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!