The Blue Hole

Nachdem wir an unserem ersten Badeplatz fast geschmolzen waeren, haben wir doch noch ein schoenes Plaetzchen gefunden um uns abzukuehlen. Leider 70 km von zuhause weg, aber die Anfahrt hat sich gelohnt. Dugan ist hier als Kind beim zelten gewesen und unseren beiden hat es auch super gefallen.

No, this is not a giant cookie, it's a hamburger patty and she surely wasn't letting go of it!

After melting away at the Pedernales River earlier, we finally found the perfect spot to stay cool in this hot weather. The Blue Hole in Wimberley! Unfortunately it's quite a ways from home but still worth the drive. Dugan used to come here camping when he was Emmi's age and our two loved swimming here too.

Reimer Ranch State Park

Waere es nicht so heiss gewesen (38 Grad Celsius im Schatten) haette es uns hier ganz gut gefallen. Aber da es absolut keinen Schatten gab haben wir nach einer knappen Stunde wieder zusammengepackt und haben uns einen besseren Badeplatz gesucht.

Pretty but way too hot. We felt like we'd been dropped from an airplane out in the desert, there was not a single spot of shade to be found along Pedernales River. We'll be back in the fall but we only stayed for about an hours this time around.

Where we are at...

- I have four more days as the mother of a one-year-old and a two-year-old and then, much anticipated by her, my oldest daughter will turn three years old next Tuesday.

- Lily is sleeping through the night, most nights, in her own bed

-Emmi is still not sleeping through the night but only waking up once now to come climb in our bed which is fine with us. She stopped having nightmares, which we think is a result of limiting her TV time to once or twice a week to very few DVD's that we know don't scare her.

-Lily can finish a bowl of hummus using just one single chip to dip. She can also finish half of a large Thundercloud California Club Sandwich with everything on it.

-We booked our first family vacation that doesn't involve visiting family. We are renting a cabin close to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado for one week in the fall. We are sooo excited. Emmi can't wait to see a Moose!

-Emmi is wondering where she was before she was in my belly. The explanation that offended her the most was the suggestion that she was a tiny egg in my belly which she answered with: "I'm not a chicken!"

-While eating a bowl of chocolate pudding she also came up with the question of how babies come out of my belly. I answered "Well, I don't have a baby in my belly." which satisfied her for two more bites of chocolate pudding before she asked "But how did Lily come out of your belly?" I was getting ready to give her a big explanation when our neighbors rang the bell to ask if we wanted to come to the pool. YES we do!!!! I don't mind giving her details but I think she should be a little bit older so she'll be able to comprehend it. I wonder how much longer until she wants to know how the babies get INTO my belly.

- Emmi checks her legs after eating vegetables to check if they have grown already. I never knew telling a child "Eat your vegetables so you'll grow big and strong" actually works!

-Lily loves animals but she just especially loves dogs! As soon as she spots one in a book or in real she starts telling everybody "Wau Wau, Wau Wau, ..."

- Emmi loves everything creepy crawly. She'll catch rolly pollies, caterpillars, crickets, frogs... and then asks for a bowl to keep them. I am seriously thinking about setting up a terrarium for her catches but I am worried I'll find a Tarantula in there one day.

Hamilton Pool

We discovered Hamilton Pool last weekend and we loved it! It's absolutely awesome! We got there shortly after nine in the morning since there are only 75 Parking Spots and it's one car in/ one car out once they are full. The limited parking keeps it from getting too crowded which is nice. It's a little hike to get down to the pool which is a little steep but was mastered by Emmi and the Pool itself is such a pretty oasis. Emmi loved climbing around on the rocks around the waterfall and Lily loved playing with the rocks and water. The overhanging rock wall keeps the Pool shaded almost until noon. We had such a good time!

Surprise Visit

We surprised Doe and Pa with a visit in East Texas on Sunday. Doe was super excited to see the kids and we were able to take her back home to Pa for the afternoon which was nice for all of us. Doe is doing a lot better from the last time we saw her, but is still too weak to permanently come home from the nursing home. Emmi was excited to see Doe and Pa again, but Lily wasn't to sure. She held on tight to Papa every time we tried to sit her on their laps. The kids did great on the total of 8 hours spent in the car. Emmi slept the entire way home, but Lily woke up after 30 minutes and wouldn't go back to sleep until we reached our home exit on IH 35. Stubborn little girl! It was a great visit and we are so glad we went!

Sonntag haben wir Doe in East Texas mit einem spontanen Besuch ueberrascht. Sie hat sich super gefreut und wir konnten sie fuer den Nachmittag aus der Reha/Seniorenheim nach Hause zu Pa mitnehmen, was fuer uns alle schoen war. Doe geht es besser, aber sie ist zu schwach auf den Beinen um schon wieder nach Hause zu koennen. Emmi hat sich gefreut Doe und Pa wiederzusehen, waehrend Lily sich nicht so sicher war. Sie hat sich immer schoen an Papa festgehalten wenn wir sie Doe oder Pa auf den Schoss setzen wollten. Die Kinder haben die insgesamt 8 Stunden Autofahrt gut verkraftet. Emmi hat den gesamten Rueckweg geschlafen, waehrend Lily nach einer halben Stunde wieder aufgewacht ist und dann erst wieder eingeschlafen ist als wir bei unserer Ausfahrt von der Interstate runter sind.

Twinkler Park (as Emmi calls it ;) )

4th of July

Wir hatten wie jedes Jahr viel Spass am Unabhaengigkeitstag. Zuerst haben wir uns unseren Nachbarschaftsumzug angeschaut und sind dann zum Festival im Park gegangen. Emmi fand die Huepfburgen und den Kinderzug ganz toll und Lily all das Essen das es ueberall gab. MeMe und Granddaddy waren das ganze Wochenende zu Besuch was beide Kinder super fanden. Am Abend haben wir uns diesmal nicht das Feuerwerk in Wells Branch angeschaut sondern sind stattdessen in die Innenstadt zu Papa's Buero gefahren wo wir eine super Aussicht auf's Feuerwerk hatten vom 22. Stock.

We love 4th of July!! As usual we started out watching our neighborhood parade and then spent a long time at the festival at the park. Emmi had a great time in the Jumping Castle and riding the kiddie train and Lily was happy as long as the food kept coming her way. MeMe and Granddaddy spent the weekend with us too which the kids loved! We didn't watch the Wells Branch Fireworks this year but went downtown to Papa's office instead, where we watched the fireworks from the 22nd floor. Both kids stayed up until 11:30 pm!