Ryan's Ant Farm

Several months ago I got the bright idea that Ryan needed an ant farm. He is obsessed with ants. And even though the box said like ages 4+ or so, I still thought it was a good idea. So I bought the ant farm and mailed off my $4 for the ants. Sure, I could have found some in the neighborhood but I thought this was safer. I wouldn't end up with fire ants nor ants in my pants. (HA!! I couldn't resist). So I waited for like TWO MONTHS and finally they came. They were all stuffed in this little tube and several were already dead but I was still excited for Ryan to see his ant farm. So I poured the sand in, got it all ready, put the ants in the fridge (which the instructions recommended to slow them down before putting them in) and attempted to put the ants in the farm. The instructions did not tell you how quickly they become warm and quite mobile. Before I knew it I had ants all over my counter. But I managed to get all but one in the farm (that one met it's fate in the sink) and it was all ready to go. Ryan got a huge kick out of it for about one day. Now the ants are quickly dying off and making some weird red crap and the live ones are having to bury the dead ones (they really do bury the dead) and they just all look miserable. I've decided two things. One, ant farms are very cruel. It didn't make me feel any better as I made this (I felt somewhat righteous) observation to Bryce and he said something about pulling them away from their queen and therefore having no way to survive and no purpose or something like that. He always knows just how to give you a reality check. Two, you really should pay attention to the age recommendations on the box. Ryan kept moving the dang thing from place to place and shaking the ants as he went. Short story long, just let your kids watch them on the sidewalk. Now I just have to wait for the remaining 6 to die off. I can't bring myself to throw them away alive....