The Richards in Scotland

**Blogging from mid air, this entry was written June 17** Right now I’m sitting here on the IAH Houston to AMS Amsterdam KLM Dutch flight, kids are finally asleep and myself wide awake as usual. We are probably about 3000 miles from Houston in the air right now, and have just flown over the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland. I’ve watched a couple movies already, but I decided to write a blog entry to a document because, well, there is so much on my mind! We have had a very enjoyable time in Texas covering Houston, Sugar Land, San Antonio, El Campo and Port O’Connor! I miss my husband and can’t wait to see him, we have been in Texas a month without him. I’m sure I will have a guest post from him when we get back about his travels around Europe, Africa and the Falkland Islands with work while we were gone.

This flight has been a little rough, at the least. Its about 9 hours air time. The airport was a challenge in itself. First of all, I did some shopping when I was back in Houston. And boy did I shop...First I bought lots of sundresses and summer clothes for everyone for our time in Texas and our Mediterranean cruise later. I hit the Nordstrom Anniversary sale for Fall Clothes and Shoes for everyone and that filled up one overweight piece of luggage! All of that and some food items I wanted to bring back added up. Once again I had 6 pieces of luggage to check in for us 3! I turned in our Rental Car and tipped a gentleman to help me get all my bags to the bus to head to the terminal. Then I had to find a bell man to help me get my bags from the bus and to the check in. He waited with me in that long line which was so helpful!! $200 in baggage overage and additional bags later, we were on our way. Then came the long line through security. It seemed like so much work but we were finally at the gate and walking on the plane. Luckily with kids I was one of the first people to board. Here we go! About 2 hours into the flight, we started having a few turbulence. There were a little more than I usually experience so I immediately put Trent and Landon’s seat belts back on. Right after that we had a huge one that made everyone jump out of their seats. It was like a wild roller coaster ride and the pilot made the announcement for everyone to buckle their seat belts and remain seated. We’ve hit changing air or something. A couple people sitting around us even got a little sick. And so this lasted for about 1.5 hours which seemed like FOREVER. I just prayed we would get out of this, nothing makes me more nervous on a plane. I was not enjoying it at all, meanwhile, my boys were laughing loud very loudly saying “WHOA, WHOA, this is so fun!” Trent turned to me and said Mom this is such a wild ride today, with such a big smile. I just had to put a smile on my face and stay calm. Trent started telling me he had to go potty again, and I had to tell him we couldn’t yet. When it seemed like things quieted down, we attempted to go to the toilet when a flight attendant told me we could not get out of our seats. I was surprised they were so strict, usually with a child I can get up, he said his side was hurting. After about 30 minutes I told the flight attendant again I didn’t think he could wait. Fortunately they turned off the seatbelt sign then. Believe me, there were people rushing out of their seats to get to the toilet. We ran as fast as we could to get there. Whew, I saved a change of clothes on this one. Its been pretty smooth since, hopefully the remaining 2.5 hours will be smooth sailing! This will be my first international flight with the boys by myself, so I will be happy when we get back. Landon loves to have my attention every second though and Trent trys to be the big boy who can stay up all night, so I have to bribe him to go to sleep. Not sure if he would be able to walk with me to our connecting flight if he didn't sleep some. We will arrive about 12:30 am Houston time, 7:30 am Amsterdam time. We catch a connecting flight from AMS to ABZ Aberdeen at 9 am Amsterdam time which arrives in Aberdeen at 4:30 am Houston time, 10:30 am Aberdeen time. So since I don’t sleep, I’m so tired! Counting on Jon for some help when we get back!

What a summer it has been! I arrived back in Houston by myself for my sister Katy’s Bachelorette party and final wedding preparations. We stayed at Hotel ZaZa and had a blast with shopping, pedicures, El Tiempo for dinner, a Lingerie Shower at the hotel, and then a night out on Washington Avenue in Houston. She has so many wonderful and fun friends, we had a great time! During the week I had dinner with a few friends from home including margaritas and fajitas at El Tiempo, YUMMMM!! Katy and Clark were married the following weekend. My sister Jill and I were her Matron’s of Honor. What a special day! Jon flew in with the boys and they all were in Tuxedos for the wedding. Trent and Landon were so handsome as Ring Bearers. Katy looked absolutely stunning and I couldn’t be happier for the couple. We are so happy to welcome Clark to our family too. Trent and Landon already love hanging out with Uncle Clark!

Jon was only in Texas for 11 days so we spent 3 nights the next week at the bayhouse in Port O’Connor, where we did some trout fishing. Trent and Landon want to fish all the time now since we caught so many! We also made a trip to Port Aransas with my family, Gamma, Gampa, Aunt Jill, Uncle Kyle, Ally, Uncle Eric, Megan, Uncle Neal, Uncle Jason and Alyssa which was a blast. We love staying at the Port Royal! We went back to Port O’Connor on Father’s Day to have lunch with some of Jon’s family, Nanny, PawPaw, and Uncle Ramsey. It was a great week together but it flew by. Daddy went back to Aberdeen so it was the boys and I for the rest of the time. The next week we spent in Sugar Land at my in-laws house and it was great spending so much time with Nanny and Paw Paw! The boys loved fishing in the pond and going to the movies along with dinner at Carrabbas. On a couple Tuesday and Thursdays they went to camp at the SLWCP and they were excited to see Ms. Becky, Ms. Nisha and Ms. Stacey along with all their teachers and friends these past few years. A few swim parties and Chucke Cheese with friends were also a must! We also saw the new Cars movie with some friends, so much fun. The next week we stayed at Aunt Jill and Uncle Kyle’s house along with baby Ally. She turns One this next month and is an absolute doll. We loved playing with her and even helped her take her first 6 steps across the room. The boys are in love with her and love playing with her. She is such a special little niece!!

July 4^th weekend we went back down to Port O’Connor for watch the fireworks from our boat Hydrocarbon. Best of all, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Jess, Drake, Carter and Myatt were back in town!!! The boys couldn’t wait to play with their cousins and we loved seeing baby Myatt. He is such a cutie and smiles all the time. The last time I saw him was the week he was born so he has changed a lot in 6 months!!! After the weekend we headed to stay at their house for the week. The boys had a blast hanging out together. And Stacey and I even got a night out with friends from Sugar Land!!

The following Sunday we left with my family to stay at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio with my family. We love this place! The slides, the lazy river, the pool, the smores, so much fun. Mid week we left back to Port O’Connor to watch the boats during the POCO Bueno tournament. And Saturday we went to cousin Lauren’s wedding in El Campo. In between everything we stayed at my parents house and it was so nice to sit outside in the evenings and let the boys run and spend time with Gamma and Gampa. They had fun riding the combine, cotton picker and playing baseball in the yard. We will miss everyone!! It was a great time, and we would love to go back next summer and visit again!

**We made it to Amsterdam and had plenty of time to make our connecting flight to Scotland. I love the Amsterdam airport, such a great modern airport and easy to get from one terminal to the other, so it was easy. Although Scotland welcomed us with a little cold and rainy weather, we are all so happy and thankful to be spending time together as a family... God is Great and its a wonderful Life!

Note: Please see next blog post for additional pictures...