Surprise. . .

About six months ago, we got a new family member. Sincere apologies for the late announcement; obviously my maternal instincts only go as far as the dogs.

Our newest addition is a turtle. My brother works for a pool cleaning company and he found our poor turtle stuck in a pool filter. She's a rescue turtle.

Her name is Toby Lorretta and she is a lovely little turtle. Her name was originally Toby Leroy, but after doing a little turtle research, we discovered our he turtle was a she turtle. Whoops.

Anyway, the turtle gets along just grandly with our new fish in the fishtank. On top of that, Rocco has an unnatural fascination with the turtle and the tank. He will sit for an hour and keep watch over the fishies and Toby. No joke.

Anyway, I only bring this up because something else happened, just last week.

I saw Shupe digging in our backyard (nothing new). When I asked what he was doing, he said our main plumbing line was having issues and he was digging it up. Although it was probably two feet over from where the line was the last time we had to dig it up (gross, I know), I figured oh well, whatev.

Later that evening, after finishing one fabulous bottle of wine, I look over at Shupe and he has one of those grins on his face that just screams "I did something bad."

So I ask Shupe what's with the look and he says, bashfully, "Toby is getting a new house."

I say, "Umm, excuse me?"

"Don't you think he needs a bigger house? I'm building him a pond."

"Ummmmm... A pond? The pond I told you a million times I don't want? That kind of pond?"

"Yes." (sheepishly)

So, there you have it. Toby Lorretta gets a pond and I get heartburn over my fear of the onslaught of bugs that will follow. How can you have a pond without bugs? Isn't that why vector control asks you to clear standing water?

Oh, and don't get me started about the creepy fish that will also be in the pond. I mean, those fish are just weird.