DAY 25 (GRANDMA DAY!)

Well, I have yet to receive any call-backs from E News or Nancy Grace about our UFO sighting.  So instead of sulking about it, I decided spend my thoughts and efforts on having a good time with my mom.  We spent the morning shopping around for some camping gear.  My mom is a Thrift Store enthusiast as well, so we had fun looking at other people's junk.  Some of our purchases included:  1 long sleeping cushion ($7); 1 warm zip-up sweatshirt ($3); 1 umbrella-like food net ($1);  2 grilling racks ($2);  and a partridge in a pear tree. 

Later, Avery enjoyed some time away from me as Grandma took her to the mall to play.  During their adventure together, I shopped at Wal-mart for other particulars.  Of course, I saw some interesting people there like always, but it felt inappropriate to take pictures of them.  However, here are a few descriptive words to help you get the picture: 1) cut-off shorts with only the fringe covering the unmentionables (yes, it was a dude!)  2) female, bleach blonde hair with dark roots showing, scarlet red lipstick that I thought went extinct when my great great grandmother died, penciled on eyebrows that extended a bit too far past the temples (at first, I thought she was wearing some sort of new-age glasses!) and 3) tall lanky teen dressed in mostly black, squeaking mushroom toy dangling from neck, scraggly hair obviously in need of washing. (Normally, this would seem as just normal behavior for a teen boy, but as soon as the entity spoke, I was baffled.  His voice was the highest voice I have ever heard come out of a boy that age.  And he acted like a 6 year old.  Perhaps it was a girl?  I don't know.  But seriously,  I pretended to shop around for marshmallows as I studied this creature for a few more minutes.  After my observation, I have concluded that the gender of this teen was indeterminable.  I left thinking to myself, "Boy, woman.  Something surely has gone wrong with this one."  I said a little prayer asking God to help me do everything in my power to help Avery become the young lady he wants her to be (but please, oh please, God, I pray that she stay away from what every that boy/girl is eating!.)

P.S.  After we got home for the day, we sat out by the pool and blew some bubbles.  The highlight of the day was watching Avery try and stuff a cut up hot dog in her bellybutton!  (Happy Eating!)   

DAY 24 (WATER PARK)

Today was one of the most adventurous days we've had, mostly because we got to see a lot of our most favorite people!  Our day began with a quick ride around the living room on a pedal bike we picked up at the ARC.  Her feet can touch the pedals really well, so it should just be a matter of time for her to get the hang of it.  But for now, Daddy and I are the source of man-power she uses to get going.  We really should start charging for our services. 

Later we enjoyed a picnic at the water park (the same park with the circle fountain we went to before).  We met my friend Amanda there and her two kiddos.  Reagan is 3 and Breckin is 11 months.  Also, my sister-in-law, Chelsea, came by for a visit with Hanna!  So we all enjoyed a picnic under a nice tree and then spent the rest of the time splashing in the water.  This here is the little man, Breckin.  He is sporting his two-toothy smile for me as I tickle him.  I had to do something to make up for the times Avery pulled his hair. 

Later at home, when Avery was in bed, I picked up my mom at the airport.  She is here to visit for a week!  We plan to have even more exciting adventures together!

On the way to the airport, I got lost.  But along the way, I sighted a UFO!  It was atop a house, about to take off!  I didn't get a great picture, because I used my cell phone to take it.  I plan to submit my photo to E News or Nancy Grace.  I think I could become famous!

DAY 23 (Chuck E Cheese)

Avery absolutely LOVES Chuck E Cheese. So our BIG adventure today was going there to say hi to the "mouse."  Its really funny to watch her run up to the electronic performing mouse and wave hello.  She almost started crying today because she wanted him to hold her.  I can't believe she likes him so much.  I remember being a bit freaked out by those guys. 

Another past time of Avery's is to play with blocks.  Her highest tower of blocks is 12.  But she gets super frustrated when they fall down.  So I have taken up the habit of being super dramatic when they fall so that she will laugh instead of cry.  I should really go into acting.  I am getting quite good.

DAY 22 (NO NAP DAY - MOM NEEDS A BEER)

Today started out pretty good.  Avery went potty in the big potty, so it was a good sign that the day was going to be great!  Our plan was to go to the park and then look for some camping gear.  During our travels, we saw a funny looking truck.We played at the park for some time and then headed home for a nap.

After a few hours of trying to get Avery to actually sleep, I decided to take her with me to the store.  One of our favorites is a Bargain Mart.  Mostly because the stuff is cheap.  But another reason is because I can let Avery run around without grabbing things off the shelves.  As you can see, she can't really reach too much because they put things out in banana boxes.  While we were there, we got to see two employees try to get a little birdie to fly out of the store.  They were just about to close up.  But they said that they couldn't leave until the bird was out.  That's because they have motion detectors that signal the police.  One girl said that the last time there was a bird in there, they stayed until 11pm!  Avery and I tried helping for a bit, but eventually left the two girls to the task.  We did however mention that we were good friends with Big Bird.  We know his granny's phone number by heart (555-6789) so we gave it to them in case they needed reinforcement.   

DAY 21 (FATHER'S DAY)

Happy Father's Day!  It was very nice to spend the day at home with Scott.  Besides our trip to the store and to church in the morning, Avery and I spent all day at home.  It was a nice hot day here, so it was a perfect day to BBQ.  We invited a good family friend, Trent, and his daughter Paige over to eat a late lunch with us.  They are the kind of friends you know so well, that you don't feel like you have to entertain.  So just took it easy, ate, and played in the back yard.  Its cool when Trent comes over because Avery and I get to hear stories of the "maintenance man days."  Oh, the stories we've heard about the weird people who lived in the apartments they worked at.  But that topic would take a whole other blog to write about, I'm afraid.  Anyways, today's adventure is brought to you by:  side-walk chalk, bubbles, swimming pools, hamburgers, hot dogs, and blueberry pie.  Oh, and a big thanks to Trent for showing me stuff I didn't know about the phone I've had for nearly 6 months!  Ha!

DAY 20 (WATER AT THE PARK)

We found a new spot today for free fun.  We love free and we love fun, so it worked out for the best.  Today was in the 90s, so we decided to take advantage of the heat and get outside.  I've heard of this "Circle Fountain" in town but had never been to it.  Boy, were we missing out.  The Circle was created as a symbol of water's cycle of life.  Every 15 minutes (or maybe 30 min?), water sprays out of it.  It continually  has water flowing out of the bottom in a circular stream around the cement platform.  There were kids galore having a wonderful time. 

We didn't bring a swimming suit, but that was okay with Avery.  She had a blast hanging out in wet clothes. 

We splurged a whole $1.75 for some cotton candy.  We enjoyed the three hours we spent there.  Between the water, the playground, and the music provided by some band, it made for a perfect hot day adventure!

DAY 19 (BEACH BUMMIN')

This morning, Avery insisted on wearing Chuckles' collar.  So she wore it as a necklace for quite some time.  I made her do chores while I packed for a day at the beach.  Still wearing her awesome necklace, she watered the plants and swept.  But she refused to do the dishes or vacuum.  I don't know what I am going to do with her if she doesn't start pulling some more weight around here! 

We packed the car up and picked up Aunt Tara and cousins Azaria, Tavia, and Zacharia.  We drove down to Pueblo Reservoir to go swimming at the swimming hole.

Avery is like a duck to water.  She loves it! 

We found a treasure today while I was digging a trench.  (I like to dig out a place to sit in the sand - you know - its like a free, no-hassle beach chair.)  I was digging my trench with my little orange cup when I came across a long-ago buried treasure.  But his wasn't any old treasure like some useless gold coins, or royal pearls.  It was a . . . SHOVEL!   Oh, the irony!

Here, Avery is burying herself with our new found treasure!

Today was a perfect day to go to the beach.  It was hot, but the sporadic breeze helped to cool us off a bit.  And the water was just right!  The only true mishap that we encountered today was a poop filled baithing suit.  Its a good thing a nice lady in the bathroom lent me some shampoo to clean up a soiled suit.  I left off the diaper because this suit has a "built-in" diaper.  *Notice the quotes.  I didn't bring my camera in to take pictures of the mess.  But we left quite a poop trail leading from the stall to the shower. I wonder if I would have really taken a picture. . . That would be kind of sick.

DAY 18 (FRIENDS AND FAMILY)

Today was a fun-filled day. We spent the day with Julie, Sam, Elizabeth, and Anna.

We enjoyed a yummy lunch on the cool grass under a tree.
A special "Thanks" goes to Anna for helping me find a lid that the wind has swept away! She even crawled her way through a forest of sticky trees to try and find it. She is one brave girl.

She has a broken arm right now, but she gets to take it off in a little over a week. We visited Focus on the Family again, because it was a bit hot outside for a park adventure.

Here is Elizabeth and Sam riding a turtle!

The weird thing is that earlier in the day, I had asked my good friend Amanda if she was up for a playdate today. She said that he had already made plans for a playdate today. But I ran in to her there! So it was kind of like a mini-playdate anyway!!! This is a picture of her and her cute as can be little boy, Brecken (Avery's boyfriend). She loves him so much that she hugs him so hard that he cries! I didn't get a picture of her sweet girl, Reagan, because she was busy sliding.



We survived the outing with only 3 face-scratching incidents. I am getting sick of apologizing for Avery attacking other kids' faces. :(

When we got home, Avery and I visited the park and then came back to cool off in the pool. She has also been talking non-stop about sunsets, so we looked some up on the Internet. Here are two of our favorites!