Double Trouble in the Hills ...

Avery and Mathew beginning to investigate
all the possibilities

The first day the temperature reached 100 degrees this summer, I loaded up the car and escaped up North deep into the mountains with my friend Mathew to his cabin with some other friends (alright, some of our parents came along as well). And wouldn't you know it, right off the bat I knew Mathew and I were going to have a ton more fun than usual! Here are a number of pics and videos of all the fun we had along the way!

Avery and Mathew taking a relaxing breather on the
hammock after a long drive to the cabin ...

... up next was searching for fun new stuff to explore ...

... then of course there is always many play breaks
that include really good snacks to munch on ...

... and then getting it into really high gear at the park ...

We were having so much fun in the park it felt like we were breaking the law!!! See for yourself in the video below ...

And after a good night's rest, we started the next day out early at the beach ...

Playing knee-high in the water at the lake
(water was too wild to go in any deeper) ...

... plus all the neat indoor toys there to play with as well

We had so much fun building stuff inside, we had to capture it in a video ...



... and the fun just kept going and going and going ...

Avery and Mathew taking turns at "King of the Mountain" ...

... and then racing higher and faster into the thin air ...

... and then jumping through black doughnuts ...

... to finally spinning totally "out of control"!!!

We had such a good time getting totally crazy that sometimes "messiness happens" ... like in this video of us playing "fetch", we end up getting really really dirty ...



... in fact, so dirty that we immediately had to get cleaned up. I even had to help clean up Mathew since, well he's a boy and we all know how much dirtier they usually can get (and yes, Mathew's Mommy at the end of the video was referring to "a floater", if you know what I mean).

Happy Independance Day, USA!!!.

Avery enjoying an American birthright freedom of
having a nice safe leisurely walk around a crisp cool mountain-top lake

Hope you can get out and enjoy all of your freedoms your American town has waiting for you as well ...

Oh where, oh where, ...

... did my Auntie go,
oh where, oh where, can she be?

She's here one week, then gone the next,
then back again to see me.

And on each trip, we play such fun games,
of which I always win!!!

And yes as you know, she still tries to cheat,
which is always so funny to me!!!

Since playing silly games doesn't really matter,
as long as she's close to me!!!

And after many games, we both get so tired,
that we completely pass out asleep.

Busy, busy, busy ...

Avery taking a quick break from
her very busy summer

Things have been so busy this summer, I don't even know where to start ... here's a few video nuggets of what I've been up to so far ...

Too much to do, so I have to multi-task ...




And all the learning activities I must endure ...





And then all the arts and crafts ...

Singing Video-gram for ...

... well, you know who you are (I know you read my blog all the time).

Girly fun things ...

I've been having so much fun over the last few weeks just relaxing around the house and doing all sorts of girly fun things with Mommy, such as ...

Painting each other's toenails ...

... Mommy did a super good job ....

... relaxing poolside with a cool drink
(and lots of sun protection!) ...

... taking a quick dip in the mini-pool when
things get too hot ...

... and then even going to the big pool from
time to time for some super fun playtime!!!

Why is this better?!!??

Avery on her "Starter Potty"

I just don't understand the way grown-ups think. Who in their right mind would prefer the kind of "bathroom experience" where you have to stop in your tracks, search for the nearest bathroom, and then strip completely down to sit on some dirty seat that everyone else also sits on (again, stripped down them self). Does all of that really seem that much more civilized that being able to enjoy the freedom of having a "number one" or "number two" whenever and where ever you want?!!?? If you can't remember this type of freedom I'm talking about, here's a perfect example from a few months ago ... http://averyclaire.blogspot.com/2010/04/youll-never-guess.html

So really, if that's what it takes to be "all grown-up", than I would prefer to just stay the way I am!!!

Avery showing everyone what makes
Mommy and Daddy sooo happy

Screwing around ...

"Hard Hat Avery"

I've been asking Daddy over and over again to please tighten up all the screws on my car seat since I've been hearing this annoying squeaking sound lately and it's just driving me bananas. Well, since Daddy has yet to jump to it, I guess it's like they always say, if you want something done asap, you might as well just do it yourself ...

PS Note my fancy slick drill I'm using in the video below.

Avery and Nick's Tea Party

Avery preparing for a tea party

Normally I exclusively only have tea parties with my polite lady friends, but Nick told me in passing the other day how much he really liked tea and that he even knew just how to behave at such an event. So I thought it might be fun to invite Nick over to my loft for some special tea and crumpets as the weather has just been fabulous in the mornings lately and although Nick has tricked me before with all his silly games, I was willing to give him the benefit-of-doubt that he could refrain and act like a proper gentleman at a tea party.

Anyway, Nick arrived promptly on time, was dashingly well groomed, and very well mannered as we started off our event. I was pouring this special tea blend from the farthest lands and adding two very refined cubes of sugar, where all of the sudden Nick started to lose himself and forget he was in the presence of such a lady ... as can be seen, documented below.

Avery and Nick at the beginning of the
tea party in proper tea etiquette form ...

... then Nick becoming slightly ill-mannered by goofing
around with the settings, food, tea, etc ...

... where things finally quickly degrading into
Nick showing off his great "juggling skills"!??!?

And then before I knew it, the tea cup carnage had begun. The video below show the whole debacle and destruction of my antique dishware. That shall be the end of me thinking any boy knows how to act properly at my tea parties!!!

Other babies?!!??

So what do we have here ...
Avery's competition???

So it looks like Mommy is thinking of doing it once again ... having another baby, that is. Thus, I guess I should start to "learn the ropes" as they say and figure out how much of this mess will effect my normal routine. Good thing I have a bunch toy babies to practice with before any real ones arrive sometime next year.

Avery learning to gently place the
toy baby in the carrier ...

... Grandma was even in town to
help teach me a few tricks ...

... hopefully Mommy doesn't get twins since handling
two babies at once seems like a logistical nightmare!!!

Avery is now ready for any multiples of new siblings

Avery 2.0

Avery's Birthday started out with a
long story from Great Grandma

Now the only thing that could top my 1st birthday party would have to be my sweet super fun-filled 2nd birthday party!!! Here are some snapshots of the long festive day ...

Avery playing with her out-of-town Grandma ...

... and out-of-town Grandpa that came into
town just for my big party!!!

Then all my friends started to arrive and we all went crazy on my new "super-duper thingy thing".

Everyone was playing like mad,
like Nick and Shannon and Lilly and Will and ...

... even all the Mommies and Daddies as well!!!

Mathew zooming down the slide as
Nick and Avery made some tea for all ...

Everyone loved the tea break ... it was a big hit ...

... and then all the dancing on the deck and slide promenade!!!

Grandma and Great Grandma relaxing in the shade

Even my special friend Nikki came over to play!!!

I almost forgot about all the fun on the swings ...

... even Grandpa had fun on the swings as well!!!

And then there was a huge cake ...

... and more and more cake eating ...

... and then lots of neat new stuff to play with ...

And as the day started to close, it seems that there was one last stop of this jam-packed day ...

Horsey rides!!! Horsey rides!!! Horsey rides!!!

Time to end the birthday extravaganza
and put Avery to bed

This was truly the best day ever!!! Thanks Mommy and Daddy and everyone else that enjoyed the day with me!!! Here's even a video of all the cake eating that was going on ...

I love ...

... TRAINS!!!

They are all just sooo much fun and there are sooo many different kinds, such as ...

... trains you can build up and pull all around ...

... trains you can open and read like a book ...

... little wheeled trains that I can
carry with me wherever I go ...

... even huge trains that I can
walk through and play on ...

... trains that carry huge balloons and
ice cream for nice little girls ...

... and best of all, big powerful trains that
ride on tracks and take you to all sort of
amazing and wonderful places!!!