Introducing.....Pokie!

Pokie in Pokie's Place

It's true that we didn't have enough mouths to feed in our house, so we added a goldfish.  And not just any goldfish.  He/she is Pokie, the goldfish.  We went to a church Easter/Spring celebration this afternoon in the Hardin Valley area where they had more inflatables (the kids really do love the bounce houses and slides), food and games.  Apparently one of the games involved goldfish racing, but we missed out because we didn't arrive until they were almost closing up shop for the day.  But some nice people brought out goldfish that hadn't yet found a home and little Pokie made his (I'm just gonna go with "him/his/he") debut and we were all excited. 

He is a pretty cool-looking fish with his half orange/half white look.  Since the celebration was winding down, we decided to load up and head to Walmart for some fish supplies.  As we were driving, Daddy and I asked the kids a few times about naming their fish.  Only one child (Emma) responded with "Pokie".  The other two didn't object so we had our name.   Once we arrived at Walmart, we were incredibly lucky that they had goldfish bowl kits that included all of the necessary supplies to get little Pokie set up in his new abode and it was inexpensive.  Daddy even googled to see how long goldfish can live and he read something about 6-10 years.  Not bad.  I'm hoping that he is happily swimming around in his little home in the morning when we all head downstairs for breakfast.

We are hoping that the addition of Pokie will give us a chance to teach the kids a little more about responsibility (feeding him, cleaning the bowl) and also provide some opportunities to stretch their imaginations. I'd like to get them to use a rainy afternoon to spend some time watching him swim and "kiss" and maybe try to draw (their version of) Pokie. I don't want to have too many expectations, but hope that we can all learn and have fun with Pokie without traumatizing him.

I forgot that I got this shot of Kendall helping me get the Mexican Casserole ready to put in the oven Saturday evening.  She was, of course, the first one up from a nap and I wanted to give her an opportunity to help in the kitchen because she really lights up when we ask for her participation.

Earlier in the afternoon, we had a picnic lunch and played at the Lakeshore playground area.  Daddy even strolled over to the soccer fields with Kendall and Clark to check out the big kids getting ready for a game.

And tonight, we stayed outdoors until it was almost dark.  The kids all asked for an apple for a snack.  I have to say that I love it when they want healthy snack options.  I am such a junk-food-junkie and really hope that it doesn't rub off on the kids.  We are working hard to provide lots of fresh fruit and/or whole grain snack options (though they did have plenty of potato chips at the church events and the school tour), so they aren't "deprived" either.

That's all for now.  Happy Clean Sheet Sunday!