A Day at the Zoo

I spent the day at the zoo with Erin and her two kids: Zyon and Ginni, today (see left: Erin holding Ginni, me, and Zyon in front in our bunny ears). It was a lot of fun.
We began the day with breakfast at the Donut Hole. Then we headed off to the mall to get bunny ears for everyone. There weren't any there, except for some expensive ones at Claire's, so we decided to get bunny ears for me and Erin and check Target for bunny ears for the kids. They didn't have anything, so we headed to the zoo.
Entrance to the zoo was free because of the Easter activities. We helped make bunny ears for the kids and then participated in the bunny hop. (Right, Erin and her kids get a picture with the Easter Bunny)
They were trying to set the world record for the largest bunny hop, so we participated in that. It is hard to do the bunny hop while trying to help a little kid who doesn't know what the bunny hop is, plus I got really hot in my jacket. We didn't make the record, but it was still fun. I guess they are going to try again next year, but hopefully I won't be here to try (aka, hopefully I will have started my dream job by then).
After that we participated (well, the kids did anyway) in an egg hunt. Actually, only Zyon participated. Ginni didn't want to. (See Left, Zyon after the hunt, still looking for more eggs).

Adventures in House Sitting

I know its been a very long time since I last wrote. That is partly because I'm really busy, working two jobs. But another reason is that I never really know what to write about. This weekend, however, was really different. I house sat for one of my bosses. She has a beautiful home. I started Friday night. My boss had given me her garage door opener and I was to care for her two dogs and her cat.
Friday after I work, I drove out to her place with my friend, Colette. (Left- notice the big grin on Ginni's face? Both of the kids wanted to be as close to me as possible). We arrived with no problem, got in and let the dogs out. At the time, the cat also got out. That's not a big deal, but when it was time to get the dogs in, the cat wasn't back. We stepped outside to get the cat, and I, without thinking, shut the door behind me. I really hate those doors that open even when they are locked. I never think to unlock them. Well, we got locked outside. I left my cell phone in the house, which had my boss's cell number as well as other emergency numbers. We had no way of getting a hold of anyone, and no where to go.
This was Colette's first time ever being locked out of a house. I had to laugh, even though it was my own fault. Luckily, Colette had her phone on her, and we had the number of another lady that works at my job who was sure to have my boss's number. Unfortunately, we could not reach her. We tried calling other people, with no luck.
So, how did we get in? Luckily, the third time was the charm in reaching the first lady I mentioned. She gave us the cell number of my boss, I called her, and got the code to get in to the garage.
That night, we stayed up late playing Wii. It was a lot of fun, but made for a tired Saturday since we had to get up early. My church had a breakfast for the women starting at 7:30, so we got up for that. After breakfast, we went back out to my boss's house. I had so much energy that I was awake for a while. I got a massage in their massage chair, and then vegged in front of their projector screen TV. We watched a movie, and after that was over I fell asleep for about an hour.
Then I needed to get up again because I had a wedding to go to. (Right - Still on the couch with Zyon and Ginni). A high school friend got married. I met up with Erin so we could drive together. Erin's daughter, Ginni, was really excited to see me. She just had this big grin on her face the whole time. She wanted to sit with me, wanted me to take her potty and the likes. Erin ended up taking her potty after the ceremony and she just kept asking where I was.
The wedding was really nice. It was at a Foursquare (?) church. I've never heard of them before, so I don't really know anything about them. But the service was nice.
After the wedding, we went to the Raddisson for the reception. That would have been better if they hadn't served pork (I really don't like pork, especially pork chops like they served for this meal, though Erin told me it was really good). Still, it was good.
I went back out to my boss's house after that. I got about another hour of sleep before I had to head out to work at Walmart.
Today I ended up going to Erin's to hang out with her. Once again, Ginni was giddy to see me. The first half hour was spent with her sitting in my lap and hugging me. Every minute or so she would look at me, giggle, and then throw her arms back around me for a big hug. It was really cute. Erin asked, you just really love Rachel, don't you. Her response was a big "Yes!" with no hesitation whatsoever. Again, she had a big grin on her face. I really don't know what I did to make Erin's kids love me so much, but it's nice to know that they do.
The pictures here are from today's visit to Erin. Zyon was excited to see me, too, I think. He just didn't show it with quite as much enthusiasm as Ginni.

Medora

Yesterday was a tiring, but very fun day. I started working my second job this week and so the last few days I didn't get very much sleep. Then yesterday instead of sleeping all day like I originally planned, I drove with Erin to Medora where we met up with Heather. It was a lot of fun. We walked around, bought Taffy, looked in the shops, ate lunch, visited the Theodore Roosevelt museum, and basically just enjoyed being together. It may be the last time for a while that the three of us can do something just us, with no other distractions.
Oh, we also rode in a stagecoach! Check out the pictures:

Erin, me, and Heather eating Jelly Bellies

Me on a bucking horse

Erin, me, and Heather eating jelly bellies

Heather, me, and Erin in the stagecoach

Moving

Well, I have officially and completely moved out of Utah. (We really had to pack in the car to get Sara up to Brigham City. The following pictures show just how cramped we were. Of course, I had plenty of room, being the driver and all, but I had to feel bad for Sara. She definitely had the least amount of space. In fact, she was practically buried!!!! And that is only because we had already stashed some of Gizmo's things in the car I drove up to Brigham City that morning. Otherwise, Sara would have had to ride on top!) I have left nothing behind, except a sister or two, and a car that I gave to one of those sisters. Everything else I have gotten rid of. It kind of feels nice. I feel like I have dejunked myself a little, but there is still much to do. Gizmo is quickly getting used to being in a new place. He acts like he doesn't like change, but he really doesn't care as long as his people don't change . . . aka I don't leave him.
It was a long drive, but I made it without stopping once. I sure am tired, even though I slept pretty much all day since then.
I'm gonna go now. I hope to update you soon, especially since I start my new job on Monday!

McGee Family Reunion

This weekend has been an interesting one. On Friday we drove up Price canyon to my aunt and uncle's cabin. (Left - one of the games we played around the campfire. It is called Rock. You pass a rock from hand to hand, trying to keep the person in the middle from finding it. I took this picture because my grandparents were actually playing, too!) It was quite a ride. Their place is kind of secluded, but it is nice. We made it for dinner, though I was a little worried when we missed the turn off. After dinner, we mainly hung around the campfire. We played a couple games before people started to trickle off.
Saturday was a much more eventful day. In the morning, we had breakfast before getting ready for games. (Right - the line for breakfast in the morning) The kids went on a scavenger hunt to find things for crafts. Then we started other games. We had a 3-legged race (which I was skipped over competing in until the end, so I didn't have a fair chance to be the actual winner, even though I ran the race I was in), a pillowcase race, a horseshoe competition (in which Lizzy did fairly well. She won two games), a suitcase race, and the candybar game. You know, the one where you have to put on a bunch of clothes and try to eat a candy bar with knives before someone else either gets a specific number, or rolls doubles (we played rolling doubles). (Left - Pillowcase race. My sisters are in this one, but they are way far behind) I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I did get some good ones.
I won the pillowcase race for the 18yrs+ group, Bob McGee (uncle) won the horseshoe championship, and I don't remember who won everything else. We had trophies for the winners made out of a thick branch, debarked and written on, then with a string tied around each end and beads on the string. I really like them. I should have written down the winners, but oh well.
After we finished the games, we had some free time before dinner. Dinner was served and afterward we handed out prizes to the winners of the games followed by dessert, peach cobbler and cherry cheesecake. (Right - me racing in the pillowcase race).
After dinner and dessert, most people started to leave. We stuck around because we didn't really need to get back to anything. I'm glad we did because after we cleaned up, we got to go out on 4-wheelers. I rode with Monty (uncle), Sara rode with Jim (uncle), and the kids rode in a larger off-road vehicle that I don't remember what it was called with Heidi (aunt). Then Monty taught me how to drive a 4-wheeler. (Left - racing in the three-legged race with Trishelle against Michele and Jenna, the champions. We beat them, but didn't get recognized for that. It sure is hard to run with a kid attached to your leg though, because they have a much smaller stride than you do and you don't want them to trip) That was a lot of fun. I guess I'll have to get one someday so I can practice a little more.
When we got back, I made Lizzy go, though she rode in the larger off-road vehicle. By the time they got back, it was getting dark and we headed out. I was glad to get back and get some sleep. (Right - Gizmo came along, too, though he mainly stayed in the new carrier that I bought him. I felt bad for him because he was in it all night and all day, but whenever I tried to bring him out, he didn't want to! Sometimes he would stick his head out, but he didn't want to leave. Sometimes I think it was because it was warmer in there, but other times, I think it was because he could smell lots of things that scared him. He was terrified of the fire, the dog, and pretty much everything that moved). I hadn't had much sleep the past several days. Unfortunately, I think it all caught up to me and now I am sick. I was pretty miserable this morning. We went to church and after church I drank a lot of herbal tea (which really seems to have helped) and took a long nap. I'm feeling a little better, though still pretty miserable. Still, despite all that, I had a great time this weekend and I'm really glad that I was able to make it to the McGee Family Reunion.

Suitcase race, we had a tutu, bra, and little girls' swimsuits. It was quite amusing. We also had one extra person, so considering that, we did pretty good coming in second.Candy bar game. Here Carla is putting on the clothes. We had these little girl mittens that only covered our fingers. We couldn't get our whole hands in.Betsy playing the candybar game with her son Daniel on her lap.Elizabeth playing horseshoes.On the 4-wheeler that I learned to drive.