Kyle brought home a surprise...
A snake!! A slithery, slimy, scaly, serpent!
Every boy's treasure.
Meet Gophiss. Kyle found him (nearly stepped on him) while on a landscape job. After showing us his prize, Kyle took the snake to a pet store to ask some questions. The guy at the pet store picked him up and held him. He said he's a gopher snake and would make a great pet. Meanwhile, Seth at home was relentlessly wondering when Dad would be home. He was praying for a new pet snake! Kyle called me from the pet store to consult. Uhhhhg. I could see images of an empty cage and snake on the loose. I was tempted to exile the thing back to the desert. We agreed to go for it, but I didn't tell the boys yet. Twenty minutes later Kyle walked in the door carrying the snake. Seth just stood there. He couldn't process that Kyle was holding the snake! We told him we could keep the snake! Jonah came running up and immediately put his hands all over the poor creature. He went for the head, everything. Somehow the snake found a little hole beneath our book cupboard and managed to poke its head through. Tense moment! I saw Kyle pulling the snake back. I thought for sure the snake was GONE or would jump back and bite Kyle. Kyle later said he was willing to let the snake bite him. He was not going to let go. It was time to put the snake back in the box. We then worked on his new aquarium. He now has a great home with all the fixings. I'll post more pictures later. We asked the boys where we should keep him. Initially Seth wanted to keep Gophiss in his own room but then suggested Mom and Dad's room. I guess he wasn't so sure about sleeping next to the snake. So we set up camp in our room and watched the snake until bedtime. This morning Seth begged to move Gophiss to his room. We talked about names. Jonah said "Slither." Seth said, "Hisser." After they learned that he's a gopher snake, Seth wanted something with gopher. So we smooshed "gopher" and "hiss" together to make "Gophiss." I think the name is sticking.
