Hamilton Pool

This weekend we took the girls to Hamilton Pool, which is about a 30 minute drive outside of Austin. It's a swimming hole that's inside of a collapsed grotto, so it feels like you're swimming in a cave. Larkin thinks that all caves have goblins, so both girls were on the lookout for "gob-ins." Larkin was disappointed that we didn't see one.
Touching a really big rock!
Bathing beauties.
Swimming with Daddy.
Professional "biiiiig rock" finder.

Jumping down each and every step!
Willa between a rock and hard place.

little sister

Probably obvious to most people, but we have finally realized that our little baby is no longer a baby! Willa is growing so fast and everyday she seems more and more grown up. She is talking a lot now and we're noticing that she copies almost everything that Larkin says, even if she doesn't understand it!

When she first wakes up in the morning she yells, "Mommy! Where are you?!" Then when I come in her room, she usually is standing up in her crib and will immediately fall down and pretend to be sleeping-- "Me sleeping." Once I pick her up she always asks for Larkin. "Where Yarkin? Where Daddy?" If Joel has already left for work, she will say, "Me come work!"

She has also become quite the backseat driver lately! Regardless of where you are driving, she will yell, "Go pool NOW!" or "NO! Go dat way!" while pointing out the window.

The girls play really well together (usually!). Here's a pic of them hiding in a toy bin. They did this for probably 30 minutes today. Everytime they would stick their heads in the bin Willa would say, "I love you Yarkin" and then they would giggle and hug. Too cute!

Wisconsin, part two

We made another trek to Three Lakes! These girls are seasoned travelers now! On the airplane Larkin kept telling us that she wants to fly all by herself someday (on a blue plane, not a white one), that she won't cry, and will put on the seatbelt all by herself!

Once we arrived the girls were right at home...no warm up time needed. We spent a lot of the week outdoors enjoying the great weather. Top of the list was berry picking! Both girls picked (and ate) a ton of raspberries. Willa kept saying, "Look! Berries! Me pick!" Larkin buried herself deep in the berry bushes and sang songs as she picked for almost an hour straight!


"Underdogs" with Uncle Ryan! (Underdog is where you push them up really high and then run under the swing. These two can not get on a swing now without immediately yelling UNDERDOG!) Larkin says that Uncle Ryan gives the best underdogs!

Cornfight with Great Gramma Ruth. Every night the girls would get out the corn to feed the deer, and one afternoon they got a little crazy with the bag!


This is a lake we went fishing and boating on a few times. The grass you see here is wild rice, and there is a narrow path of open water that you have to follow in the lake.

They both like to yell, "Faster! Faster!" on boat rides.

Grandpa- piggyback ride to the lake.

Auntie Lisa bought the girls some really cute dresses. Larkin is now adamant about choosing what she wears, and she added the clashing pants and shirt to the outfit!

We stopped in and visited Great Gramma Mary and Joel's Aunts and Uncle. Gramma was recovering from hip surgery and had just arrived back home. We were so glad to be able to see her!

A few firsts for Larkin

First time climbing a tree! Daddy supervised while Larkin scaled a tree in Gma and Gpa's front yard.

First haircut! We went to see Grandma's hairstylist for Larkin's first cut. Larkin was really shy and only said three words during the whole thing--a nervous "I love you" to me right before the stylist started snipping away! She held my hand the entire time and would not let go.
Larkin sneaking a peek in the mirror. Notice the tight grip on my hand!
A hairstyle that I will probably never take the time to do, but it looks cute!
Reward for being so good at her first haircut-Superman ice cream with a sprinkle cone!

cheap thrills

Here's some pics that show that these girls don't need expensive toys to have lots of fun! All they need is a Costco-sized box of tissues...
Mommy's "red" boots...Larkin says, "Boots look black but really they red. I painted dem."

And a canister of flour to spoon and blow off the deck! Daddy's idea!

Larkin tossing a flour bomb my way...

Prinkler Park

Here's some pictures from our trip to, as Larkin calls it, the "Prinkler Park." It's a water feature for kids that has jets of water come up randomly, so you never know when you're going to get wet!
You have to keep a close eye on Willa though! You never know when she's going to try to scale a wall...
Or take off chasing a bird (one of her favorite things in the whole world to do!)...

Larkin almost caught this one!!
Willa covered in mud after dive bombing for some birds. Check out the serious expression on her face as she sees another bird off in the distance! She doesn't giggle or anything when she's chasing them-it's just total concentration as she moves her little chubby legs as fast as she can go! We had to drag her out of the park when it was time to go-she kept yelling, "Chase birds! Chase birds!"

rain rain rain!

It finally rained!! I'm not sure who was more excited about playing in the rain--Joel, the girls, or our neighbor's kids...but they all had fun making a dam in the gutters!