I was stuck with telling the truth about how BS died. Now I know how my mom felt all those years ago when she ran over our cat and had to tell us she killed it... That was awfully traumatizing. Poor Lucy cried for a good 20 min. but Jon (the better parent) stepped in and turned it into a great teaching tool. Now Lucy looks forward to seeing BS in heaven. As for Zachary, he hasn't even noticed the fish is missing. I was 1 for 2!

A picture of happier times enjoying Elmo-Wubba-Heart-Blueberry-Sparkle who joined the family last February. I love this picture. They were SO excited to get their first pet!! And just so you don't think I'm totally heartless, I saved that fish from an early death by insisting he come with us on our across-the-country road trip last summer. Jon wanted to flush him because he didn't think he'd survive 5 days in a hot car, but I knew how much he meant to the kiddos, so we strapped him into a shoe box and took him with us wherever we went (including the hotel room). And yes, he lived, but I believe the arduous journey was too much for the little guy and he was never the same since. He missed Vegas just as much as I do. RIP Blueberry Sparkle!

This picture doesn't need a whole lot of explaining if you read my post a few weeks ago about little Ratatouille. I turn my back for ONE second and he is COVERED head to toe in flour. I mean seriously, his face and hair were white, like the makeup artists from "Twilight" had gotten a hold of him. Aaarggghh!!

So, I realize it's been awhile since my last post, but here's proof that we are alive and well (picture was taken today!). There's not a whole lot of bloggable things happening in lil ol' Pinehurst so I'm gonna have to get creative this summer if I'm going to have enough material to make a book out of it. I did spend all weekend watching "Whale Wars" episodes on Animal Planet (so interesting! so controversial!) so that tells you how exciting things have been around here, or just how pathetic our life has become. :) We do have some fun things to look forward to this summer though, with a trip up to Richmond and DC over Memorial Day, a sister visit from Whitney in June, some beach trips planned to the Carolina coast, a trip home to Idaho and Washington, and a girls' weekend in NYC, so stay tuned faithful readers!