Happy first birthday, Miles!
Ethan and Ehlana don’t spend much time with Miles Sheldon yet, but he will be a future classmate and friend; and they took a little gift and card over to him this morning after I’d gone to school.
My top school news today is from music class, where we got to spend most of the time experimenting with different instruments. Rowen and I don’t have the musical background that some of our classmates have from private lessons in piano, guitar, or other instruments; but we were both happy to at least manage a few coherent notes on a flute and saxophone respectively. If today’s class was any indication, the school should send warning letters home the first time we’re allowed to sign out instruments, though in my case; I plan on using my wards to spare Mom, Dad, and the twins whenever I can. This is one case where reading the books doesn’t just translate into immediate proficiency.
While we had the most fun during music class, our first Friday of the school year was busy and fun; if not particularly newsworthy. After school, Rowen and I started out our weekend by getting approval for a sleepover at my house. That worked out especially well for me when we found out that our Friday night dinner and a movie was being changed to dinner and a football game at the school.
Yeah, just when I would have liked it to rain all night, the weather decided to cooperate with the football players and fans. It stopped raining a couple of hours before game time. The fact that we ended up watching the home opener tonight was partly my own fault, since I did talk to Mom and Dad about the inevitability of needing to attend a game now and then. They must have decided that it was a little piece of Witch Falls entertainment that I needed to experience sooner instead of later.
That change in plans also meant that we had another easy-dinner night, and then we headed for the school; dressed appropriately for a cool night. My disinterest in football in general didn’t mean that I was oblivious to how popular the home games were. Despite the earlier rain, and rapidly dropping temperature, the bleachers were nearly full. There were concessions being run as a fundraiser for the team selling snacks, drinks, and even a few team souvenirs. We picked up a few things before finding a spot in the bleachers were we could all sit together; and then settled in to wait and chat with the people closest to us for the ten minutes or so we had until the kick-off.
I should probably start by conceding that watching a live game can be more fun than watching a game on television, but that’s as much because of everything that’s going on around the field as the action on the gridiron. Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam all remembered watching games when Lee Landry played for our high school team, and they all thought that watching Kyle Landry playing tonight was like a flashback to those games. I heard quite a few similar comments from other people, and whether it was true or not, everyone seemed to think that Kyle was as good a player as his father had been. That must be a tough reputation to live up to. I sure hope Kyle doesn’t try bench-pressing combines!
Our home opener was against division rival Maple Valley. I was told that these matches are usually fairly competitive, but I wouldn’t exactly say that was the case tonight. We have a defensive team, and though Kyle isn’t a senior; he is undoubtedly the team leader. He plays both sides of the ball sometimes, but it’s on defense that he really shines. Tonight he had two interceptions; two fumble recoveries; and out of those four chances, he scored two defensive touchdowns. I seriously doubt that the Maple Valley quarterback will remember how many times he was sacked tonight. Most guys getting hit that often might have trouble remembering their own name. Even though our team isn’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, when you have great field position at the start of nearly every possession, you don’t need to be spectacular – especially when your opponent isn’t being allowed to score anything except the occasional field goal.
Final score: forty to nine.
We stayed for a bit of the post-game mingling, but didn’t stay too long. Ethan and Ehlana were tired by then; and we all wanted to get home and have hot drinks and a snack. Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah came back with us for that; and the three couples have been hanging out in the living room since putting Ethan and Ehlana to bed. Rowen and I came up to my room after finishing our cups of hot chocolate and bakery treats; and we’ve been snuggled in bed with Mandy and our computers since then.
I haven’t gotten any extra work done, but that’s mostly because we’re both tired; and other than listening to some music and talking about some of the extra-curricular activities that we saw while at the game; neither one of us is particularly motivated or interested in pulling an all-nighter movie or gaming night. In fact, Rowen’s actually drifting off to sleep as I write this – while her computer is still on and she’s propped up with some pillows. I’d say that’s a sign to tell us that we both need to get some sleep.
Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.
“Goodnight, Cassie; and goodnight to you too, Rowen!”
