JV
Dad and Mom were here for the first home junior varsity game of the season. . .the air temperature would have been lovely, but the hot Wyoming sun scorched us all–we sat “backwards” at halftime to try to even out the burning. Anyhow, here are Dad’s pictures of the game. Drama Boy is #36, and if you can’t see his number look for the gold socks. 
Hey! Look who’s one of the captains for today’s game!
So far, the JV team is undefeated this year (which is more than can be said of the varsity team).
Monday snapshots
Just some random pictures from our day. . .
Two out of the three squirrels Boy Genius caught playing ring-around-a-rosy.
Twirly Girl removes the basting threads from her first-ever zipper. Yes, we’re a little behind on our circle skirts. 
If there’s a camera in the room, Baby Boy assumes it’s for him.
Flag football in the backyard, Drama Boy & Silly Boy vs. Boy Genius & Bouncy Boy.
We also did a little school work and Drama Boy got 2 coats of primer on George’s new doghouse. And I. . .did seven loads of laundry and served three meals. 
Project progress
Well, I was all set to write a Friday Night Lights post today. . .until I found out that Drama Boy does not have his jersey yet. Hmmm–so perhaps I can snap a photo at the game tonight and post it another day. Though our town is too small to have a freshman team, he’ll usually play on Saturdays or Mondays with the junior varsity team. But he tells me that tonight is a zero week game, whatever that means, and so he will probably get a play. Or something like that.
Instead, I decided to take pictures of a couple of recently finished projects.
I started this scarf in March so that I would have a small project to work on when I flew to Indiana. After my trip, I left it in my purse and worked on it in waiting rooms as well as during Bible study. The pattern was an online freebie, although I only used it for the lace chart. The yarn is a sock weight wool from Knitpicks. It’s not a very long scarf because I just knit until I ran out of yarn (and I started with a not-quite full skein). My next portable project will go a little lot faster: coasters made of cotton worsted. 
Last week Larry helped me prime the hallway on his day off; this Monday we painted the hallway. The walls went much faster with two of us painting, but guess who painted all that trim? Last week it was merely a matter of a second coat of primer; this week I spent two afternoons painting trim (the first coat took me close to five hours. . .there are seven doorways in the hall). The wall color does not photograph very well; it is a sandy shade called The Alamo. The trim used to be close in color to the door but is now the same Rich White I used in the living room. I am not sure I would paint the trim if I had it to do again, but on the other hand it really was quite worn and tired looking.
In between and around painting trim, I finally finished the fishtail swags and tiebacks for the living room (I made the sheers when we first moved here). There are a few things I would change about the swags but I am probably the only one to notice them. I am especially pleased with my fabric choices which do not show up very well in the picture–have you ever tried to take a picture of a window? This picture shows the colors a little bit better:
.
.
.
Or we can just pretend that I inserted another photo. I’m sorry, but I don’t have another ten minutes to spend trying to convince photobucket to use the close up version and not the original. The swags are a bold blue floral print, and I faced the tails of each one with a coordinating print of mama and baby birds. The tiebacks are a subtler floral from the same line of prints and have a light blue-green background; they’re simply strips of fabric with a rolled hem using blue thread close in color to the walls. Because I’m the only one in the house who can tie five matching bows, I imagine the sheers will go in spurts of always-open and always-closed.
One more picture (fingers crossed that the right one appears). . .
(phew!) Just for fun, I decided to paint the inside of the coat closet Blue Egg. Yes, I know it’s half empty–it’s still summer, even in Wyoming. After I wash the kids’ winter coats, I store them downstairs until it’s time to decide who fits into which one again.
That said. . .
I headed in a different direction than I intended in last night’s post; sorry about that! Instead of grumbling about the herd mentality, I meant to tell you how proud I am of Drama Boy. Playing football definitely belongs to him; we have signed a few forms and written some checks, but he has been the one to keep track of camps and practice times. He pedals himself to the school most of the time (we have offered rides on beastly hot days). And he kept on going, even after an incident at camp where he was teased both for being homeschooled and a Boy Scout. These are the little things that show me that he is becoming stronger, building the character he will need as a man.
Here we go
Drama Boy is now officially a high school football player: practice started bright and early this morning. He must want to do this, because he was up and ready with no help from us. Generally we have to drag him out of bed at nine because his breakfast has gotten cold and the vultures little brothers are starting to circle his plate. They will practice mornings (and some evenings) all week, but next week public school will be back in session and they will switch to afternoon or evening practices.
I am already a bit frustrated with public school politics, at least where sports are concerned. As homeschoolers, if one of our children needs materials or equipment we weigh the need and the budget and we buy it ourselves (or we do without). While it was not required to join the Boosters (group? club? whatever. . .Larry attended the parent meeting). . .well, there it was. And that is all I have to say about that.
(Actually, I do have more to say but I am biting my tongue!)
PS
I forgot to mention that Drama Boy ended up with the same number as my Dad had in high school. . .64. Of course when I told DB that, he had to email Papaw to make sure I was right.
#64
Here he is, just for you, Dad. . .in all of his eighth grade football glory.
Just when I thought I had Drama Boy pegged as a soccer player, he asked if he could play football this fall. eeep! my baby!! His rationale was that if he started in eighth grade he would be more likely to get field time in high school. He probably has a point; he probably also is afflicted by the ailment of his age, namely the firm belief that he will in due time be a first round draft pick in the NFL. Nonetheless Wyoming allows homeschoolers to form an agreement with the local public school for the sake of sports, so we filled out the papers and he got a sports physical and here we are. He spent his first game on the sidelines, played some of his second game, and was in the starting line up for his third game this past weekend. I can’t remember what position/s he’s been playing, but even I know that means he’s doing well.
Oh and look. . .here comes his biggest (uh, make that littlest) fan!
I’m sure every thirteen year old boy secretly wants a baby brother who thinks he’s the greatest thing since astroturf!
Goal!
Last week, Drama Boy attended soccer camp for the first time. He really enjoyed himself (and hopefully improved his game along the way ). The kids were divided into teams and he was captain of the team that chose to be Italy. One day they were to make and bring a flag. Drama Boy raided my stash, and here is his design:
You can perhaps tell from his face that he had procrastinated a little and stayed up too late the night before making his flag. Even so, I think he did a great job, taking the time to press his seams and hem the edges. On the white section he wrote out Italy’s scores from the times they have played in the World Cup.
