Sea Monkey Day

In honor of Sea Monkey Day, Mommy has led the charge and taken us to Toys R Us, where Madison picked out a Sea Monkey tank with a pink castle inside. Though kitty is technically a pet, he isn't officially ours yet - so these sea monkeys will in fact be officially Madison's first live pets. We'll let her name them, but odds are their names won't have any consonants.

Madison: "ee on-ee!"

Translation: "Sea Monkey!"

We've decided to wait until we get back from vacation to allow the eggs to hatch, as we won't be able to take care of them while we're away. That would be abusive, and no doubt PETA would get involved. As it is, I'm not entirely sure where their stance on sea monkeys is. Probably against it. But, I would have to counter that the tank we have for these sea monkeys is large and luxurious. It has a castle in it too, which is a plus. These will be Royal Sea Monkeys in a huge Sea Monkey Kingdom. But the most important thing is this: their kingdom will be predator free. I have no idea what eats sea monkeys, but we won't be having any of that in this house. It is forbidden!

Over the last ten years, I think we've had less than a handful of pets. The truth of the matter is that Daddy and Mommy aren't around enough to be a good owner. Our current cat situation was sort of thrust on us, despite our efforts to not have a cat. Daddy actually doesn't like cats that much, but this one in particular is rather sweet, so he's welcome in the house. That, and he doesn't pee everywhere and scratch things up. He does have some rather odd behavior towards one of Madison's Cabbage Patch dolls though...

Sea monkeys are even better than cats. All you have to do is occasionally give their tank a boost of oxygen, and throw in some food. That's it! On top of that, they'll roll over, sit and play dead for you. Their life span is longer than you'd think, and that's the surprise. I thought the last time we had sea monkeys that it would just be a short little science project. Little did I realize those guys would be with us for quite some time!

Today was Hannah's birthday party at the gymnastics studio in Buford. Madison had so much fun walking along the balance beams, jumping on trampolines and hanging on bars. Aunt Shain took some pictures, and we'll try to get them on as soon as they get to us. Hannah seemed to have a great time - she had lots of friends over to join in the fun. There was cake, and lots of presents too. I think everyone's favorite activity was the parachute. Daddy really enjoyed it too - especially the part where we all go to run across underneath it!

After the party, we all had a hearty meal at Joe's Crab Shack, where Madison ate their specialty: corn. The waitress got us another side order of corn free of charge and Madison gobbled that one up very quickly. Madison told us she loved us tonight: "ove oo!" It was cute!

The thunder started rumbling again, which meant it was time to head home. Unfortunately, we got caught in a very heavy downpour. It was a scary ride home with so much standing water and such a heavy deluge - but we made it home safely after a few prayers and some slow and careful driving. What a day. What an adventure! I didn't even mention the service we had at church this morning - it was great! The kids really loved it, and Daddy was in a good mood this morning. Here's why:

This morning I had a breakthrough of epic proportions. For the last week, I've been calling Disney long distance in vain: every restaurant with character dining for Disney princesses was booked. Seriously, I've called every day - and with the same result.

Daddy: "Any change yet?"

Disney: "No. They're all full. Keep trying. Maybe someone will drop out."

This morning at 7:10, Daddy called again - and got one! We've made reservations for one week from today at the Norwegian Pavilion to dine with the Disney Princesses. I'm not entirely sure which ones will be there, but from what I understand, there should be at least four that tour the restaurant and meet the people at their tables. Madison will be so happy!

In fact, in celebration of the event, we watched a Disney Princess movie tonight: "Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams." Madison loved it! Her eyes were glued to the television set the whole time, until it was time for bed. Just wait, Madison: next week, you'll get to meet some Disney Princesses in person!