Jerry & Nita

Josiah spent the first part of his week taking back his bench.  He is slightly territorial about the bench from the play.  He does not want anyone to sit on it.  Henry and Caroline interpreted that as, "Sit on me."  Henry likes to bring up the fact that he made the bench.  That does not deter Josiah's insistence that it remain sans bums in the least.  Josiah cleaned all the cobwebs off and moved it inside.  He let it try out the middle of the laundry room for its first night indoors before he was strongly encouraged to find a permanent spot for it.  It now resides in our upstairs hallway.  A decorative piece.  For our eyes only.  

Todd had an early birthday dinner at the Mexican restaurant.  Josiah branched out and tried the fajitas this time.  We had three sizzling platters come to the table.  We had leftovers for days and they were delicious.  After our meal, we walked to the hardware store and picked up an acorn picker-upper.  The acorns have been unbelievable this year.  It feels like hundreds fall daily.  Literally.  Josiah tested it out and it does work, but it'll have to be used several times a day to gather our current crop.  We've learned the term "mast year."  I guess that's what we get for buying a house that has 20 oak trees!

Henry had another race this weekend.  For the first time, our school hosted.  We do not have a ton of land, so the runners had to make 5 laps, 1K each.  Henry shaved four minutes off his time, which was an obscene number.  They remeasured the course afterwards and discovered it was 2.92 miles, not the full 3.1mi (5K).  Even still, his time was so good.  24:11.  And in the rain, no less.  Henry's been working on getting his knees up higher when he runs.  He is not always a fan because he says he tires out quicker, but in the long run, his stride would be longer.

Josiah spent his Saturday doing an escape room with our church's youth ministry.  He brought his friend, Eli, and their group made it out.  I only got a few tidbits, but the first 20 minutes they had not even gotten the first thing unlocked, so they asked for a clue to get them going.  When they finished, they all got ice cream at the shop below.  Not a shabby Saturday.  

Josiah brought Eli to the youth ministry's Destination Known this evening.  It is usually Destination Unknown, but the church van has been on the fritz, so now we drop them off where they're going to eat.  Caroline has stopped going to the Destination Knowns.  She prefers the element of surprise.  Instead she stayed home and made us a pancake dinner.  That works, too.  

My weekend was spent in Staunton where we got to see Uncle Jerry and Nita after 25 years!  We had such a nice time sitting and catching up.    Nita made us an authentic New Mexican meal of enchiladas and pozole.   It was so good and when I texted Henry photos, he rapid fire texted back.  He wants to try it.  What was it?  Could we make it?  I was able to bring some leftovers home and every one liked them here as well.  Good homemade food!  Great memories made.

The idiom challenge is still in full swing.  Our idiom generator is actually an idiom and "sayings" generator, which has been a help.  Sayings are much easier to sprinkle in sentences.  Last week, I thought I gave myself a challenge with two.  Todd did two as well.  The boys did one.  Caroline did nine.  She got caught twice.  I caught her saying "I smell a rat."  Henry caught her saying "Keep your shirt on" which she said when he had his shirt off, so it really was a good time to say it.  This week, I upped my ante and picked four.  If there are too many, I'll forget what I have to say.  

This upcoming week is packed to the brim, and it starts with a birthday.  

No Ifs, Ands, or Buts

In Geography, Caroline's class had to give a presentation on a state of their choosing.  She naturally chose Texas.  After giving all the fun facts about the state - the bluebells, the armadillos, the Alamo -  she had a game at the end, Name That City.  There are a bunch of cities in Texas that are not pronounced like they're spelled.  (Boerne = Bur-knee; Bexar = Bear; Gruene = Green)  She had her classmates guess and then she revealed the correct pronunciation.  She said it went well and no one guessed the correct pronunciation.  Josiah is our resident Power Point Master, so he helped make it look more like a game show.

She also drew her country's map.  Karcoa, in the shape of a car.  It was a lot of work, and even though she worked on it every day, she was still up late the night before finishing up.  Caroline wanted all the colors to be just right.  The symbol for the grassy plains was not just green, it was two shades of green.  Same with the tree trunks - two shades of brown.  Each color of her terrain was very carefully executed. She got in the grassy plains, the forest, and the berry section, the cliffs and waterfalls, the sheep and chicken.  Next up, she has to create a flag.  

Picking up acorns has become our daily past time.  We went out together one evening and picked up hundreds.  I stopped counting my bucket at 200.  They're everywhere.  Benson still has the capacity to find the ones we miss, so he's spent more time on the leash than usual.  We keep telling him, if you would leave the acorns alone, you could have some freedom, but the temptation is too great and he always goes for the nuts.  He is so cute, though.

We have a contest going in the house.  An idiom contest.  We used a random idiom generator to each get a unique idiom for the week.  It must be used in conversation with at least one family member at some point without getting caught (called out).  If you got caught, you had to pick a new one and say it before the end of the week.  4 out of 5 of us had success last week.  Mine was in a pickle.  Mid-week, I heard Todd ask Caroline why she had a chip on her shoulder and I thought it was an odd thing to say but didn't call him on it.  But I got him today.  He told Henry to put his laundry away no ifs, ands, or buts.  Is that your idiom?!  It's been a fun game.  This week several of us gave ourselves two idioms to work into conversations.  

Henry had a race mid-week.  It was an evening race and the weather was perfect - cloudy and cooler.  He kept pace with his friend Chase and had a new PR. 

Henry had another cross country meet this weekend.  This was a hot one.  It was a high school up in Greenville.  A high school that had two trees on the course for shade.  We stood up on a hill to watch the start of the race, moved quickly to the bottom of the hill to watch them, and then we all headed for the shade of one of the two trees.  It was a very hot day.  When Henry was coming towards the finish, the kid behind him was trying to get the lead, but Henry held him off.  The other kid's name was Josiah which made it a little funny.  

Josiah made dinner for us this evening - his smashed burgers.  I watched him put the spices in the meat and he did not skimp, but the end result was quite good.  He's got a meal in his back pocket for sure.  (Not my idiom.)

House Camp & Barrier Island

Henry started off his week going to the dentist with Todd.  He came home saying his hygienist told him he was her best patient ever.  Not of the day.  Ever.  And, because he was her best patient ever, she told him he must be his mother's favorite child.  That's what she told you?  Really? I do appreciate a good report.  

Benson gave us a scare earlier in the week.  Just last week, we were talking about how proud we were of him for leaving the acorns in our yard alone.  It was almost like he heard us and chose defiance.  Todd and I have both chased him around trying to get him to drop the acorns.  (Should there be a next dog, the first command we'll teach is "drop it.")  Tuesday evening, he started having tremors.  From the acorns.  Google said to take him to the vet right away, but the treatment listed was possible charcoal induction and most likely IV fluids.  He was eating and drinking just fine for us.  The tremors did not last long, either.  The next day, Todd stayed home from work and spent some time picking up a lot of acorns.  Every time I take Benson out, I pick up another couple handfuls.  It feels like the squirrels are up in the tree lobbing them at us.  It really does.  

Before leaving for their camps, the kids had to make it through Tuesday.  Each of them had three tests that day.  The teachers were trying to get them all in before leaving.  Despite the teachers going to camp with them, they want those test results pronto.  

For House Camp, Josiah spent some time making a shirt for a friend who jumped off the cliff last year, breaking his arm.  The friend said he was like Wylie E Coyote, and that was all it took to inspire Josiah.  

At camp, Josiah presented his House's mascot.  Their team is Rountree and their symbol is a tree, so what better mascot than a squirrel.  He was tasked to come up with a backstory, to, which was very clever.  Have you ever heard of Squirrel Team 6?...He first joined the team during the Dog and Land conflict of '86....He has always been obsessed with serving others, bringing unity, and teaching humility...  Josiah did the whole thing by himself and happily so.  In my box at school, I discovered a judge's form.  I watched videos of all the mascot presentations and did not hesitate to give Josiah's House the full 25 points. He did present it well, though, and it was always good to see him.    

When they got back, Henry said they were given bracelets if one of the seniors saw them doing something kind, helpful, or virtuous.  Henry said he got four bracelets.  Then he told me to ask Josiah how many he got.  Eight!  Henry said some of his good deeds were not seen.  That's how it is, even if they are not seen by others, they're seen by God, and it is always good to do the right thing, to be kind and helpful.  

They sadly did not have chicken and waffles this trip, but it sounds like they had something better.  Grilled cheese sandwiches.  Some of the boys decided to compete who could eat the most.  Josiah ate 10 halves.  His friend ate 16.  Josiah said they had tomato soup which made them all go down smoothly.  That's a lot of cheese sandwiches.  

Caroline was not looking forward to going back to Barrier Island.  Last year's experience with the mud pit was enough for her.  This year, I gave her my watch so she could track her steps, because they walk for miles each day.  When she got back, she had had a good time.  She loved the nature walk again.  This year the mud pit was not waist deep - it only covered their feet.  They cleaned off in the Atlantic.  And she got a sweatshirt as a souvenir since next year, she'll join the boys at House Camp.  Usually, I get no pictures from these events, but this year one mom made a video compilation of the pictures and sent it to everyone.  It was wonderful!

This weekend we decided to try Thai food.  Caroline has a new pen pal for her Geography class and her pen pal lives in Thailand.  It's a loose use of the word "pen"pal because now it's all email.  They've already emailed back and forth a few times and when Caroline asked her favorite food, she said Pad Thai.  We wanted to try it.  We also tried drunken noodles and a fried rice.  We had mixed reviews, but concluded we prefer Chinese takeout.  The fried rice was very good though.  After eating, I showed Caroline the Thai alphabet and then the evening quickly devolved.  Google translate was pulled up and we listened, in Thai, as the boys insulted each other.  All we could understand was "Hen-reee" and "Joe-see-ahh" followed by lots of snickering and laughter.  Mostly Henry wrote he was the favorite child.  Josiah write that Henry was 'mid'.  

 Benson got the remnants of House Camp - the green lai.

Benson also continues his defense against the deer who could care less about his barking.  

Debating, Running, & Crafting

Caroline has had some big projects to start her year.  In geography, they have been learning about different cultures, governments, and parts of a map before they learn the countries.  They've been tasked to create their own country.  Caroline created an island of misfits.  She had a whole backstory to go with her paper.  Kids, who were disciplinary problems, were shipped off by their parents to a strict school.  Even the captain did not want to take another group of misbehavers to this school, so he sent them on their own.  Being delinquents, they hadn't paid attention to the instructions, got lost, and marooned on an island (west of Scotland, south of Iceland).  They got their act together and created a society based on a rotation of workers to keep the food supply going, a trading system to keep everyone fed, and a Monitor -  not a ruler, but an opinion-giver.  Choose wisely, misfits.  

She also had her first debate this week.  They did not know their team or which side they would argue until the day of the debate, so she had to prepare for both.  She was put on the team that argued that population increase was worse for a society than population decline.  She was volunteered by her team to make the opening statement, which did not thrill her, because she was unsure what to say.  Her team won 23-20 and she got 7 points for her opening statement, so that was a good win.  

Her artwork is also on display when you come into the school.  The lighting is such that it's hard to get a non-glare picture, but it's so cute.  

Henry had two races this week.  The first was the Hanna 3k (the local high school).  Since it was a 3k, the coaches didn't care about their times.  They were given the instructions, Go hard.  Because this race was close to home (and not early in the morning), Josiah cheered on the team.  It was a hot one, and as soon as the race started, there was a mass exodus of parents looking for shady cheering spots.  

Then, this weekend, Henry had a Night Flight up in Greenville.  I thought it would be like the Night Flight we had in Anderson, more like a city-wide race.  It was not.  It was a fairly sizable meet on the campus of Bob Jones University.  The course layout was only 1k, so they made five laps.  It made it easy to travel to different parts to cheer them on.  Despite a lightning delay, the races were only pushed out 5 minutes.  Henry's started at 8:00 pm.  An ATV always drives out in front for the first lap and these boys were running fast, because that ATV was hauling.  This year, Henry has kept pace with his teammate, Chase.  How appropriate.  Typically when the finish line is near, Chase takes off and comes in ahead, but Henry was determined to beat him this time, so he took off at the very end and shaved off 13 seconds from his last race.  

On Friday, we had our first dress down day (for real this time).  I did not know in advance, but the Houses were cheering on the kids as they walked in that morning.  And they were passing out lollipops.  So, every time a 3-year old came in my room ready to unwrap that lollipop, I would said, "Let's put that in your lunch bag. Those crazy people outside don't know what chaos will ensue when ten 3-year olds eat lollipops at 7:45 a.m."  Josiah helped pass out the lollipops.  

Josiah has spent his entire Saturday bringing to life a mascot for House Camp.  We first made the rounds of Hobby Lobby, Five Below, & Walmart to get the supplies needed.  Originally he wanted to go to Michael's to get pipe cleaners.  Our Michael's was out of stock, so Josiah said we could go to the one 20 miles away.  Or not.  He is always willing to go the extra mile to get what he wants.  That'll serve his kids well when they have projects of their own.  He will not allow me to post a picture since it is a surprise for camp, but every time I see it in my periphery, it looks like a person.  It sits on our kitchen countertop and I keep catching myself thinking, Who's there?  

The kids have an easy-ish week.  Only two days of school and then they leave for House Camp (boys) and Barrier Island (Caroline).  Many tests are scheduled for Tuesday, so tomorrow evening shall be fun.