Happy 2 Years!

Wow! Time flies doesn't it? I am sure that you all feel the same way as certain events take place. Well for me it was my 2 year anniversary on July 7! We cannot believe how fast the time is passing by but are grateful because it means we are having fun and is a lot better than it seeming like time is dragging on! :) Well since we spent our anniversary last year amongst nature and bears, I insisted on a hotel. We wanted to get away for a long weekend and decided a visit to one of earth's wonders was a good idea so we went to the Grand Canyon! It was absolutely incredible. I had never been there before and we look forward to visiting it again one day. On with the pics!

Still happy-2 years down, forever to go

Some cool watchtower

1 of many scenic shots

Of course, what's a trip without a scenic dakota pic? (miss you dak)

I could not believe this place! It was huge! Did you know all those canyons were made just by thousands of years of corrosion from the Grand Canyon? It's true.

Another beautiful picture


A little close to the edge.....haha

But not as close as Dustin!

Of course we had to stop by In N Out...even if it was a little out of the way...(*2 hours..ahem)

Dustin gave me the most thoughtful present for our anniversary :) We didnt really want to buy anything for each other so I decorated his office at work and he framed our marriage certificate. It made me cry a little :*)

And some beautiful flowers too!

For dinner we went out to "Gloria's Little Italy." I had been wanting to try that place for a while and it was worth the wait! It was delicious-I love ya babe

Kendall's Angels

Wow, I am really behind....again. Well at the end of June we partcipated in the Relay for Life, but this time we did it in Rexburg! It just felt better to celebrate and remember my daddy right there at home. It was also nice because the Andrea, Connor and the kids were able to come! We were really worried because it was pouring rain all day and we were sure that the relay would have to be cancelled, but right when it was time to start, the sun came out. It was really neat. The kids had a blast-especially Alexis who stayed up all night and cheered everyone on to keep walking. Celeste came and walked with me and we all had a really good time. The Luminaria Ceremony was very touching as we all thought of those we had lost to this horrible disease, and celebrated those who have overcome it. We plan on participating in the Relay for Life every year until we find a cure-as should everyone else! Here are a few of my favorite pictures off my computer of my dad. We love you, miss you, and will never forget you! love, your little girl

"Ignorance is Blissters"-Clever huh?

Well, they never said it would be easy, they only said it would be worth it-and they were right! I did the Ragnar Wasatch Back relay and I have to say it was a really good experience. The race is from Logan to Park City-188 miles. They say it's an overnight party between 12 people-I don't know if I would call it a party but it was fun. My friend Kiirstin asked me if I wanted to run because they needed an extra runner so I said "Sure,"-not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I trained for about 3 months. Well race day came way too fast and I was really nervous. (It didn't help that I crashed my car into a lightpole in an empty Walmart parking lot on my way over.. :( sorry babe...but that's a whole other story!) I tried to channel some positive energy from my wonderful teammates and ended up having a really good time-especially when I wasn't running! A quick overview of my 3 legs:

LEG 1- Hot, 7.4 miles, horrible, constant uphill, dirt road, everytime a van passed me I got dirt in my lungs, eyeballs, and mouth-couldn't wait to brush my teeth! People giving me sympathy cheers because I honesty looked like I was going to die (trust me I have pics, but noone of you will ever see them...)Life was good when I finished this one!

LEG 2-Pitch black outside, 3:00 AM, really sore from the first leg because we had 0 time to ever stretch, thought I was going to be eaten by a bear because the runner before me saw one, ended up being 5.1 miles when the handbook said it would only be 4.2-bummer huh?! But everything considered, this was my best run for sure!

LEG 3-Piece O' Cake-or at least easier than the others, 2.5 miles, cool and rainy outside, on a paved road, really REALLY sore, Dustin cheering me on :)

That was the race! I felt really cool that Dustin came to see me because there really weren't any other spouses around. I am one lucky lady! You know, it is really amazing what your body can do if you push it. I have never worked my body that hard on so little sleep and food. I slept about 3 hours and it was bad sleep (we were pretty scrunched in the van). You hardly get any fuel because because you are too scared to eat before you run and then you are sick afterwards. On top of everything, the exercise/no sleep diet seems to really get your insides working so everything you eat lasts for an hour before you have to visit one of the "Honey Buckets." Gross name huh? Sorry I am probably being a little too graphic so I will be done. Can't wait for next year when the whole McIntire clan does it in LA! Yeah Kinosha Kickers!

Thank goodness for water and water MISTERS

About to run my last leg-pretty happy about that!

Team finish! 188 miles later!

One last pic at home

2nd Annual McIntire Vegas Trip

Since I am so behind on blogging I think I will be quick about this and just let the pictures do most of the talking! Last year we met up in Vegas with Dustin's family and it was so much fun that we decided to do it again! This time Dustin and I stayed at Trump Towers. It was really nice-its cheaper than other nicehotels because there isn't a casino but since we don't really gamble it was a nice choice! The rooms were awesome! We basically laid out at the pool the whole time but we DID sneak away to go to the Beatles "Love" Show. IT WAS AMAZING! I love Love LOVED it. The only negative was it was hard to see EVERYTHING that was going on-maybe I will have to see it twice. Well it was a blast and I am so grateful to have inlaws that who make me feel part of the family. They are so funny and I must say I think they spoil us :) Here are some pics!

Mini Trip to Moab!

We went on a fun mini trip to Moab a few weeks ago with Dustin's old roommates Josh and Brian. It was a lot of fun! We did a lot of off-roading in the Dakota, rode bikes, and just enjoyed being outside and away from home. I'm a little lazy today so I will go ahead and just let the picutres do most of the talking!

We ate lunchables for every meal while we were there

There was a car show going on while we were there which was nice because it kind of lit up the town a bit! This is Dustin with his favorite car from the show-Dodge Challenger

"Top of the world!" It was breathtaking-these pictures don't do the view justice

I was furious during this picture-I can't believe I even took it! You cant tell but that rock is a big overhang and it is STRAIGHT down for who knows how far down. They went right to the edge so they could "get a cool picture" but they were pretty scared. Ugh they are so dumb..

Us in our awesome bike helmets

In front of the Arches National Park sign-I loved that place! It was really cool!

Balanced Rock

The boys in front of Double Arches

Delicate Arch-it was kind of a long hike to get up to it but it was really worth it in the end! This was my favorite of the arches

In front of Landscape Arch

Now the offroading pics...Dustin was so proud :)

Goodbye pic-What a good trip!

Easter!

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. Growing up I always looked forward to our family's annual Easter egg hunt (where the eggs are filled with money as well as candy!), the Easter bunny, coloring eggs, and that beautiful new Easter Sunday dress I knew I would get. My parents were always so good at making sure that we understood the "real reason" for Easter, but honestly, back then that was kinda the boring part. As I have gotten older I have started to appreciate the "real reason" more and more each year; but this year I don't know what I would do if there was nothing to Easter but eggs, bunnies, and dresses. I am so grateful for this wonderful time of year where I can focus on the Savior and the mind-boggling sacrafice he made for me and my family. I love how Easter is always kind of "kicked-off" with General Conference-and this years especially touched my heart. I appreciated Elder Holland's talk that reminded me how much Jesus Christ loves me and how His atonement has impacted my life. As hard as losing my dad was last Easter seaso (and still is), I can't imagine what it would have been like to go through this without the comfort and hope the atonement gives us. I really don't think I could have it if I didn't really KNOW that I would get to see my Dad again. Christ suffered the suffering of the world so that when my family came to this near-unbearable trial, we would get throught because he understood how badly everything hurt. I know He was with my dad and my family each step of the way. I know He is with my Mom and that that is how she can stay so strong. And I know that he is with my brother helping him stay strong while he is so far from home and would otherwise seem alone. I hope I will always remember and appreciate this amazing blessing.

Now for the commercial side of Easter: :)

Well, the last few years I have found the most eggs but this year Dustin "dethroned" me by finding a whopping 49 eggs. I got second place but it was a little discouraging...haha. Well, at least it wasn't my sister.... ;) Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of our hunt, but it was as intense as always.

Austin and Alexis Coloring eggs. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Some of Dustin's and my eggs. Dustin's are on the left and he was very proud of his creativity-haha

Austin and Alexis in their new Easter outfits

Dustin was able to meet his new little niece this trip! He held her for the first time (actually I think it was the first time he ever held a baby....period) and I swear I saw a little twinkle in his eye..haha. She is so beautiful and we just love her to pieces!

Under the Sea!

So Dustin and I love the weekends. As soon as the weekend ends and Monday arrives, i am already looking forward to the next one because for us, the weekend is like one big date. Well this last weekend was one of our more creative ones. Usually we just do the whole dinner and a movie thing but this time we decided to try something new. We had heard a lot about the Living Planet Aquarium and thought we'd check it out. Well i think we were the only ones that didn't have children with us but it was still fun! I think everyone should check it out! They had all sorts of fish, bugs (yuck) eels, sharks, turtles, frogs...everything! It took us a couple of hours to get through it all! Here are a few of the highlight pics:

So I may look a little crazy in this picture but unfortunately, it is the best one that Dustin took of me the whole night...Standing next to Tiger Fish

Dustin and Turtle

So after the aquarium we got to move on to the most important part of the weekend...EATING OUT! I love eating out...no matter where it is. Anyway we like eating at this burger place in American Fork called "Chadders." basically it is a pretend "In-N-Out" for us Utah people who don't get one. Its pretty good! However, the burgers arent as big as "In-N-Outs" and its a little

more expensive. We still love it though!