Yes, It is Summer and Yes, That is a Penguin...But He's Part of our Family!

What's happenin' hot stuff?  So, you heard we have a pet penguin?  Well, it's true...sort of.  His name is Carlos, and he is more than just a pet - he's a part of the family.  Here's how the story goes.... 

Last year, at Christmas time, Steve bought me this super cute stuffed penguin decoration.  He stands about three feet tall, has a few little friends around him, and is anxiously waiting by an open mailbox for Santa to send him a letter from the North Pole (where, coincidentally, I believe lots of penguins live).  Well, we just loved him and immediately decided that his name would be Carlos because he's a Mexican penguin (we love to speak Spanish around our house whenever we can, so it just seemed natural for him to be from Mexico!).   So, there Carlos stood, in the living room next to the couch, proudly celebrating Christmas with our family.  But, low and behold, the Christmas season came to a close, and we were faced with the heartbreak of putting Carlos down in the basement for the rest of the year, never to be seen again (or, at least, not until the next Christmas).  None of us could bear to part with him.  So, we decided to leave him out for a little while longer.  We figured - he's a penguin, he lives in the cold, so we can keep him out for the winter, right?  Well, Winter turned to Spring and Spring turned to Summer, and Carlos was still there, happily taking part in our family celebrations: on Valentine's Day we wrapped him in some heart garland; on Easter he wore bunny ears and stole some of the kids Easter eggs; and on the Fourth of July he was, of course, proudly waving an American flag ... well, holding one, at least.  Now, Carlos is a fixture in our house - we could never bear to ban him to the basement!  Steve is not so sure he's a member of the Carlos fan club, but I think we may have won him over.  It was either this summer when we realized Carlos was a HUGE Boston Red Sox Fan - he stole Sebastian's Red Sox hat and refused to give it back - I think he wore that thing for about a month straight!  Or, it may have been on Halloween when Carlos was sporting a super fun Halloween costume (a pumpkin headband with a mysterious masquerade ball type mask - he really fooled us all - we weren't sure who he was for a minute or two!).  Now, we find ourselves celebrating the Christmas season again, and Carlos fits right in.  For the next few weeks, there will be no more stunned utterings of "Um...do you know there's a penguin in your living room?" from our guests.  But, come January, the Christmas season will end, but Carlos will live on....standing by the couch in our living room!  After all, would you ban your Mexican penguin family member to the basement for 11 months of the year?  I think not!