Not a mouse

This little guy was caught in our house earlier this month.  (It's a shrew, in case you were wondering.)  He was slower than a mouse, so easier to catch.  If only the mice were so easy.  We're still working on them.

We live out in the country, (and county), with lots of fields around us.

Bath Time

A picture from August!  Finally!

Speaking of bath time, the boys definitely need one today.  They've needed one all week.  It seems like this summer has made my kids dirtier and stinkier than ever.  Some days I leave the house hoping that no one notices that my kids smell. (like today).  Benjamin, however, has decided that he doesn't like baths and will only take a shower.

Home Depot

Family Reunion Conclusion

So after all the camping those who were left headed back down to the (super hot) valley and Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Unfortunately, before the camping ended, a nasty sickness showed up and swept through the family.  Not the best ending to a family reunion, but we came away with some great memories anyway.  We (Paul and I and the boys) were definitely thankful to be spared, but sorry to see so many of the family suffering.

We took some time to hang out with Marianne and Ryan in Eagle Mountain on Friday and Benjamin had a great time splashing in the pool with his cousins Bradley and Braeden (while Rhett slept).

That evening the boys could hardly be torn away from the swing set in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.  And they both learned to swing!  Without propelling themselves, of course, but both boys can now sit up on a big kid swing and go quite high without falling off, something Benjamin was resisting for a long time!

Some things we remember from the trip:

• LOTS of mosquitos!  Poor Rhett's head swelled with his bug bites so Uncle Jeff gave him some medicine to reduce it back to size.
• Driving through Orem and passing a large church building Rhett excitedly exclamed "A bepo!" (temple)  Since then he has been quite fascinated with them and loves to sing "I Love to See the Temple."
• Walking about BYU was fun, and I loved not having the constant stressed-and-anxious feeling that followed me everywhere during my five years there.
• We enjoyed going to the temple with Dad (while unfortunately Grandma was home sick, as was Ruth who was babysitting for us).
• Paul had a good time with Dad preparing for the ward's Pioneer Day activities.
• We had a great visit with Paul's Grandma Sanders and Aunt Cynthia and cousin Nate in Kaysville on our way home to Washington.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Duersch for a good time!

Family Reunion Part 4: The Family

Duerschs big and small (and Roylances, Segos, Andersons, and Cutlers) were reunited this year for four days of camping, eating, fishing, singing, and playing games (unfortunately without the Pennsylvania Duerschs--we would have loved to see them too).  While not everyone was together all at once, it was fun for us to see everybody and see how all the kids have grown.  Benjamin and Rhett loved playing with their cousins.

At the end were were tired out and read to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Family Reunion Part 3: The Fishing

The annual Duersch family camping trip took place at Washington Lake this year rather than the usual Ledgefork, but as usual there was fishing to be done.  Almost everyone gave it a try, but unfortunately the fish weren't as eager to bite as we had hoped.  Still, good times were had.