Cake Stand

Joe and I recently celebrated our 8th anniversary.  Occasions like this often cause me to reminiscence and since we've known each other for 20 years, there's a lot to recall.  With the new school year about to start, I am especially drawn to thinking about when we first met in 6th grade.  Life seemed so simple then!  I know this year has already been quite difficult, and I know that it's about to get a whole lot busier for Joe, but I am constantly amazed at how tough Joe is and how faithful God is.  So as Joe finishes up his last PT session today, I'm choosing to fight the urge to want to skip ahead to next summer when the business and craziness of this school year is over, and instead to focus on the present even with all the mess of it, because there is joy to be found now that 20 years from now, I'm sure I'll be reminiscing about.

I made a cake to celebrate our anniversary and left the cake stand out.  I decided to use it in my pictures.  Doesn't Laurelin look so cute eating her spinach?!  😍

Tarmund didn't really want his spinach.  But he did want to show off how cute he is.  Good job Tarmund!  😍

I believe Kili is the one on the right eating the spinach.  I'm proud of him for trying it!  Now if only I could figure out how to convince Fili to eat his spinach.  😁

Uniqueness

I enjoy seeing the uniqueness in all 7 of my pets.  I also appreciate that my husband is letting me have more than double the limit he gave me for pets.  😬😂  For all of you that enjoy seeing my pictures of all our pets, you probably should thank Joe.  He's the hero of this story.  But seriously, I am SO grateful for the way he helps take care of pets, even though he didn't want them all.  He's the best.  😊

I absolutely love that Laurelin often looks like she is actually smiling in the second picture.  She is such a great hamster!  She's also the smartest and most determined hamster I've had.  I think if she were a dog, she'd be a border collie.  😊

Tarmund is the most violent hamster I've ever had in the way he attacks anything new or different in his bin (it's actually hilarious!), but he is a sweetheart with me, which makes me appreciate him even more!  Basically, if Tarmund were a dog, he would be a chihuahua.  😂 

Fili and Kili are so chill and always ready to explore!  I think if they were dogs, they would be corgis.  Also, I would love to own a corgi!

Peaches

I don't normally buy peaches, but I've been pushing myself to try more and more new recipes, especially ones that seem daunting.  For my entire life, I've been using the same crust recipe I got from my mom.  It's flour, oil, and water.  It is SO easy to make.  But even though I have experimented quite a bit with flavoring it, I've been losing interest in it.  I really wanted to try to make a crust that actually uses butter instead of oil.  So I made a peach tart with a different crust.  I was fairly happy with how it turned out, but I think it would be better if the crust had been rolled out thinner.

Is it just me or does Laurelin look like she's in a painting?  I think she was tempted to try the peaches.  I didn't leave her with them long enough to find out.  Hahaha!

Tarmund looks so small next to these giant peaches!  He is such a cute little guy!

Well, if I'm honest, I can barely tell these two apart anymore.  The size difference isn't as obvious so the personality difference is all I have left.  It's easiest if I am interacting with both of them, but that doesn't always happen.  All that to say, I don't know if it was Fili or Kili that got stuck under the peaches, but it was pretty funny to watch!  I'm pretty sure Fili was stuck and Kili was eating his treat.

Purple Flowers

It's been a weird couple weeks and my schedule hasn't been followed well, so I didn't take pictures or post last week.  I've felt like I'm stuck in limbo with so many random things.  While I certainly am looking forward to having a more structured schedule again, I also really appreciate that I really can have a lot of flexibility in what I do.  But as always, striking a balance is my ultimate goal.

My mom gave me these pretty flowers from her yard.  Laurelin happily ate most of her lettuce before saving the rest for later.  She actually tried to eat the flowers so I got her away from them since I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, and I still needed them for pictures with the other hams.  😊

I really didn't think Tarmund was gonna eat the lettuce, but after thoroughly exploring, he came back for it.

These boys sniffed everything very carefully, occasionally nibbling on the lettuce and flowers, but didn't really stop and eat anything.

Favorite Treats

It doesn't take me long at all to figure out what my hamsters like the most.  I usually assume that if they stop what they are doing to eat a treat, than it is one of their favorites because they can't wait to eat some or all of it.

Laurelin is the most adventurous eater of my current hamsters.  I think as she has tried new things, what she considers to be her favorite treat has changed.  She used to be obsessed with pecans, but with this one, she stashed it in her cheek for later.  I'm pretty sure a bit of plain, cooked chicken is her favorite treat.  She freaks out if she can smell it on my fingers.  

Tarmund's favorite treat is walnuts.  He always manages to perfect the look of a happy grouch when he is eating a walnut.

Fili and Kili's favorite treat is also walnuts.  It's the only food I have found that will guarantee that they will sit still until they are done eating.  I especially love how happy Kili (right) always looks when he is eating walnuts.  He is such a happy blob.  😂

To Eat or Not to Eat

One part of pet ownership that I enjoy is observing and learning the different personalities and traits of my pets.  I like discovering their likes and dislikes, figuring out their favorite foods, and predicting how they'll handle a new situation.  With just a bit of time, it's easy to see that each pet is unique, no matter how small they are.

Laurelin loves romaine lettuce.  She happily ate a bit and stored the rest in her cheek.

Tarmund likes lettuce, but he generally only takes a few nibbles and doesn't bother to save the rest.

Fili and Kili still have never tried lettuce, but I continue to provide them opportunities because if they actually eat some, they might realize they love it or at least like it.