Of mice and men

Mostly of mice.

It wasn't our best trip to Nevada.  We caught over ten mice in traps which was horrifying.  Through unspoken agreement, Adam is the one who deals with all the mice in traps and I am very appreciative.  On Sunday morning I pinned him down to have a real conversation if he wants to abandon this whole adventure because every time we come, there seems to be some sort of mishap. (We also had an under the kitchen sink leak.)

I feel guilty, like he is doing it just for me.

He assures me he isn't.

I went out into the kitchen (carefully, tentatively, checking the mousetraps just in case) and I looked around the beautiful room that I love and out the windows at the falling snow (Elko County springs are not for the faint of heart) and it is worth it.  It is very often a hassle and/or money pit, but I also love doing it all with Adam.  I have learned new things about him and learned new ways to appreciate him and that is kind of exciting after almost 30 years of marriage.

So we will forge on.

And I am going to try to convince an exterminator to come from Elko and figure out where the mice are getting in.

I wish we could figure out how to keep a cat around to catch the mice outside, but my mom said cats in the neighborhood are disappearing.

Saturday morning I saw a mountain lion/cougar/puma/choose your own adventure out the window down by the barn.

Do mountain lions eat cats?  That feels weird.

Wolves are officially in the area too, not to mention coyotes.

I don't know.  Now I'm just rambling about all the reasons I'm not going to let QE go out and play by herself any time soon.

As ever, it was nice to be near family in the neighborhood.  On Saturday morning we went to help my aunt Olivia and uncle Brad move into my cousin Hannah's new house that used to be my uncle Drew's house.  It's confusing so don't worry if that doesn't make sense.  Hannah and her family are in Europe for four months and Olivia and Brad are living there until they can build a new house.  

The Dahl family:  we re-use houses and names apparently.

Emma and I took a walk with my mom and Olivia (sister Olivia) in the afternoon and stayed and visited with my parents a little.  

We enjoyed a nice rest of the afternoon with our two kids.  We listened to music and Adam and Mark attached doors to a cabinet and Emma and I did a puzzle.  We went back to visit my parents and stopped and picked up my jacket I had left at Olivia and Brad's.  

I love being related to the entire neighborhood.

After church yesterday we had a lovely Easter celebration at my sister Olivia's house.  Aunt Olivia and Brad and my aunt Claudia were there as well as my parents and two of the Cobian family's friends, Riller and Gustavo.  The dinner was delicious and then Olivia had planned a very nice program.  We read scriptures and shared testimonies and sang songs.  I cried.  Olivia is a wonder as she orchestrated it all, switching between English and Spanish with panache.

I loved hearing testimonies from Olivia and my parents and my aunts and uncle.  

Like the rest of the Christian world, Easter has been on my mind.  I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful for the hope and peace it gives to me knowing that this life is not the end and that I can repent and be forgiven.  Since I've known those things all my life, I think I take them for granted more than I should.  It's nice to have holidays to pause and remember and appreciate.

Adam and I drove back to Utah a day earlier than we'd planned.  We're having a Goldilocks problem because our bed there is not just right!  My neck and back, which have been going along swimmingly, were not happy with the bed situation.  Also, since we're going to San Diego tomorrow morning it seemed like a good plan to have a day home to regroup.

We weren't sad about leaving the mice behind either if the truth be told.