Innes

Thanksgiving 2011

2014-12-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

The Table...

The Cooks...

The Food...

This is the first year I actually made a real turkey instead of being a cheater-pants and buying a "Turkey-in-a-Bag." I must say... it was definitely gross to prepare (although delicious to eat) and I was really sorry that I didn't research how to cook a turkey before the day before because I only bought it the day before and didn't know that it had to unthaw for... like... 4 days in the fridge! So... I had an early Thanksgiving morning date... me and turkey... in the kitchen sink... unthawing in water that I had to change every 30 minutes. Ugh. But the week of delicious leftovers that made fabulous tukey sandwiches smothered with mustard and mayo (my favorite perk about Thanksgiving) was soooo worth it. ;)

The Eaters...

I do look a bit tired...

The End. :)

Nana and Bumpa's Easter Visit

2013-06-07T09:44:00.003-07:00

Nana and Bumpa made their yearly trek down here to AZ for Easter again! Easter pictures are to come... but for now, here's some sweet pictures of the kiddoes with their grandparents. :)

Damon often found his way into Bumpa's arms...

...where it was common for him to fall asleep.

It wouldn't be a visit from Nana if she didn't make her famous chocolate chip cookies with the boys! Oh how I love those things!

Miss Eden made her way over too...

must've smelled that delicious aroma from two doors down.

Nana< delving out chocolate chips for eager tummies who just couldn't wait any longer...

Drewberry's first cookie. At first he wasn't so sure...

But then... delish!

Nana really wanted a picture with her three boys, and we tried wholeheartedly, but...

...oh my goodness, they are boys! We get an A for lots and lots of effort. :)

Love you Nana and Bumpa!

Take me out to the... front yard!

2013-06-07T09:06:00.002-07:00

Have I mentioned my love affair that I have with our culdesac? For real, I don't think we can ever, ever leave this place. We live in the perfect spot. Perfect for riding bikes, plasma cars, scooters, hopscotch, basketball, baseball... perfect.

Here's Dom, working on a grand slam...

Daddy is the best coach...

Look at that face! Love his determination.

Damon tried his hand at bat...

Drewsie sat in the grass and wiggled his toes...

...oh such cute little toes!

Love these little men...

This may be one of my favorite pictures ever...

Soon enough, it will be baseball games at the field... not in the culdesac.

I need to soak in these sweet, lazy days! And these sweet little boys, while they are still little.

Uncle Jarrod (a.k.a. Unca Jeh-whud)

2013-05-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

I love my brother. :)

So do these little boys...

The fact that he drives a super cool semi truck? Well, that is just the icing on the cake.

Dreams really do come true! Haha!

Thanks for being to coolest uncle ever. :) Love you, Jarr!

Feeling Festive?

2013-05-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Before Christmas... yes, before. I had flown out to Louisiana to visit my sweet sis and her babes. Besides being able to love on them in person, my favorite thing was going to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. This was so. much. fun. I felt like we were in Sherwood Forest! The little village was tucked away in the woods. It was named Albright.

Oh look! It's Robin Hood.

So picturesque...

We were just in time for the Royal Joust...

This girl was amazing (seriously!) at the hula hoop.

We were so inspired, we decided to have a contest ourselves...

Sweet little Alice...

Robyn...

Miss Ella Rose...

Some crazy girl we saw...

Lovely Little Drewberry...

This guy was pretty awesome at these sticks...

Alice tried and tried...

This sweet little bumpkin offered to help her... love her little dress!

Little William. :) He makes me so happy!

Me with a random group of peeps who were so exquisitely dressed, I had to ask for a photo. People take this renaissance thing seriously! They even talk in character. So fun. I wish I had a dress like that!

This guy was so happy playing his accordion. Made me smile.

I bought the little girls a fairy necklace. They filled it with pixie dust.

My dress... for next time? I wish I could go every year. Phoenix has a Renaissance Festival... but something about that type of festival in the middle of the desert just doesn't excite me much. :(

The ride that takes you back to the parking lot...

Three fair maidens... well, at least two...

And that's that. Here's just a random picture of Lake Ponchartrain, a 22 mile span bridge takes you across from Madisonville, to New Orleans. The view is spectacular. But it's usually a super sad ride... because it's the one I take back to the airport. :( Thanks for such fun memories Robyn!

Memories

2013-03-09T08:44:00.001-08:00

Memories of a Christmas a looooong time ago. Whoa. Where have I been!? Life has been sucking all of my spare moments away! Here are a few Christmas memories I want to be documented... even if that was over 2 months ago. Yikes!

My three beautiful (and spirited) boys. So much love.

We met Mamie (my momma) and Papa at a good ol' Chuck Wagon somewhere is SLC. The boys were in hog heaven. This was their first time at an all-you-can-eat-buffet. I think Damon may have eaten his weight! Oh my.

Drew had his first taste of fried chicken! Actually, his first taste of any type of chicken... he was pleased.

After dinner, we headed over to Mamie and Papa's hotel. They boys had so much fun pretending to take a shower in the room! Maybe a little too much fun. They found the hotel quite entertaining. We "showered", we read new Christmas books from Mamie and Papa, we went on walks to see the pool, we stole lots of apples from the front desk area (Damon has an apple fetish) and we took the elevators up and down, up and down... up...and...down...

...we gave presents...

...and loved on each other.

Here are some cute pics of Drewsie and his other grandparents...

...Drew and Bumpa...

Drewpy and Nana...

And here is one silly group of cousins, who Dominic and Damon miss every day of their little lives. Geez, living far away from family is soooo hard sometimes.

It had become unnervingly quiet downstairs, so I grabbed my camera, just in case I had the opportunity to capture a catastrophe (not that that would have been a good thing, but certainly document worthy!) and went to investigate. Tell-tale whispers and giggles led me to one of the upstairs bedrooms in Nana's house... I walked in to discover these little nerds...

Silly little chickens.

We Heart Snow!

2013-02-06T00:17:00.002-08:00

The morning after we arrived in Utah, our boys woke up to a super-exciting phenomenon happening outside... I swear, they were more excited than they were on Christmas morning seeing all their presents! No really... they were seriously more excited than on Christmas morning.

SNOW!!!

How lucky are we that (cousins) Ana and Donny are living with Nana and Bumpa right now and that they so conveniently had snow bibs and boots just hanging there in the closet... begging to be used!

These kiddoes were beside themselves.

It's the first time that they remember seeing snow. You know, that stuff we don't get here in Arizona?

They ate it, caught it on their tongues, made snow angels, had snowball fights, shoveled it, made tracks... their excitement didn't waver. They could've stayed out in that fluffy snow all day long.

Rich and I (begrudgingly, at first... although we had a lot of fun once we were out there) even borrowed snow clothes from Amber and Matt and headed on out to join in on the fun...

And to fulfill a heartfelt request on behalf of this little boy... a snowman.

(The "biggest, best snowman," to be exact.)

The excitement even caught up to Bumpa, who just couldn't resist the urge to throw himself on the ground and make snow angels! We love that Bumpa.

The boys and we worked long and tirelessly on those snowmen, while Daddy delivered shovel full after shovel full of fresh snow for building...

Mission Completion! Dreams really do come true. ;)

Utah is now and forevermore burned into Dominic's memory as the place with snow. He is obsessed with Utah. He had anxiety all week about when we were going to have to leave back to Arizona and leave the snow. He said he never wanted to go home, ever again. He said Arizona is not fun. He begged to live at Nana's house. He shed tears. For real. The kid loves snow.

And so, the day before we had to go home, he guilt-tripped Aunt Mimi and Uncle Jake into helping him build an "igloo" in the back yard.

Another dream come true. :)

Damon-Guy lasted a few minutes...until his gloves were soaked and then he was done.

Uncle Jake, cheater-pants-constructing the "igloo"... not very eskimo-ish if you ask me.

After an hour or so of enjoying the peace that comes when someone else is entertaining your kids... I came back outside to find this...

...three tuckered-out igloo-makers, fast asleep in their creation! Whew! Building an igloo really is hard work...even if you cheat. ;)

Then they decided to wake up briefly for a picture...

Thanks Aunt Mimi and Uncle Jake... we sure do love you!

And you KNOW we love SNOW!

Ummm...except when it means driving in this.

And that's why we love Arizona.

Rich and I, that is.

Dominic left his heart in Utah.

Christmas!

2013-01-22T13:09:00.003-08:00

Stockings had Lindor Chocolate this year! Santa knows just what I like. :)

The boys got walkie-talkies in their stockings... along with dinosaurs, coloring books, and cologne. Cologne!? Yes. Now they can stop stealing Daddy's. :) Such big boys they are becoming. Sheesh!

Dominic's favorites: Dominoes, Jake and the Neverland Pirates bath toys, Matchbox service station, police station, and carwash.

I love his "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" face...

...those are jeans in there. Yes... he was super excited about jeans.

Damon Guy's favorites: Thomas the Train Logging Set, Busy Town Playset, a new backpack for school. He doesn't go to school. So what?

Dom and Dame had fun "helping" Drew open up his presents...

Drew's favorites? I think he like the pink pig he got from Dominic.

Or maybe the mini-train set Damon picked out for him. He also got a new teddy bear and a light up turtle that plays music... aaaaaand a new bath seat so he can bathe with the big boys. So cool.

Rich got new clothes, cologne, a massage gift certificate (for all that stress he's been under at work!), and some framed pictures of the boys and some decor for his bare office at work.

Now that I wrote it all down... it sounds so... boring.

And me? Well... I got spoiled. Not only did I get a new Bosche... but I also got a new camera. Like, a legit one. I've been dreaming about one of these little babies ever since Dominic was a wee born. Sooo freaking awesome. :) Please excuse Rich's finger over the flash... he can pick out an awesome camera, but actually taking a picture usually presents a problem. ;) Love you, hon!

And that, folks, is it. Merry Christmas! ...a month ago. (sheepish grin)

Night Before

2013-01-22T12:37:00.001-08:00

The Elves came... right on schedule, Christmas Eve, to deliver Christmas pajamas...

And we tried for a picture in front of the tree..

...oh how we tried!

...and then we decided group pictures were for the birds.

Drewsie played with the decor...

...while Dominic and Damon finished wrapping their gifts for their sibling gift exchange. (I love how he spells "Drew"!)

This was our first year of doing a sibling gift exchange with the boys. Dominic and Damon were soooo excited to secretly pick out and wrap their gifts for each other and for Drew. For the first time in his little life, Dominic experienced the spirit of giving. You should've seen him, labeling gifts for Damon and Drew... giddy with excitement. Paranoid that they were going to open my bedroom door and see their present. I love it. :)

Finished presents were piled under the tree...

The Night Before Christmas was read, followed by the Christmas Story...

These little men made cookies for a special someone...

(Thanks for the cookie plate, Mamie!)

And at some point, in the middle of the night,

that special someone left a bunch of presents under our tree. :)

Preschool and Polar Express Parties

2013-01-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

Dom had a Polar Express party in preschool before school let out for the holidays... we both bought new pajamas for the event. :)

Miss Jen's classroom had stations for treat making! We made cookies, Christmastrees, and dipped pretzel sticks in chocolate and adorned them with M&Ms... obviously, Dominic enjoyed himself.

This is Dominic's favorite friend at school... Mr. Mazden. They ride the bus together too.

Miss Fallyn, Mr. Dominic, and Miss Ella...

Dom and Miss Jen...

...showing me his favorite Christmas book.

And... just had to share these. Obviously I had to write Damon's for him. The things he thinks of... he's a pretty funny kid. :)

"Dear Santa, I want a new car and a pink Christmas tree! That will be a girl (but he says it like "grill") Christmas tree!! (laughs) Um... a new schoolbus! A pink one. And a new toilet!! 'Cause what broke the toilet, Mom? My toys did. (with a mischevious smile on his face). Please get me a new Thomas the Train set. I love you. You are my favorite. Love, Damon Guy"

And Dom's invented spelling just melts my heart into a big pile of mush! Love it.

"Dear Santa, I love you. Bring dominoes for Christmas, please. Love, Dominic"

He reeeeally wanted dominoes this year. That's all he asked for. He's been watching youtube videos of massive and elaborate domino displays being knocked down. I think he may have been a bit dissappointed when we constructed and knocked down his much smaller version with the dominoes Santa did, indeed, bring. But he still plays with them. :)

I can't believe I'm blogging about pre-Christmas stuff and it's 3/4 of the way through January! Blogger has had some issues with uploading pictures... but I just discovered a way around it, thanks to Google. I love Google. :) Anyway... Christmas pictures to come!

More Cousins!

2012-12-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Drew experienced an airplane for the first time last week! He was a perfect little angel. Even though on both flights, my connecting flight I had to sit in between two men... not so easy to nurse a wiggly 7 month old (who has always refused to nurse under a cover) when you are wedged between two uncomfortable members of the opposite sex. But we all survived. :)

On our first flight, this sweet lady (you can see her shirt is all) and her daughter doted over Drewsie the whole way. He barely sat on my lap at all!

Once we landed and arrived in Madisonville, Drew went straight from my arms to hers. What a sweet little "mama" she is. We love this Ella girl!

Drewser and William... quality time on the lovesack (watching Little Einsteins).

Drew's hair took about 10 seconds to turn into a wavy Donald Trump 'do in that Louisiana humidity. :)

So glad these two are so close in age!

What fun (and trouble) they are sure to have when they get older.

Drew was surely spoiled from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. How lucky for him to not have to share his cousins with anyone! (Only me and Drewsie took this quick trip. Dominic and Damon stayed with Daddy and our amazing neighbor/pseudo-grandma, Mia.)

Oh how I love these little Angels! Can't you just see the sugarplums dancing?

While I was there, my sweet sis and I took the kiddies to the Rennaisance Festival. So.much.fun. That's a post for tomorrow. :) Hope you are having a very merry one!

Cousins Part 1...

2012-12-17T17:18:00.001-08:00

Highlights of some of our time spent with some of our favorite people...

Dame, Iza, Ali, and Dom

Drew loves Uncle Ross

All of us piled into our van... heading to the children's museum in Phoenix!

Lunch at the museum...

Angela and I snuck out for a girl's night and made the guys put the kiddos to bed.

We were thrilled...

On their last night here... we all headed to the Mesa Temple to enjoy

the Nativity and the temple lights!

We sure love that family of ours! Hope you are having a Happy Christmas season and remembering what it's all about! It's easy to get lost in the rush and preparation... I know I do. Merry Christmas!

And I was Thankful.

2012-12-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

...that I have such an amazing (and good looking) husband.

...and that he finally learned how to carve a turkey this year. ;) (Thanks Ross!)

...for this little sack of sugar. Sooooo sweet.

For a super-sweet sister-in-law who helped me whip up a Thanksgiving feast...

...for fun turkey headbands that made us all feel like kids again.

...for delicious Thanksgiving food, 'nuf said.

...for 10 1/2 wonderful years with a truly amazing, selfless man.

...for this sweet, unique little man, who keeps me on my toes, teaches me patience and humility, and gives me a new way of seeing everything.

...for this tender-hearted little guy, who speaks with a Boston accent, says the most endearing things, and who expresses his thankfulness to me for every little thing every single day.

...and for this beautiful new addition to our family, who is so patient with all of us, who smells so wonderfully sweet, who feels so squishy and warm, and who can melt away all my worries with one open-mouthed smile.

...for loving family who drive endless hours with small children to share the holidays with us!

(And who act like it's no big deal when they wake up the morning after they arrive to my eldest puking his little guts out.)

...for a new Innes Family Tradition: the Thankful Tree

...for an adorable 4-year-old who has just begun to "write". Oh how I love his "thankfuls"!

(school)

(hugs)

(pumpkins)

(Baby Drew)

(play with friends)

(tub)

(Superman and the Giant)

- the game Rich and the boys play every night when Daddy gets home. They are the supermen, Daddy is the giant... complete with Fee-Fie-Foe-Fums, squealing with delight, running for your life, hiding, and the blood of an Englishman.)

(eggnog)

(trampoline)

(air conditioning vent)

Ah yes... musn't forget that one. No, he's not thinking about the hot Arizonan summers, he's in love with the sound of the engine coming from behind the vent cover. Love that boy.

I was thankful that I had enough food to not only feed me... but to give me a nice little food baby for a few hours afterward. That was pleasant. Really, it was.

We were all pretty useless for a couple of hours after the turkey...

...and then we got up off our (5 lbs. heavier) bums and were so, so thankful for the beautiful Arizona weather in November, which allowed us to spend the remainder of the evening scootering/riding bikes in the culdesac...

For all of that and so, so much more... I am so thankful. :)

He's Free!

2012-12-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Three, that is. And he

couldn't be more excited!

In lieu of a party with friends... we opted to take the boys to Enchanted Island, a (slightly ghetto) amusement park for children 10 and under. It was perfect.

Since it was Thanksgiving time... the park was also having their Fall Festival, so for a few extra bucks, we attended that as well...

I didn't snap a picture, but Damon even won the cake walk! Lucky duck... and fitting to win cake on your birthday, eh?

Anyway, the day was busy and fun and here is what it did to the kiddoes...

It is RARE for Dominic to ever fall asleep during the day. They were wiped.

That night, Uncle Ross, Aunt Angela and the girls made it to our house from Utah and we had a little party for Dame...

Here's Elizabeth... aka Iza...aka Booper.

Miss Ali, herself.

Emotions ran high as we cut into the ice cream cake... this was to most important part, according to Damon. Whenever I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, the response was always "cake".

He was so stinkin' excited to blow out those candles.

Happy, happy birthday Sweet Boy! We love you very much. Even if you DO keep getting older. Darn it.

Boys

2012-11-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

I walked downstairs to the basement the other day to find this...

...every pillow off of both couches and stolen from every bed.

(In retrospect, that new sectional with the removeable couch cushions??? Not so smart.)

And then, something whizzed past my peripheral... a bird? a plane??? Boys.

Flying ones.

And maybe I shouldn't have encouraged their furniture-scaling-behavior... jumping/flipping off the TV console probably isn't safe (for bodies or TVs!) but I took a deep breath, shook off my obsession to keep the couch cushions "on the flippin' couch!", grabbed my camera, and embraced their childhood.

When they are not using the cushions as a landing pad, they are for sure using them to construct forts. Using the couch and the ottoman, you can make some pretty cool tunnels and an awesome hideaway.

They build a fort pretty much every day.

Sometimes twice a day, if their mam happens to put the cushions back on the flippin' couch.

And, while I'm writing about the little things they love to do every day... I may as well add this...

...spraybottles. The best $2.00 I've ever spent, and I am serious. These guys LOVE to take them outside and "clean things" or "help the plants grow". They spray the entire contents of the back yard and could be out there for an hour or more... coming in only once or twice to fill up. So... why is my clean laundry still laying on the laundry room floor? I'm blaming Drewberry. (But you probably know better.)

Cops and Robbers... aaaand Elephants.

2012-11-01T22:49:00.004-07:00

Officer Innes and Jail Bird Dom...

That's Dom's "scary prisoner face".

Drew wore Damon's hand-me-down... sweetest little elephant Drewberry you ever saw...

He was so bewildered by the night's events. Why does Damon have a moustache? Why does Dominic have stubble?

Why is Aunt Rachel a banana? So confusing.

Some blurry trick-or-treat action...

This year, we did better than last. There were only a couple of tantrums (on Dominic's part). And the boys didn't try and eat each piece of candy given them before moving on to the next house.

I love that Dominic told everyone he was arrested for speeding.
I love that Damon wished every house a "Happy Twick-or-Tweet" instead of a "Happy Halloween!"

After a couple streets, their pumpkins were filled to the brim and they were happy as clams... and tired. At least Damon was.

H conked out after 1 1/2 streets... such a tired policeman.

Dominic stayed up late... counting his candy and eating his weight in treats.

Drew relaxed on the couch as he watched Dom down about 2 lbs of sugar... seriously stoked to have that elephant get-up off his sweaty little body.

Hope your Halloween was happy!

Vertuccio!

2012-10-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Rich flew up to Utah to watch a BYU football game with his dad. I was going crazy in the house with the 3 little men, so we decided to hit Vertuccio Farms on Saturday morning.

We usually go to Schnepf Farms every Fall as a family. We'll still go this year, probably next week... but Vertuccio is much smaller and much more manageable when you have 3 boys to herd around by yourself. Whew!

Bounce houses, of course, are always a hit...

I don't know what to call this thing... a huge piece of rubber, inflated by air...like a bounce house. This is only a small section of it. It was the size of a basket ball court... maybe? The kiddoes were catching some major air thanks to some of the big kids jumping on it. Maybe a little too much air.

Damon panicked after being rocketed into the sky...

...so Dom climbed up to the top and talked him down.

The boys are shouting, "I'm the King of the Worrrrld!"

They ran through hay bale mazes...

And saw all sorts of animals...

One of the highlights of our trip to Vertuccio was the barrel train ride...

...Mommy and Drew even got on that thing!

The boys got to milk a "cow"!

And were especially excited to run through the corn maze!

There were tunnels to be explored...

...bells to be rung...

...and crows to conk!

Drew just sat there in the stroller like the ANGEL he is, and watched his brothers run from one thing to another.

What a fun (tiring) Saturday! We loved Vertuccio and it seems like we'll have to add it to our annual Fall To-do List... which is growing longer and longer! I absolutely love this time of year. It's finally getting a little bit cooler and the boys can run and romp outside and enjoy the fresh air. And speaking of air... it's full of excitement and anticipation this season. Anticipation of Halloween and trick-or-treating, of Thanksgiving... and yes, already I am excited for Christmas. I may or may not be burning Christmas scented candles in my house and listening to Celine Dion's Special Times... don't judge. ;)

Happy, happy Fall! Yay!

Hoppin' and Scotchin'

2012-10-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

Rainy Day

2012-10-13T23:13:00.001-07:00

We get a little excited about the rain around these parts...

Boy... did it ever take some coaxing, chiding, nudging, pushing, pulling... flat out forcing this one to venture out into those raindrops. Remember his little "rain incident" he had while on top of the mountain in Utah? He does. Vividly.

What kind of a mother drags her crying 4-year-old out into a rain storm? :) Me. But it only took a few minutes (like 10 excruciating ones) before he stopped crying... promise. Then he saw how much fun his brother was having jumping in muddy puddles... and the rest is history. Whew! That was a heck of a lot easier than I expected it would be. This little man has come a long way.

Dominic's BFF, Eden. We love her. And her red boots too.

Sweet little toes...

Nice, big muddy puddle.

Hope your weekend is happy!

Drewsy-Brewsy, Drewpy, Drewser, Drew

2012-10-11T22:50:00.004-07:00

I have no words...

...except maybe these:

a. sweetest little sack of sugar you EVER, ever, ever did see.

b. 5 months old. (FIVE! Boo.)

c. Is babbling "Mamama" and "Babababa".

d. Blows rasperries all.day.long.

e. Mode of transportation: rolling.

e. Recovering from a dreadful 2 months of no sleep .

(reflux is for the birds. i heart Prevacid!)

f. Looks so super studious in Mama's glasses.

Seriously, he is so sweet I could eat him up. I mean it. He makes me hungry.

My Personal Shopper

2012-10-10T09:43:00.001-07:00

Going to the grocery store with Damon has always made me break out into a sweaty mess. He cannot be confined. He hates sitting in the cart. I think once we spent an hour walking from the car to the front doors of the store, then back to the car for a time out...repeat, repeat, repeat. I have tried time-outs, bribery (which is usually some sort of sticky treat that gets aaalll over me and anything else he can get his grubby little fingers on... and which doesn't last the whole shopping trip anyway, which means I would usually buy him another one)... I've brought the portable DVD player (yes, I seriously have) and the ipad. But the kid just hates that shopping cart and wants to roam free or else.... or else everyone can hear how unhappy he is. And then because I'm so stressed, I don't pay attention to what I'm shoving in my cart and I'm blindsided with a $200 grocery bill at the check out counter.

Enter my latest (well... a few months ago to be exact, just haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now) brilliant idea. Yes, it was brilliant.

Oh man, he feels so legit with this little shopping cart.

It is sanity, on wheels, I tell ya.

At first I had a little trepidation. I mean, who wants to carry a cart packed with groceries, a screaming two-year-old, his screaming baby brother, and an extra blue and green plastic shopping cart through the grocery store after it has been shamelessly thrown across the produce aisle? It was possibly just one.more.item. to have to lug around incase the all-too-frequent-tantrum ensued.

But, I hedged my bets and...to my astonishment and utter delight... (this has never happened)

...Damon was and still is a complete JOY at the grocery store.

All because, he has a purpose! See?

"Lunchables? Check."

He feels so super cool and grown up. He has never (knock on wood) run away from me with his cart. Never gotten out of control. He is kind and courteous in the aisles, stays right by me... asks me what's next on the list. Shoots the breeze with the other grown-ups in the freezer section. Seriously. Best.idea.ever. And I am not lying when I say he's never thrown a tantrum in the store since. I promise, not ever.

Now I look forward to Wednesdays with a smile. Quality time with the Damonater at the grocery store (while the Dominater is in preschool! Angelic choir). He's happy. I'm happy. And I would be lying if I didn't admit how fun it is to have, like, every 3rd person tell me how absolutely adorable my non-tantrumming-two-year-old is (I added the "non-tantrumming part myself ;).

He is pretty darn cute. Look at that sweet, happy face.

And his little "Baby Drew" in his cart. Just like momma.

Speaking of the real Baby Drew... he is no longer crying either. Baby bjorn, people. Baby bjorn.

"Hmmm... now where is that brown gravy..."

He loves the checkout. He puts all of his things on the conveyer belt. He loads his own sacks. He gets more "Awww, how adorable!'s" from the cashier and everyone else in line. And he gets to keep the receipt after politely telling the cashier to "Have a happy daaay!" Again, totally unprovoked and unprompted.

He even loads his bags into the back of the van for me. And tells me, after we're all buckeled up and mosying on out of the parking lot... "Fanks for making good choices in the store today, Mom. You are a gweat sopper!" Seriously, he says things like that. I love it.

And if all that wasn't enough to make you run to your nearest walmart and buy a cheap $10 plastic shopping cart? Well... then I guess your 2-year-old is just better behaved than mine. ;)

And excuse me for tooting his/my own horn. Is my two-year-old usually this well behaved? Heck no! He is two. Plain and simple. Very, very two. But I just had to celebrate our triumph at the grocery store! Because it was a major triumph, indeed. And his horn needed a little tooting.

Here's a cute little snippet of our latest shopping experience...

...

Practice Makes...

2012-10-06T10:23:00.002-07:00

...Dominic hot, and tired. ;)

But by golly- he's getting better!

Look at that "game face"! I love it.

"Aunt" Zoe

2012-10-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, I was the youngest cousin. So I had a lot of older first cousins... like 30 years older. It was just natural for me to call them "Aunt" and "Uncle", even though they certainly weren't. And this is the case with "Aunt Zoe". While she's not 30 years older than my boys, she's older enough that I always accidentally refer to her as "Aunt Zoe" when I'm talking to the little men. I've decided to stop correcting myself and just go with it. "Aunt" Zoe it is. :) And boy were we excited to have her come and visit us this summer!

I'm not sure what she had in mind... you know... a vacation with 3 kiddoes four and under. It was a little crazy. She helped me out a ton! She babysat for Rich and I on the weekend so we could go on a date, yay! She and I had a "girls night" at the mall and Zoe had a mini-shopping-spree. And we took her and the boys to this fun little pool to cool off...

Dom and Zoe floating in the lazy river...

Damon enjoyed this little yellow slide...

Zoe preferred the black tunnel slide...

...and I was SO PROUD of Dom. He went down the big slides, like 10 times. I thought he'd be scared to death, but no! The attendant was like, "Cross your legs, cross your arms, GO!" And Dom was all, "Sure thing!" And he was gone. And he loved it. And I was so surprised. And... I didn't get any pictures. :(

And can I just say how humbling it is to go to a public pool after having your third baby? Ugh.

I have got some work. to. do.

I sure love my kids... because nothing else but the over-the-top-excitement on their chubby little faces could drag me to a crowded place where I have to parade around in my skivvies while showcasing my not-so-attractive-after-baby-body. I know, I know... I'm sure people have better things to do while they're at the pool having fun than worry about what I look like in a swimming suit... but I'm just sayin'.

We didn't want this girl to go home...

...but Damon did have a fantastic time riding the airport bus when we took Zoe to the airport.

So did Drew...

Zoe girl, we love you to pieces! Thanks for visiting and we can't wait for you to come and see us again!

Hello New Phone! Goodbye Contacts :(

2012-10-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends, family, anyone... so, I had to get a new phone because mine broke and won't charge anymore. Because it won't charge... my service provider can't transfer any of my contacts to my new phone. I feel naked with no numbers!! Anyway... if you didn't get an email from me (or if I don't have your email anyway) I don't have any way to get your number. Could you either leave it for me in the comment section with your name or email it to me?? misscrys_36@yahoo.com Thanks guys!

Practicing, practicing, practicing...

2012-10-03T08:29:00.001-07:00

Cooler weather is coooommming!

And we are so stinkin' excited around here.

These munchkins have spent waaaaaay to much time indoors with the latest technology...

...and not nearly enough time running amok.

Daddy has pulled out the sports equipment...

...and we are practicing...

...practicing

...practicing!