Breath of Fresh Air

I love the mountains. So does Dom. We made the mistake of telling him we were going to the mountains for labor day 4 whole days before we actually went. Oh.... man. He didn't want to go to preschool, on playdates, the store... anywhere after that, unless it was the mountains. Note to self: 3-year-olds have no concept of "this weekend"... never unveil until the last minute.

We had so much fun. It smelled great, the weather was sooooo much cooler... I think it was, like, 75 up there. We headed up to one of our favorite spots in Arizona... the Mogollon Rim. Woods Canyon Lake to be specific. Love that place.

The boys ran, and ran, and ran some more. Poor Damon wore new shoes (didn't think that one through) and he came home with two HUGE blisters on the backs of his heels that are STILL bleeding every day because he refuses to wear bandaids.

We pretty much just followed them around until they were exhausted. It took a long time... but it happened.

You can see the lake there, in the background. We are renting paddle boats next time.

Tah-dahhhh!

Stopping to smell the flowers. An obsession owned by the both of them. (And me.)

Overlooking the Rim.

Innes Family August 2011

The rest of our break was spent swimming/eating/playing with the wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. "Hey, hey, hey!" (Nate and Amber, that is. And their cute kiddies! That's Adelin in the middle.)

We had a little BBQ in our back yard.


Dom and Jens have the same exact birthday. How cool is that!? They were destined to be friends.
Little Derek and his pink cheeks.

Dame with his ginormous grin...love that gap in his teeth.
Cheeeeese-erific Dom.

Hope your Labor Day was awesome!

My Little Preschooler

Oh man, Dom has 3 weeks of preschool down this year and I'm barely getting to "first day" pictures!

Dominic love, love, loves preschool.

He had such a great experience this year. We were lucky enough to get his beloved Miss Julie and Miss Colleen again this year... probably had something to do with Dom's walking into the classroom like he owned the place on the first morning. He walked right in, hung up his backpack, moved his picture to the "I'm here" section, gave me a "kiss, hug, and a high-five", sat down at a table next to a friend with a grin and started working the play-pegs.

He had a wonderful first day. But all good things must come to an end... and preschool did. He was fine enough leaving class... but this kid, who is soooo enamoured with school buses and who holds a very special place in his heart for "Mr. David" (last year's school bus driver, who let Dom get on the bus every.single.day. to give him a high-five and walk around a bit before the other kids got on) ... this little boy had a veeeeerrrrry hard time when he realized that...

A. Mr. David was no longer the bus driver. (I am so sad about this myself.)

B. The new bus driver doesn't let kids on the bus who don't actually ride the bus. Not that I asked... but I could just tell she wasn't the type by the way she half-heartedly waved at my boy.

Dom has his routines... and this was one HIGHLY ANTICIPATED one. My heart broke for him when he realized he couldn't get on. And my nose almost broke while he repeatedly struck me in the face while he flailed, kicked and tantrumed his way all the way back to the car. I had to trust poor Damon to run behind us amidst all the parent-pick-up traffic. Luckily we made it to the car somewhat unscathed, and Dominic cried all the way to McDonald's. It took a week or so after that of crying after school before Dominic understood about the bus and Mr. David. He's doing beautifully now... and I'm actually grateful to not have to spend an extra 10 minutes at the bus in the heat every day after school like I used to. Now if only I could get Damon to stop throwing tantrums every time we leave the classroom... I might be able to shake the anxiety that I get every time we drop off Dom. Damon reeeeeaaally thinks he belongs in preschool too.

Sometimes the hard things in life make us grow, sweet boy. Dominic, Mommy is proud of the big boy you are becoming and so proud of the way you are learning to deal with changes. (NOT proud of the embarassing tantrum that took place in front of the entire world-it seemed- that morning.) But so very, very proud to call you my son. And so happy you're becoming such an independent, fun, smart little man! I thank Heavenly Father for sending you to me every day.