Mice Update

Our furry friends still live here--although their population is decreasing at a rather fast rate! However, we still have sightings and we can hear them occasionally. A couple weeks ago, I was teaching a couple piano students and during the lesson I could hear squeaks coming from the piano which I was sitting at. I don't think my student noticed and I tried to act as calm as possible!


A friend from church, Mr. Rodgers, used to work with a pest company and knows all the tricks to catching rodents. He came over a couple weeks ago to look around our house and see what he could find. He found some larger size droppings and told us we also had a rat but had no idea how they are coming in because he couldn't find any holes. He gave us six large rat traps and told us to rearrange our furniture and place the traps out for a couple of nights without setting them, so the mice/rats get familiar and are comfortable with eating out of them. Each night we put different bait in each: jam, chocolate, chicken, cheese and peanut butter. They seemed to like the cheese and chicken the best. Once we set the traps, they were still able to take the bait without snapping the trap, so we realized that we had mice and they were too small to snap it! The traps that have been the most effective for us have been the glue boards. Although, I think we have caught James more then we have caught mice! As of today, we have caught six baby mice and one adult. We know there is at least one other adult, but they might have already moved on. Supposedly, you have to wait a year before you can be certain that mice have moved on for good. So, our traps are not going anywhere fast!

Memorial Day

My grandmother and uncle were planning on joining us for a barbeque to celebrate Memorial day. However, Grandma was not feeling well and they decided to stay home. So, we had plenty of food and called around to see who was interested in coming over for a BBQ. The Ng family and Manning family joined us! We set up our canopy in the backyard ( just in case we had some liquid sunshine : ) and brought out our camping chairs and folding chairs so everyone had a place to sit.



For lunch we served normal barbeque fare. David was our chief chef and BBQ man! He does an excellent job of grilling! The Mannings brought salmon plus ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert. Josh Ng made 2 peach pies and an apple pie to contribute as well.


After eating, we played a few rounds of Catch Phrase and physiatrist which was lots of fun and of course, we all talked! The boys also played some football.


Towards the end of the day, Kacy and Stephen Manning brought out their guitar and played for us and Jonathan and David brought out their violin and bagpipe and played some tunes and then a tune together.




It was a fun way to end a wonderful day! As people started to leave, we heard a few cracks of thunder and were glad the storm had held off until then!

Random Thought for the Day

We were discussing creation the other day, and someone came up with this line. I thought it was good enough to share!

"The Platypus: God's way to use leftover parts."

Movie Night at the Ng's House

Monday evening, we went to the Ng's house to show them Mr. Bean's Holiday. We enjoyed BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs plus all the trimmings, potato salad, green salad, chips, veggies, watermelon and Daniel's lemon cake for dessert. After dinner and visiting, we watched a home video of one of our Christmas piano recitals that the Ng's had attended many years ago. Following the journey down memory lane, we watched Mr. Bean's Holiday and listened to Josh laugh through the whole movie. It is pretty funny and clean compared to other Mr. Bean shows. Many people took pictures with my camera--here are a couple goofy shots. Melissa has more on her blog.

Little Amanda looking adorable!

David goofing with my camera and not looking adorable!

Watching Mr. Bean

Eating Watermelon

Melissa playing with her new camera.

Sunday Afternoon with the Raymonds

Sunday afternoon we spent at the Raymond's home. They invited us over for dinner and an afternoon of fellowship. It was a beautiful day and they took us on a walk to a private lake which was a couple blocks from their house. After spending an hour or so at the lake and playground, we headed back to their home for more fellowship and a delicious dinner. Here are some pictures from our walk and time at the lake.

Mice & Lawyers

We have mice and are having a difficult time catching them. In the past couple months, we have caught two and have had spaces of no activity between, but they are definitely back! We have seen signs of them in our kitchen and dining room but cannot figure out where they are coming from. I am sure they are encouraged by little boys who are enthusiastic about their food!

Last week, I had the stomach flu and had fallen asleep in the chair in our living room. I didn't realize that everyone had gone to bed and ended up sleeping in the chair. I awoke at 4am and as I was trying to get back to sleep....I heard a rustling and dinging sound somewhere close by. It was awful scary hearing this noise, knowing something was out there and yet not being able to see anything because of the dark room. I knew my mom was up because I heard her coughing so I called her and told her it sounded like something was in one of the vents. She sent my dad out who realized that the sound was coming from our piano. By this time Josiah woke up--I hadn't realized that he was sleeping on the couch. Dad turned the light on and Josiah saw something run from the vent and down our hallway, but we continued hearing the rustling and dings. So, Dad put out some traps and went to bed. I went up-stairs where I knew it would be safe! Josiah decided to stay on the couch and I kept hearing him yell out "we got it." Each time Dad would come out and check the glue trap and each time...no mouse. This happened about three times and then Josiah went to sleep!

Well, I was rather grossed out by all this and suggested that we purchase and use mouse poison. The boys (Jonathan and David) said before they did anything like that, I had to sign an affidavit. Here is a picture of what it looked like:

Let me translate: "I, Sarah, hereby recognize the fact that poisoning mice leads to unpleasant smells. As a lead proponent in the poisoning faction, I will not complain if it smells horribly.

Sign here__________________

The Hon. Wes Pinkerton AAL, THD, PHD, DDS, MD

Peter Wise AAL

Also if you notice on the bottom....the document had been "notarized!" As you can see...I did not sign it! I told them that it did not look professional in the least! I asked what AAL stood for and they told me "attorneys at law." I informed them that attorneys do not use those initials after their name and that is why Wes Pinkerton added the Hon. and the other multiple degrees! Here are a couple of pictures of our "respected" attorneys! I am sure they would be willing to help in any of your legal matters.

The Honorable Wes Pinkerton AAL, THD, PHD, DDS, MD

Peter Wise AAL

Political Activism

Here is a quote about political activism I received. I think this should encourage us all to become involved this election!

"It seems to me that there is less of an all out assault on home
schooling,but rather a gradual erosion of parental rights with things like
mandatory early childhood education, etc.

The absolute best way to ensure that the right to parental freedom of
educational choice continues to the next generation is to make sure that
homeschoolers today are volunteering on campaigns and building those
relationships that will make a difference when legislation comes up.The
precursory "I'm a constituent, please don't vote for this bill" letter barely
matters when the Representative is getting all sorts of pressure from
educational organizations, PTA's, and school boards who most likely gave small
dollar amounts and passed out flyer's at a meeting for the candidate.

Honestly, freedom is a privilege and that comes with great
responsibility.What better way to teach your children about the privilege of
freedom,than to have them sweat a little to protect it?"

~ The Political Director of the Kansas Republican Party ( a homeschooled
graduate)

Cinco De Mayo

Our family chose to celebrate the "Americanized" holiday "Cinco De Mayo." Both of my parents spent time in Mexico when they were single and my father, especially, likes the food!

Mom and Dad dressed in traditional outfits they purchased on their honeymoon for a little more authenticity!

Using brightly colored tissue paper, the children created these flowers for our centerpiece and the girls also put flowers in their hair.














Our menu included: tamales, shredded pork, taco meat, refried beans, mexican rice, homemade salsa, guacamole, blue corn tortilla chips, "Mexico Flag veggies," your choice of either flour or corn tortilla, plus all the trimmings! No one left hungry!

Of course, no Fiesta is complete without a pinata! Mom and Dad set the pinata up in the garage as a surprise! Everyone had an opportunity to take a swing at it--including James! The children all loved it except Grace. She was a bit apprehensive until the candy came out and then it wasn't so bad!

Our little "senorita"


The final blow.....

The end result!

It was a wonderful evening with many memories that we will all share for years to come!