Badminton & Birthdays

The kids have had a busy week of work.  Henry had a lot more than he was used to getting.  This coming Friday is the end of the semester, so there is a lot due as well as a lot of tests.  Henry has been working on a paper about Huckleberry Finn, which has been a bit time-consuming because he likes my company when he writes.  I also serve as typist.  At pick-up on Thursday, he got in the car and apologized to everyone because his paper was not due the following day.  It was a rough draft that was due and he was sorry he had monopolized my time.  When Henry hears the word rough draft, he takes it literally and wants to leave it rough so his teacher will see a difference in the final paper. Yeah.  But it doesn't have to be rough-rough...  

Henry still wasn't feeling the best and was upset to have to write a paper under sick circumstances.  He broke out in a rash on Tuesday night, so I took him to the Urgent Care the following day.  We had a very indecisive nurse practitioner who kept saying it could be a bunch of different things and I could pick the option for treatment.  But isn't that your job...  I went home and researched Henry's rash and it really looked like strep that had turned into scarlet fever, so I filled the antibiotics prescription (instead of waiting days for the long strep test to come back) and it definitely did the trick.  I'm usually a wait-it-out kind of person (so we don't overuse antibiotics), but he fit the symptoms to a T.  

Orion

Henry also had his first stage crew meeting and he found out he's been assigned to 'set construction.'  I was so excited because that's such a useful part.  He gets to learn how to use tools and build.  He was not quite as enthusiastic because he doesn't have any experience.  We're going to let him practice using our drill so he can get a feel for it.  He knows one thing they have to build are doors.  Josiah went to the stage crew meeting, too, because he was put in the marketing group.  They have grand plans of making posters and hanging them up in businesses all around town.

On Friday, while Henry was at a friend's birthday party, Josiah took us outside to see how the planets aligned.  He showed us Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.  Venus was unbelievably bright.  Saturn was hidden by our neighbor's house.  It was pretty cool how clear they were.  We also saw Orion very well.  Then there was Castor and Pollux making a triangle with Mars.  Josiah has an app that tells him what everything is and he loves to show us all that he has learned.  

The triangle has Mars to the right.

We had a few birthdays this week.  Caroline wanted to film my birthday cake, not necessarily for sentimental value, but because the shadow from my glasses makes my eyebrows look evil...  

I also got to run up to Staunton on Saturday to wish Grandma a happy birthday.  Grandpa had made homemade macaroni and cheese and homemade poundcake.  It was like a step back into my childhood.  They were both so good.  We had a great visit, but I was back on the road early Sunday morning.  

Then we got to sing Happy Birthday to Nana today.  All three right in a row.  

Sometimes when I'm cooking dinner, I look out in the backyard and see two or three of the kids playing volleyball with the four square ball.  It looks so idyllic.  I can't hear anything, so I can only make up the encouraging and kind words that they are saying to each other.  And then they come inside.  Their words sound more like a rant about something a sibling said or did...  But at least I got a picture.  

This weekend, all three played outside a lot.  Todd played with them on Saturday while I was gone.  Caroline is convinced he is the best badminton player.  I said I wanted to play a match with him because I felt like I could hold my own. Henry, then took it upon himself to mimic how I play badminton - my feet are stationary, but my arms reach everywhere.  It was pretty hilarious because it was so accurate.  I played volleyball and football today as well until my shoulder couldn't take any more.  It's going to be sore tomorrow.  

The Potato Heads made their appearance this week.  Josiah kept the President's Day theme and made a presidential speech.  

The week ahead is Literary Week at school and it concludes with art day on Friday.  Each day has a theme on how we are to dress, so it is going to be a busy one for sure.  The kids have already asked for different colored shirts for Tuesday, so I know what I'll be doing Monday afternoon.

It is always a pretty drive home from Staunton.