First Weekend

My friend from Missouri Jessica came to visit in the first few days of Marina's stay, and my 10yo son Liam had his birthday party already scheduled, so we stayed busy a while!

 Goofballs in the back of the mini mini van

My boyfriend Alex has two kids, Morgan (age 12) and Trevor (age 10), and we all went out for tacos. They may be the best food in Texas. The taco shop was a bit crowded so we sat by The Woodlands lake and fed ducks our chips. There were A Lot of ducks.

 Feeding bread (or chips) is not really good for ducks. It doesn't have the nutrition they need. We'll come back better prepared!

 Looking out over the lake. We're probably going to get a stand-up paddleboard. Looks like fun.

I like this photo.

We went to the Goose's Acre after feeding the ducks. It's a real Irish bar, shipped piece by piece from Ireland, and is on the waterway downtown The Woodlands. We sat outside overlooking the waterway. Marina amazed everybody with her crayon-stacking skills.

The next day was Liam's birthday. Paintball! It's the oldest paintball gaming place in Texas, and one of the oldest in the nation. They had plywood castles, abandoned buildings, woodsy areas, a zombie hunting place; all sorts of things! Marina's friend from the plane ride over Carmen came along, with the oldest member of her exchange family, a sweet teenage boy. Jessica played, along with Liam's friends and a few parents. Everybody made a great team!

Jessica sneaking through the castle.

Marina wearing a Texan shirt, and Carmen.

 Eating a hotdog!

First Few Days

WELCOME! We were all so tired and nervous! Marina Cierzo had flown a long way, and I had worked 48+ hours in 4 days. There was no problem at the airport, and the exchange student coordinator was  there to help us.

We don't have any pictures of the next day, because it was boring and long. We had breakfast at a new restaurant near my house, then registered Marina for school. Then we had to take Liam to the psychiatrist to get medicine for his ADHD. We drove a lot of hours and then spent hours waiting. We all went to bed early.

Today was fun! We ate yoghurt for breakfast, and went shopping for bedsheets and shelves. Marina saw Carmen, a Spanish girl that she rode the plane all the way from Spain with, at Target. We exchanged numbers and they live close by us, so they can visit each other.

The kids shopping for cheese. I think they both REALLY like cheese.

The kids (Liam and Marina) built the shelves for Marina. We cleaned the house, then watched some TV.

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Tomorrow my best friend Jessica is coming in from Missouri, and we have a lot planned this weekend, including Liam's birthday party - paintball!