The Wheel of Doom

The baking continued this week.  Caroline made peanut butter cookies twice.  Both times, she allowed Benson to lick the spoon after measuring the peanut butter.  He enjoyed that peanut butter, but if you look at his eyes, he's checking out the remnants on her hand as well.  He was not privy to the hand.

Josiah made a red velvet cake.  He decided to leave the cancer-causing dye out, so it came out as brown velvet.  The cake was very good, but the buttercream frosting was amazing.  I'm not even a frosting person, but it was crazy fluffy and light.

While working on our Mars puzzle this weekend, Henry and Caroline were trying to come up with something to do.  They mentioned playing Hide & Seek, but still sat thinking.  While they sat, I hid.  That turned into many rounds of hide and seek with all three kids and it was quite fun.  We laughed a lot and they find better hiding spots as older kids!

Is that a blanket, or is that me???

When Hide and Seek lost its luster, Henry asked if I would watch something with him.  Sure. Then he proceeded to pull up a 2019 NFL game on the computer.  He wanted to watch the full three-hour game.  Fortunately, that lost its luster 20 minutes in...

Josiah and I enjoy watching documentaries on Netflix.  Some of the themes make it into every day life.  Our OJ bottle.  

Over the past month, we have been watching a YouTuber, Ryan Trahan, drive across America.  He and his wife drive to a new state each day and stay in the best/most interesting Airbnb that he could find.  Ryan set daily goals of running in each state and getting certain food items.  There is a Wheel of Doom that gets activated if people donate a certain amount of money (to St. Jude).  Josiah replicated that concept and has spent the week engaging in his own routines.  Daily he has: 1- Worked on his album by playing the drums (Caroline has loved this); 2 - Made his bed; 3 - Walked around the lake.  

A week ago, he mailed his Texas friends letters explaining what he was doing so they could activate his own Wheel of Doom.  He also let his SC friends know and he's had a few of them leave letters in our mailbox.  The Wheel of Doom:

Lawnmower - The Grass is Always Greener - mow both yards (front & back).

Lightsabers - He has to watch a Star Wars sequel.

Dice - Roll the dice and walk that many laps around our pond.

Bookworm - Read a book with over 10 chapters.

Ronald Reagan - The Great Negotiator - He must convince his mother to take him to Target to get Ryan Trahan's candy, JoyRide.

Sporty Skirmish - Complete a trick shot.

Karma - Listen to an entire Taylor Swift album.

Mirror - Like a Mirror - He must draw a portrait of whoever activated it.

Stan Lee - True Believers - immunity. 

He had three activations - the lightsabers, Reagan, & Karma.  Josiah ends his journey tomorrow, whereas the real Ryan Trahan has about six more states to go.  

Benson has spent a ton of his week outside.  It's been a hot week, but all our trees really make it nice.  He's a cute one.  

I am going into next week a happy camper.  I have read a ton this week in preparation for the new school year.  I thought I had only one more week of vacation before the in-services began.  I have TWO more weeks!  It was like waking up in the middle of the night knowing you have several more hours of sleep left.   

Cooking From Scratch

On Monday, Henry wanted to make strawberry lemonade.  His intention was to squeeze the lemons himself.  I told him it would be hard work.  He shook his head No and made the motion of using those big, restaurant-size metal juicers.  I informed him we did not own restaurant equipment and then made the motion of squeezing the lemons by hand.  After going through a bag of eight lemons, his muscles were tired.  He pureed some strawberries, made a simple syrup, added extra water, and let it chill.  He allowed us small tasting glasses and it was quite good.  It tasted fresh.

A few days later, he took the easy route and used a bottle of lemon juice to make his second batch.  

Meanwhile, Josiah kept the lemon theme going.  He's been going through Nana's cookbook and has been making all sorts of things.  A lemon chiffon cake was on deck.  He had to separate seven eggs.  After getting through two or three, he accidentally dropped some yolk in the whites.  I told him he had to start over, so he did, but I didn't realize that he only got a new bowl for the whites.  The yolk bowl kept stacking up, so when it came time to add them to the batter, he sort of guessed.  The cake turned out really good though.  It was exactly how I thought it should be - soft and fluffy.  He sort of rushed the icing because he was eager to try it, so the sugar and butter were not completely incorporated.  It wasn't broken like it looks, just not entirely mixed.  But it still tasted quite good.  Lemony.

Later in the week, it was Henry's turn to make dinner.  His intention was to stick with his classic orange chicken meal, but we were out of the 'box' of orange chicken.  We did have chicken tenders, so he looked up how to make the orange sauce and got to work.  That was quite good, too.  

Josiah finished out the week by making homemade pizza this evening.  He was very excited when the dough came together and it looked and smelled like real pizza dough.  I think he'd change his sauce and cheese ratio next time, but I thought it tasted great.  

Josiah and I headed to an antique store - his idea.  He was on the prowl for something, but he would not indicate what.  He saw a set of giant silverware that he really wanted to get for our dining room.  He also loved the Seal of the United States.  I told him it would be a looking trip, not a buying trip.  I'm trying to get him to think about things for at least a week instead of buying on the spot.  He's a shopper for sure.  On the way home, we stopped by the peach stand.  I was so happy to see them back.  That led to a peach cobbler a few days later.  

Mid-week, we all went to an Escape Room.  The theme was a 90s video store and you had to break in to get your tape out of the drop box because you forgot to rewind it.  It was a beginner room, but it was not easy by any means.  We requested two clues and made it out with 9:45 to spare.  The boys figured out the last puzzle to get the drop box open.  Every tape had "Nothing Personal" on it.  They figured out that PERSONAL stood for the types of movies (Private Eye...Opera...Action... I can't remember them all) which corresponded to colors on their boxes which was the order to push the buttons in Caroline's picture.  I was impressed.  We had only walked out the shop door when they said they were ready to sign up for another one.  

At the end of the week, Caroline went to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta with the student ministry.  She invited a friend from school, which made it more fun.  When I picked her up that evening, she listed all the fish and sharks and marine life that they saw.  It sounded impressive.  Hammerheads.  Otters.  Dory.  Nemo.  Unfortunately, she and her group were unexpectedly put on a food fast.  I gave her cash-a-plenty, but the aquarium did not take cash, and she could not find the leader to use his credit card.  The aquarium was two hours away, so it was a long day to not eat.  Poor things.

Henry spent the weekend with Todd in Gaffney, SC.  Since Todd was not in Texas when Henry turned 13, the trip got a little delayed.  Their first stop was the Beacon Drive-In where Todd went as a kid.  Todd got chicken livers and fried okra.  That's a southern meal.  There was a little market next to their hotel and they got homemade ice creams.  Besides the feasting, they visited Cowpens National Park - a battle from the Revolutionary War.  Henry did the activity book that was handed out and they gave him a cow pencil to fill it out.  That was my souvenir - his pencil.  I do love pencils.  They brought back a book for Caroline and a walking stick for Josiah.   Henry got a National Park game as his souvenir.

In the downtime they went to an arcade and bowled and played games.  When they got home, Josiah asked Henry if he was a man now.  

While they were gone, Caroline and I did a few puzzles.  And we played a lot of Organ Attack.  That's been the game of the hour.  

Run, Bike, Shower

Our drive back to SC started out with some excitement.  We had just passed through the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel and I watched as a firetruck made a U-turn up ahead.  Then a second fire truck U-turned.  Then we saw the black smoke.  It did not take long to come upon the car fire.  The firemen were busy connecting their hoses while the entire front half was engulfed with flames.  I asked my navigator to take a picture of the car.  My navigator tried...

Henry was very excited to get back to SC and do his City Skylines game.  In it, he created a hospital and he wanted to show me all the features.  This is the front entrance where you can drop people off.  This is where all the ambulances park.  This is the parking garage.  It's $25 to park there.  (It was only $14 in downtown Houston!)  And this is where the hearses park.  Eight hearses parked in a row out front.  Between the parking fee and the imminence of death, I'd probably keep driving to the next town.  

Early in the week, Henry started his cross country practices again.  He had not formally run since his race last fall, so it was not a bad thing that his first practice was cut short because of thunder and lighting.  This weekend, they ran in a nature park and he likes the trail runs much better.  

Mid-week, the kids had their uniform fittings.  These were samples from the uniform company.  Their actual uniform is white or navy Polo shirts with khaki pants for the boys, grey skirts for the girls.  They each had to try on a few sizes to get the right fit.  Their enthusiasm and positivity throughout the process was wonderful to experience.  The pants were not hemmed - it was the waist the boys were sizing, but the length was throwing off Henry.  But does it fit around the waist?  Caroline's skirt was a skort, which she didn't want.  But does it fit around the waist?  We were all happy to leave... 

Josiah has moved on from the PS5 and is already working towards the next purchase.  He wants to buy a fancy light saber for his movies with his friend.  I've been wanting him to weed a section of the backyard and he was desperate enough to do the hard job.   As he worked, he tired, and kept upping his price.  "This is worth at least $15."  "This is at least $20."  I really need to figure out the pricing ahead of time, but it's not something I want to do, so everything becomes a negotiation.  

Our neighborhood had a 4th of July celebration a day early.  The poster mentioned a kid's triathlon.  We sat on our front steps to watch and cheer them on.  The little kids first ran around the pond in front of our house.  Then they biked around it.  The neighbor across the street had their sprinkler going and water balloons for the "swimming" event.  They followed it up with a golf cart/bike parade through the neighborhood.  As they were driving off, a fire truck showed up.  And when they came back the real water event started.  We first watched from afar, but the giant water hose was calling Josiah and he walked over to get wet.  

We had our own little sparklers for the 4th.  We enjoyed watching fireworks appear from a few streets over.  We do not miss the Texas fireworks directly in front of our house.  Even Benson was unfazed by them.  

The deer are back big time.  There is a momma deer that frequents our back yard.  Her two baby fawns cannot jump the fence yet, so they graze in our neighbor's yard.  They are here all the time.  One day the momma deer came right up to our back window.  Benson didn't keep her there long.  

Caroline is learning patience this summer.  She has gotten back in to Harry Potter.  Our library did not have all copies of the movies.  She requested them online and has watched the words "in transit" stay on the screen for days now.  She cannot fathom what they are doing and why they are not delivering her movie to our library sooner.  It hasn't helped that this is a holiday week, which I'm sure slowed things down.  Her plan is to watch all the movies in order and then read them again.  

This week starts the end of the unpacking.  

Da Beach

The day before we left for Virginia the boys got to work.  They wanted to earn all the money so they could get the PS5 as soon as they got back home.  They vacuumed and washed my car.  Josiah ushered me into the driver's seat so I could have the full Buc-ees carwash experience.  At Buc-ees they have different colored lights which make it a fun carwash to go through.  Josiah put me in a hot car and told me to lock the doors.  They washed and rinsed, but when the temperature got too much, I tapped out.  I have loved their enthusiasm to work.  It's been a huge help to me.  

We got in the car on a Tuesday morning headed to Grandad and Nana's house.  Caroline took several naps along the way.  It was a good way to pass the time quickly.  But sharing a bed with a not-tired-at-all, restless, little lady was an experience later that night.  At dinner, we got right back into our old routine with the alphabet game. Caroline requested it and the category was female names.  It is always a favorite game at dinner time there.  The following morning, I headed up to the beach to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa, while the kids stayed in Hampton.  Grandad taught them horseshoes, which they really loved.  The boys, of course, kept track of how many ringers they made, always trying to get the most.  

Caroline picked the one tomato the squirrels and birds did not get to first.  They enjoyed good food - the hibachi station at the Chinese Buffet was a new favorite for Caroline and Henry.  They always texted me the sweet treats that Nana was baking.  Needless to say, they enjoyed themselves.

Meanwhile at the beach, Grandma, Grandpa, and I took a shopping excursion each day - the thrift store, the fair trade store, and Japanesque.  We walked the boardwalk and tried not to die from the heat wave that covered the entire country.  The outside shower was my friend.  We had a quieter, relaxing time - I finished one book and put together a puzzle a day.    

On Sunday morning, I headed back to Hampton to pick up the kids.  They were excited to get to the beach, for one, because they wanted to see their cousins, and, two, to see the new house.  They were staying at the house on the corner.  The house with the beautiful air conditioning.  We needed a system for the bathrooms because there were no locks on the doors.  We went with the basic, knock first.  I talked to Caroline to make sure she would answer if the door was knocked upon.  Her comment was that if she heard a knock, she'd respond with Come back with a warrant.  That's my girl.  

Our first day on the beach, Caroline immediately sat down to read the last two chapters of her book.  She had been saving them for almost a week because she wanted to finish it sitting on the beach.  The boys were quick to get in the water and I was not far behind.  It was the only way to beat the heat.  The water was incredibly calm, which made wading in it all the nicer.  

Henry and I angered his siblings that first day.  We decided to walk north to the 'point' on the beach.  We made it, but it took a while, and when we got back there was more than one, Where were you?  Everyone went back to the house already!  Exercising, baby.  

Playing in the sand with their cousins is always a beach favorite.  

Josiah, the shopper, was ready for the stores every day.  The first day he tried on every pair of sunglasses displayed.  Twice.  It turned me into a whiney child, I cannot stand in this store anymore.  I want to leave!

We enjoyed all the regular foods - shrimp and clams, Grottos and Pomodoro's.  Ice cream with the littles was always fun.  This year, the boys opted for milkshakes every day.  Nothing was better to beat the heat, though, than green Gatorade.  Always refreshing.  

Walking back from Will & Meghan's condo one night, we wanted to look at the ocean and we picked the exact spot where Max, Josiah, & Henry were trying to fly a kite.  There was no wind, so they had to give up, but we did get a picture of their effort.

If they weren't trying to fly a kite, they were tossing the football on the beach or playing wiffle ball in the yard.  

Caroline wanted to go to the bookstore with Grandma and Grandpa.  She was on the hunt for Babysitter's Club books.  The used book store was not exactly a thrift store.  The back of the book said, "Suggested Retail Price: 3.99"  Then the book store price tag next to it said $6.  Okay, then.  She was able to find a number of books and she's upped her reading for the summer.

Her reading skills were put to use when she babysat her cousins one night.  After an evening of playing charades and a Lego boardgame with Arthur, Eleanor, and Josiah, too, she read them their bedtime books.   She loved it and she was very good with them.

Aunt Stacie bought a beach Charades game and it was a hit with the bigs and littles alike.   

Thursday afternoon brought the rain and relief from the heat.  It dropped 10° and made the rest of the week much more comfortable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              For our final day, the kids and I tried out the 'penguin place' for breakfast.  Caroline wanted to try the avocado toast, so she suggested I order that.  She ordered pancakes.  That avocado toast was the best I've ever eaten.  

We had to get in all the traditional things that final day, so we headed to Pirate Golf.  

Aunt Stacie passed out sparklers after dinner.

And the traditional picture on the stairs of the Jordin house.  

When we got back to Grandad and Nana's, the kids had me try my hand at horseshoes.  I never got a ringer, but I got close.  We somehow left without getting a picture with them, so we'll have to stop by again soon.