Retreats, Rockets, & Progress Reports

The boys went on a retreat last weekend.  When they got back on Sunday, we tried to keep the questions to a minimum after seeing some extreme tiredness (dare I say crankiness) on their faces.  Henry said he went to bed at midnight, but that he slept really well.  I asked Josiah if he stayed up until midnight as well.  He replied with a quick, No!  He was always the first asleep in his cabin.  Josiah's always been an early-to-bed-early-to-rise kind of kid.  Henry's lack of a full 10 hours of sleep caught up with him on the drive home.  He was out quick.  

Henry later told us of his shower strategy at the camp.  He let everyone else go before him so that he wouldn't have a time constraint with his showering.  Apparently their leader only allowed them to have two-minute showers and he timed them.   Henry wasn't having that.  He has also become a fan of Irish Spring body wash.  Mahn-ly.  They seemed to have had a good time.  They had Bible lessons.  They played games, in particular Capture the Air Mattress.  They ate well.  They came home tired!

We appreciated the cooler weather this week.  It allowed us to open the windows at home and air it out.  Caroline has taken the longest to recover from last week's sickness.  It seems she got bronchitis after the flu, but the viral variety.  Her cough was very rough sounding and she started her week out on the couch.  Once she got her energy back we knew she was doing better.  She was thrilled when I directed all her new-found energy into her school work.  

At CC we learned about rockets and propulsion.  We had a demonstration at the start of the day with two liter bottles, vinegar, and baking soda.  We had all the kids stand far back.  Yet when the rockets shot up, they all veered in the direction of the kids, which thrilled some of them to no end.  Henry and his friends tried to catch the plummeting 2-liters.  Later in the individual classes, the kids got to make film canister rockets with water and Alka Seltzer tablets.  Those shot up really high as well.  It was a fun day.   

Josiah got a really good progress report at CC this week.  As soon as we got in the car to go home, he tried to make his case.  I did a devotional, read two papers in class, and got a good progress report.  Can we go out to eat?  He signed up to do the devotional in the morning.  All the challenge classes (Jr High & High School) meet for a morning assembly and one student does the devotional each week.  Josiah spoke about choices.  He said the most important thing we can do each day is make choices.  Whatever we choose, we must take responsibility for those choices and accept the consequences as well.  All of life is a series of choices.  It was a really good topic.

So we went out to eat.  There was a Texas Roadhouse near us that we had never been to, so we gave it a try.  Josiah loved it.  He ate four rolls before his food even arrived.  We had really great service and Josiah, especially, raved about the food.  What food?  Chicken tenders, of course.  Henry and I always get the steak and shrimp.  Caroline and Todd had burgers.  Good times.  

Josiah has been drawing every night.  He drew a really cool Daffy Duck.  Then he drew Proto Man for a friend's birthday.  This weekend, he went to a small birthday party for his friend Bobby.  They had a fire pit there so Josiah cooked his own hot dogs.  He would have cooked his own smores as well, if he didn't have braces.  He compromised and enjoyed a deconstructed  'uncooked' smores.  Can we say chocolate bar?

Josiah wasn't able to eat the Frankenstein Rice Krispie treats we made for a pumpkin carving party either.  Our neighbor had their annual event today and we all brought a treat to share.  The kids were very into the Frankenstein face decorations.  The concept was pretty simple, but our chocolate hair never really hardened, so they were a bit messy.  

  

We had more fall festival fun earlier in the weekend.  Caroline had her Character Quest night at Awana and this time she brought a friend.  At first they went to different rooms, each one with a different Bible character.  They told their story in first person and then the kids had to guess who they were.  After that they went outside and there were carnival games.  The cake walk was a favorite.  If the spinner landed on your number you got two treats (cupcakes and cookies).  If it didn't land on your number, you got one treat.  Caroline and her friend were happy to learn you could do the cake walk as many times as you wanted.  (Googly eyes on her friend by Caroline.)

We'll spend our evenings this week watching the Astros in the World Series.  

I wasn't sure about our Halloween plans.  Henry is not a trick-or-treater.  Josiah wants to walk to a few houses.  Caroline has made zero mention of Halloween until this evening.  

-Are we going trick-or-treating tomorrow?  

-Well.  I don't know.  Do you have a costume?

So we shall see how the week begins.