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.
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