Introducing...

...the newest member of our family, Goldie II.

Faithful readers may recall the short time that Goldie I was with us following the Firemen's Festival when a kindly volunteer rigged the game so that Nat could win a fish (which she LOVED).  And the subsequent brain fart I had when I told her Goldie had gone on vacation instead of to Heaven.  The poor child has lost enough animals in the last year that I thought a simple tall tale about vacation would spare her some heartache.  Wrong!  Almost two months later and she is STILL asking about a fish that was alive in our house literally less than 7 hours.  

So, today we went to the pet store to see if we could find Goldie on vacation.  We saw lots of fish that looked a whole lot like Goldie, but then saw this other fancy fish.  Unlike his predecessor, Goldie I, an ordinary carnival goldfish, Goldie II is a betta fish.  Read: Goldie II comes with a 14-day replacement guarantee in case of untimely death.

Nat picked him out of a line up of lovely bettas, picked out his rocks and plant, and off we went.  He is hers to take care of, with lots of supervision of course.  I actually like to watch fish swim, but the idea of cleaning tanks, etc really sort of grosses me out.  But I think it's a healthy thing for kids to have pets, and since right now the last thing I need is another really dependent thing to keep alive, a pretty low maintenance fish it is.

Welcome home, Goldie II.  

P.S. Natalie clarified with me that Goldie II is a boy, in case you were wondering.