Spelunking in Texas

As it turned out, I spent 1989 thoroughly obsessed with, among other book series, Pippi Longstocking. Thankfully, it is because of my Pippi interest I can now pinpoint the exact moment the term 'spelunking' was introduced into my vocabulary. However it wasn't until discovering the Inner Space Caves in Georgetown Saturday did I finally get to do it in person. As you can see, this event was years in the making.


We rode the cable car down a little track into the caves while learning about their history. Apparently the caverns were first discovered in 1963 during the construction of Interstate 35. They are estimated to be 90-100 million years old, formed by the carving of water through limestone, though they were not open to the public until the late '60s.


And we're in. We spent the next hour on an intense 'Adventure Tour' which we found out was one of the mildest tours available.
This one actually included a tour guide and a paved trail to follow, though if you are interested you can sign up for the tour that gives you a flashlight and lets you explore pitch black caverns by yourself.


Some of the things we saw....
Stalactites, stalagmites, who knew these geological terms would come in handy?


The most interesting thing to me was learning that there is a fault line (not pictured) that runs through the caverns and its activity is responsible for some of the amazing formations.


Cave drawings. Don't get your hopes up, they are not authentic.


L & M were pretty terrified of the experience until they saw a bat on the ceiling, at least 100 ft. away. That bat marked a turning point in our adventure and for the next hour the talk was all about bat houses, bat bathtubs, bat swimming pools, bat beds, Batman....


I had to throw this picture in because London is demonstrating the 'Davis scowl' which apparently runs pretty strongly in my family. I wouldn't know. :) However London did cry the whole way to the car because she wanted to look for more bats. A far cry from the girl at the beginning of the tour who only wanted to go home. I guess we'll have to make it back soon, though never again while pregnant. The humidity level was 98%! Thank goodness we came out alive, it really was an adventure.

Hello Baby

A few nights ago we went out to Serrano's to celebrate the news of our baby girl. The girls ate Salsa so hot it made my eyes water, Maddie rocked out to the beat of the music, and I finally got this (Londie's) expression on camera. All too quickly we moved onto the next thing on our agenda...


A new girl means buying not one but two new beds so the girls can graduate from their crib/daybeds. We tracked down this little number, a green sleigh bed from Cindy Crawford's furniture line. I knew immediately it would match the twins' garden ballerina theme and colors, not to mention they can share it until they are ten. It arrived yesterday and we are really pleased. We thought we'd have all the equipment for a new baby, but some of it is twin-specific! It is time to set out and sell/trade in half of our baby equipment in exchange for a single of everything, stroller, etc. I have been so restless thinking about all of it.


I finally settled on a color schema for the baby's room, inspired by L & M's purses. I love the color combos here: cherry red+turquoise, lime green +pink. I am almost 100% certain I will paint Singleton's room a version of this blue and use these colors as accents. I am determined to help her find a style separate from the twins! Plus, London has been sporting so much pink these days I am starting to get a headache. Let the nesting begin.

Sunset Oasis

Friday night Ryan took me to a restaurant called The Oasis. It sits right on Lake Austin and has a gorgeous view. (Note: the lady taking this did not count to three!)


Coming into the place, there were more cars than a WalMart parking lot, so we thought we'd starve to death waiting to get a table (one of my worst fears these days), but as you can see, there are plenty of tables ready to accommodate. We got right in.


Views from our table. The food was great and there was even a live band playing. It was nice to enjoy a meal without worrying about the girls jumping into the lake.


At sunset, there were tourists from all over snapping pictures. I told Ryan I felt like we were on vacation!


The pregnant sweat, ha ha. I used to be so proud of the fact that I never broke into a sweat, more of a glow, but since moving to Austin I am dripping. Nothing a little Amy's Ice Cream can't fix and since we were in the area, a trip to 1/2 Price Books. I don't know why but one of our favorite things to do is get lost in bookstores. I had a blast, maybe because it was the first time I'd talked to Ryan all week? He's spent this week getting ready to launch this website for his company while I've been at home trying to move Singleton off my sciatic nerve. Needless to say, we both needed the break!

The X Factor

We have ourselves another girl! We got to see her today, pulling on her ear, doing tricks and all the other things babies do to pass the time. I guess she has had to play several rounds of solitaire thus far, as there is no one to choreograph complex dance routines with....yet. L & M seem pretty excited. Here is a little snippet of our last conversation about it:

Me: "Would you girls like to have a baby at our house?"
Maddie (very decisively): "Yes."
Me: "Where would we get a baby from?"
Both girls at the same time: "From Grandma!" (London)
"From the store!" (Madelyn)
Me: "Did you know there is a baby in mommy's tummy?"
London lifts up my shirt and says, "I don't see it."
I explained to her the doctor will take the baby out when it gets big enough, and she lifts up my shirt again and says, "Almost ready!"
The girls proceeded to spend the last week telling us that they have babies in their tummies too. Apparently Londie's is a girl and Maddie's is a boy. Ah, they grow up so fast!

Garden Party

When my friend Alysha finally opened an etsy shop, I knew it would be my exercise in self-control. To further complicate the matter, Brooklyn Bean debuted with a line of smocked dresses for little girls. It took a lot to narrow it down to the two, and how did pieces from the boys' necktie collection get into my shopping cart? (Place your bets, we find out Tuesday!) These dresses were hardly a day out of the package before we braved the sauna outside for a photo shoot. **




Madelyn models the smocked garden party dress.



While London surprised us all by choosing the blue dress with orange flowers.



Love the unique prints.



Love the bright summer colors.



Love my little Texas flowers in bloom.

**Please excuse the Minnie Mouse flip flops and pink plastic necklace. I learned the hard way they are an every day necessity!