Spring Artists

With CC over, the workload has decreased a lot for the boys.  Josiah is still working on the final touches for his science paper.  Both still have math each day, and I have strongly encouraged them to keep up with their typing lessons.  For one, it is a good thing to learn over the summer, and for two, I've stopped typing their papers for them, so they better learn how to type in an efficient manner.  I had the conversation with Josiah - you can take 3 hours to slowly, painfully type your paper or 15 minutes to type it with speed.  Only one method wastes time.  

With the extra time, they have taken up painting again.  On Monday evening the three of them sat and created.  Henry did the Swiss Alps because he is obsessed with traveling in general, but traveling to Europe and Switzerland in particular.  Several times a day he asks me where I would go if I could go anywhere in the world.  With the frequency of the question, I figured he didn't want me saying the same place each time, so I change the location.  New Zealand.  Amsterdam.  London.  Montana.  Maine.  Australia.  Japan.  Romania.  Germany.  

Caroline painted a colorful canvas, but then covered it in tape and painted black overtop.  It came out with a 80s retro vibe.

Josiah aimed to paint in the style of Bob Ross.  Happy little trees.  

They continued painting on Tuesday night as well.

On Wednesday, Josiah asked me my favorite shape.  I gave it a lot of thought and answered an octagon.  I did not realize that he was asking the question because that was to be the next shape for his artwork.  I would have gone with square had I known.  

Josiah was able to get the Dude Perfect collector's cup on the last day of April.  One more cup for May.  Thank you, marketing executives.  You win.

We spent a lot of Wednesday cleaning the house because on Thursday, Henry's class came over to do an Escape Room/Clue Mystery Game that his cousins gifted him for his birthday.  Josiah and I tried it out a few days before, just to make sure it was something they could all do together.  Josiah really enjoyed it. It was more of a Who Done It? than an escape room, but still very fun.  When Josiah and I played, we solved everything correctly within the game to get to the end, but when it came time to guess who done it, we got everything wrong.  The wrong person, the wrong artifact, and the wrong location.  

With Henry's group, they were all working together; they got through the game and correctly guessed the thief, but not the artifact nor the location.  However, one of their female classmates was in the bathroom when they put their guess in.  She came back to hear the reading of the solution, then picked up clue cards and exclaimed, "Pay attention to the details boys!"  (It was pretty funny.)  So, there was a chance they could have had everything correct.  

On Friday night, Caroline had her final Awana Award Ceremony.  She earned her third book award.  The award this year was in the form of a medal, but when Josiah finished his third book, he got a different award (see left).  Unfortunately for Caroline, Awana updated their awards.  She was really expecting and hoping to get the cool thing Josiah had.  

After the award ceremony, I dropped her off at a friend's house for a sleepover.  They made smores and played video games and stayed up until 2 a.m. chatting.  When I picked her up the next day, she said she was well rested.  I still made her go to bed at 9:00 p.m. Saturday night.  She was not a fan of the early bedtime, but she sure did fall asleep quickly.  

Henry, too, had gone to a sleepover on Friday night.  When I picked him up Saturday morning, he said they went to bed at 11:45 p.m. and so he, too, was very well rested.  And then one hour later, Benson needed company with his nap.

This week Caroline begins a STEM camp way out in Ellington Air Force Base.  We have to leave the house at 6:50 a.m. to get her there because it way over on the other side of town.  We are not the best morning people, so I am glad we have Benson to at least get me up in time.