the newest additions

i'm married to a man who worked in a pet shop all thru high school, and who also has an insane amount of random, animal-related knowledge.

he can hear a bird chirping in a tree and tell me whether it's a robin, a baltimore oriole, or a bluejay.
he knows everything there is to know about fish and fish tanks.
he can spot an owl sitting in a tree in the middle of the day.
and he grew up with pet snakes.

so i wasn't surprised when, after finding corbin in the backyard holding a box turtle, my husband - without a moment's hesitation - told the kids to think of a name for our new pet.

lucy came up with "suzie"...

it didn't take long for my husband to fashion a little turtle-condo for her, and get her started on her first homemade meal. however, it did take her a couple of tries to figure out how to eat from a dish...

we weren't sure if she'd stay, but it's been a few weeks now, and we're having a lot of fun learning all about turtles. it's so cute to see my husband sharing his animal knowledge with the kids. but what they love most is watching her eat, and i have to say - i kinda dig it, too.

i mean, how many of you have ever seen a turtle's tongue?!?

just the other day, we added a friend for suzie - my husband saw him on the road and decided he needed to come home with us... lucy named him ethan (or as corbin says, "ee-fin").

after doing a little research, we think suzie really is a girl (rounder, dome-shaped shell and brown eyes), and ethan really is a boy (flatter shell and red or orange-yellow eyes).
i'd be lying if i said i wasn't secretly hoping to see a little clutch of eggs soon.

but i think suzie just wants to have the strawberries all to herself.