mister toad.

 

 

Nothing makes these boys happier than having a few reptiles to take care of.  They have been missing all those lizards they used to be able to catch in the rocks on the hillside of our last home.  And sometimes they just feel so unlucky that I won't let them have a pet turtle (too stinky) or a pet snake (too scary).

But they really lucked out a few weeks ago, when my brother in law Joe, suggested they go look for frogs at the ponds by their house.  The boys and Jimmy got home a little after midnight (the frogs only come out when it is completely dark), so excited to have caught four frogs and one big toad.

The next few days they were outside from early morning til bedtime; busy converting a few bins into the perfect frog habitats, catching bugs for the frog food and training them to jump on command.  It totally makes me smile.  

The only rule is no frogs in the house.  They know if that were to happen, that smile would be nowhere to be found.  

So in that first picture Andy is whispering "jump" to the frog.  They have also "taught" the frogs how to play leap frog with their hand.  Oh man, it cracks me up and I just don't ever want these boys to grow up.  Is it too much to ask that they stay at the age where having a pet frog (even if he has to stay outside in the backyard) is the best thing they could ever imagine?

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