Thanksgiving

Last weekend, our pipes started gurgling.  The kitchen sink and the downstairs toilet in particular.  A few days after the gurgling started, we saw liquid bubbling up on the outside sewer line.  Things felt ominous.  On Tuesday, while the washing machine was running, I heard water gushing onto the floor.  I ran to the laundry/bathroom area and witnessed gallons of water flowing up out of the toilet.  It wasn't clean water either.  Towels were quickly put on the floor to stop the water from advancing everywhere, but it had already gotten the bathroom quite disgusting.  I called the plumber and they were able to come out two hours later.  They cleared the clogged sewer line.  When they took their high-powered snake out of the line, some twigs/roots came with it.  They believe there is a break in the line because the tree roots are so close to the sewer line.  That is, unfortunately, a very common problem around here because the neighborhoods require so many trees in each yard.  Once the trees grow big enough, the problems begin.  It'll have to be dug up and replaced very soon.  Cleaning the bathroom was quite the task.  One I hope never to have to do again to that degree.  

On Monday, Henry got invited to a sleepover.  The plan was to go to a trampoline park.  It was the father's idea that if he could wear the boys out, they might actually sleep at night instead of trying to stay up for hours on end.  It worked to an extent - they went to bed around midnight.  However, the boys woke back up at 4:00 a.m. because of the family's outdoor cats scratching and making hissing noises.  When Henry got home, it didn't take him long before he was napping on the couch.

While Henry went to his sleepover, Josiah, Caroline, and I played Monopoly.  Josiah really enjoys the game.  It's because he always wins.  He is quick to buy everything he sees and it seems he has luck on his side.  This round, he frequently hit Free Parking and picked up the $500 we put there each time it was emptied.  We played until frustrations set in.  The next day, we played some more before Caroline conceded her spot to Henry.  Henry played for a while until he, too, got frustrated.  Meanwhile, I was on the verge of bankruptcy for the better part of the second day of play.  I, too, buy everything I can in the beginning, but it never works out for me the way it does for Josiah.  When I'm close to petering out, Josiah tries to do everything in his power to keep me in the game.  Often times, that means treating me like a charity case - paying my $26 rent with a $500 bill 'hidden' at the bottom.  I don't need your handouts!  Eventually I got into such deep bankruptcy that I was completely out of the game.  That was when I took over Caroline/Henry's spot to keep the game going with Josiah.  Josiah is a deal maker.  Every round he tries to make deals to trade properties.  He especially likes gaining ownership of Park Place and Boardwalk.  The game had to be taken up so we could eat our Thanksgiving meal, but it was clear Josiah would have won eventually.  

The Progression of the Game of Monopoly.

How it Starts:

Halfway in - Less Than Enthusiastic:

How it Ends - One Player with all the $$:

We did redo our Christmas pictures because Josiah got a haircut.  When asked what style he wanted, he said, No more curls.  So he had quite a bit taken off.  

Shaggy

De-shaggified

At jiu-jitsu this week, the classes were a lot smaller than usual.  Because of that, they did different types of warm-ups.  Caroline really liked the agility ladder.  They had to hop across it on one foot; two feet in, two feet out; then double hops.  

Google likes to make collage pictures from our uploads.  Typically they're really good and they'll focus on one kid or two kids together.  This week the collages seemed to focus just on Benson.  It's like Benson asked, What about me? and Google delivered by cutting off all the kids heads while keeping Benson front and center.  

We had a small Thanksgiving meal.  Henry wanted to help with all the cooking.  He scrubbed the potatoes and reluctantly let Caroline help peel the potatoes.  He put the spices on the chicken breasts (I'm not cooking a whole turkey), he stirred the gravy, he helped set the table.  We had stuffing and rolls, too.  

Josiah made his annual Turkey Tissue Box.  This time it was a nod to SWU whose mascot is the Warrior.  

And our turkey pictures.

The following day, with Thanksgiving officially over, the kids wanted to put up the Christmas decorations.  Josiah set the mood by starting a crackling fire.  

The tree was brought upstairs.  It is on its last leg at this point because 1/3 of the lights didn't come up when we plugged it in.  The kids decorated with with less ornaments than usual because it "felt full."  Josiah was our star putter-upper.  He wanted to wait for Todd, but that's a month away and he wasn't going to pick Josiah up to do it anyway.  Caroline created a hyperlapse video of the tree decorating.

When the decorating was done, the competitions began.  Drawing competitions.  Caroline gave the theme and judged the first set of drawings.  For the first competition, we were tasked to draw a "truck with a Christmas tree and Christmas trees in the background."  

Josiah was the judge for the second theme of: an indoor Christmas scene.  Benson photobombed the one picture.  

Josiah started his weekend off with a hot cup of cocoa.  As he got the whip cream out of the refrigerator, he pondered aloud, I wonder if whip cream will cool off my hot chocolate so I can drink it sooner?  Henry watched him squirt the whip cream into his mug and said, What's a four-syllable word that starts with D?  

DI-

A-

BE-

TES.  

Josiah spent his entire Saturday with friends from church (from noon til 8pm!).  They gathered at one girl's house with the intention of watching a marathon of The Hunger Games movies.  Josiah had never seen them before.  They made it through a movie and a half before they headed outside and took a walk around the neighborhood.  He had a good time and really enjoys this group of friends.   

This week coming up is our last week of CC for all three kids.  The boys have their Blue Book assessments.  Caroline has just a regular week.  

Debate

Henry started his week off with a new stripe.  He's completed all the white stripes for this belt.  He still has yellow and red stripes to go before the next belt. His goal is to earn the grey-black belt before we move.  He'll have to pick up his pace because it is about 96 more classes before he reaches it.  

He nixed the status quo and got Smoothie King for his reward.  

At CC this week, Josiah had his debate.  He stood against the resolution the the United States needed to change its penal code to abolish the death penalty.  This is team policy debate, so it follows the pattern of 1st Affirmative - Cross Examine - 1st Negative - Cross-Ex - 2nd Affirmative - CE - 2nd Negative - CE.  They learn rebuttals next semester.  Josiah was the 2nd Negative, so his job was to reaffirm all the arguments presented by his 1st Negative partner and pack a punch in the end.  Instead of reading the quotes/data/sources from his notecards, Josiah went off the cuff and spoke extemporaneously.  It worked out for him because the judge said he did a good job.  His team still lost 39-36, but it was by the closest margin so far, so they were happy for that.  The way the team policy debates are set up, the affirmative side has the  advantage because they come knowing the arguments they'll present.  The negative side does not know until the debate starts how the affirmative side will argue.  

Caroline packed her annual shoebox and brought it to Awana this week.  This year she chose a Girl, Age 10-14.  It was easier to shop for someone of similar age as herself - lots of hair accessories, writing/drawing supplies, and toiletries.  

This weekend, Josiah's friend Bobby came over.  The four kids changed the batteries of every light saber they owned and then had a battle in the dark.  They played games inside as well.  Then Josiah and Bobby played some music.  Bobby on the keyboard and Josiah on drums.  The power of technology - Bobby googled the chords of Beatles songs and they got to jamming.  It was a soft rock session with Hey Jude and Now and Then.  

The kids and I worked on some holiday pictures this weekend - our Thanksgiving turkey pictures and our Christmas card picture.  Caroline was not keen on doing the turkey pictures before Thanksgiving and she really didn't want to do the Christmas pictures until after Thanksgiving.  While I appreciate her desire to celebrate every holiday in it's proper time, I'm on a deadline - I need to get things printed and shipped.  So, please put the holiday clothes on, stand by the tree, and smile.  We can share the pictures at their proper time.

We may have to do some of the pictures over again anyway because Shaggy, here, said he is currently "open to the idea of a haircut".  So we're going to jump on that openness.  

Let the holidays begin.

  

School Picture Day

We were slightly late to the game, but we started our week off by taking "first day of school" pictures.  Josiah's career choice remains steady and true - artist.  Henry has gone full lawyer route - a wise choice to make money on his strong arguing abilities.  Caroline's new career choice was influenced by her stay in the hospital - Child Life Specialist.  Benson just wants to be a good dog.  ✔

It was Picture Day at CC as well.  There were many interruptions to the day, so the classes were a bit chattier and less focused than usual.  I tried to get a few behind the scenes pictures.

Caroline helped decorate brown paper bags for Lunches of Love, which provides lunches to hundreds of low-income kids each week.

In Henry's analogies strand, they had to act out a parable.  Henry's team got the Mustard Seed.

Matthew 13:31-32 "He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."  Henry's credits are: "man" and "bird."

  The kids each have a list of things they want to do before we leave Texas.  On the top of Henry's list was to go to Black Rock Coffee one morning and leisurely enjoy a coffee together.  We made that happen this Saturday.  He ordered his first mocha and liked it.  Lesson learned, however, he does not need size medium.  When the espresso hit him, he got to talking quite a lot.  

Saturday afternoon the kids broke out our gingerbread decorating kit.  We nixed decorating gingerbread houses after all the tears shed last year.  Flat cookies to decorate seemed much easier to handle.  I had no idea when I bought this kit that the cookies were massive.  No size was mentioned on the box.  They casually take bites throughout the days, so they're slowly being consumed.  

Caroline's snowman has a medal around his neck.

Josiah spent his Saturday night at an outdoor birthday pool party.  The temperatures drop down to the 50s at night now, so when I picked him up that night, he blasted the heat the whole drive home.  I had warned him ahead of time that he doesn't have a lot of body fat, so he was going to get quite chilly if he got out of the (heated) pool.  Once you get in, you have to commit for the rest of the night.  

Henry got to spend Sunday afternoon at a friend's house.  They had planned on biking around a large park, but as soon as they got to his friend's house it started to rain.  It's that cold autumn rain, so they had to put it off til next time.  

We did all the usual activities this week as well.  We played many card games, chess and checkers, too.  One more week of CC before our Thanksgiving break.