Mice or Rats?

My husband informed me this morning that we needed to buy some sticky traps because we had a little mouse in one (a sticky trap we already had)  in the garage and he saw a big mouse that the cat was not going after.  Well, all day from time to time I heard squeaking noises coming from the corner of the garage.  Mice seriously creep me out, so I was not investigating.  I did see a little one, baby looking, that appeared to be dead near the garage door.  I decided to leave it for my dear, darling, wonderful, manly husband to deal with because he would be home soon.  Well, when he got home, he pulled everything out of that corner of the garage and discovered SEVEN baby mice.  Well, he and the kids think they are mice.  My first thought was that they are field mice from the field across our driveway, but they seem awfully big to me.  I don't know, they could be rats.  Ellie and I looked up images of baby rats and mice on the net and there is not a big difference in the pictures.  Yuck, yuck, yuck! 

I took a picture because the kids decided they were cute, and not so creepy.  They chased away our dog when she tried to go after them.  Then they put them in a shoe box out by the tree we always take pictures at in front of our house. 

I told my mom about them, and she suggested taking them way back to the back of our property (six acres). I suggested that to Thomas and the kids.  They agreed it would be good to let them be free and whatever happened to them in nature would happen.  Wyatt thought it was good to give them a chance at life and not just kill them our let the dog eat them.  He was speaking so eloquently about the creatures, I was moved by his compassion and slightly less grossed out by the rodents (though I'm still grossed out).

Our garage is cleaner and neater than it's ever been.  I guess the momma rodent decided we would make a good place to deliver her babies.  I hope the dog and cat keep any other mommas away.

Thomas was threatening to get another cat, because ours wasn't mousing anymore.  The cat tried to redeem himself though.  While I was staining the under side of our new deck, our cat brought a nice fat shrew over to show me and chew on a bit.  I think sometimes that  he's offering to share when he brings his kill over like that.

Well, life couldn't get much more basic than that.