Places to go, people to meet...: Ed and Will's visit to Houston

Wow, 3 weeks since I last did any updates, Chris has been badgering me to write another blog, so here goes!

We've had a hectic few weeks, what with moving in, half-heartedly unpacking (we keep de-cluttering with every move, yet somehow things are still being unpacked that I have no use for!), trying to get utilities sorted out and trying to show Ed and Will that Houston and the surrounds have some fun things to do.

I have unpacked loads of things this week, that while I would not consider to be clutter, I did wonder why on earth I bothered getting it out of a box at all...a snow suit, wellie boots, waterproof trousers and a sledge... The girls were both very excited to see their wellies and Fearne really wanted to wear them to get to her swimming lesson the other day....I'm not sure how well pink sparkly welly boots go well with a swimming costume though. :-)

Things we have done....

The Zoo - on a cloudy day! Was good fun to go back , although even though it was cloudy it was still very hot and sticky, so we managed to see al the things we didn't see last time. Either way the girls had a good time.

Austin - We thought we better show Ed and Will that there are some old, interesting and cultural cities in Texas. We went on the duck tour with the girls, which they loved, especially when it drove quite fast into the water, the tour guide was a hoot and made everywhere blow beak whistles at passers by. The tour made me want to go back again but for a long weekend, to try out some of the restaurants on the lake and walk around the city centre. Ed and Will chose to do their own walking tour, following their noses with the trusty Lonely Planet...they want to go back to test the night life.

Houston's Children's Museum - This place was fantastic. Loads of interesting puzzles, things to try out, optical illusion mirrors, climbing and play areas, outdoor water play. We didn't manage to see all of it but the girls would have happily spent a few more hours there. Definitely one to go back to.

Brazo's Bend State Park - We've been before but I wanted Ed and Will to see wild alligators. We honestly had every intention of walking around the small lake, which is only about a mile in length, but when we got out the car the 37 degree heat hit us full on, and neither me, Ed or Will could face having to carry Fearne or Martha at any point. So we opted for the very British thing of walking 50 metres from the car, took some pictures and promptly jumped back in the car and turn ed the air-con up full blast! and then had our picnic IN the car ....oh the shame of admitting that, haha!

Chris took Ed and Will down to the coast while he went kite surfing, and also attempted to take them to the pub. Being that Will is still underage for drinking here, there was always the chance of beign refused a drink....however....he did get the drink, got told twice that he couldn't drink it and had to have coke...and then on the third time they got told he couldn't stay after 9pm....so he downed it.....he is 20 years old...but that makes it sound like I'm talking about a 14 year old!

What else...they've spent a lot of time playing with the girls. The girls have loved having their uncles to play with them all day long and we've all spent a lot of time in the pool. Ed and Will have managed to turn from a light tanned colour, to a rather dark bronzed brown, in the space of a few weeks.

Aside from all this, Fearne has had 2 weeks of swimming lessons, last lesson tomorrow. In that time she has learnt to float properly on her back, swim about 15 metres, swim back stroke and is in the process of learning breast stroke. We have to practice breast stroke arms with her and combine it with the leg kicks, and try and get her used to putting her face properly into the water. Once she can do this I think we'll have a pretty good little swimmer on our hands. Its pretty useful having a pool in the garden for all this practicing! Our landlord has just installed a safety fence between the decking and the pool, so Chris and I can relax a little knowing that none of the children can get near to the water without us opening the gate.

Martha has been a little bit down recently, she's really missing her friends in Banchory and struggling with the heat here, but I've signed her up for 2 weeks of summer camp at the school she will be starting at in August, so hopefully some interaction with other little 3 year olds will bring back the smiley cheerful girl. I'm looking forward to them both starting school in August, we need some kind of routine in this house...that and they need some friends to play with out of school!

Henry is his usual chilled self, although very hungry at that. He now weighs about 17lbs...not far off his cousin who is 5 months older than him, and only 10lbs behind Martha!!! He has started to try rolling over at any given opportunity, although he gets one arm stuck underneath him most of the time, but he can also rotate 360 degrees when lying on his back. He's also started to grab hold of toys that hang in front of him, the concentration in his eyes as he tries to maneuver his arms in to place is very cute....and then its a quick grab, chomp and suck...just to check if its tasty!

We're off to Maine on Friday, for 4th July weekend, and then will be spending a few days in Boston. I'm soooo excited about seeing the Zolpers, and for them to meet Henry and us to meet Benjamin, but we're also all hoping for slightly cooler weather for the week. Ha, I don't think I've ever thought when going on holiday....please let it be cloudy so I have to out a jumper on!!! Actually on second thoughts if it's cool, poor Henry has no clothes to wear over his arms or legs!

Here are a few pictures of us all over the last few weeks....well I tried to add photos before posting this but it wouldnt work, hmmm. We're now on holiday and I'm attempting this from my phone so I'll sort it out when iI get back to Houston in a few days.