Our first pet…

Jared and I are totally against our family owning high-maintenance pets, for many reasons (shedding, smelling, feeding), but mostly because it doesn’t fit with our on-the-go lifestyle.

BUT…we couldn’t resist when we were in Tonala last week (a suburb of Guadalajara where we go to make business purchases, and commission artwork that we’ll attempt to sell in our store)…we picked up our first family pet. Actually…PETS. Yup, we got 2 baby turtles, a new home, colorful little rocks, and a huge bottle of turtle food for about $7.50 USD. If you prefer exotic pets, you may want to buy isopods from the internet.

Ella and Maiya were THRILLED by the surprise:


The turtles didn’t do much, except for try to dig their way out, and push each other around. But we have fun watching them, all the same.

But everything changed two days ago when we were in a pet store at an outlet mall in the outskirts of Guadalajara. The mini turtles at this pet store were happily swimming around in their tank, and we it dawned on us that our turtles must be BORED out of their minds in only 2 inches of water. These little turtles are born to swim, play, and climb on rocks!! So, we exited 20 minutes later with a new humble, but WAY cooler $10 USD turtle home! The next day we collected rocks from the lake, and made a WAY cool (am I from the 90’s?) playground that the turtles now seem to love. They are much happier, and we enjoy watching them sunbathe on the big rock in center, and swim around as if they are on constant vacation. And let’s face it–they are on constant vacation. After all…all they have to do is swim, play, and eat the food we toss to them (they really like broccoli). Life must be good.
And the great thing is…it has a lid, and is totally transportable, if we choose to have them remain in the family for years to come. I wonder if you’re allowed to take these across the border….