So Much to Report!

Well I finally got a job. It's a huge printing company and the pay is LAME but it seems like the only thing I could get. It'll be a fun job I think and I can wear jeans. And I love the hours: 7:00 to 3:30. That gives me the whole afternoon with my kids! And it will force me to wake up early which I love/hate. So, there ya have it. My new job.

I have a ton of pics so you're just going to have to deal with it.

Here's some pictures at Smith Park, one of the several thousand great parks here in Rexburg:

Matthias at first was afraid to go down the really big slide. He would climb all the way up, look down, freak out a bit, and climb back down. But he finally got brave. Anna, however, had no fear.
Below are pics of the really cool kid town there was at the park. There was a jail and some stores and it was really cool. Three days after I took these pictures, we went back to the park and the kid town was gone! I was really glad I'd gotten pics before that happened.

Okay and then we went to a family reunion in Pocatello. It was for my Dad's Mom's side of the family. I didn't know anyone except one aunt and two uncles and one cousin (Michelle!) and her daughters. Anyway It was Randy's weekend and I told Randy about the reunion and at first he said he'd rather see the kids so I planned on taking them to Nampa but then he emailed me saying he didn't want the kids to miss out on the reunion! I was glad because the trip to Pokie is a lot shorter than the trip to Nampa! And the kids got to see their 2nd cousins, Sasha and Valerie, whom they haven't seen since April. They had SO much fun.

Matthias and Anna often pick me dandelions. It's so sweet. Anna picked me one that day and suggested I put it in my ear. I told her I didn't want to but Matthias thought it sounded like a great idea to put a weed in his ear. Not exactly what Anna and I had in mind:

I don't usually spend much time on Anna's hair (lazy), so I thought it necessary to take a picture of my efforts. She's also wearing the smile that she wears when someone tells her to smile. Funny.
When we first arrived, the sprinklers were on. While everyone else was getting reacquainted (or acquainted), Matthias was running through the sprinklers. I managed to get this really great shot of him getting purposely sprayed in the face:
Pure cuteness after soaking:Michelle's daughter Sasha is a few months older than Anna, and Valerie is a few months older than Matthias. Here's the four of them running in the sprinklers. They had so so so much fun together, especially Anna and Sasha.Sasha fell and hurt her knee so Anna helped her up. This wasn't actually Anna's idea, but she was happy to assist as soon as Sasha suggested it. :) They were so funny together.
Here's the four cousins: Val (3), Anna, Sasha (5) and Matthias. Note the body language. Those middle girls just love eachother, eh?Oh my gosh, this is SO sweet!
This was so funny. Some other relative kid did something that was unjust (maybe made fun of Sasha and/or Anna? Don't remember...) so they were comforting eachother. Sasha was saying, "oh, Anna!" in a super cute pouty voice.They found a potato bug/pill bug/roly poly and were exceedingly fascinated. Their curiosity eventually killed the poor subject.Here is the mother of the lovely girls, my lovely cousin Michelle, holding her daughter. I happen to think this is a super cute picture of her (which she didn't even know I was taking at the moment!):
And here is my awesome Aunt Anita, Michelle's Mom, holding Val. I pretty much think the world of this woman, whose heart is gold.And here's my parents, looking at eachother and smiling. You'd think they're in love or something? I love this pic.
Going home.Take a deep breath, I'm almost through.

Melanie came over on Wednesday!! She went back home today. :( I asked her to help me with the kids so I didn't have to call some careless teenager to babysit if/when I got interviews (had an unpleasant experience w that earlier). It really helped because I got a job finally. I was intending to pay for her gas for the trip but she didn't let me and I know she's not rich so I'll pay her sometime. It was super nice of her and it was really great having her and Morgan here. Here they are:
Cousins in the morning.
A few weeks ago I was faxing something at the UPS store and Anna saw some cool toys on a high shelf and asked me what they were for. The worker answered, saying they were prizes for a coloring contest and she gave Anna a color page. She colored it and we took it back the next day and Anna thought she would get a prize right then. She was very disappointed when we left empty-handed. I explained to her the rules and that if she won (which I actually doubted, since I know three year olds who stay in the lines better! But I love my daughter the best), I would be contacted in a few weeks. She was sad until she forgot about it. Well I got a phone call and they said she won! Anna was so so so excited and we picked up her prize today. She got to pick from a goldmine of choices and she chose a Lightning McQueen puzzle.

The UPS lady was very gracious:


Well that's about all I have for now. I know it's really short; sorry about that. ;)