Back on track...

So, I knew that it would be difficult to post around the time of our move and even for a bit after, but I never meant for it to go this long!  I have so many things to tell about, it shouldn't be difficult to find something to say at least once a month.  I just need to sit down and do it;)
Now that we are officially Utahites we are trying to act like the locals.  Chantelle has introduced us to hiking!  We are trying to get more fit and take in some of the beauty that we are surrounded with.  I had a hard time appreciating the mountains when we lived here before because I found them overpowering and felt them looming over us all the time!  I am finding a new joy in the mountains now that we are hiking.  We are blessed to be very close to several trailheads.  We have been hiking the same one each time, so far.  But, when we have worked up to it, we will have lots of choices.  Right now, I find that it is easier to know what is coming so I can stay motivated.  Jeremy and Chantelle have been our trail guides and they are really pushing our whole family to go farther and achieve more.  It has been very rewarding;)  It has begun to get easier and we may soon begin to adjust to the thinness of the air!  We have taken lots of pictures, but for some reason, I can't get any to download onto our computer.  Stupid technology!!  So, here is one from my phone.  Enjoy!

Roxy... notice the kids in the pics, Mom!

 So, we have pretty much been bitten by the spider-bug.  We love our tarantulas!  They are fascinating and so unique:)  Also, you will never find a more quiet or less stinky pet!  They never have accidents on the floor and never scream over the TV while the characters are talking quietly!  They only have to be fed every few days and their food is super cheap.  What pet could be better?! 

 So here is our latest acquisition, Roxy! She is a pink toe tarantula.  They are arboreal, which means she is a very good jumper.  She is a real acrobat:)  As you can see, she is just a spiderling.  We don't actually know if she is a girl, we are just hoping.  We will not know until she molts.  Another reason we are looking forward to her molt, is that she is missing a leg.  It will grow back bit by bit over the next 3-4 molts.  Then she will have a normally functioning leg where now she has nothing.  Pretty cool, huh?
She is so itty bitty!  She makes Goldilocks look like Godzilla!  The boys like that she is small, they are less intimidated.  I don't let them hold Goldilocks very often because she is so huge. 

In the picture above, you can just barely tell how they got the name pink toe.  She is a deep black all over- so black, she is nearly blue- with little pinkish/orange tips on each leg.  This picture also makes it easy to count her legs.  Not including her pedipalps up front, that she uses to eat- you can see just 7 legs.  She is just so adorable:)

Yes, Mom, I read your blog...AKA picture of me and kids

 So apparently it does not count if I am only blogging about spiders and other pets.  Pictures of the grandchildren are the only blog worthy items!  So, here we are on our trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium.  Trevor's most favorite part, I think, was this picture because it looks like he is nearly 5'6"!  He is so determined to be taller than Christina!  Well, we should know in just a few weeks:)  We went to the aquarium with the Marshalls and had a wonderful time.  It was absolutely packed because we went on spring break and all it did was pour down rain the whole week.  So, everyone was looking for ways to get out of the house, but not actually be outdoors.  It was still a lot of fun and we only lost Gavin once:)

 This is an alligator snapping turtle skeleton.  There were all sorts of cool Oklahoma animals in this section.  It is impossible to tell by the photo, but this thing is about 3 feet long!  Snapping turtles are just one of many reasons it is difficult for me to enjoy swimming in Oklahoma lakes!  I didn't include the pictures of the alligator gar and several other gar varieties that Trevor took pictures of- all of which can be found in our waters! In case you are not familiar- gar have long snouts full of very sharp teeth.  If you accidentally hook one while fishing, you don't even attempt to retrieve your hook.  You just cut the line and call it good!

 This green moray eel was putting on quite a show!  He was swimming around his aquarium and trying to rub off the cleaner shrimp that was dutifully cleaning- even in his mouth!  It was funny to hear all the people saying- Oh, that shrimp better watch out! He is gonna end up on the menu!  And my shrimp-savvy boys telling the adults that it is a cleaner shrimp and in no danger at all:)
 Here is the electric eel.  We watched a show on animal planet about river monsters and discovered that these can actually kill a grown man.  They put off a strong electrical pulse and it will stop a persons heart!  I would not get in the water during dry season for all the money in the world!  That is when large eels get trapped in smaller ponds and streams and become very dangerous!

This isn't a very good picture, but I thought it was so cool!  This aquarium was packed with clownfish!  They were swimming through the anemones and dancing around.  It was so fun to watch:) They really are clowns.  All in all, we had a great couple of hours at the aquarium.  I can't believe that Trevor didn't take one picture of the sharks!  There is an awesome shark tank you can walk under and they swim all around you.  About 3 of them put on a show right in front of us!  They were wrestling and grabbing eachothers fins!  It was pretty amazing, but thankfully, the ones doing the grabbing only have bony plates and not sharp teeth or someone would have been hurt pretty badly!  It is too bad that we haven't taken advantage of the aquarium more since we've been here.  It is only 10 min from our house.  Well, we know there is a neat aquarium in Sandy.  I guess we'll just have to drive a bit farther now.

Goldilocks...

 So, as you know, we were recently thrilled to be able to watch our special pet,Rosalynn, molt.  A sight that few people get a glimpse of.  Unfortunately, shortly following her molt, we discovered that she is a he.  This may not seem a big deal.  But in the spider world, it is huge.  This means that HE will only live an average of 2-3 years.  Now that he is mature, it is unlikely that he will molt again before dying.  As you can imagine, this really upset my boys (and me).  We have really grown attached to Rosalynn. (name remains unchanged)

 So, enter Goldilocks.  I asked one of my employees, who happens to be a spider expert, to help us find a female.  She went to a reptile show and picked up Goldilocks for us.  Goldilocks is a choco gold knee.  She is Really Big!  Females live an average of 15-20 years and sometimes longer in captivity!  I wanted a spider we could handle and use for demonstrations, so she is also nice and fairly calm.  She is a great eater.  I gave her at least a dozen crickets the other night and by morning they were all gone!  Rosalynn has lost all interest in food, so it was quite a treat to see Goldilocks really get into eating:)
 I am not sure if you can tell, but her legspan is easily larger than my hand.  She is also much heavier than Rosalynn.  That makes sense now that we know Rosalynn is a boy.  Girls are usually heavier bodied where boys stay slimmer because all they can think about is finding a girlfriend... food is an afterthought.
The boys were so excited to get Goldilocks home.  They spent the afternoon carefully decorating her new terrarium and eagerly awaiting her arrival.  You can see in the bottom picture how they made her home look very pretty with lots of different textures and colors.  They are very good spider caretakers.  She even has a custom built hidey box with stickers and scrapbook paper to make it lovely:)  Stickers on the outside of the terrarium complete the look.  I think they did a wonderful job:)

Cool!

For those who don't know, Trevor and Gavin got a Rosehair tarantula last spring.   Trevor named her Rosalynn.  We have been waiting for her to molt for a very long time, since they molt an average of 3-4 times a year.  Yesterday, we came home to discover she had finally started the process!  Spiders have to shed their skin just like a snake or an insect to grow.  It is a very dangerous thing for them to endure because they become extremely vulnerable-as you can see in the upper picture.The carapace splits open and they have to wriggle out the hole.  It takes a while and when they emerge, the new shell has to harden before it is safe for them to venture out. 

The old skin looks just like another spider was deflated.  We plan to examine her molt to determine if she is in fact a female.  We believe she is-because that is all the supplier is supposed to send-but we want to be sure.  It is amazing to see how much larger she has grown in just one molt!  Her colors are so much more vibrant and her hair is nearly metallic it is so shiny! We love her and I thought it would be neat for you all to see this.  It isn't often you get to witness something so unusual!

Gavin's gift...

I am posting about something that happened back in December because I really want to remember it forever.  You know how every school year schools think of new and different ways to separate us from our money?  I have long hated and refused to participate in "fund raisers" that require my children to hawk severely overpriced chintzy junk to friends and relatives.  This year, my kid's school thought of a better way to raise money.  "Lets build a gift shop in the library that all the kids walk through and around every day!  They will be helpless to resist it's allure!"  They were right!  Even before the gift shop opened they were hyping it and my kids were begging to lug bags of coins to school to purchase special items sold nowhere else!  I turned them down flat.  There was no way that I was going to allow my kids to waste their money...  It took the mother of one of Gavin's friends to teach my how wrong I was.  Brice has been friends with Gavin for a couple of years and his mom and I know each other from school functions.  One day Gavin and Brice were in the "gift shop" and Gavin mentioned how I wouldn't allow him to bring his money.  Well, Brice's mom happened to volunteering that day and overheard what Gavin said.  She pulled him aside and told him to pick out whatever he wanted and she would buy it for him.  Armed with an unlimited amount, do you know what my son did?  He proceeded to carefully select a gift for Trevor, one for me and one for his dad.  He chose nothing for himself.  He was so excited to give us our treasures.  I immediately placed mine on our Christmas tree and scolded myself for not being the one to share that experience with him.  Upon hearing of the way he selflessly chose things for others  when he was offered anything he wanted, Joey gave Gavin $5 to spend on himself the following day.  Do you know what he did?  He bought a gift for his Grandma and Grandpa and a small figurine for himself.  I never want to forget his simple kindness and caring for others.  He was an example to me.  Just thought you all might like to know- he is one special kid.

Alright Carrie, I Heard You...

I am happy to report that I am taking Carrie's challenge/resolution to post at least once a month.  It shouldn't be difficult because there is always something going on I can blog about.  I just need to set a goal.  And here is my big sis taking care of that for me!  Thanks Carrie- I will do it!