McIntire Family Reunion

At the end of our trip we went out to Heber Valley camp and spent three days with Matt's family. We shared cabins and spent many hours doing crafts and eating delicious food. The boys were sobbing when we left. It was fun to spend so much time with Matt's family. I even got a few folks to run with me while there!

Cousins and dogs

Oh how my boys miss their cousins. They could play and play for hours with them. We counted up the other day and the boys officially have 52 cousins and only 5 live outside of Utah!

They also woke up every morning and went straight to visit the dogs. I think the dogs were a little relieved to see them leave!

My sister Becky and her baby Ella were able to make the trip out while we were there. Here are the two girlie cousins one week apart!

Happy 31st Birthday

Matt was able to celebrate his 31st birthday in Utah. We met up with his family for dinner the day before and then we had dinner with his brother on his birthday. He requested a banana cream pie for dessert! For his gift I bought him his very own stretchy pants to cycle in!

Park City

While in Utah we ditched the kiddos with my parents for a week and went on a staycation to Park City! It was AWESOME! We had a blast and I don't think the kids really noticed we had left. It happened to be our 9th anniversary that week as well. We visited the Olympic Park, hit the zip line, coaster and alpine slide, rode bikes with burning lungs, relaxed, swam and hung out with lots of fun friends and family.

The only pictures we took were when Matt introduced me to golfing. I lasted till the 8th hole and then just spent the rest of the time driving the cart!

The annual trek to Utah

This year we spent the last three weeks of summer in Utah! It is a good thing because fall came early in Seattle and it rained most of August. The boys had a FABULOUS time! They were in cousin, dog and soda heaven. Here are a few things we enjoyed while Dad was working.

We went to the zoo for my first time in about 10 years! It has come a long way since I was there last. We rode the carousal. Ethan decided he was afraid of the carousal and clinged to me for dear life until the last 30 seconds!

Saw the giraffes.

Saw the cute baby elephant. My favorite part.

Rode the zoo train.

We went to the acquarium, which I have to say is nicer than the one in Seattle!

We pet the sting rays which feel much slimier than you expect!

We went to Thanksgiving Point on $2 Tuesday and hit the farm. This is Ethan and Cole's first pony ride. They both enjoyed it.

As it was $2 Tuesday we went to the Dinosaur Museum as well! The boys love this place.

Rides at Seattle Center

I was starting to get paranoid about the fact that my kids had never been to a theme park or ridden any rides. My friends suggested we hit the rides at Seattle Center and I thought it would alleviate my guilty conscience. It can go either way with kids and I wasn't sure which way my kids would sway. I was relieved to discover Cole enjoyed the rides so much that he wouldn't use his hands! Ethan enjoyed all the rides but the Frogger.

This is what happens to my kids when the sun shines, they just can't open their eyes!

Riding bikes

We took off Cole's training wheels and he is starting to ride his bike!

A man of many talents

We bought a water table this year and it didn't come with a cover. I bought a tarp from Home Depot and decided I needed to somehow configure it for a cover. Matt had an idea to cut and sew all of which didn't make sense to me at the time. So, I suggested he do it and he did! It is kind of nice when your husband can sew as well as you can.

Matt was trying not to pose for the picture.