My three cousins, aunt and uncle from Scotland were all in Durango with us for the past week, so we had a lot of quality family time. In other words, we did a lot of jigsaw puzzles and played ample amounts of Taboo (favorite game ever). I hadn’t seen them since our wedding in 2013, and it was really, really nice to catch up with everyone individually. Oh, and to introduce them to Sonic, of course. We walked two miles to get a diet strawberry limeade one day, then drove-through after ziplining so everyone could try milkshakes, tater tots, teas, etc. It is America’s Drive-In after all! Nothing like some good USA culture.
Other highlights of the week included:
- Taking Isla on her first bike ride. We bought a Giro baby helmet, but it was a little too bit and kept falling forward and blocking Isla’s vision, so she hated it. We also had the new baby seat (Yepp Maxi Back Seat) installed at the store we bought it, and they put it very, very close to the saddle. It felt a little suffocating, so we moved it back and bought a new helmet (the Bontrager Little Dipper). Ride #2 was so much better – smiles all around! You can see a video of Isla’s first ride here (I almost fell off my bike at the beginning and had to cut that!).
- Playing in the wading pool almost every single day. My favorite day was when Isla grabbed the hose and kept spraying Belle (our dog), who would bite frantically at the water. Isla was dying laughing – short video here. We spend most of our days outside, running around the garden or going on short hikes.
- Walking to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and getting fresh juice from Durango Juice Bar. We normally don’t eat out when we’re in Houston, and have been doing take-outs for many of our meals (since there was 10 of us!) – we are in desperate need of a cleanse! We’re doing juices plus no chemical/preservative foods right now. I’m going to share a recipe for my favorite refreshing fruit water this week.
- Going zip-lining for the second time at Full Blast Adventure Center. It is so much fun. Last time I went, they allowed us to do backflips off the ledge, but this time, it was banned because apparently that isn’t safe (greatttt, thanks for the warning the first time). I went with my three cousins and my aunt, and we all had a great time.
- Reading The Little Lady Agency, which I’m loving so far. I’m almost done, and I’ll be sharing my 2015 summer reading list on Wednesday or Thursday. I did two last summer (here and here), and want to hear your suggestions on what to read next!
- Isla learned that horses say “Neighhhh” this week (a horse and carriage passes our house every evening), and so we’ve obviously prompted her at least 350 times in the last 7 days. Another ‘trick’ she loves to do is put the sole of her foot up against ours (shown below). Every day is such an adventure!
How was your week? What were your highlights?
I learned two of my favorite quotes from my American Literature course at The University of Texas at Austin. Both relate to nature (such a treehugger!). I posted the Thoreau quote 
It is no secret that I love Houston. After moving back to the city from Austin, where I went to college, I became an adventurer of my own habitat. I wanted to try every restaurant, see every sight, walk on all the trails, etc. I also love to travel to new cities in the US, and in the last 2 years covered San Francisco (6 times), Los Angeles, Boston (3 times), Miami, Portland, Minneapolis, New York, Denver, Durango, Dallas, Austin, Chicago (2 times), Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, Bozeman (Montana), and Washington DC. I would always have a fully packed agenda for all of these places, which included food, event, and sightseeing recommendations. I thought it would be fun to create my own Houston weekend guide (Friday evening through Sunday night)! Hopefully you find this list useful.
Friday Evening
