We got the kids together and showed them what was going on. The odd thing was that she died right in front of us while we were talking with my Dad about the likelihood of having to take her to "the vet" so she wouldn't be in any more pain. It was a little surreal that we were right next to her cage when it happened.
Julia was very sad and didn't want to see Valentine because it was too upsetting. Jonathan, on the other hand, wanted to stay with me and ended up holding Valentine for a little bit. It was interesting that their reactions were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
After a few minutes we had a small ceremony and buried Valentine in the backyard. Julia made this rock and put our names on the other side. Although Jonathan has said "it was the worst day of his life", he and Julia haven't mentioned it since! Kids are pretty funny.
