Nicknames and Guinea Pigs

Aloha!

That's hawaiian for hello. I know. You are now astounded at my foreign language expertise.

No, I am not in nor am I going to Hawaii in the distant future (as far as I know). So why would I start off my entry like that?

Here's why: I've never really had a nickname.. my brothers have and stuff but I just never did. I was just Lauren or insert-sweetie-or-some-other-nicety-here. But recently my mom has taken to calling me Lo-lo. I don't know where she got the idea or even why. But I've started responding to it so now my dad calls me it too. Where am I going with this? Well, I used to watch Lilo and Stitch the series on ABC Saturday Mornings. And I distinctly remember Lilo's older sister Nani calling her lo-lo pretty often. But it was used like this, "Are you lo-lo? That's such a bad idea!" or "Lilo! No! What are you, lo-lo?" That's right. My parents have been calling me the Hawaiian word for crazy. How lovely. I have actually told them this but they have either a) ignored it or b) that may have been why they've been calling me that all along. Even lovelier.

Anyways.

It's been a pretty lo-lo month.

My little brother Daniel went off to Jr High camp and while he was gone both of our guinea pigs, Penelope (mine) and Ginger (his) died from being left outside (in their cage) and suffering from heatstroke. It didn't seem like such a hot day or anything, and there was a breeze, but the dumb little things stayed in their little plastic igloos and basically baked.... Needless to say that was a pretty miserable day in The West family home. I got a new guinea pig, a little brownish red baby we named Nutella or Ella for short a few days later. And when Daniel got home and after we told him the news of our old pig's deaths and of their burial in the backyard he got a new baby too. (Btw, he was sad but he took it pretty well, unlike me. I most def. cried.) His baby looks like it could be related to Nutella but is gray instead with goldish yellow streaks. Her name is Ashley. (Get it? Ash-ley? Cause she's the color of...oh nevermind.) Our guinea pigs are pretty cute together. They love our bunny Roxanne and act like she's their mom which is pretty freaking adorable. She, however, tolerates them.

More later...