Hamster Surprise!
At the end of this blog, I’ll tell you how you can help raise money for our furry-faced friends at Tulsa SPCA and, at the same time, win tickets to Rocklahoma! Btw, we are 27 days away from Rocklahoma, but whose counting?
But first, I must catch you up on some wild things that have been going on in Casa de Hernandez.
First off, I have to show one of the hardest-working dads in Rock n Roll, Bret Michaels. He has two beautiful daughters, 20-year-old Jorja Blue, and 25-year-old Raine. I’ve gotten to know Bret over the years. He has been known to call me after a big concert in Oklahoma to see what’s up, but this time, I called him before his (along with Def Leppard) concert at Walmart Amphitheater in Rogers, Arkansas. This is us just before he took the stage. I had to sport my Oklahoma City Thunder shirt because the night before we won our first National Championship!
New Turkey Mountain Trails:
I very much enjoy taking my kids to ground breaking and/or ribbon-cutting ceremonies so they can tell their kids when they take them that they were there on Day 1 with their grandpa!
The latest is “The Sanctuary at Turkey Mountain.” On July 9, 2025, Tulsa added this beautiful $2 million dollar project, with 90 acres of hiking and biking, with a nice big pond and lookout center. And we ran into TulsaKids’ Digital Guru, Tara Rittler!
Get a hamster they said…
Have you ever surprised your kids with a pet? How did it go?
My daughter wanted a hamster for a long time. I finally broke down. During Amazon Prime Days, I thought it would be fun for my 11-year-old to browse through the hamster habitats and pick one. She picked a great one, and off we were on a new pet adventure!
For the longest time I wanted a dog, but it’s such a huge responsibility, I’ve been reluctant to get one. My son loves dogs (like me), so 3 years ago we finally pulled the trigger and, well, the “Domino” is now more mine than anybody’s. Why? Well because I am, of course, the one who ends up putting in the hard work, feeding, walking, bathing, etc.
I’m so happy I did because I love that little numbskull.
Anyway, so now it’s my daughter’s turn. We went to PetSmart, and MaKenna was the nice worker who help set us up with “Billy,” named after Billie Eilish.
Angel was very adamant about getting a girl because she is/was “surrounded by boys”!
Two weeks after we got her, Billy disappeared! She is a Russian Dwarf, very small. I’d check in on her twice a day, and at night, to make sure she was adjusting OK, but since they are nocturnal she slept a lot during the day. And since she is so little and loves to burrow, many times I couldn’t see her and didn’t want to wake her. Days went by without seeing her, so I was getting worried. One day when Angel was at her mom’s, I finally said, “Sorry Billy, but I need to make sure you’re still alive!”
I took out all her bedding and didn’t see her! I sifted through the bedding, but no Billy! I was very confused and worried. I thought maybe, somehow she got loose and was just gone. I gave it a couple days hoping she would turn up somewhere (dead or alive) but not a peep, or squeak.
So, I broke the bad news/good news to Angel that Billy was gone BUT we can pick out a new hamster! I tried to ease the pain as much as possible because it was her first pet trauma. She took it great. In a weird way, I think it’s good for kids to learn with life, comes death. And, as us adults know, it’s much easier when it’s a pet, than a human. Still sad though, but life can be sad, right? It’s how we handle that grief that can be one of life’s hardest lessons.
Enter stage right, our new player, Beatrice!
A much larger white hamster. We had to modify the habitat, but “Miss B” seemed happy in her new home.
Then, guess who showed up!
At 2:00 a.m. last night, Angel comes walking in my room freaked out because she heard scratching noises under her dresser. When she moved it, Billy came running out! I was so happy she was alive, but worried because we hadn’t caught her yet, so we began moving all Angel’s furniture in her room and closet. I took the opportunity to grab the hand-held vacuum and cleaned everything as we went on our search and rescue mission.
But nothing! She most likely got out of Angel’s room and is now in the house somewhere. I sure hope we find her before Domino because that probably wouldn’t end well.
Stay Tuned….
Lynn & Jill’s Birthday Barklahoma is August 7!
This is our second annual fundraiser for Tulsa SPCA. Please join us from 5-7 p.m. at Tails and Ales, 1903 S. Boston.
Buy a raffle ticket for $1, and you could win Rocklahoma tickets!
My cohost for my Tulsa Rocks podcast, and cohort on 103.3 The Eagle, Jill Munroe and I share the same birthday, August 7. Although I am much older than her, we both love dogs and beer, so Tails and Ales is the perfect dog park for us to have our fundraiser.
We donated $1,000 last year. Please come help us beat that! Bring your dog (they need to be up to date on their shots) or, if you don’t have one, come play with the adoptable cuties Tulsa SPCA will bring with them!
Here is our Facebook event link:
