'-* Charley *-'

This summer Mason finally saved enough of his own money to purchase his own pet! He had his eye on a Russian tortoise for a long time. The more studying we did & talking to the pet store, we decided that maybe the tortoise wasn't the best fit for our family, & especially for Mason's 1st pet. Yes, turtles are slow, but no, they are high maintenance. Having to clean out the soil in the tank every 7-10 days was not on my agenda right now! :)

So off to the pet store we went to look one day ... & Mason was quick to find this gem! A Bearded Dragon! He is cute, docile, & much less maintenance than some of the other creatures he was looking at. Mason agreed that a lizard might be the best fit for him & first pet. :) Welcome home, Charley! We got the little guy home & days of talking to, playing with, & just chilling with Charley were had by all three boys! I even enjoyed watching him in his habitat. He loved chomping on baby crickets but would never touch his fruit/veggie blend we gave him. He played in his water a little & hung out on his sun log a lot to keep warm. Such a fun character to watch! Charley was left alone while Mason walked into the other room & went missing .... for 3 days .... this was a scary time for us. Not knowing where he was or if he was ok. We went out of town for a weekend trip & came home to find him perched on the rug "waiting" for us at the garage door. Fate? Probably not. But we'll always think so! :)

Weeks went by with Mason & Charley forming a true friendship & bond. He loved this guy so much! Charley taught Mason how to be patient & responsible with his pet. This was a true learning experience for Mason & it showed when we woke one morning (the day before Mason started 2nd grade-to be exact!) & found Charley had died overnight. :( Tears - tears - tears! Mason was so heartbroken. Mom & Dad even had a rough time with this. Seeing our baby boy's first friend die, not cool at all! Mason buried Charley in our flowergarden & created a carved rock stone so we'll always remember him. His first pet. His first creature friend. Such a sad day for us --- but Daddy came to the rescue & zipped over to purchase a new bearded dragon for our sad sweet boy. (Lilly will debut later!)

Welcome Home Bubbles :)

Mason loves fish! He talks to them every time we see his pediatrician (who has a huge aquarium). He gets giddy at the store when we visit the fish. He likes the screen saver on the computer that displays a fish tank. You get the point....he loves fish! :)

We decided it was time for him to pick out his very first pet... a beta. Cute, huh? The picture doesn't do justice. Bubbles is bright blue & so pretty!

Mason enjoys saying hi to him, blowing him kisses, & giving him lots of attention.

Welcome Home Bubbles!!

Feeling a little spoiled!

Since saying farewell to Rascal, Clyde has become the 'King of the house' again! Don't ya think he is just loving it?! Before we adopted Rascal, & before Mason joined our family, Clyde was all alone. Yes, he ran the house, yes he slept inside, yes he got treats all the time, & yes he was just so spoiled... Well we saved Rascal's life & gave Clyde a little brother. They had a ball & enjoyed their 2 years together until having 2 dogs at 60-70 lbs each + our baby boy inside was just too much. We miss Rascal but know he is "living the good life" with Uncle Curtis now. (he even gets to sleep in his bed with him...wow! :))

Mason & Clyde love each other & are enjoying being brothers! Clyde is wonderful inside & we're so glad we're able to give him ALL the attention he deserves! :) He is feeling a little spoiled!!

Busy Days!

This past week to 10 days have been super busy in our house!! Life in general has us all going in many directions & trying to keep up with each other. :) Our house is finally complete & feels like home! We have some outdoor to-do's this spring but the inside is all nice & homey.

(Poor pic quality from a Blackberry)

Ready to party!! We celebrated our new home with an open house party! All of our friends, close & far, dear & distant, joined us in our celebration. We had a fabulous time & thank everyone who could make it.
We said farewell to Christina's baby. :( Rascal was rescued at the age of 7 weeks. At 5 lbs. & a cute fur ball, he was the lite of Clyde's eyes to have a little brother. Two years & 60 lbs. later, it was time to let go. Rascal & Clyde were much much more than manageable & therefore Rascal was adopted by Christina's little brother. :) So excited to keep him in the family & knowing he will now be receiving all the attention he deserves. We'll miss you Rascal!

We attended a downtown parade to honor the city stock show. Mason enjoyed seeing horse after horse & an occasional cow or donkey. :) Beautiful weather lately & especially nice enough to be outdoors!

He was so pooped from the parade!! I know he will really dislike me later for taking this picture but it's so funny! He got really quiet on the way home & this is what we saw when we turned around. We were laughing so hard we were crying!! :)