Out With the Old

Caroline started her new swimming lessons and on the first day they gave her a challenge.  She had already learned how to swim freestyle, front flip at the wall, and streamline back into freestyle.  Now it was backstroke, backflip at the wall, streamline to backstroke.  Backflips were much tougher than expected, but it's good to have something to work on.  

The kids spent many days this week playing with their neighbor friend.  It was very loud.  I need a quiet sound-proof room to recuperate.  

At some point this spring, Henry asked if the kids could have another late night where they could do whatever they wanted for however long they wanted (within reason...).  He conveniently remembered I said it would be better to do it over the summer when there was no need to get up early and have brain function the next day.  So that is what they did this Friday night.  They stayed up til midnight, which was their goal.  They played video games until their minds were dull.  Caroline wisely slept-in until 8:45 the next morning.  Not the boys.  They woke at their usual early times.  Caroline did, however, wake up older.  She recently mentioned getting rid of some of her little kid things that she no longer played with.  She wanted to put books on her bookshelf, not toys.  Saturday was the day she was motivated to clean house.  I casually pointed to a spot on her floor and told to put everything she wanted to get rid of in that spot.  An hour later she called me back to her room.  There sat 85% of her known possessions in the donate pile.  Apparently, she's not the sentimental type.  When I sat to go through it, we had to keep shooing Josiah out because he would have saved everything.  The cheap stuff got tossed.  Some was given to friends.  Some will go to Goodwill.  Some I saved should she get sentimental in the future.  After going through her giant pile, we continued cleaning out her room to prep for painting.  Today she wanted to spackle all the holes herself.  Tomorrow we start on her top color.  

While we spackled the walls, Henry took panoramas of Caroline's room.  Josiah purposefully moved with the camera shot and gave himself ridiculously long arms much to his delight.  

Caroline also earned a t-shirt at church this morning for reciting all the books of the Bible.  She had learned them in years' past for Awana, but spent this week refreshing her memory so the songs would come easily.  Henry's aiming to get a t-shirt next week.  

Henry did have a day out with Todd on Saturday.  He is moving up to the student ministry at church, so they had a conversation about that while enjoying burritos.  It is really hard to believe he's going into 6th grade.  

Tomorrow we are starting school-lite.  Just math and reading to get it going.  Josiah will add Latin into the mix because we did not do a good job of keeping up with his flashcards and declensions and all that fun stuff over the summer.  

And Benson enjoyed his day of destroying a box.  By the end he had torn it all to shreds and wore himself out.  

It's Just a Game

Henry woke up early Monday morning because he started a sports camp this week.  It was a day camp, with an 8:00 a.m. drop-off.  On the drive home after his first day he was talkative and upbeat.  It sounded like it was more games than sports per se, but he had fun, he had a friend there, and he was tired.  Win-win.  There was also a gospel component.  The kids were supposed to memorize Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.  When Henry got home, he started memorizing it.  On Day 2 of camp, Henry and his friend were walking around and telling the kids that were too competitive that "it's just a game."  This may be the most ironic thing Henry has ever done.  This is the kid who we repeatedly have to remind "it's just a game" on a daily/hourly/minute-by-minute basis.  But at least he was able to identify unnecessary high-strung competitiveness in others.  There's hope.  Each day he came home physically tired, but positive about his day.  That was until the last day.  That day was their competition day and they divided up into four groups of mixed ages.  At the front of the line in his group was a little kid (a kindergartener, he said with disdain).  The first person in line was tasked to say the memory verse for their group and the kid on Henry's team did not know it.  There was no empathy from Henry.  I let him rant the whole drive home without even telling him, "it's just a game."  At least it was positive overall.   

The kids all earned stripes at jiu-jitsu this week.  They were not happy to get them so close together because that meant only one trip to Smoothie King to celebrate.  They would have preferred to space it out and triple up on their smoothies.     

Caroline completed her swim session and leveled up.  She leaves the green swordfish behind and will become a purple kingfish this coming week.  This year they sent out progress reports which was a nice addition.  They said she swam the length of the pool with ease, but has to remember to look at the sky for backstroke.  Keep that chin up.   All five of us planned to go to her last class.  We drove there under grey skies and the second we parked we received the email that class was cancelled due to thunder.  Maybe next week she can show her brothers her skills.  

We did make it to our neighborhood pool however, because she wanted to practice swimming to the wall, flipping, and streamlining into the next stroke.  She did well.  Henry practiced some swimming and Josiah did backflips.  A second benefit to our pool time was to get some relief from the heat.  Our air conditioner stopped working the day before.  The a/c unit was receiving no power and although Todd checked a few things, he could not get it to work.  We noticed the house was getting warm around 11 a.m. that day.  With temperatures reaching 100° the house was quite hot by bedtime.  The kids let us know about their discomfort and kept saying it was "impossible to sleep."  We turned ceiling fans up as high as they would go and took all blankets off the beds.  We let them complain but after listening to a bit too much of it, I not-so-sympathetically reminded them that people lived with no air conditioning for thousands of years.  You can survive one night.  And they did.  Barely.  Josiah said he woke up five times throughout the night.  The a/c repairman came the next morning and said a wire had shorted out and fixed it no problem.  

Once we got our a/c running again, we made cookies that evening.  Caroline asked to help.  No problem.  Henry heard and asked to help as well.  Okay.  Then Josiah wanted in on it.  At that point they all wanted to mix the batter, they all wanted to spoon the batter onto the cookie sheets, and then, above all, there was quite the discussion as to who could lick the beaters, the bowls, and the spoons.  At one point it got so heated, I said I was going to sit on the floor while Benson and I licked everything.  It was a very Norman Rockwell baking time.  

We only have two and a half weeks of summer left!  It is hard to believe school starts so soon.  

Salt Dough, Swim, & Singing

The kids started their week out with another fort.  This one was built despite aggressive hostility among the laborers.  It was a case of too many ideas, not enough listening.  However, when it was finally completed, it ended up being their favorite fort.  Benson liked this one as it had two openings and he could go in one and out the other.  Henry even caught Benson sleeping in it during the afternoon.  

Benson also enjoyed some water time with Josiah.  Quite a few nights this week, Josiah asked to "do water."  He rotated from the front to the backyard so that the grass in each could benefit from his fun.  When he was in the back, Benson joined him and had a lot of fun trying to drink the water.  

Josiah worked on a new Beatles set.  He used his Legos to recreate the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album cover.  

He did Beatles chalk art.

He continued with concerts throughout the week.

And Caroline helped him give a concert this evening.  Josiah was Paul and Caroline was George.  He had stuffed animals sitting in for Ringo and John.  

Caroline started her swim lessons this week.  She really likes swim lessons.  But she made it very clear that she did not want to join the swim team.  For her first lesson, she showed her coach everything she knew.  He then taught them to swim to the wall, flip, and dolphin kick into the next stroke.  She got two lessons down and then the third day, 30 seconds after she sat on the bench, it thundered.  Class cancelled.  There were tears as she walked out of the pool area.  

Mid-week, Henry and Caroline made some salt dough.  Josiah was working with modeling clay, but joined their fun later on.  They've played with the salt dough all week, so it's gotten good use.  It's the stickier, heavier, less malleable version of playdough.  But they like it because they got to make it themselves.  

Caroline also wanted to make us lunch one day.  She insisted on doing all the steps in making pigs in a blanket.  I happily sat back and let her go to town.

Henry was able to pick up his summer reading trophy.  He was happy to earn it so quickly, but said  he'd rather read all the books at the beginning of June so he can be the first kid (in the county) to earn the trophy.  Next year goals.  

Towards the end of the week, the kids' friend Bobby came over for the afternoon.  They did all their usual activities.  Lightsaber battles, roller blades, video games, pillow fights.  The boys had asked me to make brownies for his visit.  At one point, they sat down for a snack.  I didn't realize the only part of their snack was brownies.  I was in the other room when I heard Bobby ask Henry how many brownies he had eaten.  When Henry answered, Five, I popped back in.    

We have a busy week ahead of us.  Henry starts a week-long sports camp in the morning.  He is happy to try the camp, but equally excited that he gets to have Pizza flavored Goldfish as his snack.  

Mission Trip to Houston

We had a very chill, quiet week.  It started with the 4th of July and for the first time since we moved here, none of our immediate neighbors shot off fireworks.  The distant ones did not seem to bother Benson, so it was a good night for all.  The kids stayed up late watching them from the windows.  

The following day, we got up early and dropped Josiah off at church for his mission trip.  The 6th-8th graders were driving into Houston for the week.  They were staying at the University of Houston dorms and had many projects to do within the city.  When we picked him up Friday morning, we got to hear a bit of what they did.  His group worked at the Houston Food Bank each morning.  He said that he sorted oranges - the good from the bad - and then bagged up the good ones into 5 lb. bags.  He said he never wanted to see another orange for a while.  In the afternoons his group worked at Star of Hope ministries.  They are an organization that started out (in 1907) as a homeless shelter for men, but broadened out their services over the years.  There, he just did odds and ends - he never did give many specifics.  They are a very good organization, though, and are very dedicated to helping the homeless.  (sohmission.org) 

There was a bit of fun packed between the working.  Josiah drove in Van 4 through the week and every time they got on the road they raced Van 3 to the next location.  Josiah said his van always won.  Someone had a lead foot.  He slept in a suite at the Univ. of Houston.  Four to a dorm.  After the first night, there was a baby powder incident in his room.  It was used to coat clothing, beds, and shoes.  Josiah and his roommate were tasked to find the culprits.  Fortunately in all their questioning, no one accused or suspected Josiah.  That made me happy.  The boys who made the mess were eventually found out and relocated.  

He told us about the cafeteria, as well.  There were two lines.  One line served the vegan/vegetarian/vegetable eating students.  The other line was hamburgers and chicken nuggets.  You can only guess how long the hamburger line was with 150 6th-8th graders.  As the days passed, Josiah developed the reputation for getting himself a coffee mug of chocolate milk to sip while he waited in the food line.  

To celebrate Josiah's homecoming, we made him a strawberry cake.  Josiah originally wanted to make it for Henry and Caroline on their return from camp, but Henry's stomach bug had put that on hold.   We've enjoyed it all weekend.  

While Josiah was out serving the community, I decided to clean the boys' bathroom.  It felt like I could have it stay fairly clean for four days which was quite the motivation.  It was particularly gross and after completing the scrub down, I wrote out a new cleaning schedule.  I don't think the last one was being followed very well.  This is a trash can.  You put your trash in it.  Not next to it.  Not on the sink waiting for that distant day when you decide to throw it away.  The best part was their shower.  Zero soap in it.  There wasn't even a residue of soap.  That's how many showers they had taken without a bar of soap being present.  Apparently they had been washing themselves with shampoo.  So we reintroduced bar soap into their lives.

There has been a lot of down time this week, too.  Henry and Caroline have been reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books series.  There has been a lot of reading time this week.  Henry typically would read a few a day.  He always does that with book series.  Once he gets into them, he reads a ridiculous amount and then they're done.  Then he's bored until we can find a new series.

The kids have built forts out of the couch sections.  They each had their own areas inside and Benson visited them regularly.  

We had a busy weekend, but capped it off with some sprinkler time.  We have had drought conditions and it's been pretty bad.  All the dirt is pulling away from the sides of the house and sidewalks.   We have to keep watering the lawn to protect our foundation.  Today it was 104° with a heat index of 114°.  It is hot.  We have to limit Benson's time outside, too.  The upside of no rain is no mosquitoes.  We can actually sit outside in our sauna without being eaten alive.  

Caroline starts swim this week, so we'll have busier days again.  

Camp 345

Henry and Caroline were off at camp for the first half of the week.  Josiah was quite bored without his siblings.  We went and bought sculpting clay so he'd have something to pass the time.  He decided to dye it green with food coloring, so he spent the rest of the week with Incredible Hulk hands.    

He also created Beatles concerts with Legos.  He built the sets and then made videos with their music in the background.  He had their early years with the mop tops. 

Then he did the rooftop concert with their shaggier hair.

During their time at camp, our children's minister texted a few photos which was very nice to have proof of life.  

Unfortunately, she also texted me the last morning of camp to say that Henry was sick.  His stomach and throat were hurting.  I wasn't overly concerned at first, because if Henry ever feels unwell, he always says it is his stomach and throat.  When he's at home, they usually feel better after breakfast.  But the texts continued.  He had a fever, too.  The camp nurse gave him some Tylenol and mentioned  something was starting to go around.  I offered to drive up and get him, but they were already planning on leaving late morning.  He would be isolated at the front of the bus.  It was a two hour trip back.  We picked them up at 1:30 p.m.  When Henry walked off the bus, he was clearly not feeling well.  He threw up twice on the bus ride (in the bathroom at least).  We got him home, forced him to shower, and then he collapsed on his mattress.  He did not get out of bed for the next 24 hours.  It seemed like a stomach bug, but because he had kayaked on a lake at the camp, I could not stop thinking about the brain-eating amoeba.  While he slept feverishly and fitfully, I sat on the couch next to him to keep watch on his symptoms.  The next morning he woke up and started reading.  I took that as a very good sign.  Even though he ended up having a rough morning, he was clearly better than the day before.  Almost exactly 24 hours after arriving home, he asked to get out of bed.  By the evening he was practically running around the house again.  

Caroline told us about her time at camp.  She was able to ride on a very tall swing with her counselor and another girl.  She enjoyed the zipline, pool time, and rec games.  It sounded like they had good food, Bible study, and worship time.  She made a friend, too, which was icing on the cake.  

Giant Swing

Zipline

While Henry was recovering, Josiah and Caroline made more clay creations.  They used a combination of playdoh (for color) and clay.  Josiah made a tomato head, while Caroline did a fox.  I failed to get a picture of the fox before its nose fell off.  

This weekend the kids did more clay creations. They painted and played with their neighbor friend.  Caroline likes to give herself a challenge, so this evening she did a three color painting challenge.  She mixed a few to give it an ombre effect.  

We felt very blessed to get a little rain this week.  We have been in drought conditions for a while and burn bans had been in place.  We really did not want everything to be straw dry for the 4th of July weekend.  People here would do their fireworks no matter what the weather has been doing.  This signage felt like the perfect description of fireworks in our area.  

This coming week Josiah heads off on his mission trip, so the other two will be at home missing him.