Texas

The drive to Texas went pretty well.  It took 17 hours.  You would think everyone would sleep-in the next day, but alas they were all up before 7 a.m.  We were staying at a hotel - a suite with a kitchen.  Henry said the pullout sofa bed was the most comfortable bed he's ever slept in.  Whenever we were in the room, he was snuggled under the blanket on the bed.   We headed to the continental breakfast that first morning.  You could make Belgian waffles in the shape of Texas, so that was a big part of breakfast each day.  Henry ate his first plate and was ready for a second.  He took his dirty plate with him to throw away.  He disappeared around the wall and then we heard a fork hit the floor.  Caroline and I, sitting at the table, looked at each other with the same thought.  That was Henry.  The best part was when he came back.  He said he was headed to the trash can when he slipped on the floor, fell to the ground along with his plate, banana peel, and fork.  As he was standing up, the hotel employee hurried next to him setting down a 'Slippery When Wet' sign.  We were laughing so hard.  

That evening we met up with several CC friends.  It was so good to catch up.  These are some of our absolute favorite families.  Just real people.  Josiah spent the night there while we headed back to the hotel late that night.  In the morning, our friend drove Josiah and his friends to Bobby's church for a mission trip to RGV - Rio Grande Valley.  

Josiah brought his phone with him, so I was able to check in every day.  He sounded like he was having a good time.  Bobby's church partners with different churches each year to help them with various things.  One team put a new roof on a building.  Josiah's team painted a building and built a stage for them.  Another team ran a VBS for the kids there.  They worked for four days and the last day they traveled to South Padre Island for a fun day.  Josiah stepped foot in the Gulf of Mexico/America.  It was clear water where they were and he could walk really far out, with the water only up to his knees or waist.  

He ate well.  There was a local pizza place which he said was quite good.  One day, a Hispanic man made them street tacos.  Josiah surprised us and ate six.  He said he knew they were authentic so he tried them as they were - with the cilantro and onions and everything.  At least he at the first four that way.  The last two he asked to hold the onions.  When they were ready to head back to the Houston area, they were stopped by Border Patrol/Homeland Security.  So they were pretty close.  He had a great time.  Four friends from his CC class were there as well, which made it all the more fun.  He did text me on day 2 with a rash on his arm.  What's this?  Well, does it itch?  It was determined to be a heat rash and it was gone before he got home.

The day after Josiah left for his trip, Henry left for Kamp with our old church.  It was a huge group.  There were 500+ kids from our church and a second church came bringing it up to 650+ students.  They were divided up into tribes and Henry was on Naphtali, or as he liked to call it, Natalie.  His good friends Cooper and Ryder were in his group and the best part was that Ryder's dad was the photographer for the whole thing, so Henry made it in a lot of photos.  Henry said there were two 8th grade boys cabins.  The other cabin discovered the ceiling was sticky and proceeded to throw their socks and underwear on the ceiling and let it stick throughout the week.  Lovely.

If you find the girl in the middle-ish with the pink cowboy hat, Henry is a straight shot towards the back.  He's wearing his black DP hat.  

Caroline started her week without the boys at a sleepover with her friends.  It was unexpected, so I had the evening to myself.  I enjoyed chips and my favorite guacamole from a grocery store here.  

Caroline had some plans for the week as well.  For the first day we went shopping.  She mentioned she had no more clothes, so off we went.  She does now.  

The following day we picked up our friends and headed to the Blue Bell Factory.  She and I had never been.  The 'museum' was one square building with just pictures telling their story.  Nice, quick, and to the point.  We 'toured' the factory.  It was really just four viewing windows.  The factory was much smaller than expected, but apparently things changed when they had a listeria contamination in 2015.  Photography was prohibited, but I love to watch the factory process, so it was fun.  The best part was the ice cream store attached.  You could get a full size scoop of any flavor for $1.  We each got two.  Caroline tried Cookies & Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  My favorite was the strawberry cheesecake.  The factory was 90 minutes away, so when we got back into town, we enjoyed a Mediterranean restaurant, Cava, with our friends.  It was so good to catch up.  Caroline's friend, Riley, was in her class, so she got scoop on all that happened last year.  

The next day, Caroline and I headed to another friend's house.  We started with coffee, but hung out long enough to order pizza.  That's how it was every where we went.  We'd expect to stay for a few hours and end up staying for 5-6 hours.  Good times.

By Friday, the boys were heading back into town.  Henry's buses were a little late, so Caroline and I hung out in the car playing a game.  She went through my photos, zoomed in on an eyeball and I had to guess "Old or New" - was it an old picture of her or new.  I was crushing it.  Then she threw in a few of the boys and I was crushing it with those as well.  What surprised me the most was that the ones I got wrong were always Josiah, but I would guess it was her.  It was Henry and Caroline that people always thought were twins, but for some reason their eyes were easier to differentiate.

Henry was napping when it was time to get Josiah, not that he would want to go anyway because it was an hour drive.  Everything felt like an hour drive there.  We don't miss that part of Houston.  

Josiah rested that evening, but he already made a lot of Saturday plans.  His first stop was to a friend's house to see more CC friends.  From there he headed to the mall and hung out with friends, then a jam session at his friend Luke's house.  It was Luke on the guitar, Bobby on the ukulele, and Josiah on drums.  

The next day was Sunday again.  Our last day.  Caroline was finally able to experience the KSM (student ministry) at church with her friend.  Josiah saw his church friends and his old youth pastor.  Josiah's favorite pastor was preaching that day, too, so he was winning all over the place.  That afternoon, Josiah went fishing with a church friend.  Josiah took pictures from a distance.  He enjoyed the company, but he wasn't going to touch the fish.  

While Josiah was off with friends, Henry and Caroline hit the hotel pool a few times.  We also went bowling one afternoon.  We paid for an hour thinking we could get a good number of games in.  For the first time, Caroline did not use bumpers.  We were doing our best games ever that first game.  We were surprising ourselves.  Game 2, I could only bowl in multiples of 9.  Henry and Caroline were still bowling well.  By Game 3, our arms must have been tired because our scores looked like we had been drinking through the first two rounds.  Caroline thought we had switched to golf and, had that been the case, she would have crushed us.  It was a fun time and we kept it light.  

The drive back to South Carolina started out a little rough.  We had torrential downpours while it was still dark.  Fortunately it stopped and the only other rain we had was easy enough.  The drive back was 16 hours, which was quite good timing.  

Since we've been back, the kids have learned to do their own laundry.  Thrilled does not adequately describe their feelings about it.  We've played a lot of cards.  We bought pickle ball paddles while we were in Texas and the kids were eager to put them to use.  We've gone to the Civic Center several times.  They have a lot of courts and it's all free to use.  Pickle ball was a lot harder than I expected.  The ball doesn't bounce.  Saturday, we went to SWU to play pickle ball and basketball. Henry likes to bounce the basketball in the house.  All day long.  He says it is an indoor ball and that's why he won't bounce it outside.  My ears tell me it's an outside ball.  

Today the boys were put on turtle rescue duty.  We saw the first turtle when we got home from church.  He was at the curb, but could not climb it to get to the pond.  Josiah placed him on the grass and after a few seconds, we saw him disappear down the embankment.  Then a few hours later, Todd noticed a turtle hoofing it down our front yard.  We watched as he walked off the curb and cross the street.  We sent Henry out to get him over the curb.  Josiah went along for moral support and said it was the same turtle he had picked up before.  Henry put him in the grass again and the boys watched him head for the water.  When he reached the edge, Josiah said he jumped in the water.  The deer have been around all week as well.  We've seen two small fawns which are Benson size.  They are around so much that Benson hasn't been able to run as often.  

It is only a brief stay in South Carolina.  We're headed east on Tuesday.