The Rocc Flock: Blame it on the Bunny

The following story is all due to our owning Fluffy Bun Bun, the rabbit. We are in no means blaming the bunny. However, if we didn't own said bunny, the following would never have happened.

A few weeks ago, the twins and I made a quick trip to my dad's house to see the community theater production of "Bye Bye Birdie". I had told Mike that we were going to bring back a bale of hay for the bunny barn. My dad told me to ride over to my Uncle Frankie's barn and he'd help us get the bale of hay into my car. Thus begins the story...

We arrived at my dad's Friday afternoon and saw the show that evening. It was a great production and I loved hearing my dad laugh at the antics of the actors on stage. My hometown had just went through some really awful flooding and this fun show came at just the right time to raise the spirits of the community.

We had to head right back to the Lehigh Valley the next morning as we had a wedding that night. After breakfast, the twins and I headed over to my uncle's to get the hay before heading home. My Uncle Frankie was there and asked if we wanted to go into the barn to see the animals. "Come see the goats and the CATS" he said. This seemed innocent enough.

Upon walking into the barn we saw, as the twins describe, "An explosion of cats!" There were all ages of cats -- from Mommy cats all the way to teeny, tiny kittens. At one point, Cameron had his arms full of kittens and said, "I want to take all of these home." One little gray kitten he especially liked. Allie also liked her because she said, "She gave my leg a hug!"

Michael was not with us because he was playing in a softball tournament that weekend back at home. We already own two cats whom we've had lots of issues with over the past few years. We finally got those issues pretty much worked out so we really didn't want to introduce a new cat into the mix. "But she gave my leg a hug!" said Allie......and Cameron was continuing to snuggle with these little balls of fur!

I began to warm up to the idea of perhaps bringing a new love muffin home with us. Cell phone reception is pretty spotty up there so we had to drive back to my dad's house in order to call Mike. We left the kittens there and drove back to make the phone call. I KNEW Mike would not be on board with this new addition to the Rocc Flock household. Therefore, I had the twinjas call him. I put my phone on speaker and had the children explain going into my uncle's barn and the "explosion of cats" and all of the cute kittens, and "she hugged my leg!!" And then....."Can we bring one home??" At that point, Mike asked, "Is your mother there?" because I had not said a word. I sheepishly answered, "Yes, I am here.....and the kitten is really super cute!!!" Michael said, "I don't think this is a good idea but send me a picture or a video." I raised my eyebrows at the twins -- we had a chance!!

We drove back over to the barn to get the picture. Now again, cell phone reception is not the best there so we HAD to bring the kitten back to my dad's house in order to send the video to Michael. I took a picture and a video and hit SEND. We waited...and waited...and waited for a response.. I even called Mike but got no answer. We really had to get on the road in order to get home for the wedding so I made the decision, "THE KITTEN IS COMING WITH US!" We obviously had no cat carrier with us so we borrowed a comfy blanket from my dad, got her situated in between the car seats, and headed south!!

Notice the hay in the background....

Mike finally called me about 30 minutes into our drive. I had told the twins that we were going to act like I told them they weren't allowed to bring the kitten home and they should act like they were super mad at me. We were talking to Mike through the Bluetooth on my car...."Hello" I said. Mike said, "Hi, I just got the text......Are you in the car?" I answered, "Yes, we decided to not get the kitten....the twins are mad." The twins were suppressing their laughter in the backseat while giving the kitten soft pets. I was able to keep the lie going for approximately 3 minutes before Mike said, "The kitten is in the car, isn't she?" We all burst into laughter and said "YES!" I asked, "Are you mad?" He said, "Well, I don't think it's the best idea but she is pretty cute."

So here we are, two weeks out, and little Rhys (pronounced Reese named after Rhys Hoskins, a great Phillies player) and has gone from being a TINY kitten with a small cold to now being a bit bigger and WILD kitty!