What a day!

Is this not the funniest picture you have seen all day long? Steve was working hard at getting whatever animal (we thought it might be a pack rat) that was under the pool equipment out so the dogs would stop digging around there. The poor guy was stuck like that for at least 30 minutes:

Riley helped a lot, too:

After Steve finally got the chipmunk out, Riley grabbed it, Steve yelled 'drop!' and Riley dropped it, then Gracie swallowed it whole...  She looks SO happy here:

and here she is after getting her well-deserved 

drink of pool water after it all:

Just in case you needed a laugh...  This is our CERTIFIED pack rat 

(and chipmunk) removal team in action:

"Jackisms" of the day

I was at the doctor with Jack today.  He went with me to the foot doctor and when we checked in the woman at the front desk gave him a coloring book full of National Landmarks and military vehicles.  While we were looking at it, he asked "Does the Vampire (Empire) State Building have Vampires in it?" which got quite a laugh from the people around us.   A few minutes later, he asked "What does the Stachaio of Liberty have inside of her? Pistachios?" He was a hit with all of the older people there!! 

We have a problem...

If you haven't yet heard, we have a small pack rat problem.  I guess they are common out here. Steve has been putting little poison packets out at night and we have been asking Michael to pick up the dog poop a little more frequently...  but we still have them.  Good news, though! Yesterday, Steve found a HUGE dead one out in the backyard!  I almost took a picture, but was trying to make dinner and didn't really want to get that close to it.  Today, though...  I had to take a picture of what I found today.  

A little massacre!  Three little dead rats that Riley and Gracie got... and Riley had another one cornered by the trash cans.  I haven't figured out if I am happy about this or not, but wanted to share.  Oh, and the rocks? That was Jack's contribution to the war.

Update: Upon further inspection, we believe these sad little guys are chipmunks and not pack rats. The one that Steve found in the yard was a pack rat, though...  the battle continues.