ALMOST

I think it's a Utah thing. Even though Chris and his date had already talked about going to prom, they had to do the 'official' asking and answering. You know... the fun way with clues and props, etc. I grew up in Texas and never had a big 'to-do' about asking. It was pretty much, "will you go to prom with me?" But when I came to Utah, I realized that this is a big tradition here. I always thought it was fun, and I'm glad that they still do it today.

Chris decided to ask Edynn by freezing several small cups of ice, each with a different 'clue' inside telling her where to meet him, which ended up being at the junior high they both went to in Spanish Fork - the place they met each other. I was the get-away driver, which turned out to be really fun (and reminded me why my Aunt Jan thought it was fun to take us toilet papering - a.k.a TP'ing - when we were younger).

Chris took the bucket of ice and door-bell ditched her house, and we took off in a flash. I then left him at the junior high so that he (and his guitar) would be there to meet her once she broke the ice and figured out her clues. I really shouldn't have been surprised when I was asked to LEAVE, and yet I was. No fair! But I did as I was asked... I promptly left after dropping him off. I didn't get to hear him ask her. But I got to SEE it all unfold... I almost felt bad about driving away and then spying from the car where he couldn't see me. I almost felt bad because Tessa was with me and I was setting an example for her. I almost felt bad that she thought it was fun. ALMOST... but not quite.

A few days later, Edynn decided to 'officially' answer his question. This time I was the 'take-away' car, so I took Chris on a few errands while Edynn and Katy left this pathway to our bathroom:



This cute sign above the bathtub:

I'm thinking the 'planet universe' is an inside joke?

And these IN the bathtub:



I couldn't stop myself from wondering if I had a sign on my forehead that said, 'Wanted: Free Fish' since THIS GUY was free, too. I was also very overwhelmed with trying to take care of so many fish. If you know our family, you know that we tend to get attached to animals. Seriously... our little Yapper actually wags his tail at us and gets all excited when we talk to him and feed him. He's a part of family and we went into panic mode a couple of months ago when he got sick. We put antibiotics in his water twice a day for a week. Seriously. A fish. But he's OUR fish, and therefore part of our family.

So... yeah, I was overwhelmed with taking care of 25 goldfish. I went to the pet store to ask how to care for them, which turned out to be completely different than with a beta. I got them their special goldfish food and the biggest bowl in my house. I changed their water when it got dirty (who knew goldfish were such filthy little buggers?), and I did my best to keep them happy and healthy. But when they started dropping like flies a few days later, it was too emotional for the girls and me. So I called the pet store and asked if they would take them back. When they said they would, we all decided that it would be best for everyone involved - the fish and us - if we took them where they would best be taken care of.

So I almost felt bad when we took the last, living dozen fish back to the pet store. I almost felt bad that the fish water spilled all over Katy on the way over, that another one died before we got there, and that they fed it to a turtle. Mostly I was relieved. Because now those surviving fish will live forever in Tessa's sweet, animal-loving mind because she didn't have to witness them floating the next morning. Because we didn't have to have anymore ceremonies around the toilet for fish that 'get to go live with Nemo now'. Yeah, I almost felt bad about returning the survivors. ALMOST... but not quite.