A Week with the Angells

 I spent a semester in London in 1995 and traveled throughout Europe with my friend Dara, whom I met there through the Missouri-London program. (Dan did the same program 18 months later, crazily enough.) Dara and I have kept in touch in the intervening years and I was thrilled when she asked if she might be able to come visit with her family for their spring break this year.  Her girls are a little older than ours (they're 5 and 7), but they were all fast friends, quickly setting up and inviting us to the grand opening of an interesting petting zoo, replete with orcas, sharks, and other marine animals.

The weather was a little dreary on their first day in Texas, but the skies cleared up by evening, and we wasted no time getting down to the beach for a walk.  The girls threw caution to the wind, wading in the Gulf, digging in the sand, racing, climbing, and otherwise making the very best of the beach time.  

The next day, we spent more time at the beach! Maddy found a hermit crab named Emily that was much faster than we gave her credit for...

...and Izzy demonstrated one of her favorite activities: throwing sand into the Gulf.  

We were pretty impressed with how well the twins shared and played, since they're not around other kids often.  All of the girls gathered around the leappads, playing, taking turns, offering suggestions and commentary, and generally having a very sweet time! 

We were all sad to see the Angells go at the end of the week and hope that they'll come back soon!