Take Your Best Shot

I was delighted when my sister Heather asked if I could spend an evening with her and BFF Meg in downtown Austin to immortalize their kinship through the camera lens, a little glimpse into what it's like to be part of this adventurous duo. I assured them by no means do I know how my way around the camera, so we let the spontaneity do the talking. In the meantime, was there anything more refreshing than an evening with these girls?




I love that when I asked what shots they were looking for they said, anything that could go on a Christmas card. Well played!

My favorite part is when you get to the top of these stairs...




There waits a garden of cacti that overlooks the entire city, and perhaps a conversation or two that I had been needing all week. How serendipitous of Heather to befriend a girl that brings out the best in the entire Davis family.


Love my sister Heather, love dinner conversations overlooking the whole city, and most of all love that feeling of coming home totally refreshed, ready to conquer the world.

ps. After this I vowed not to go into the -ever popular- taking pictures of engaged couples on railroad tracks business. Who knew that would not be my niche?

Payback

When this girl


brought me this injury


a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked. A bite mark, are you kidding me? What would it come to that you'd have to inflict your sister with a bleeding, gaping stomach wound? Then I remembered an incident two summers back, almost to the day. It seems Madelyn has been plotting her revenge ever since!

Welcome to Congress

Last week Ryan's parents came to visit and we took them downtown to the event we had attempted three times-the bats! Yes folks, apparently it's bat season at last. Who knew?


All it takes is a little walk across Congress Bridge...


Slowly they start to fly out from under the bridge, making their way into the horizon.


And then they are so thick you think it's actually smoke.





I love the little conversation that took place between these two.
"Bats are stinky!"
"I want to go to the bat cave!"
and then naturally a lot of jumping and screaming.

Other highlights of the outing:





A little bit of rock n roll.


Initially an attempt to capture one of the three parrots, but I still liked this shot of the birds at Whole Foods.
Yes I would say the third time's the charm for the bats. It was also the first time in my life of motherhood that I have heard both girls at opposite ends of the playground "Mom, I peed my pants!"

August and Everything After

For our seven-year anniversary, Ryan took me to San Antonio! Sure we'd been there before, but without kids it was like visiting another country. The sky's the limit when you are not worried about anyone jumping off the boat at the Riverwalk.


A romantic stroll. Could this place get any more beautiful?




We ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which turned out to be a little more family friendly than we had anticipated...


Talking tree


Scary alligator looming beneath the staircase



We stayed at the Hotel Contessa with a great view of the Riverwalk-and entire city as we were on the 12th floor. I think it was my first full night's sleep since we started potty training circa Valentine's Day 2008.

Absolutely love the landscape along the riverwalk





the vibrant colors




the architecture


(While we were shooting a boat full of people came by and I heard their river guide say, 'All the married men, don't look to your left.' So of course the entire boat rubbernecks and there I am, the only human in view. So Ryan takes a picture of them!)


Whose idea was it to bring home ~two flutes~ for your ~two four-year olds~? The same person who suggested a yellow polka dot cardigan and sparkly earrings for this lady, so I can't complain. And even though this morning my ears were threatening to bleed, Ryan says L & M show excellent clarinet promise! Here I am playing a musical number for San Antonio himself.

The trip could not have been possible without the help of James & Lonna, who have the equivalent of three kids themselves, not to mention Heather & bf, who held down the fort and endured many hours of pudding and Barbie Rapunzel. You know it's a great feeling to miss your kids...but it's also a great feeling to get them back, happy and exhausted. Happy August Ryan, I can't believe it's already been seven years!

Hibernation

These days we no longer dare open the front door or else we get hit with 105 degree heat! Are you kidding me!? Although last summer, we ventured to the pool every day while I was pregnant! Now that is a head scratcher because I break a sweat just getting the kids in the car nowadays.
Which brings me to the number one most requested item on our household menu: soup! Really kiddos? It started when L & M got this book from the library about three cute little animal friends trying to make "pumpkin" soup (called pumpkin soup because it was orange). London was so intrigued with the idea of pumpkin soup she created her own makeshift pumpkin soup recipe based on four specific ingredients in the picture: carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, and corn. What a little smartie pants. Well, the result was disappointing, make that devastating that the soup did not turn out orange, leave it to mom to throw in those blasted black beans, but we sure had fun making it! We've since tried our hand at turtle soup and tortilla soup, the perfect remedy for a heat stroke I'm sure. :)

Chin Up

This weekend we set the record for more visits to the E.R. than in previous four years combined! As it turns out, we Barlows are overachievers when it comes to injuries, and illnesses for that matter. Which brings me to Friday night. What was set out to be an inconsequential trip to the grocery store with dad turned into the dreaded phone call, you know the one where you immediately know something's wrong. Apparently London lost her footing at Walmart and broke her fall with--what else, her chin. I guess one of the Walmart employees rushed in with a first aid kit and got her all cleaned up, but enter: mom's paranoia mixed with a little bit of vanity and there they all were in the emergency room. The cut was kind of borderline and could have been fixed with a special bandage but insistent mom, the one that hadn't even seen the cut, mind you, pushed for stitches. Three stitches later we have been assured there will be the least bit of scarring possible. I rest my case. (By the way, London was a very brave girl, just ask her!)



Another calamity of the Walmart trip, do these girls have their dad wrapped around their finger or what? I don't know how L & M convinced Ryan they needed princess sleeping bags, let alone permission to have a Friday night campout in his office, but I'm guessing the stitches had something to do with it.

The next day,

and meanwhile, Liv had been making this face for a solid three days. The happiest baby I have ever met, we could only chock it up to teething, after all, she was running a small fever. Then the rash started. At first a diaper rash, then it climbed to her tummy, and the next thing I know it is on her neck and around her eye. Bizarre? I sure thought so. Fighting off my instinct to call 911 (just kidding guys, sort of), I called up the after hours clinic and here is a little snippet of our conversation.

me: Ok so my daughter has a diaper rash that is also on her tummy and face?
nurse: Is she running a fever?
me: Yes, but she's also teething...
nurse: Ok fever and spotted rash, that sounds exactly like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
me (immediately burst into tears): That is really bad!
nurse: Yes, I would bring her to the emergency room immediately.

What might be categorized as a high-speed car chase later, in which the whole time Ryan and I were arguing about the severity of the rash. Having myself been diagnosed with an insidious vector-borne illness I know that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. However, and luckily, a very un-amused doctor looked me in the eye and told me to change her diaper more frequently, and perhaps apply some more ointment. My arguments that I had tried all these things, not to mention raised twins to age four having never had this problem, fell on deaf ears. Oh well, I said, I would rather have an average run-of-the-mill diaper rash on my hands than Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! (Seriously nurse, is that something going around infants.)
Not to mention, as I was waiting for the doctor to come in, Liv finally threw her head back and revealed the culprit: one ironic top tooth starting to come in.

So an eventful/uneventful weekend for the Barlows complete with new nicknames based on your last hospital visit. From now on, just call us

"church ball" (ryan's rib injury)
"cup o' joe" (maddie's coffee table injury)
"chin up" (london)
"lester lyme" (leslie)
and--


Small Pox.

ps. the rash was gone by morning