R.I.P. Squeakers

In a post a while back I shared about the little fiasco dealing with the boys' mice (one ate the other). Later that day, we ended up having a burial service. Pete came home early that day after receiving a call from Clifford asking him to come home. Clifford has never asked this of his dad, and Pete felt so bad for him. He tidied things up at work and took the rest of the day off. The neighbor kids Sam and Aliya were over playing, so Pete took Clifford into the house to talk privately. Not sure what was said, but it made Clifford feel a bit better (he was really upset over his mouse being dead). All morning long Clifford wouldn't go into his bedroom without someone being with him (that's where we kept the mice cage). To help him feel better, Pete lit some incense in Clifford's room and told him it would cleanse the room. That seemed to do the trick for him. Then they came back outside and proceeded with the burial. Pete dug a hole and placed Squeakers in. He was about to cover the hole when Clifford stopped him. He wanted to do this himself. Sam, Aliya and Kristjan picked leaves off a tree and placed them over Squeakers grave. Clifford had me write on a leaf to use as a tombstone. THEN we had to deal with Fuzz Ball....the canibal mouse. We had him out in the open outside. Sam looks at the white mouse and said "He's going to Hell...that's the devil world". I CRACKED UP laughing at this, just the way he said it so seriously. Gotta love the things kids say so innocently. I really didn't want to keep the mouse so we decided to set it free in the swamp field behind out old apartment building. We then walked away thinking that was the end of it......BUT THEN....

This last Tuesday night as Pete and I are sitting on the couch, a neighbor gal from the apartments across from us (right next to the swamp field) knocks on our door. She had seen the mouse cage sitting out on our back patio while walking her dog, and wanted to know if she could buy it from us. Her son had found a white little mouse, one you would see in a pet store, on their back patio a few days back, and has been keeping it as a pet. ARE YOU SERIOUS????!!! Pete and I just looked at each other and laughed. Fuzz Ball ended up finding a new home. The canibal mouse lives on!!!! We gave her all the supplies we had. We weren't going to take any money from her, but she insisted. I told her to just pay each boy $5 (though I'm feeling a bit guilty now about this. we forgot that the boys actually bought the cage themselves with their own bday money. oh well...)