Hiking

Last weekend, we got to take the girls hiking. There was a nice, easy dirt trail to follow, and of course my kids just wanted to climb on the deadly rocks and cliffs! Then we found a really pretty meadow and they picked flowers and mushrooms.

My Mouse

I was shocked to see a little mouse on top of our garbage can a few weeks ago, so I thought I had two options, either catch it and let it go, or catch it and keep it as a pet (it's so cute!). So I knew I had to stick to option #1. So how to catch it without killing it? PETA sells some humane mouse traps, that basically catch it without harming it so you can let it go, and I figured Home Depot might sell something like it. I call them, and they say yes, they have humane mouse traps, so I go in, and ask the lady where their humane mouse traps are, she walks me over and says "This one poisons them, this one snaps their necks, this one glues them down" Hmmmm, which one of these sounds humane to you lady??? CRAZY!

I go home and figure my next option is to order one online, and google "humane mouse traps". I get lots of different fun things to try at home, so we did! And we succeeded! Just in case anyone ever has a mouse in their garage, do this instead....

Get a two liter pop bottle. Cut the top off, and flip it inside out on the bottle. Tape it together. Tape the bottle onto a piece of cardboard so when the mouse is in there, he can't tip it back down. Put some cereal or other yummy snacks in the bottom. Wait a couple of days.

Here's the video of how to make it:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/699142/howto_make_a_humane_mouse_trap/

Here's pics of mine, and my little mousey in it.

I tried this one too...

http://journal.chrisglass.com/2005/09/how_to_catch_a_.html

The mouse got the cheese and got away, I think it would work with a paper towel roll, not a toilet paper roll. He needed a little futher to walk!

Did I say "Triathlon"? I meant "Duathlon"!

The whole family headed to St. George in May so that Deb, Meg, Dave, and I (and Meg's friend, Jenna) could race in the 2009 St. George Tri. We got there early in the morning and realized that it was WINDY! So windy that the race directors were debating back and forth whether or not they could do the swim portion of the tri. After waiting hours, they finally decided to cancel the swim, and put a 5k in the swim's place. So instead of a 750 swim, 13 mile bike, and a 5k run, it went 5k run, bike, another 5k run. Needless to say that our family full of swimmers, not runners were not happy!

We had fun anyway, and started the race. I ran the 5k, did the bike, but in the middle of the bike dropped my second water bottle and ran out of water half way through! So of course, when I came back to the transition area, and realized the next water station was a mile into the run, I figured my "neighbor" wouldn't mind sharing her extra water bottle, and I quickly downed some water before she came back to catch me, and I was off to the second run! Got through it OK, it was fun, but it was a sandy run, more like running through a beach than a dirt trail!

When I got back, I saw Deb coming off her bike into transition trying to find her shoes. It turns out that her "neighbor" had accidentally taken her shoes and had run off to the second 5k with them! Deb was awesome, put on some strangers shoes and finished the race...and I bet she's still trying to scrub her feet off!

We had a ton of fun and the next stop will be Boulder Peak Olympic tri with Meg and Dave in July!

Meg trying to keep her helmet on with french braids in her hair...didn't quite work!

Before the tri started, waiting around with our wetsuits on that we never used!

Good job Meg!

Maddie's First (OK, Third) Haircut!

The full truth is that Maddie's had two haircuts before this, but NEITHER of them had been "Mom-approved", so I am saying this is her first official haircut.

The first haircut happened when I had left her with my Mom and Dad for a couple of hours, and my Mom was complaining about how her hair was always in her face. I come home a couple of hours later with it miraculously out of her face and completely straight in the back! How did that happen? My Mom still denies it to this day! I figure that's a small price to pay for having an on-call free babysitter!

The second one happened when Kenzie cut her own hair (see past post) and two days later admitted to me that she had cut some of Maddie's too!

Now onto the third (first!) haircut...She did really well and held still as long as she had the sucker in her hand. She got to pick out her hair style and loved it, but I think she was just mostly excited about getting to sit on a horse and eat a sucker!

Our First Poison Control Call-Maybe Not the Last!

I came home one night and went upstairs to find Maddie's light still on. Not unusual because she'll get up and play after we put her to bed. I went in thinking I'd find her asleep by the door as usual, but came in to find her still awake at 10:00 p.m.! She had taken her A&D diaper cream and made a little art project on her dresser, put it all over her face, binki, and mouth! I screamed to Dave "you get the camera, I'll call poison control!" Maddie said "Creamy bum!" which is what she says whenever she wants cream put on her bum. Yep, Maddie we see what you've done with the creamy bum!

Needless to say everything was fine, apparently they'd have to eat the whole tube for it to do any harm, and Maddie was just a little greasy for a while!

I'm just wondering how many "Maddie getting into some kind of trouble" blogs I'm going to be able to do!