We caught a mouse!

We had been seeing signs of a mouse in the house for quite some time. Our first clue was when Matthew wanted to get into Emily's stash of Halloween candy, and all of the Starburst wrappers had been chewed through. Then we noticed that something was chewing through Thumper's bag of rabbit food under the sink. One day Matthew was killing a couple of cockroaches, and then I spotted a huge cockroach that almost looked like a mouse as it sped under the couch. About a week later, I spotted the same little fella running across the hallway...but he really was a mouse! Matthew made a special trap for him, but he was quite an escape artist. On the last night of Spring Break, we finally had him cornered! Matthew went into the laundry room and stuffed rags at the bottom of the door so that Scatty the Ratty wouldn't be able to escape. We heard quite a kerfuffle as I waited standing up on the couch and Emily begged to go in and help. Finally, he was caught! We took lots of pictures and debated about whether to keep Scatty to produce electricity by running on a hamster wheel. It was determined that he needed to go. We drove to the park by our old duplex and set Scatty free. He had almost become like a pet, so it was a sad night for some of us. Hopefully he is enjoying his new life in the park and bayou! Farewell, Scatty!

Toby

Meet Toby, one of Emily's newest stuffed animals. We found him at an antique store during Spring Break. Emily is quite fond of him, although he is a little different. Toby looks like he is traveling with a pack of straw on his back. His long ears reach the floor. He is made of burlap, and was either made to look very old, or he really is very old. He has a peculiar, very strong scent. There is something about Toby that makes you feel a little sorry for him. We can't say much about Toby, though, because his feelings get hurt rather easily.

Bluebonnets and the Barnyard

This is part of the famous Bluebonnet Trail in Texas. As you drive along the road, you can see fields and fields of bluebonnets. It was pretty amazing! We were actually lost and everyone was getting a little testy in the car, when we came upon this bluebonnet patch. Matthew set up the tripod, and we took lots of pictures. Matthew was kind enough not to post the pictures of me (Megan) sitting alone in the bluebonnets, looking like a very large, mentally challenged child. Emily has gotten hours of laughs from those pictures! Matthew kept telling me not to sit on any bluebonnets, but it was a bit difficult, since they were everywhere! I was also trying not to sit on any bumblebees. Of course, the actual moment was not as serene as it looks in the picture!!


After our bluebonnet expedition, we went to the Jersey barnyard to see the cows that are in the Blue Bell ice cream commercials. They are also the dairy cows used to make the ice cream, which really is delicious! The cows in the background were getting angry because they had run out of hay. Doesn't Emily look happy here? She loved getting to feed and pet all of the farm animals.


One of the coolest things was when Emily got to feed a calf a bottle of milk. The calf was really lapping it up! I think Emily would love to live on a farm one day. She loves animals and nature, being outside, running in big open fields... I guess most kids do, but she just seems to be in her element in the great outdoors! Plus, on a farm, she could have all the bunnies, cats, dogs, etc. that she wants!