Let's Play Family Feud

Early in the week, Josiah and Caroline both earned a stripe at jiu-jitsu.  Caroline earned her first white stripe on her new solid grey belt.  Josiah earned his very last stripe on his grey-white belt.  That was one thing that had disappointed Caroline when she went into the hospital.  She knew she was really close to getting a stripe.  No matter the time, though, she got her Crumbl to celebrate.  

The next day at jiu-jitsu, all three kids mugged for the camera.  It worked out that Josiah and Henry were partners that day.  Brothers-as-partners typically does not work out well.  They intensify the aggression and roughness by a factor of 10 when they go against a sibling.  Of course, they were working on triangle chokes, so they both enjoyed making the other tap.  

That evening, we got home and they opened a package from Todd.  He had sent SWU swag.  They each got a t-shirt and hat.  Josiah was excited to get a collared shirt, which he saved to wear during our family presentation.  He also got a trucker hat, which he's been wearing all week.  Whenever I get the chance, I pull my arm down in the "blow your trucker horn" sign.  Josiah complies with a honk honk.  All three kids liked their shirts and hats.  They were worn often.   (Benson enjoyed tearing up the cardboard inside the hats.)

We had our family presentation at CC this week.  We've had the idea to do it Family Feud-style for a while now, but didn't start working on it until early this week.  Josiah was our in-house graphic designer and he took care of the signage.  When he showed me the initial sketch, I was impressed that he spaced it out so well.  He used a straight edge, but other than that it was all freehand - no measuring.  He and I worked on the game board.  All four of us worked on the script.  Josiah was insistent that we practice a lot, which, in the end was good, because we were ready the day of CC.  The hardest part of the skit was figuring out how to share about our family, but still make it a game round.  Josiah, our amazing host, started us off, We surveyed 5 1/2 people and put the top six answers on the board.  What are the favorite free-time activities for people with the last name of Cockrell?  We tried to keep it funny, so when Josiah asked Henry, he answered, Well, I like to be in constant motion, hang out with my friends, and play video games.  Josiah replied, That sounds like three answers, but let's see what the survey says.  Ding!  It went on like that.  We got a few laughs from the audience, so we counted it as a win.  

At CC, Josiah gave a presentation on the New Deal.  They had to pick a topic from the Roaring 20s.  He pulled up a stool, sat down, and told us about FDR and Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

In Caroline's class, she started her presentation with, "Do you want to hear about the worst decision ever?" and then proceeded to tell her class about South Carolina.  Needless to say, she got a few questions at the end.

On Wednesday night at church, Caroline's group learned about food disparity.  I could not get a clear answer if it was focused on America or the world.  Either way, some kids got pizza to eat, some got bread, some got nothing.  Caroline got bread.  Those are always good lessons to learn.  The lasting effect may have been missed, however, because all the kids got a slice of pizza at the end.    

We had a busy end of the week.  Henry went on his Junior High Mission Trip.  He was quite happy when he checked in and learned he was assigned to the same cabin as his best friend.  When he came back on Sunday, he talked about the food he had each meal and the intense game of Capture the Flag.  That was Josiah's longest story when he talked about his High School Retreat - Capture the Flag is a very big deal.  

Caroline finally got to see her friends for the first time at Awana this year.  They were very happy to be reunited.  The leader of their group brought cupcakes to celebrate Caroline's return.  Everyone got mini-cupcakes, but Caroline got a big one decorated with sprinkles.  It was also their Carnival Games/Character Quest night.  So, all around, she had a good time.  

Josiah went to his friend, Bobby's 15th birthday party this weekend.  I did the math and this is the tenth birthday that he's celebrated with Bobby.  It started the year we moved here when Bobby turned 6.  Whole families were invited to this one.  We initially gave Josiah some time alone, but when they played Among Us, we headed over because Caroline wanted to be a part of that game.  

They did silly string at the beginning of the party.  Josiah realized he wasn't going to get any, so he started to run.  

This week is a break week from CC, but we somehow already have plans for every single day, so not a true break week.  

Grandma, Grandpa, & Claire Visit

Early in the week, Caroline jumped back into jiu-jitsu.  She did really well for her first day back in eight weeks.  She did get tired quicker that she had before, but she'll build up that stamina in no time.  

They were working on triangle chokes.  Josiah is in the blue gi behind her.  

She also had two follow-ups this week.  The first was with her regular pediatrician.  I wasn't sure of the purpose of the visit except to inform him of her whereabouts for the past few weeks.  She is doing well, so there was nothing to do but get a flu shot.  She was not happy.  She did not sign up for that.  

But that same evening, Todd's new university sent her a Welcome Home bouquet.  It was very pretty.  

Her other appointment was with the ENT who was her surgeon back in September.  He had to use the camera to go up her nose and see how the sinuses were healing from the inside.  That required some numbing agent to be sprayed up her nose.  She said it tasted like hand sanitizer, so that was not pleasant.  She was quite leery of the long camera tube contraption, but fortunately that just felt ticklish.  If it hurt, he would change positions and get it on the tickly side again.  We were surprised to hear she still had some packing up in her nasal cavity (it's dissolvable, so it stays).  She is still required to do her nasal rinses twice a day and he added Flonase twice a day on top of that.  How long do I have to do this?  Forever!  The doctor says it is just like brushing your teeth.  You are cleaning the inside of your nose.  We have to follow-up again in three months and hopefully get a clean bill of health and no need to return.  

At CC, Josiah's class had a fun experiment with speed and velocity.  They used raw eggs and ramps.  First, two eggs followed each other down a ramp, moving at the same speed and velocity.  Next, one egg started at the top of the ramp and hit a stationary egg at the bottom.  But the third trial was the favorite.  There were two ramps and the eggs were released facing each other with the hopes of a collision at the bottom.  Same speed, different velocities.  If no collision was obtained in the first round, then many subsequent rounds were tested to make sure the eggs were obliterated.  The best part was when the kids wrote names or faces on the eggs.  "Your mom" won one round to the surprise of the student who had written it.  

Henry finished up his science papers with Mammals.  He chose squirrels because they are so cute and very fun to watch.  Next up is the Science Fair project.  Henry already has a great idea for it.  Currently, he's just doing the preliminary work required before the actual experiment.  We will probably do the experiment in December when CC is over for the semester.  His experiment involves raw eggs as well.  

The best part of the week, however, was when Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Claire came to visit.  They didn't get in until 9:40 p.m. Tuesday night and the kids were ready to jump in with a board game.  Not tonight... One thing that they really wanted to do was to play Apples to Apples with Grandpa.  Knowing his reputation, they knew the game would be fun.  We were able to hold them off until after lunch the following day, and Grandpa did not disappoint.  He would choose ridiculous cards and then when it was the person's turn to read through the cards, Grandpa would chuckle when his was read, so we knew which was his card.  Grandpa also magically won because he had a whole stack of green cards.  (He only earned one in the game.)  Meanwhile Caroline was sitting beside him and had grabbed a stack for herself as well.  

Thursday, we tried our hand at Trivial Pursuit. We have an edition that has both adult and kid cards.  Henry won, but he did have a few questionable answers.  When asked the capital of Poland, he was so happy because he is working on Europe in Cartography.  He exclaimed, "I just learned this!  Warslo!"  We kept asking him to repeat his pronunciation.  Then we asked for a spelling. W-A-R-S-L-O. So, Henry learned how to speak and spell Warsaw that night.  Henry had another good question: Which word comes from the Greek words for star sailor -- mariner, astronaut, or sky diver? All the adults immediately thought of Ancient Greek and we all were 100% sure of ourselves that it was mariner.  It was not Ancient Greek, however, it was just Greek, and Henry answered with a very confident Astronaut.  The adults cracked up because we were so sure he was wrong.  Because of our laughter, he changed his answer to sky diver.  We again laughed because it was so clearly mariner.  It was astronaut.  He was correct.  And, of course, astro = star, naut = sailor.   

On Friday, Claire treated Henry and Caroline to Jeremiah's Ice.  It is a really good swirl of Italian Ice with frozen yogurt.  Grandma and Grandpa didn't miss out either.  

Friday was a very busy day.  By evening time, Henry was the only kid left at home, so we played cards together.  Rummy was the game.  Caroline was off at a birthday party.  Josiah was off at the High School Retreat with our church.  

As with all visits, they are too short and everyone flew out Saturday morning.  Now that we're moving closer, we'll have to bring our board games on the road.  

While Josiah was on his retreat, Henry wanted to play the Game of Life.  He had quite the game and had himself seven kids.  He made sure they each had a spot in his car, too.  Ironically, Josiah wanted to play Life when he got back from his retreat, so we played another round.  Henry ended up with four or five kids this time.  

Josiah got back from his retreat this morning.  He said he had a great time.  On Saturday, they told the kids to have a Sabbath rest after their lesson.  They could not play basketball or any physical game like that, but they could fish.  So Josiah and a few friends "rested" on the dock.  Josiah got his line in the water first, but then one of the helpers showed him how to fish correctly and, as he did so, he caught a catfish.  A photo was taken.  Josiah did not want to hold it since technically the other guy caught it.  The fish did make it back in the water.  After that, they had no more luck.  The Sabbath rest was for two hours, and when the time was up, the boys got in boats to try to fish further out in the lake.  Josiah started to take a pedal boat out, but then realized the pedals didn't work.  So he went back and got a canoe or kayak.  We're not sure which.  At some point, Josiah found himself outside of his boat in waist deep water.  This was the moment his shoes got quite wet and muddy.  He made it out of the water no problem, and he did take a shower soon afterwards.  We do not need any more foreign bacteria in our bodies!  Said shoes made it in his dirty clothes bag and it was all quite ripe when I did laundry this evening.  He had a very good time and wants to go on the Spring Retreat as well.  

Benson was super cute this week.  He looks so regal sometimes.    

But not all the time.

Henry's retreat is coming up this week, so he's looking forward to his time away with friends.  

Thanks, Andretti.

Caroline's first night home from the hospital, she decided to sleep on Todd's side of the bed.  She wasn't ready to climb up on her loft bed just yet.  Monday morning we started school and when we got to math, I went over parallel and perpendicular lines with her.  Life application: how do we sleep in bed, parallel or perpendicular?  Since all her Squishmallows were already on Todd's side, she's stayed to keep them company.  She's also gotten back into the swing of things and even wrote a paper on Benjamin Franklin for her Essentials class. 

For her presentation this week, Caroline started to tell her hospital story.  She wants it to be a 5-part story (for the 5 weeks she was in the hospital), so she is trying to leave each week on a cliffhanger.  This week's ended with, "They rushed us back to the ER and then up to the PICU.  The End.  For now."  She was so, so happy to make it back to CC.  In her class, her tutor brought ice cream and toppings to celebrate her return.  

In CC, they also started tin whistle this week.  Caroline was practicing Yankee Doodle one morning when the boys decided to dramatize it.  

Caroline was very excited to go back to Awana as well.  She spent all week trying to catch up her book work and memorize verses.  She memorized 6 verses this week to get back on track.  The power of being highly motivated!  At the opening ceremonies of Awana, they brought Caroline to the front and welcomed her back and let everyone know she was who they were praying for.  They gave her a card with a family gift - to ride go-karts together, which sounds really fun.  Sadly her two good Awana friends were absent that night, so it was a little disappointing.  Next week! 

All of the activities and places that we returned to this week have been excited to see Caroline.  They would tell her so and then almost immediately they would say they had been praying for her.  There have been so many people lifting her up these past five weeks.  It is a very humbling feeling to know how many countless people have prayed, some who didn't even know her, yet continued to lift her up.  We are incredibly blessed.  

The boys made it back to jiu-jitsu this week after an extended leave.  Caroline sat on the side lines, but was antsy to join in.  She was surprised at how boring it was to sit and watch.  She has no restrictions medically speaking, so she'll be on the mat next week!  

The boys had quite the busy weekend.  Saturday morning, Henry got to go to a birthday party at the go-kart place.  He had a lot of fun, especially because he came in first place in go-karts and laser tag.  He's happiest when he wins.  Competitive child.  Henry said he drove fast, didn't crash, and when it came to the turns, he knew how to drift because that's what he does in video games.  He has also repeatedly mentioned a quote from Mario Andretti that was on the wall.  If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.  Henry, unfortunately, has taken that to be his motto.  Meanwhile, I have been telling Henry Slow down! 50x a day for the past 12 years.  Thanks, Andretti.

Saturday evening, Josiah went to a homeschool Homecoming dance.  It was very well attended.  Josiah and I got there early, but we waited in the parking lot until his friends showed up.  There were a lot of kids!  Josiah went with three other guys from his CC class.  The theme was Denim & Diamonds, so I told him he could wear jeans and a nice jacket, but his friends were wearing their Gala suits, so Josiah put his on as well.  

In-between all the partying, the boys helped out with the yardwork.  Josiah mowed the front, Henry mowed the back, and I tried my hand at the weedwhacker.  I learned the importance of eye protection when everything started flying in my face.  Good times.  

We have another busy week ahead.  Caroline has many follow-up appointments.