The Masquitos: June 2013

Thursday, June 27, 2013

A Little Gem

We have a tough dynamic with these two.

They are separated at the table for meals.

They are separated in the van for rides.

They are in separate bedrooms.

They go on separate outings with Grandma and Grandpa.
They are separated on the bench at church.

They're just tough, so cute, but tough.

We decided they don't have to be best friends, but they do have to be civil and polite to each other...easier said that done we're learning.

By keeping them as separated, and out of each other's space, as much as possible the whole be polite and civil thing actually happens once in a while.

Lincoln's noggin gave Garrett a black eye so, of course, I had to get pictures of it.

Look what a gem I got!!

I'm in love with this shot of them.

Their eyes are happy.

Their smiles are real.

It makes me want to smile back.

It's getting printed nice and big, framed, and placed prominently in the house for us all to see everyday.

So, of course, we have a fish. Much to my dismay we learned that the goldfish sold in stores are no longer air breathers, but must be in an aerated aquarium environment. That leaves only Betas as an air breathing option. Betas are not the rugged manly kind of fish I wanted, but we let Garrett get one anyway. When my brother left we were given his Beta to fish-sit till he got back. Rather than have two tanks on the counter I bought one of those fancy dancy divided deals. Garrett's fish tried to be tough, but ended up dying from Pansy Syndrome. Rob's feisty fish was still going strong, but I needed to clean the tank and get Garrett's little friend out.

I always catch the fish in a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl for safe keeping...

Something went wildly wrong on this day. The dang thing swam THROUGH the hole half way and got stuck. THAT'S when I realized I had the wrong scoop!! Dang it, now what the heck do I do? I couldn't pull the darn thing out or he'd drown. He couldn't get the rest of the way through. I couldn't leave him sitting there till Stephen got home or he'd die. I muttered my favorite word, that my kids aren't allowed to repeat, under my breath and sent a picture to Stephen followed by a phone call.

We were in luck he was at the office about 5 minutes away; and came to the rescue!!

I'd already decided the best option was to break the spoon off from around him, but I wasn't strong enough to do it without killing the fish. He held the spoon with some kind of grip thingy and slowly cut it away with some other manly tool that I probably know the name of but can't remember...while mumbling something about only my wife could manage to get a fish stuck in a spoon. I'm positive I'm not the only cool wife out there though...

It WORKED!!

The darn thing was free, and obviously traumatized. I figured he'd be dead within a few days.

Wouldn't you know it, he's still going strong and feisty as ever. Seriously tough little cookie that fish is.

I just want an old fashioned, low maintenance, goldfish.