Davis Mountains

Two weeks ago we took the girls to the Davis Mountains in west Texas. On Wednesday morning Joel told me that he was thinking about taking the rest of the week off from work. He has worked a lot lately and things were finally quieting down a bit. By Wednesday at lunchtime I had our trip planned and booked! The Big Bend area is one of our favorite places (we've camped there a few times and would go there every year if we could!). We've always wanted to check out the Davis Mountains, which are about two hours from Big Bend National Park. It was about 7 hours of driving time--but worth it!

We started out by packing a cooler full of food to last us for the trip. The food in west Texas is usually terrible and grocery stores are far and in between out there. We only had to eat out once on the whole trip, and that was mainly because the kids just needed a break on the long drive home!

We rented a room at a place called Indian Lodge. The only picture I took of it was this one (you can see it in the distance), but basically it's an adobe building that was built by the CCC in the 1930s. It has lots of character, was very clean and quiet, and is right inside the state park!

After we got settled into our room and took a nap, I peeked outside our window to check out the view and noticed that there was a javelina right near our car! We grabbed the girls (who were in the tub) and ran them outside to see the javelina. We figured this would be a once-in-a-lifetime-chance to see a javelina.

Javelina walking on the white curb

Little did we know the javelinas in the park are about as common as birds--we saw them everywhere!!

Javelina crossing!

Watching javelinas eat dinner

The girls' favorite part of the trip was probably the near-camping experience they had one evening. We set up shop in a campsite and grilled dinner/smores while the girls ran around playing. Willa collected every rock in a one mile radius and built a home for raccoons, while Larkin chose to build a home for cockroaches. They were upset the following morning because they really wanted to go back to the campsite to check on their new residents. The weather on our trip was great--never a cloud in the sky and highs in the 60's and lows in the upper 30's and 40's.





We did a little hiking, and Joel did some skateboarding. Not to worry--there were NEVER any cars. We laughed a lot while driving on some of the highways out there because often we would go 20 minutes before even seeing another car!


It's hard to tell from this picture below, but Larkin is leading the way on our hike and there's a huge dropoff just a few feet to the right of her. She had no fear though and always wanted to be the leader!

Willa and Joel watching teeny tiny cars far away

The air was super dry so the static electricity was quite impressive

Larkin's fussy face

The main reason we wanted to go to the Davis Mountains was to check out the McDonald Observatory. It's run by the University of Texas and is one of the top observatories in the US. The area is a great place for an observatory because there's hardly any people (and light pollution) out there, and it's on top of a mountain so you're above 1/3 of the atmosphere--which makes even more stars visible.

Here's a pic of us touring one of the telescopes during the daytime. Larkin and Willa both got to push a button and aim this telescope in different directions.


They have "star parties" on weekend nights where you go up on top of the Davis Mountains and a guide points out all the stars, constellations, nebula, etc. in the sky with a high powered laser pointer. Our guide was able to aim a laser into the sky and point out everything. Then they set up a bunch of different telescopes for visitors to look through and they explain what you see. It was by far the darkest, most star filled sky Joel and I have EVER seen. Unfortunately the girls were not all that impressed (well, mainly Larkin--she kept complaining about the cold--even though it was around 50 degrees with no wind, and she was bundled up like crazy) so I had to leave a bit early with them...but Joel stayed and learned all about Jupiter and even saw a shooting star!

We'll definitely be back again once the kids are a bit older and can fully appreciate the observatory!

Willa's B-day

On the morning of Willa's birthday, Larkin woke up early and helped me get some surprises ready for Willa. We blew up balloons and made some pink and white streamers to hang from her doorway, and then tiptoed (with Joel) into Willa's room--where she was still sleeping. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and Willa sat up in a daze. We tossed pink balloons on her and then she had the biggest smile on her face. After we finished singing she looked a little confused and asked, "Where's my candles?" We had to explain that you can sing happy birthday on someone's birthday without blowing out candles. Then she smiled and said, "Take these balloons out and come back and surprise me again." So we did!

We had Cat Mama, Papa, Uncle Matt, Auntie Laura, Ethan, and Laura's mom Tammy over for a little party. Here's some pics-

Getting ready to sing

Making a wish:"I wish I could be a star in the sky."

Polka dot rain boots

Cinderella Barbie=Love at First Sight

The birthday girl and Auntie Laura

Best gift of all: spending time with Baby Ethan

Baby Ethan and Happy Birthday Willa

Willa wanted only two things for her third birthday: To hold her new cousin Ethan, and to stack ALL of her books on her nightstand. I'm happy to say she got both her wishes (and a bit more!).

Baby Ethan flew all the way from Virginia to meet his cousins and to celebrate Willa's birthday. Willa has had this love connection with Ethan ever since the day he was born. I'll never forget Matt calling us from the hospital and we could hear Ethan crying in the background. That night we told Willa that one day she'll get to meet and hold Ethan, and she jumped up and said, "Let's go right now! I want to hug him!"
Ever since that night, she's always talked about holding Ethan like it would be the most special thing ever. Her eyes get really big when she talks about holding him, and I can't even count how many times she has said, "You mean I can really hold him? All by myself?!"

When he arrived, Willa jumped right into action and held him every chance she could! I love the picture below--you can just see the love in her eyes-

One day Willa and Ethan sat on the couch together for well over an hour. It was the most precious thing to see--Ethan was totally content just being next to her and she was having the greatest time talking to him. She told him how she wanted to paint his fingernails just like hers someday, and she examined every inch of him while she talked and held his fingers in her hand.

Larkin was not quite the natural when it came to babies--
She liked to admire him from a distance but it usually took some work before you could convince her to hold him. She got nervous if he made any noises, and babies do make lots of noises! She did love him though and has talked about him a lot since he left. Today she interrupted a conversation with, "Wasn't baby Ethan just so cute? I just can't believe how cute he was."

By the end of the weekend, Ethan started doing a belly laugh every time the girls just looked at him. He loved watching them play and run fast by him. We took them all to a playground one afternoon and Ethan burst out into a belly laugh when the girls ran on a suspension bridge. So of course the girls ran and bounced over the bridge many, many times, and Ethan got the hiccups from laughing so hard!

They also could make him laugh by sticking out their tongues, and Matt said that on the flight home Ethan figured out how to stick his own tongue out and then he laughed hysterically. I'm sure that's the first of many tricks the girls will teach him!

Bathtime

Three kids, three smirks!

Almost all the pics of the birthday party are copied onto my mom's computer (thanks Auntie Laura for taking all of them!) and I don't have access to them tonight, but here's one pic of Willa and her THREE candles! I'll do another post sometime next week about her birthday and the party.
Thank you so much Ethan, Uncle Matt, and Auntie Laura for being a part of Willa's special day!

a bazillion pics

Ok well that was a nice little break from blogging there!

We all had a great Christmas and New Year's. The girls were spoiled rotten by Santa and many thoughtful relatives and friends. They even had a last minute visit on Christmas day from Auntie Lisa!

The girls opened up one present early and got some super cute dresses from Auntie Laura and Uncle Matt. They each got a few different dresses, and Larkin immediately became attached to this black one with flowers. She loved it so much it was hard to convince her to try the others on!

I love Willa's posing stance:

We've had a pretty mild winter so far. A few days before Christmas it was close to 80 degrees ("great day weather" according to the girls) and we went outside to do some raking. A nice neighbor offered up his yard and leaves (our trees are a different type and haven't dropped many yet) and the girls got right to work!





Here's a pic of the girls on Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve Larkin got a bad crick in her neck and was basically bedridden for most of the day because of the pain. On Christmas morning she was fine for maybe 3 or 4 presents, and then suddenly it started hurting again and she did not want to open anything--just sat really still with her heating pad on her neck! So we took a break from presents and opened the rest about an hour or two later once her neck was feeling a little better. Willa was such a good sport and didn't care at all about not opening the rest right away!

Yes, Larkin slept in her new favorite dress...and yes, Willa is wearing a hand-me-down!
Later on Christmas day we went over to Gma and Gpa's house and Lisa came too. We stuffed ourselves silly and had a great time talking and doing lots of puzzles!

The "present" that has seen the most use though was the huge appliance sized cardboard boxes that my parents were getting rid of. We taped them back together and they've spent the past two weeks dragging all their toys into them and pretending they are "dens." When I decided that I could not take another day of looking at two gigantic boxes taking up our entire playroom, I cut off the tape and the boxes fell flat on the ground. I thought the girls would cry since I was about to toss them, but instead they yelled, "IT'S A BOAT! HURRY, GET ON IT! A STORM IS COMING!"
So the boxes ended up staying an additional few days! Here's a pic of Willa having a picnic on her boat, and the bear she is holding is "a nice wild bear who lost his mother" and she is taking him along as they sail on their boat to Africa. Larkin said that her boat "did not have electricity so we have to dry our clothes on a clothesline, and we really don't have much food on the long boat ride--but don't worry, it's a vacation."

Here's a pic of them dressed up for the ball and riding in their "coach." The ball is always in our living room where they crank up the music and dance.

Princess Harlez comes to the ball too!