Josiah has been giving us more and more details about his retreat as the week has gone on. One evening he told me that everyone (all the 6th/7th/8th graders) was in one of the big rooms getting a snack. The leaders had some time to kill, so they announced a Hidden Talent Show. Josiah said two kids from his cabin went up and sang the theme to Sofia the First (a little kid princess show). They were followed by two 8th grade boys who sang Let It Go from Frozen. And then Josiah said he got in line to perform. When he got on stage he asked the crowd if they would rather he draw or sing. The majority yelled out, Sing! Sing! He answered, "So you want me to draw?" Then he sang I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles. I asked him if he remembered all the words and he answered by singing the song for me. He said he got lots of cheers. The bravery of this kid is astounding. Then, instead of going back to his seat, he got back in line. On his second trip to the stage, he drew for them.
Josiah also said that during the van ride to the camp, the riders were allowed to pick out a song to listen to while they drove. Todd asked Josiah if he picked Thunderstruck to which Josiah replied, " No. AC/DC wasn't allowed. It couldn't have explicit lyrics."
Benson had a match up with the squirrels again this week. Unfortunately for the squirrels, they lost this round. Apparently a squirrel fell from the tree or the fence into our yard and he didn't run away quickly enough. Benson got ahold of it and shook. Violently. I was alerted to it when I heard the kids screaming and freaking out. Henry got Benson back inside. Benson had blood all over his nose, but it was squirrel blood. We watched to see what the squirrel would do because we knew it was still alive. It walked over to our shed, tried to climb our half fence thing, but couldn't do it. It sat there for a bit and then walked under our shed for safety. It was getting dark so we never saw it reemerge. Caroline said that there were 3-4 squirrel witnesses on the fence and in the trees during the altercation, so she's hopeful they went to its rescue.
Benson almost got a frog this week as well. Caroline thought she saw a clump of mud on our floor, but then saw the 'mud' move. She examined it closer and it was the tiniest frog we've ever seen. I tried to put a quarter next to it to show its size. We did rescue this creature and let it back outside. Frogs are all over the yards here. Benson usually has a lot of fun chasing them around, though he doesn't usually put them in his mouth.
And in more animal news, Josiah's last science paper had to be on mammals. He wanted to do cows solely because he liked Gary Larson's cow drawings. However, when it came time to draw the actual cow, he couldn't find a picture he liked enough to copy. So, he went back in time to Chick-fil-a's cow comics from 2012 and drew his favorite cow from that series. Both of us are going to miss these weekly reports because next up is the science fair. For the next five weeks they have to work on coming up with a science experiment, write up a research question, a long research plan, as well as all the steps they'll take in intimate detail. I think these next several weeks are the bane of every mother with a Challenge A student. The Science Fair is early February. So depending on what he chooses, we'll be working on it for quite a while. There was a website he was given that listed many ideas. Josiah's number one pick so far was to make a bristlebot - a robot out of a toothbrush head. The head moves around like a bug. It's neat, but it cannot be just a robotics demonstration, he has to do an experiment. I already nixed making a volcano (demonstration) and his director nixed anyone growing plants in the light vs. the dark.
We also observed and slightly dissected crawfish in science. The 'slightly dissected' came from the students who poked a little too hard on the exoskeleton or pulled off legs, or antennae, or eyes....
Caroline has felt that she was strapped for cash lately. She lost four teeth in the past couple of weeks to replenish her storehouses. Right now she has her four front teeth up top with two spaces on either side after those four.
Caroline also earned her new jiu-jitsu belt. She was the highest ranking white belt before she moved up to grey-white. Whenever they earn a new belt, they get flipped by their instructor. Caroline went flying.
The kids get to go out to eat when they earn a new belt. Caroline chose the Olive Garden. None of the kids have ever been to the Olive Garden, which seems unbelievable, but they were adamant they'd never been. So we went this weekend. When we pulled up, Josiah was in awe and commented on how fancy it looked. Caroline got chicken and spaghetti - no sauce, Josiah got alfredo with a giant meatball, and Henry got the shrimp alfredo adult meal. They thoroughly enjoyed their food and were quick to say they wanted to go back. We had a really good waiter, too, which made it all the better.
Josiah spent his weekend at a hotel with friends. His favorite friend in all the world turned 13. He had a birthday party at a hotel in Houston with fifteen kids! They played video games, had pillow fights, made Rubik's cubes, ate cake, and more video games. I asked Josiah if he slept. He said the last time he looked at the clock it was 2:42 a.m. This friend had very brave parents to take on fifteen 12-13 year old boys. At one point the mom asked if anyone wanted to toast the birthday boy. Josiah volunteered to say a few words about his friend. No fear this kid!
For Halloween this year, the kids went a few doors down to their neighbor friend. They had a Halloween party and they were over there for hours. There were games and prizes and a piñata. Josiah carved a pumpkin, but the other two didn't want to participate in that. Josiah said he started off carving Luigi, but his nose fell in, so he turned it around and carved a Picasso pumpkin. That allowed for a lot freedom in the carving.
Luigi (L) & Picasso (R) & Josiah dressed as Mario from Super Mario Bros.
Later in the evening, we did our traditional thing where Todd and I go to different rooms and the kids knock on the doors and we pretend to be different people. They liked it. Neither Henry nor Caroline wanted to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Caroline said she doesn't like walking around in the dark. Josiah only wanted to go to two houses, but we ended up watching a movie and it got too late once that finished.
And that was our week.
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