One hermit crab..... rescued!

     Payson onion days brings a lot of fun times, fun memories, and last but not least some fun things to buy.  Keri was in the Payson onion days parade with the foothill cloggers.  She enjoys clogging, and is quite good at it, but this story is all about my little red headed boy!  Eric somehow convinced his grandma Brailsford to buy him the most wanted thing a 9 year old red headed boy would want at a carnival, a hermit crab!  Oh but not just one. Oh no he came home with three!  What is a mom to do?  Let him keep these creepy crawly creatures? Or rip his heart out and not let him keep them?  Hmmm......Well I decided to let him keep them under the condition that he took care of them.  He was so excited when he brought them home.  So proud of his hermit crabs.  He told me how he and Dillon raced their hermit crabs, and how his won every time they raced.   He had these three hermit crabs in  a shoe box.  Had some water and some marshmallows, lettuce,  bits of apple for them to eat.  Oh so proud.  He had them all tucked away and safe on his dresser ready for the night.  He woke up the next morning.  He went to check on his pride and joy.  Well, he had three hermit crabs one had a soccer ball print shell, one had a spider man print shell and the last had a superman print shell.  The soccer ball, and sprider man hermit crabs were gone.  They had somehow escaped from their oasis that Eric had created for them.  I was at work, and I quickly got a phone call telling me that they had escaped.  Eric had found superman, but the soccor ball was missing!  He had looked everywhere.  I told him that I would help him look when I got home from work.  When I did return home, my kids had looked on the internet how to find a lost hermit crab.  They had cut up plasic cups and spread peanut butter, and little cups of water all over the house.  In every room  was a small plastic cup of water and a little peanut butter.  Eric was devistated!  He told me he had set traps and everything.  So, I went on my search.  I looked in every room. I wondered to myself where in the world could this little creature be!  I don't want it to crawl in a hole and die in my house.  So, I looked again in every room.  I didn't want to attempt looking in Mindi's closet.  It is so messy, but I had looked everywhere else.  The little soccor ball creature had to be in there!  I began my search in the messy closet!  Cleaning as I went thinking to myself that Mindi doesn't need all this stuff.  I was just about to give up when I thought that I should move her big container of toys, and look behind it.  Well I did, and there it was a little white and black shell that looked like a soccor ball.  Eric was so happy and relieved.  I have to admit that I was happy and relieved to no dead hermit crabs to be surprised by later!  As Eric left this morning to school he said to me " Oh mom will you give my hermit crabs some water they are out."  So, I guess there goes him taking care of his hermit crabs.  Mom has to feed them and water them and find them when they escape their oasis!  Oh Well what a parent won't do for their kids!  :)