Under the Sea

Ok, got a new song for ya--think 12 days of Christmas--got the melody?? Here's a little tune that summed up our weekend. . . Sing along --12 hours away from home, 11 snowflake flurries, 10 eyes a-looking, 9 obnoxious noises, 8 varieties of animals to choose from, 7 2 X 4's, 6 check out lines, Five hours in the pickup, 4 aquatic crabs, 3 hermit crabs, 2 meals out, and a toilet with a hole in the bowl. HEE HEE!! Aren't you just a little curious now??


Jeremy wanted to get some lumber Saturday to work on a diving deck for his boat this winter. We also have been getting progressively shorter hot showers, so thought we needed to get a hot water heater as well before it was an emergency. Our toilet in the main bathroom also has been having issues with flushing, so that was on the list too. Since the boys had gotten some Christmas money from Uncle Joe and Aunt Lisa, and a 10 gallon fish tank from great grandma, we took them so we could go to the pet store and pick out some fish. Thankfully, granny could keep Cami because that many hours in the car with her is not fun. So we started out early Saturday morning in the snow flurries--the high was only supposed to be in the upper 20's--not a great climate for transporting fish--you know the tropical kind.

About 5 minutes outside of town (OUR town) D started asking questions. We tried really hard to convince him that Granny's would be MUCH more fun than our trip, but he wouldn't budge!! "How many towns do we have to go through?" "Where are we going?" "How long will it take anyway?" "When can we eat??" "How many minutes left now?" "Nope, I don't want to play the gameboy yet." "How many towns now?" You get the picture, or should I go on?? The boys were all gracious enough to let me stop at Hobby Lobby first because scrapbook papers and stickers were on sale. I got lots of so-cool paper and stickers. . . and the boys. . .They got space food (??), venus fly trap seeds, and Triops eggs (you know the prehistoric creatures that hatch in purified spring water kept at 72.7 degrees precisely, under grow lights, within 30 hours--still waiting on them to hatch!!) Honestly, we are trying to help them be good stewards of their money. . . BUT MOOOOOMMMMM--we NEEEEEEEEED these!! OK.

Our favorite stop of the day, hands down, was Petsmart. After we got J's curiosity settled over whether you pronounce it "Pet-smart or Pet's-Mart, we went in

and thoroughly enjoyed checking out all their stuff--we have never been in a pet store. . . EVER. So the decision went from which type of fish to OMG the choices we have!! After an hour of looking and thinking (they had to share the fish tank, so some mediation took place as well) Grant and Dev decided they needed aquatic crabs--so they chose four in addition to the food, rocks and a few little tank decorations. They were as happy as they could be. Tristan didn't agree however, so he took his money and bought 3 hermit crabs and a little critter keeper for them. Those creatures are the grossest things. You don't see their heads, just their long legs protrude from the shells as they move around--creepy!!

After we had the "pets" in our possession, the boys were done getting out of the pickup--they just sat and gazed at their new guys. So J, D and I went into Lowes to get the lumber, the hot water heater, and the toilet. There were at least 20 different toilets to choose from--unbelievable. Most of them looked the same. So we finally decided on a mid-price one that had 5 star flush power and was cute (as far as toilets go). We headed home after that and picked Cami up before bedtime.

Of course, the boys had to set up their gear for the new critters right away. Cami was impressed by the 4 little crabs, who immediately started exploring their new home. They are interesting little things--and Grant swears that he can tell them apart--and even has them named. We still haven't seen anything of Tristan's except for their little legs, but he seems to be tickled to death by them.

I know that you are still curious about the toilet with the hole in the bowl. So, Sunday afternoon, we removed the old toilet from the main bathroom. J kind of laughed as we hauled it out the back door--something like "We better not throw it off the deck until we know that the other toilet works. HAHA" We got the new pot moved in, held up over the screws (cause you can't set it down until it is perfect or the wax ring will be ruined) and put in place. YAYY!! Water got turned on and the toilet started filling. "WHERE THE HECK IS THAT WATER COMING FROM???" FLAAAAAAAASHLIIIIIIIGHT! Then. . . laughter! "You are not going to believe this," he says. So I get down on all fours and stand on my head to look at the bottom of the toilet where there was--no kidding--a PINHOLE in the porclean where the water flows from the tank into the bowl. Each time you flush it, the clean water oozes out of the hole and onto the floor, when the bowl is full, the leaking stops. What are the odds of that!! So when we have a free day???. . we will unhook the miserable thing and return it to Lowes--for a whopping 10% discount off the previous ticket.

As it turns out, we will also be returning 2 little dead aquatic crab bodies and getting new ones--hope we don't have to return four little bodies. Not sure what happened to these two, unless they got into a tiff yesterday morning, cause everyone was well and good when we left, and they were both laying feet up by noon. It might be more humane to NOT get any more, but they were guaranteed--to live--for 2 weeks! Oh well, you win a few, you lose a few!! Hope everyone has a great week!