Hola, cuy

It's getting to be that time of the year when it's simply too cold to play outside in the evening. And even if it were warmer, the sun sets by 5 p.m. now, which leaves us a pretty short window to do anything fun after naptime.

So on many evenings, we'll pile the dishes in the sink and leave the remnants of dinner on the table and rush off as soon as the kids are finished eating to take them to the pet store. That's right, the pet store. It's sort of like the zoo, only indoors, and with fewer camels. The kids love peering into the bird cages, terrorizing the fish and seeing the dogs that people bring into the store to shop with them. If we're lucky, there will be a few puppies in the pet salon getting groomed, and the kids can press their faces to the glass and watch through the window while the animals get a shave and a haircut.

On this day, the kids were loving watching the guinea pigs chase each other around while we adults reminisced that trip to Peru when we had to eat the things. Calling them cuy doesn't make them any less disgusting. Hopefully the kids will get their fill of the filthy animals now, and we'll never have to have one in our home...as a pet or a meal.