Diano's Well Deserved Retirement ...

 Mommy competing on Diano years and years and years ago

Today is the first day of retirement for one of Mommy's best friends ... her horse (and mine!) Diano.  Mommy has been riding Diano for more years than I can count to (17 yrs!) and if you have been any type of fan of my blog, you well know that he was the first horse I have ever ridden (and he rides like a dream of rainbows and clouds and puppy dog licks).

Yesterday we all went to the barn to bid him bon voyage on his journey to his retirement home ... a beautiful farm plot in the land he once came from (Canada)!

Diano's retirement home 

(it's bigger than my house!!!) ... 

 ... and where he'll get to trot around 

and have fun ...

 ... there's even a lake nearby 

so he can go swimming!!!

 Mommy and Avery taking Diano for a nice 

walk before his long trip

 Avery feeding him treats

 Mommy giving Diano some of his favorite treats ...

 ... along with a goodbye hug!

Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again!
~Author Unknown

Mommy and Diano

Auntie Em's Detour Home ...

Puzzle time with Auntie Em

My Auntie Em was "forced" to stop by to see me the other day, out of the blue, supposedly due to some bad weather pushing her plane out of the sky to stop right by my house ... but I think she really made that whole story all up just so she could spend some quality time with me!!!  Here's a video of me capturing her right went she came over (can you tell it's me holding the camera the whole time???) ...

And then here's another video of us playing with puzzles (and some hide-n-seek) ...

Come again soon, Auntie ...

I miss my Mommy ...

Come home soon, Mommy!!!  I miss waking up right next to you!!!

Avery's normal morning routine with Mommy

Avery's sleeping companion when Mommy is away

Avery's Big Summer Adventure Otra Vez: Part 1, Planes, Trains, and Floating Fishes

Avery riding horses during yet another very very very nice vacation

My summer schedule has been busy, busy, busy this year!  We took yet another family vacation, where you could even call it an extended family vacation because it included traveling and flying with lots of family and concluding at yet another huge family wedding!  Since I had never been up on north-western coastline before, I gave my parents a laundry list itinerary of fun things to do and see along the way.  I even requested my Grandparents and Auntie Sherry and Uncle Rick to join us too, and as you would guess, they all came along and followed my sightseeing plans!!!  Here are some great pictures of all the fun we all had ... 

 Avery napping in-between flights 
(looks like someone isn't a nervous flier at all)

Avery in Outer Space ...

Ok, it's really Avery at the aquarium!!!

 So beautiful and peaceful!!!

 Here we all are going towards the grand finale at the aquarium ...

... deep in a tunnel under the ocean to

see how the fishes really sleep!!!

Avery petting fishes ... 

yeah, it's sort of really gross!!!

Avery, Mommy, and Daddy exploring real trains!!!

Avery always enjoys touring 
great works of art in any big city ...

... but such long days always make
me a very sleepy girl!

Watch for Part II of Avery's Big Summer Adventure Otra Vez showing all the fun at the wedding coming soon ...

Why I want to be an engineer/scientist/magician when I grow up ...

 Avery having fun at the Exploratorium 
 http://www.exploratorium.edu/

I don't understand how Daddy made this thing work, but he said he would explain it to me someday ...

And how cool is this video of me making bubbles ... I've never even seen bubbles this big ...

FYI, these videos are from my trip to the Exploratorium in another big city for yet another wedding ... watch for more of the rest of the trip in some upcoming blogs!!!

Boys Are Nothing But Trouble!!!

Why does it always seem like boys bring along a whole bunch of trouble anywhere they go?!??!!  I was having a nice tea/pool party with some girlfriends where "The Wild Boys" found out about it and decided to come over to crash the party.  That was just when the trouble all started ...

Avery playing a nice game with Sophie and Lilly ...

... then here comes Noah and Mathew sneaking 

into the party from the back fence ...

... where Noah started "showing off" 

and took a hard tumble down the rocks!!!

Then Noah wanting to still prove that he was the best

rock climber at the party started scaling the back rock wall

(the real one, not my play one!) where his Daddy had 

some "strong" words of wisdom for him!!!

Even Will (the oldest of "The Wild Boys") wouldn't 

play basketball nicely with me ... I never even got 

to touch the ball once during our game ... he won 100 - 0!!!

Finally my best buddy Mathew demanded 

I pull him all around the yard in MY wagon!!!

But after Mathew saw how upset this 

was all making me, he decided to be nice and 

pull me around for a little while!!!

Avery The Impressionist ...

This is my impression of what Mommy and Daddy usually sound like when they are explaining why I can't have something I really really want ... such as jellybeans!

Judge Avery ...

Mommy asked me if I would give her some pointers and judge her like she's in a riding competition. I hope she can handle it ...

Avery enjoying the nice summer day at the barn 
(right before judging begins)

Good hands,  Mommy!  And very good sitting, 

err, I mean riding ...

"Mommy's riding was a 'slam dunk'
(that means really good)!"

Avery's nightly PJ routine ...

Monday night ....

... Tuesday night ...

... and so on ...

Avery's Big Summer Adventure: Part 3, Play on Beach, Play in Sea, Relax, and then Repeat

So to finish off such a great long vacation, we all went to the beach for a few days.  Below are some videos and pictures of all the fun we had ...

 Mommy and Avery walking on the beach

 Avery growing her massive 

collection of seashells

Here's a video of me digging in the sand like a dog, where someone keeps pushing me over ...

And here's another video of me getting covered in sand ...

Mommy and Avery cruising the pier

 Avery "going crazy" on the bay boat ride with Daddy

Avery's awesome hotel room view ... 

tons and tons of duckies

Here's a video of all the fun we have with the ducks ...

Mommy and Avery missing Disneyland already ... 

good thing McDonald's always has a "play area" too

Avery's Big Summer Adventure: Part 2, Meeting "The Mouse"

After the wedding extravaganza, we drove south along the coastline where I fell asleep and woke up to a world I had never been to before, except for in my very best dreams!  There were castles, princesses, fun storytelling rides, and actual walking/talking lifelike characters right from all of my favorite storybooks!!  When I asked Mommy and Daddy where were we, all they said was "Disneyland!!!".  Here are just a few of the best moments from our never-ending visit ...

Mommy and Avery at the start of 
our Disney adventure

Here's a video clip of how I felt upon entering the gates of the iconic castle ...

Our very first ride was a flying Dumbo, 
just like in his storybook ....

... Mommy buckled us up for safety ...

.... and away we go!!!

Here's a video of all of us on Dumbo (even Daddy rode too).  And yes, we went on this ride many many many times ...

 

Next up was the Alice in Wonderland ride ... 

does it look like I enjoyed it???

And here's a video of us riding on Heimlich the Worm (from "A Bug's Life") while he eats a big lunch ...

Avery making beautiful music

Avery trying to see straight after 

finishing the Tea Cups ride

Here's a video of us in a Yellow Submarine ride (which was really really awesome) ...

Avery taking a brief, but well deserved, nap

after tons and tons and tons of more rides!!!

Avery driving us around Disneyland 

after we were all so tired of walking all day

Here's a video of Avery's "great" driving skills ...

Avery and Daddy taking a car ride to Goofy's house ...

... where Goofy was actually at home and 

we even got to chat for awhile!!!

Avery trying to see Pluto in person, 

but no luck, he wasn't home ...

... so Avery bought (thanks to Auntie Sherry) 

a Pluto hat instead!!!

 

The next house visit was to the main character 

of the kingdom ... the big head honcho ...

... and what luck, Mickey Mouse was home and took time 

out of his busy schedule just to say "Hi" to me!!!

Thanks Mommy and Daddy ... this vacation was totally awesome!!!  Watch for Part III of Avery's Big Summer Adventure coming soon, where we took a well needed break from our vacation and just relaxed on the beach ...