George Observatory

Josiah spent the first half of the week prepping for his blue book exams.  He had his final paper to write for the literature portion.  He completed his shoebox science project of Stephen Hawking.  There were Latin charts to go over and Logic to study.  For the debate strand, his class was divided in half and they had to debate whether or not Helen Keller was an American hero.  Josiah was put on the negative side, which he wasn't too crazy about.  He was not looking forward to the day, and he was quite glad when it was over.  

While he was in class, the younger kids participated in Memory Master Review Games.  What was supposed to take an hour and a half took three hours, but the kids had fun.  They started off with a fun game to review their Latin.  After reciting the conjugations, they got to blow cotton balls through a paper tube and try to get it in the basket.  

They moved on to review English with cornhole.  

There was Go Fish history review,  geography races, math relays, and timeline singing.  It culminated with science review where the kids divided into four groups and got to wrap their mummies.  On my team were Henry, Caroline, and Henry's friend.  They were in to it big time.  It was definitely their goal to cover me more than the other three moms.  

When we broke free from the wraps, the kids got a chance to throw all the toilet paper in the air.  

After the games, Henry's friend came home with us to play.  The first thing they did was play cricket in the backyard.  It was an improvised version with whatever sticks they could find and Benson's rubber balls.  

It wasn't long before we had to head back to our campus and pick up Josiah.  We were one turn away from where we needed to be when traffic came to a halt.  We sat.  We could see they were paving the intersection up ahead.  I waited to see if they let any of us cross it before turning around.  Finally the traffic cops let a long line from our direction cross, so I stuck to our route.  I made it to second in line at the light when this tractor trailer drives through the intersection dumping hot asphalt two feet deep.  We would not be crossing it.  The driver in front of me kept his blinker on, still wanting to cross the intersection.  The cop gestured to the giant pile of asphalt, "You can't cross this!"

So we were a little late to pick up Josiah.  He was mentally done for the day.  Henry and Caroline were tired from their games all morning, so when I said we had to eat a quick dinner before heading to the George Observatory they were not happy.  Vocally agitated would be the best description.  While I agreed with them that going after blue books was not ideal, this field trip had to be booked (and paid for) months in advance.  

The field trip began at 7:00 p.m. as we were going to see the stars through high-powered telescopes.  The George Observatory is within the Brazos Bend State Park.  We have not been avid park goers, and our lack of being in nature came to bite us on this trip.  

The park was way out in the country, which we knew.  What we did not expect was the sheer darkness while driving through the park.  It was a four mile drive within the park to get to the parking lot for the George Observatory.  I think we passed two lamp posts - one at the ranger station and one at the parking lot.  Fortunately we had watched the introductory video the evening before and the boys recognized the parking lot area from that.  The kids were leery to walk in the dark to the observatory.  As soon as the trees covered us on the trail, giant birds rustled the treetops above us.  They were seriously huge.  We could look up and see the black outline of their massive bodies.  The rustling was intense.  I don't know if we scared them or what, but they were in the process of flying away while emptying their bowels.  I noticed a shelter off to the side and it dawned on me that it was there to protect yourself from the bird poop bombs.  As we walked further on the trail, the lights on the path went from white to red.  Everything at the observatory was in red light which was best for us to see the stars.  When we reached the building, we enthusiastically climbed the stairs, happy to be slightly out of nature at that point. At first there were two astronomers with their own telescopes.  They both focused in on Jupiter which appeared very bright to the naked eye.  Under 50x magnification, we could see Jupiter and four of its moons all in a row.  It was pretty neat.  Then the first astronomer changed directions and found Saturn.  He magnified that 70x and it looked like a baby Saturn, all in white.  The rings were distinct, but it was all white.  He said his scope went to 1000x magnification, but if he did that he would constantly have to adjust it so he kept it at 70 for us.  It was still pretty neat to see Saturn's rings.  At this point, many of the kids friends had arrived and they were having a lot of fun palling around with them.    

We were really looking forward to the big telescope.  They would only allow 15 people in at a time.  We were the third group to go in and as they shut the doors, the floor moved you up to the telescope's eyepiece.  I really expected to see Jupiter in all its glory.  Maybe even Saturn with a little more detail.  When it was my turn, I looked through the eyepiece and saw a blurry cluster of stars.  I asked the astronomer man if that was what I was supposed to see.  Yep.  A blurry cluster of stars and one bright star.  Alrighty.  A little less impressive than expected.  But the moving floor was fun.  

After that there wasn't much else to do, so we said goodbye to friends, got a quick photo in the building downstairs and got back on the trail with a bit of trepidation.  Our nerves were not calmed in the least. We had barely entered the wooded area when we heard a very audible rustling in the brush beside us.  It was very close.  Probably an armadillo (which we saw at the observatory area) or an opossum, but the fact that we were not allowed to use our flashlights was a little distressing.  We just kept walking forward.  As we walked over the shallow bridge that had no side railings we were reminded of the story a school friend had told us just an hour ago.  Their family had camped out at the park the night before and had taken a bike ride in the morning.  On their ride they counted 28 alligators.  One was on the bike path with its mouth wide open as a warning.  They didn't know what to do so they rode around it!  

We were very happy to get to our car.  Josiah made us look under it before we approached incase any animals decided to hang out underneath.  We are not one with nature.  It was a little embarrassing.  

As we drove out of the dark, and now foggy, park, we passed three racoons in the street.  Two looked like we had come up on them mid-conversation.  They casually walked to the side of the road.  When we passed the sign that said, Come Back Soon, Caroline said, No, thank you!  But we did have a good time overall.  We were glad we went.  And we can now check that off our list of Things To Do in Texas.  

The next morning, Todd and Henry took Benson to the vet for his flu shot.  

Because our Christmas plans are going to be a little different this year, Josiah started negotiating with us to allow the kids to open one Christmas gift early.  He got his sister to agree, while Henry was fine either way.  So, Saturday morning (after we got a little cleaning out of them first), I wrapped their gifts and they got to choose between two.  They all chose their biggest gift.  For Josiah that meant the Lego Millennium Falcon kit.  For Henry that meant the Lego Treehouse kit.  For Caroline, that meant a hairdresser's practice mannequin head.  The boys each ripped into their kits and got to building.  Despite encouraging the boys to take breaks and not rush their builds, Josiah completed his in one day. 

Henry's kit was huge, so he did take more breaks to allow his eyes and fingers to relax.  He was still done in two days' time.  

Caroline got to styling hair.  She named her mannequin, Ava.  She has not appreciated Todd's name for it, No-body.  It is made partially of human hair so it is a more realistic experience.  Caroline wants to be a hair stylist when she grows up.  

Besides the gifts, we've gotten into the Christmas spirit in different ways.  Caroline had her Happy Birthday Jesus celebration at Awana.  She had a tinge of disappointment when the cupcakes were passed around and they were the mini variety.  We only get one?!  

We also made it to our neighbor friend's orchestra concert.  We had to sit an hour through other orchestras and harp ensembles, so by the time his orchestra got to the stage, our crew was getting a little restless.  They played really well though, and had definitely saved the best for last.  

Benson, meanwhile, has not helped boost the Christmas spirit.  He has been waking up at 3:30 a.m. several nights in a row to bark at our neighbor's Christmas decorations.  They have three giant blow-up ornaments in their yard.  When they move, Benson is all up in arms.  Then they hung giant ball ornaments in their trees.  Those move with the wind and Benson just barks continuously until we come downstairs and cover up the small hole in our blinds through which he can see them.  

When we walk him in the early morning, he has a special disdain for the Santa blow-up in another neighbor's yard.  It is a Santa coming out of a chimney.  I do not know what Benson thinks it is, but he barks and growls at it.  He never barks outside during his walks, so this was particularly bothersome to him.   

This weekend we started our Christmas movie watching.  We started with Elf and The Santa Clause.  Tomorrow we move on to Home Alone.  Josiah will keep the movies coming for sure.

Josiah also negotiated a dinner out to celebrate the end of his semester.  He is quite the negotiator.  Persistence is his game.  We acquiesced and enjoyed a meal out this evening.  We did cut him off when he started haggling for dessert.  

So now we finish the last week of school before break.  Focus should be on point.

Market Day

Josiah has had a lot of work to finish out his school semester.  This past week he had to write a paper on Stephen Hawking and this coming week he has to make a shoebox diorama on him.  His director divvied out all the astronomers they've studied this semester and Josiah was glad he got Hawking so he wouldn't have to re-research anyone.  He is supposed to decorate the box in a way that shows Hawking's work, but does not name the actual astronomer.  The students in the other levels have to guess for each diorama.  He could just paint his whole box black to represent Hawking's research on black holes and be done with it.  But Josiah has painted the floor and walls different colors in anticipation of his 'room.'  It should be good.

The boys had their last KSM for the year.  To celebrate, they had hot chocolate and pancakes.  Henry was waiting for his friend to come before getting in the pancake line.  He forgot his friend was out of town and so never got in the line.  They had games and a contest for who was dressed the most festive.  Josiah won 3rd place with his Grinch shirt.  He drew it last year with regular Crayola markers, so I can't wash it.  Next year it'll smell as Grinchy as it looks.  (photo from last year)

Caroline had her last meeting at church as well and her class enjoyed some cupcakes.  

The main event this week was our annual Market Day at CC.  The day before, Josiah perused through four of his sketch books and picked out only 11 pictures that he was willing to sell.  While he was in class, Henry, Caroline, & I took turns manning his table.  It was a slow start to the day, but by the end, he had sold 8 pictures ($2 a piece), gave away 2, and pulled the Tasmanian Devil picture off the table to keep for himself.  Total profit: $0, because he then spent it all at other kids' tables.   

One of Henry's classmates bought the "No Refunds" sign that Josiah made and taped it up at the table where he was selling his paper folding noisemakers.

Caroline spent a lot of time with her friends.  She also was my gofer - we tried to buy something from everyone, so she would scope out the tables and make the purchases for me.  Henry hung out with friends the whole time.  He is not a shopper.  Before our potluck lunch, all the classes gave a tin whistle concert.  Henry's class played Silent Night and Joy to the World.  

Caroline's class played We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Au Claire de la Lune.  All the classes were only required to learn Mary Had a Little Lamb, but the tutors were ambitious this year and taught each class two songs.  The best was the youngest class of 4-year-olds.  They played a "joyful noise."  They got up on stage and played whatever 'notes' they wanted for 60 seconds and then took a bow.  

At lunch time, Josiah manned his own table and shared it with a classmate that was hoping to sell a few of his own drawings.  

In the afternoon, Josiah's class gave speeches.  They were required to give a 1-2 minute memorized speech about freedom by an American.  There were a few that recited the Gettysburg address.  One gave an excerpt from Patrick Henry's speech.  Josiah chose Ronald Reagan's speech at Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in June 1987.  Josiah's portion ended with "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.  Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"  He was in his element and threw in a good bit of emotion.  

Henry has been into push-ups lately.  He does a lot of pushups and sit-ups on the regular.  Often he'll come up and tell me his stomach hurts.  Not a hunger hurt, he says, it just hurts.  That would be related to the pushups you're doing 3x a day.  Now he likes for us to feel his rock hard abs. 

Josiah enjoyed a birthday party this weekend.  All his friends are turning 14 now, so the parties are going later and later.  I went at 9:00 p.m. to pick him up and they were just learning how to play Speed Uno.  They were laughing so hard and having fun, so there was no interrupting it.  45 minutes later they were finally moving on.  

Today, Henry and Caroline helped clean up the backyard on their own.  I was cooking dinner and Henry walked through the house with the outside broom and Caroline followed suit.  I'll take it!  They swept the whole patio clean and Henry started raking before the sun went down.  

This is a big week for Josiah.  He has his blue book exams at CC.  After that, the rest of the semester should be a breeze.  

A Family Style Thanksgiving

All the schools around here have the entire week off for Thanksgiving, so we followed suit.  Early in the week, the kids cleaned up the garage and reinstated their clubhouse.  Benson joined them on more than one occasion because he noted the snacks they brought out with them.  He has become a fan of tortilla chips.  

They got some jiu-jitsu in earlier in the week as well.  Their 40+ class size dropped from 25 kids on Monday to 15 kids on Wednesday.  It was a good week to train.  The facility got an action shot of Henry with his arm poised in an arm lock.

On Thanksgiving morning, Josiah snuck upstairs with the scissors and tape in tow.  He later showed off his second turkey tissue tram.    

Later, he and Caroline got to work on our name cards.  Caroline was wise to add our last initial to avoid any confusion should another family show up with the same first names. 

  

Henry was all over the Thanksgiving meal planning.  He wanted to be in the kitchen helping, so he took over doing the dishes.  He repeatedly said he wanted us to eat family style.  More than anything, he wanted to eat at 11:00 a.m. because he did not want to eat breakfast with the intention that all his stomach capacity would be available for the big meal.  We negotiated and finally compromised on pushing the meal back to 12:30 p.m., all the while strongly encouraging him to eat something for breakfast.  He ate toast.

We had a mostly traditional meal just like the kids asked.  We made the Cornish game hens and had mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, hominy in place of corn, and green beans.  Technically we bought rolls, but they did not make it to the table.  After the hens came out of the oven, we turned it off and let the rolls warm up with the remaining heat.  As we went to bed that night, I remembered that the rolls were still 'warming up.'  We followed Henry's advice and served everything family style.  He said he didn't want to waste any time walking back and forth to the kitchen to get more food.  

Henry and Todd each got a whole hen.  And despite giving Benson canned dog food, he still hung out with Henry during the meal.  He knows who will sneak him bits of meat.

Josiah served himself a plate full of mashed potatoes and gravy.  When that was eaten, he got another plate and filled it up with a second helping of mashed potatoes and gravy.  A third plate was acquired for his cake.  

We were supposed to have a Costco pecan pie for dessert but my car was in the shop for a few days this week so the Costco trip was never taken.  Instead we had a Thanksgiving Angel food cake, which actually turned out nicely because after all the heavy food, it was a light treat.  We did make it to Costco this weekend and got that pecan pie.     

We got our turkey pictures in, too.  

It was a good Thanksgiving.  Very low key.  It rained all day, so in the afternoon Henry brought out a puzzle.  We ended up doing two puzzles over the weekend since it rained all day Saturday as well.  

Josiah has been into the Looney Tunes recently, so he drew a lot this week.  

The day after Thanksgiving, we got to the activity the kids had been waiting all week for - gingerbread houses.  We bought a set of 5 houses.  The kids had seen the different designs on the box and each had picked out what they wanted.  The cookies came in sheets that were indented, but in no way separated.  I used a butter knife like a chisel and was able to successfully break apart my house pieces.  Due to that success, both Henry and Caroline asked me to chisel their pieces off as well.  Well, my house was incredibly simple - 5 squares.  They picked the more complicated houses so when the chiseling began, so did the tears.  I was not successful.  There were a couple of broken walls and one broken roof.  We did try to explain that we could use the icing to glue them back together.  That was not the solution they were looking for.  They were not happy.  Henry aired his frustration for all to hear.  He was told to work with it or leave the table.  He decided to work with it.  Caroline aired her frustrations as well and then left the table on her own accord.  She was more on the angry end of things.  She came back down when Todd convinced her to decorate his house.  Meanwhile, Josiah had already frosted and decorated his house before Henry and Caroline had assembled theirs.  His style was a tent shape, so it went smoothly.  In the end, four out of five houses were decorated.  The remaining house was eaten.  They ate a ton of candy in the process and have continued to pick at their houses at every chance.   Next year we will definitely buy the ugly Christmas sweater cookies to decorate.  Nice and flat and no breaking apart!  

Henry's gingerbread house came with a lovely story attached.  The homeowner fell off the ladder and can be seen on the ground severed in half in a pool of blood.  His wife is standing nearby in a puddle of tears.  Heartwarming.

We ended our break week with putting up the Christmas tree.  

Caroline was our star put-er on-er.  

And now we try to finish out our school year.