The other day after a rain shower, Tom found this little baby toad and brought it to the house to share with the girls. They fawned over it and begged to keep it, so we made a little makeshift aquarium that the girls filled with grass and leaves. "We'll name her Taylor, because it works for a boy or a girl!", they said.

The girls obsessed over Miss or Mr. Toad (sorry, I just can't bring myself to call a toad Taylor) for a couple of days, but alas, they couldn't get it to eat any of the crickets, grasshoppers, or ants they found. In fact, once they found the little cricket perched right on top of toad's head.

It took some convincing, but finally we talked the girl's into letting it go since it very likely wasn't going to survive in captivity. We promised she would be happier with her mom and dad in the big wide world. They bravely set her on the sidewalk outside and watched her hop around. But when Daddy came to take her away and put her back where he found her, the tears and trauma began. Abby couldn't sleep alone in the basement that night because she couldn't stop thinking about her beloved Taylor.

So, imagine their delight when a few nights later we found this little gal in front of our garage!

And not just that, 2 more BIG toads! (Mom and Dad?) I chased one under the deck for a photo:

Finally the girls believed us. She was much happier with her Mom and Dad! Chalk it up to a great learning experience for the girls.

Christian brought one of the big ones inside for a visit (and a little freak-out session by your's truly).

Christian is a great friend who came all the way from San Diego on his bike to visit us for a night. O.K. Not just us. But we were still very glad to see him. And we are glad we got to share him with our little toad friends.