EEK!

Adam had a rough night.

Recently we noticed that mice (ew) had been getting into the garage (yuck). Adam started leaving out mousetraps every night, and after catching nearly a dozen in the first few days, the mortality rate has mostly slowed down.

But not before we noticed that the mice had also been getting into the car (disgusting), which wasn’t even in the garage due to Grandma’s old furniture still being stored inside. Did you know mice like ranch? Yeah, it’s true. They chewed through a couple old ranch containers from McDonalds that had fallen under the seat and completely licked the ranch out. They didn’t touch the sweet and sour or barbeque, though. Why would they need to eat the ranch, with three children worth of dropped snacks hidden under car seats? Well, mice are greedy and obnoxious, so they ate the ranch, tastiest of all non-ketchup dips, and then they still ate the gram cracker chunks, lost cheerios, and bits of froot loops. And they left evidence of having been in and around all three car seats.

Five Outdoor Things I am Really Excited About

Here are some things outside of the house that I'm a big fan of at our new home.


- Pond

Don’t tell the girls yet (or ever?), but there is a pond in the pasture next to us. Sometimes there are ducks on it. It’s very pretty. I wouldn’t ever swim in it (my uncle keeps cows in that pasture sometimes), but it is nice to look at. And in the winter, you can take your chance sliding around on the ice a little bit. It’s not ice-skating per se, but something kind of close to it.

- Basketball Hoops

My grandparents’ old hoop is still up over by the hanger (though it needs to be rehung and restrung) and there are plenty of other cement places to put up a hoop someday. We didn’t have any good cement pads at the old house, so we kind of hit the basketball jackpot here. Horse, anyone?

Happy Fourth of July!

Every year, Adam and I go over to my parents' house a few times in the weeks before Independence Day to shoot off fireworks. Why? Well, fireworks don't go all that well in town when there's lots of trees, not a lot of empty yard space, and you don't want to shoot off fireworks in the road. Also, I'm told, we're not supposed to shoot them off in Goehner at all. But some people do, so I may be wrong about that. Or maybe people are just really chill about that rule.

Anyway.

This year, for the first time, we were able to do fireworks at our own house! Without worrying about neighbors or getting reported for using fireworks in city limits! And we even got to invite Mom and Dad over to watch. Which I think Mom preferred because she doesn't have to pick up used fireworks the next day AND she won't have to complain about finding firework debris in her gardens for the rest of the summer.

Five Indoor Things I am Really Excited About

There are lots of things I like at the new house, too. Here are five things inside the house that I'm particularly enjoying. And given the stormy weather of the last month or so, having a safe basement to cower in ranks high!


- Basement

What the heck, nature?! Nebraskans are good people. Lay off the severe storms, please? But at least we have a good place to go during severe weather. We can even bath, sleep, and paint and heat set dishes in a kiln down there if we need to. (Except the kiln isn’t set up yet. Someday.)

Patio Pool Party

Since we’re doing a lot of work at the new house and the girls enjoy playing over there, plus there’s so much more room to play, we set up our pools on the patio.

Yep. Plural. We have more than one pool.

Really, should that surprise anyone?

Actually, we’ve had a small plastic pool for a few years. Last year, Adam cracked it on the bottom. It has duct tape covering the crack now and does not seem to be leaking. But it may not have much time left on it. And we thought it would be good to have a “calm” pool for Agatha and a more wild pool for Emaline and Gwendalyn. Plus, three girls don’t fit into one small pool without a little territorial arguing.

Don’t Make Friends with the Wildlife

After the girls were in bed, Adam yelled that I needed to come look at something. Outside the living room picture window are three of the four little raccoons that live around the new house.  And Adam is tapping on the glass to amuse them.

I don’t enjoy killing animals, but a family of raccoons is not really something we can have. They will eventually need to be, unfortunately, put down.  If you have ever lived on a farm or acreage, you may be nodding your head or sighing in frustration because you’ve experienced this before. And you know how frustrating it is. If you’re really offended but live in the city and don’t actually have to deal with this level of critter issue on a regular basis (meaning lots of them every day), please don’t lecture me on wild animal ecology. You don’t even want to know what I think of mountain lions. And now I’m freaking out a little because I’m thinking about mountain lions. So thanks for that.

Most likely, Adam is the one who will have to handle the raccoons. I’m not a bad shot, when I’m not upset about having to be shooting at things. But I prefer bow and arrow, and that isn’t really practical here. Ever seen Robin Hood? Yeah, there’s no way I’m THAT good.

Five Things the Girls are Really Excited About

 The girls love the new house. Here are five things they are especially excited about.

- Windows

 This house has a few HUGE windows. The girls love looking at the plants, the sky, and the animals outside. The windows are now covered in fingerprints. And mouth prints. I will be having them wear Windex covered gloves in the house now so that they can wipe the windows clean as they look outside.