We seem to have been very busy over the last week, and although we seem to be slowly settling into life here, it doesn't feel like we've actually achieved much....although the fact that I'm not so scared of driving anymore and can get to and from the supermarket without the use of Mrs Satnav is an achievement in itself!!
We went to look at some schools last week for the girls to go to. The first was a really lovely small elementary school within a reasonable distance of the area we want to live in, the teachers were lovely, the school seemed lovely and Fearne loved it and most importantly she can start immediately ;-).
The second was the British School of Houston, which goes up to 18 years old, the school seemed great, great facilities, interesting style of teaching, she can start next week, but its miles away and would involve me driving at least 50 minutes in each direction. Its not in a particularly nice area of Houston so there's not really any scope for living nearby. Most of the children who go there live in the really expensive areas of the city and catch the school buses. There is the option for the girls to go by bus but a) we think they're too young to go on a bus and b) it would be a very long day from 7.30am to 4.30pm!!
The third school is in a similar area to the first school, goes up to 18 years old, has a really good reputation, but they can't take Fearne until August.....and that means I would have to occupy her for the next 4 months and she wouldn't get to start making some new friends. She's already very bored and driving me up the wall so in reality if they definitely don't have a space for her this is not an option!!
Aside from being stressed about schools, we have been having some more fun over the Easter weekend!
We started Saturday off with a trip to the Waffle House at the end of our road for breakfast. This might sound like a wonderfully traditional and maybe homely establishment, but in really it is more like an American version of Little Chef. However the waffles were huge and the copious amounts of maple syrup they were doused in meant Chris and I were feeling particularly unhealthy by 9.30 in the morning. I still can't get over the fact that Fearne ate all of hers, I was completely stuffed, so where she managed to fit it is beyond me.
So we headed off to Brazos Bend State Park and had a walk round a small lake which hosts wild alligators and turtles!! It felt rather surreal walking alongside a lake and spotting alligators sunning themselves on the surface. There was lots of other wildlife but I honestly have no idea what it was, apart from the herons and dragonflies.
Martha is still full of cold and trying to acclimatize so i ended up carrying her in Henry's sling! By the end of the loop, having carried Martha for an hour in 30 degree heat I felt my waffle for breakfast was fully justified!
If you look closely there is another bigger one underneath the jetty, its head is just visible.
The baby one!
We finished off the day with a swim in the pool and a BBQ with Jillian and Mark. Fearne seems to have a new found confidence in the pool, and although we haven't yet got her swimming without her swim vest she now loves jumping in and going underwater!
On Easter Sunday, we drove down to Galveston with the intention of spending some time on the beach, however it was sooo windy, we didn't think the children would cope very well, particularly Henry who stills gasps in the slightest breeze. However Chris spent the entire time we were there salivating over the waves and wind and wishing his windsurfing equipment was not on a ship but already here with us. I think we'd better find a house pretty quickly just so we can unpack the windsurfing gear....and so Chris can abandon me for weekends!! hmmmm
We drove home via a place called Kemah looking for a slightly less windy beach, however in the end we opted for a short walk around the boardwalk and funfair rides. Martha chose to go on the train and Fearne opted for the carousel.
As for our usual Easter egg hunt, we accidentally on purpose forgot to do anything. I bought some small eggs with me from the UK and I've saved them for a few indoor hunts this week, when the girls start going stir crazy! I missed our usual Lake District Easter holiday with my family but I won't forget my first Easter here nevertheless.
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