Recliners and Dance Routines

The kids began their week by making more forts out of the couch sections.  One afternoon while we were still doing school, we could hear Benson snoring away inside the fort.  

Since they grew tired of having to break down the fort each evening, as the week went on, they redesigned the coach to make two separate seating areas that backed up to each other.  By doing so, they left a small tent-like area which Benson quickly claimed as his own.  He would scoot himself through it and promptly fall asleep.  It was a way for him to sleep uninterrupted and unhindered from little hands messing with him. 

Caroline wrote her first paper for her Essentials class.  The subject was the Middle Ages and her task was to insert one -ly adverb and one vocab word into her paragraph.  She had a list of -ly adverbs to choose from and she enjoyed that part so much that she added close to 10.  She's shown a lot of initiative to learn both her foundations and her essentials material.  She has practiced and recited it with eagerness.  She's doing very well.  In class, they had to fill in their Chart A (about sentence structure) all together.  

Josiah studied Ptolemy for his science strand this week.  While Josiah knew the "P" was silent, there was still a lot of  "Pah-tolemy" all week.  Ptolemy held to the geocentric model, which places Earth at the center and all the planets/heavens revolved around it.  Josiah wrote a paper and created a geocentric model with just the sun, moon, and earth.  

Josiah is also doing a science experiment on his own.  He said one of his goals in life was to go to all the restaurants that serve chicken tenders and discover which were best.  This weekend he checked off another restaurant when he enjoyed a plate of chicken and waffles.  And, because Josiah's favorite word when ordering food is "dry," he enjoyed them without the white gravy. 

When he's not researching with his palate, Josiah is still drawing.  He stayed up one night and drew Coby from Dude Perfect.  

On Friday, the kids stayed up late working on dance routines to go with a couple of songs they like.  In one song, their actions told a story about this imposter game they play.  The other song had synchronized movements and everything.  They were pretty proud of how in sync they were when they watched the video at the end.  

This weekend, Caroline was able to shop at the furniture store looking for a suitable reading chair for her room.  She sat in a lot of chairs.  She enjoyed the recliners, especially the electronic ones.  When all was said and done, she liked two chairs best.  Her first choice only came in a white pattern, so she opted for her second choice.  It swivels and is very comfortable.  It was delivered today and she posed for us with her book.  

Josiah was making plans for next weekend while driving to church this morning.  

Josiah - Is Labor Day the day we get off?

Todd - I'm not sure about you, but I get it off.

Josiah - We should get it off, too.  We've been laboring hard.

He's not lying.  It's been an intense start to the semester.  The week ahead is already full of more school projects.  8th grade is a lot of work!

Flight Minion, Medium Well

Henry had a good start to his week.  Monday morning he had his first KSM (student ministry) outing.  They had a 6th grade get-together.  Henry's group played kickball, which he enjoyed a lot.  At pick-up, he walked to the car all smiles.  

This Sunday was Henry's first day up in the KSM as well.  Josiah was busy volunteering in the preschool, so Henry went alone.  Todd offered to walk him upstairs after he first dropped Caroline off in her new classroom.  Henry shirked that offer and ran on ahead.  He was worried he'd be late even though the first 20 minutes are a hangout time.  He met up with a couple of his friends and seemed to enjoy his first Sunday with the big kids.     

With the August weather, the kids have been making a lot of smoothies at lunch time.  This week, Josiah made a smoothie like normal.  He used a strawberry yogurt and frozen (pitted) cherries as his main ingredients.  Then, as he was sipping his drink, he spit something out.  Before I could even get close to seeing it and feeling it, it dropped and was lost forever.  I was a little concerned since he had blended cherries and I didn't know if one inadvertently still had the pit in it.  Knowing cherries have a poisonous pit, we looked up cyanide poisoning.  

There is 0.17 grams of cyanide in a cherry pit.  It takes 0.1 grams to kill an adult.  Quickly, too.  We had a mild freak-out moment.  However, I didn't see anything resembling a cherry pit in the blender or anywhere else, so we hoped it was just part of the fruit in the yogurt.  After waiting 15 minutes, we deemed all was well.  Within that time, however, Josiah wrote out a quick will and testament.  Henry said his heart hurt, but after a little bit of talking, it felt better.  There is a good chance we will never eat smoothies with cherries again.  Todd mentioned he would politely decline any and all smoothies he is offered in the future.  

One smoothie they did enjoy in its entirety was their Smoothie King treats after Henry earned his 4th red stripe.  I took several pictures and each one had Henry with half-shut eyes.  So this was his sleepy-eyed stripe.  

This week was Henry and Caroline's first day back at CC.  They were very excited to go.  I barely saw Henry all day - only a quick hello at lunch.  Just the way he wanted it, I'm sure. 

Caroline had her first day of Essentials in the afternoon.  There is a grammar portion, a writing section, and math games.  I was able to sit with her and she seemed to enjoy it all.  The hardest part was sitting in a classroom for an additional two hours.  She was definitely not used to that.  For the math games, they started off with quick mental math.  They rolled dice and then had to add whatever they landed on quickly.  Her competitive side kicked in and she aimed to get the answer before her tablemates!  For the writing portion, she learned how to write her very first Key Word Outline.  She has a great teacher so this will be a good year for her.  

Henry's Essentials class dressed up for their sentence "dress-ups."

This weekend we finally had to do yardwork.  It has been so dry this summer, that we have only mowed the lawn three times.  Once in June, once in July, and once in August.  We finally got some rain and were glad to see our grass turn from brown to green.  After we finished, we went out to dinner.  We let the kids order whatever they wanted.  Henry was looking over the menu and asked if he could get the "Flight Minion."  Sure.  But when you give the waitress your order, pronounce it fee-le min-yon.  He went a different direction, ordering the more phonetic sirloin.  

An after-dinner selfie.

School is in full swing around here and the days are jam-packed again.  My prayer this year is that we develop our independence, show initiative, try even if it is hard, and do our best!  During school one day this week, Josiah and I were doing a Logic lesson.  He paused, looked up, and asked, What are those circle things I like?  [pause.....] Oh yeah, Danishes.  And back to Logic.....

Meeting Renzo Gracie

Josiah started Challenge B this week.  Because they have to complete their week's worth of work before class, we got a jump on it Monday morning.  And because I wanted to focus just on Josiah's work to get a handle on what was expected in each subject, Henry and Caroline had an easy week of math and reading.  (But their full days of school start tomorrow.  whine, argue, negotiate, repeat.)  Josiah has a lot to get done each day and he was not very happy to learn that he may have to complete his work in the evenings or weekends.   He was even more disheartened when that very thing happened this first week of school.  He started his Latin tutoring at the end of the week and instead of coming home afterwards and relaxing, he had to finish school.  This weekend he had to do two Logic lessons.  What?  Schoolwork on a Sunday?  I'm not sure either of those situations has motivated him to work at a faster pace come Monday.  We shall see.

Mid-week, Josiah had his last Bible study.  He's been meeting weekly with the junior high pastor and 7th grade boys reading through the book of Ephesians.  When I picked him up this week, I asked what game they played.  It was floor hockey and Josiah informed me that he played goalie, instead of his typical role of DJ.  I don't even know how he plays DJ, but there is no doubt he would pick that role. 

On the way home from Bible study Josiah got his summer reading trophy at the library.  He had to read 20 hours which didn't prove too difficult especially since he had a book due for week one of Challenge.  

While Josiah had his first day of Challenge B, Henry and Caroline tagged along because they had their meet-the-tutor day.  Henry got the official photo.  Caroline was off with friends so we'll get her photo this week. She did make a cup tower in her new classroom.  It was all going well until a new classmate seemed to purposefully knock it down.  We'll see how that relationship plays out this year!

In the afternoon when it was time to go pick up Josiah, we had a little COPS action in our neighborhood.  This small car was flying down the street next to us.  Crazy fast.  I heard a cop car, but didn't see it until a few seconds later.  It was a state trooper in pursuit.  Later on I discovered the small car crashed just a few blocks down from us and the driver fled on foot (but was apprehended).  A little grand theft auto action.  

On Friday evening, Benson wanted attention.  He just stood and barked.  We scratched him all over.  Fed him treats.  Still he barked.  So we taught him a new game.  We took his duck chew toy and "hid" it (usually in a different room, but still in plain sight).  The first few times he had no clue what we were doing, but after a while he seemed to understand "find the duck."  He got to chew on the duck between each hiding, so he was one happy dog.  It must have used all his brain power because when we stopped playing, he passed out on the floor.

During jiu-jitsu class this week, Professor Mike asked Henry to help him demonstrate a technique.  He said he needed someone who could take it.  And then Henry got choked.  

This weekend, there was a jiu-jitsu seminar on the other side of Houston.  A new school was opening and Renzo Gracie, himself, was going to come.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so we took a road trip across town.  The kids were not very happy to give up their Saturday at the start.  However, after we got there and they sat with their friends, they had a good time.  The seminar was very well attended.  Lots of people!  Renzo Gracie is a 6th degree black belt and his family created Brazilian jiu-jitsu.  He was incredibly spirited and personable.  He would demonstrate a technique, tell a very long story that may or may not have had anything to do with the technique, and then walk around the mat giving a few tips to the participants and posing for all the photo requests.  We were sitting right behind where they were demonstrating, so many times Renzo would walk off the mat where we were.  He kept his phones near us and talked to us a lot.  One time he took out his phone and showed his camera's clarity by showing us a picture of the moon that he had taken.  Just a very friendly man.  The kids were in the middle of the mat, so I couldn't get too many pictures of them with their partners, but they had a front row seat for each demonstration.  

With him, he brought Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida, or who I referred to as "tall guy."  He is an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation hall of famer.  He is a current MMA fighter.  The kids had no clue who he was when they took the picture.  

Todd spotted Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski standing near us.  I thought he was a bodyguard.  Nope.  He was a former UFC heavyweight champion.  Todd got a picture with him.  

It took a while since so many people wanted pictures, but our kids finally got one with Renzo Gracie as well.  

By the end we were all tired and hungry.  In the car driving home, Caroline said, "I didn't like it. [very long pause]  I loved it."  She loved the burrito she ate for dinner, too.  

Josiah made my heart proud this week by keeping his longest pencil shavings.  I, too, have saved my longest pencil shaving.  It has to be a good 30 years old at this point.  The next generation of pencil lovers.

School Begins Again

Monday morning we started school.  It was not a pleasant start.  There was yelling (by more than one of us).  There was four hours to do one math lesson.  It was frustrating and long and not the start I had hoped for.  But as the week went on, the days got better.  I did have to wait until Friday to make sure we had pleasant faces for our back-to-school pictures...    

This year, Henry's board reflected a new career choice.  He kept K-9 officer from last year, but added lawyer.  This addition is most likely due to the fact that he argues about everything, so in my frustration I tell him he should be a lawyer.  He is always wanting things to be fair.  If we take Josiah out to eat, then we need to take out Henry and Caroline individually as well.  If one child gets to go over their media time by 30 minutes then they all get to.  That sort of fair.  Which in a family of five is never ending.

Josiah changed his career choice for the first time in years.  He would always write "artist" on his board.  Now he wants to be a songwriter and a cartoonist.  

Caroline, (who I cannot believe is in 4th grade), has become more interested in gymnastics again.  

Benson appeared very cooperative in the photos.  He was not.  Henry was holding a Milkbone to get him to sit with us.  Because Henry was holding the bone, Benson would try to sniff behind Henry's back or jump up looking for it.  There was a lot of running around the yard between pictures.  A lot.  We did get a few of just Benson for his first week of school.  

Monday, we started painting Caroline's room.  We went from the top down to cover any drips along the way.  Monday was her sky blue.  Caroline would have done all the painting if I let her, but she allowed me to help with the edges and checking for any missed spots.  She came up with new terms for our painting objects.  Every time she needed the roller, she'd ask for the "wheeler."  The paint used with the regular paint brush was always called "creamy."  On Monday, the boys were frequent visitors, however their persistent checking on our progress was not always appreciated.  They were not allowed to help paint on Monday.  

Tuesday we completed our school work and headed up to paint the land in Caroline's room.  Green on the bottom.  This time she allowed the boys to help.  Under very close supervision, they did paint a small section of one wall.  It was a bit tight to have four painters per wall, especially since we had only one brush and one Wheeler per color, so that was the extent of their help.  

Time was of the essence this week.  It was a tight schedule to complete school at a reasonable time, paint Caroline's room, and then get her ready for swim.  It was her last week of lessons.  She focused on her technique for butterfly and breast strokes while working on longer distances for her freestyle and backstrokes.  At first she said she couldn't multitask with the butterfly.  She could only work on her arms or her legs, but couldn't do both together.  After several days, she got it down.  She did breaststroke really well.  She would definitely beat me in a swimming challenge.  On Saturday we received her results and she passed purple kingfish!  Her coach said she swam the 50 meters of freestyle and backstroke well and that she had a good breaststroke.  That's it for lessons because she completed their highest level.  She can move up to swim league, which is similar to swim team, but non-competitive (think practice, but no meets).  It may take some convincing to get her to do that.  

Working on her butterfly arms

She picked up her summer reading trophy this weekend, too.  

At the end of the week, I spent a few days painting the trim in Caroline's room and doing some touch-ups.  Trim always takes longer than expected.  She is very eager to move back in and get some flower decals up on the walls.  It is going to be a garden in there.  

This weekend Josiah had his first 8th grade party.  His friend threw a back-to-school water balloon party for his Challenge B classmates.  

This evening we went to his class's orientation and while his strands are very interesting, it is going to be a lot of work.  He will continue with Latin, Writing, and Math.  For science, they are learning about astronomy the first semester and chemistry the second.  They are learning debate which is played out in a mock trial for the second semester.  He is also doing Intro to Logic which sounds daunting.  The teacher's manual is really fat!  He starts this week, so we get down and busy tomorrow morning.