EEEK!! Is that a . . .

So, those of you that stay in close contact with us will know about our ongoing saga with a . . .

MOUSE in our HOUSE!  

About four weeks ago, a week before Halloween, we discovered that we had a mouse in our house.  We heard some scratching noises coming from a kitchen cupboard and later found chewed up snack bars and candy in that cupboard plus two other places.  GRRR.  

Ok, so the sneaky little mouse eventually got caught in a humane trap, only to escape said trap.  So we invested in some more heavy cute, less humane traps (including the old fashioned spring traps).  The little devil sprung all of the traps and stole all the food without being caught!

Round two . . . Matt sets another trap that is much less humane (traps the mouse inside with no possibility of escape).  The next day, the mouse was caught.  We thought we were done.  A few days later, I'm in the original kitchen cupboard (which has been stripped of all food items that are not in hard Rubbermaid containers) and what do I find?  Mouse droppings!!!  Since I had just put some items in there the day prior (after we had caught the original pest), I knew there had to be another mouse.

Matt reloaded all of our traps with fresh food, but the mouse would not take the bait.  Finally, Monday night, James was brushing his teeth on the stairs (don't ask me why he was there with his toothbrush) and yells, "I just saw the mouse!"  Well, the little critter had taken up residence underneath the shelf in our kitchen where we keep coloring books, play-doh and such.  We carefully moved the shelf enough to trap in under a large plastic bin when he ran out.  Sure enough, we caught him.  Now what?!?  

We slid a large piece of thick cardboard under the bin, taped the bin to the cardboard and took him several miles away to be released into the wild.  I have friends, who have had rodent problems, tell me that professional pest controllers have told them you have to take them 3-5 miles away from the food source or they will find their way back to you and your lovely scented food.  So Matt and the boys took the little guy out to the Shakespeare Festival ground (on the other side of the river) and released him.

Hopefully, he's happily romping in some grass today.

The following are pictures of the mouse in the bin.

A freshly caught mouse trying to escape.

A very tiny mouse in the corner of the bin.

James, still with toothbrush in hand, watching the mouse.

Jacob's cat, Orangey, standing guard over the caught mouse.

Unfortunately, when they returned, Jacob was very distraught over letting the mouse go.  Apparently, he wanted to keep it as a pet!  The next day, the kids drew lots of pictures of their little friend as therapy.

Monkeys in the tub!

It's been a while since I've been able to get all three monkeys in the tub, so I snapped some pictures of them.  I was also thinking it might be one of the last opportunities to get all three in the tub, so I ought to take advantage of it!

They were so silly!  It's quite a tubful, though, with all three in it at once.

Rub a dub dub!!!

 

Fall Leaves 2011

I love when it's time to rake the leaves and let the kids plow into them.  There is such joy in such a simple thing, it's truly amazing to watch them.  They get so excited.  Whether it's piling leaves at the end of the slide or simply making a big pile, as you see here, there is nothing but joy and big smiles!

James is such a good helper.  He insisted on raking all of the leaves.  In fact, he started to get upset with me when I tried to help him rake!

Jacob and Julia enjoying the pile.  Yes, Julia is wearing a tutu.

I especially love the pictures that need absolutely no descriptions!

Apparently, leaf play left Julia all tuckered out.  She nodded off during dinner.

Halloween 2011

Halloween is so much fun for the kids.  Both boys were very excited to see that mommy had gotten pumpkins at the store in mid-October.  So were so cheap one week (18 cents/pound) that I bought a whole bunch and have been using them to decorate the front of the house.  Jacob and James quickly laid claim to specific pumpkins on the doorstep that they wanted to carve.  Below, Jacob is working on cleaning out his special pumpkin.

Once he realized how much work was involved in the cleaning out process, Jacob said he was all done and mommy could finish it (which she did).  He really enjoyed eating all the seeds we cooked.

James got to do the cutting and carving completely unassisted this year.  He was so excited.  One of his favorite parts is cleaning out the pumpkin.  He thinks the goop is really cool.  He also knows that when it's all clean and the seeds are separated from the goop that he gets to eat the cooked seeds!

I don't remember what I made, but Julia was sure enjoying licking the mixer paddle!  I realize this has nothing to do with Halloween, but it's a cute picture!

Let the carving begin!  Jacob started to try cutting into his pumpkin, but it's still a little bit to hard for him.

James, on the other hand, was completely ready and willing to do all the carving.  He even drew on his own face for the pumpkin.  He did a great job.

We moved our freshly carved pumpkins to the dining room, where it was a little darker, 

so we could light them.  

Jacob was upset because the candle in his pumpkin wasn't bright enough (it was a new candle that needed to burn some wick!).  So after a few tears, we changed the candle and turned that frown upside down!

Jacob's pumpkin is on the left.  James' is on the right.

Jacob kitty. . . For at least a month prior to Halloween, Jacob was going to be Spiderman.  In fact, he was still Spiderman until the day before Halloween.  Suddenly, on all hallows eve, Jacob told everyone who asked that he was going to be a kitty.  WHAT?!?!?!?  Well, fortunately for Jacob, his fantastic Aunt Jen had made a bunch of kitty ears for her daughter's birthday in August.  Grandma brought several pairs home with her.  He's also lucky that mommy just happened to have an eyeliner pencil in her bathroom.  I don't know how we would have given him a nose and whiskers otherwise!  He also inherited a Halloween shirt with cute little kitties on it from my cousin's daughter.  What a lucky guy.  He's still Spiderman occasionally, though.  But he's now moved on to Iron Man.

What was James this year?  Can't you tell?  He was Obi Wan Kenobi, the most famous Jedi Knight ever!  He didn't want to wear the mask that came with the costume, but if you look at his right shoulder, you'll see the jedi crest (from the animated series, Clone Wars).

Sweet little Julia, our ladybug girl!!  She was so adorable.  I was a little concerned that she wouldn't wear the wings.  I've tried putting wings on her before and been very unsuccessful.  She was very eager to put them on and be a ladybug.  She really liked wearing the ladybug "ears."

Trick or Treat!!!

Julia was all too eager to chow down on her goods after coming home.  She was so cute.  She walked around the house carrying her pumpkin, saying "trick or treat" and "candy." 

Our Halloween decor from the street's view.  If you look closely, you will see the kitty in the window with a few bats.  What you can't see are the skeletons we made out of milk jugs.  Good ol' Mr. Bottle Bones!

The kids with their loot.  We generally let the kids eat whatever they want when they get home.  Julia and Jacob ate a lot more than I expected them to.  I thought for sure they'd be sick the next day.  While they didn't toss their cookies, I don't think they felt all that great.  Neither one of them ate much for real food until dinner time the next day.  

This year, we tried something new with the candy they reeled in.  I convinced them to trade all but five pieces of candy for a new toy.  James thought this was a great deal.  Jacob took some serious convincing, but eventually came around.  James got a bey blade (if you don't know what these are, they are just the coolest toys for little boys since sliced bread--I actually don't understand the fascination, but he's thrilled!).  Jacob got some superhero action figures--Batman, Superman and Metallo (apparently Metallo's heart is made of kryptonite).  Julia fell in love with a My Little Pony toy called Twilight Sparkle--she actually reads four different books and sings as many songs (her mouth moves when she talks and sings too!).

McCall, October 15

So the weather has definitely turned since the last trek to McCall in September.  It was supposed to rain this weekend.  Julia and I opted to stay home where we could also stay warm!  It's just amazing to think how far the lake has receded in just three weeks' time.

The best part about being in McCall when the weather is not so warm?  Cable!!!  

Spongebob Squarepants on TV!!

October Cub Scouts

Matt takes James to scouts, so I don't remember exactly where they were tonight.  I think it may have been the Foothills Learning Center.  They took a hike and looked at some cool bugs and sculptures.

Is that a praying mantis on her hand?

Happy Birthday Matt

The boys love to help blow out the candles.

Grandma pulled out her accordion to entertain the kids.  Of course, James asked her about it first (I think daddy told him she had one and he just had to see it!)

Jacob and Julia dance and clap to grandma's tunes!

And what else should appear?  A ukelele, of course!

Does your dog have fleas?  (you have to understand uke tuning to get this!)