First Day of School for Ethan

This year I am doing a Mommy School for Ethan! There are five kids in the class and I got to teach the first day. Ethan was very excited about going to school and since then has had mixed reviews. In the end I think he likes it! He is very interested in his letters and numbers so I think he enjoys that part.

 Here are his school friends. Ethan, Caleb, Emmett, Leah and Thomas.

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Now you see them.....

Now you don't!

Over the last year Cole had been having periodic episodes of fevers and sore throats. They came every couple of weeks and I visited many different doctors! I finally convinced one doctor to give me an ENT referral and we had our appointment the day we got home from summer vacation. They diagnosed Cole with PFAPA. It essentially stands for periodic fevers and sore throats! The treatment is a tonsillectomy. They happened to have an opening two days later so I signed up. I was tired of missing out on so many different things so I figured we better get it done soon than later! They decided to throw in an adenoidectomy as we also suspected a little sleep apnea.

I was the lucky winner who got to go with Cole. After Ethan's surgery we decided it only took one parent to take a kid through surgery. It was a drive through tonsillectomy! We showed up, they took him back, knocked him out (he didn't go down as peacefully as his brother), they called me back about 20 minutes later when he was waking up and I knew which room he was in from the screaming I heard! He also didn't wake up as nicely as his brother. I held him while he was screaming and in the meantime he pulled out his IV and bled all over us. He eventually stopped, ate a popsicle and they wheeled us to the pharmacy to pick up the meds and we were on our way home an 1 hour and a half later. It was pretty crazy.

Cole recovered pretty well and overall the experience wasn't any worse than his fever episodes so we knew the drill. I'm happy to report, two months later Cole hasn't been sick! I think it is a record for this child and we are so happy with the result!

First Day of School

Here is Cole on his first day of school! He is going to a gymnastics preschool which so far he loves. This is his best friend Jack that he goes to school with.

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.