The home stretch

By this time next Sunday, we'll be asleep (I hope) in a hotel in Isernia. Between now and then, there's a lot to do: move the rest of our things into storage and clean the house, finish marking and packing up my office, prepare for traveling, and get there. And there's sports day and the concert at the boys' school to attend this week, which can't be missed. (Iain's class are all learning to play the violin. Their performance is exactly what you would expect from 7 year olds who have a 15-minute lesson once a week during term time. Still, you'd think they were all Itzhak Perlman, we're so ridiculously proud of them.)

 

So we are moving on from our house in this little village in northeast England. I expect that there will be plenty of news in the next few months, as we settle in the Midwest and begin homeschooling. Stay tuned.

Iain enjoys sports day

Iain isn't a competitive boy like Thomas (who, incidentally, came first in the egg-and-spoon race and second in four others, including a sprint). He's perfect for sports day, actually, because it's all about taking part. The big finale is the relay. As Iain took his place, he made certain I was going to take his picture while he was running. So I did:

 

Lucy was tugging at my skirt, as I had put her down to take Iain's photo. I picked her up and looked at the field in time to see Thomas coming...but not in time to take a photo. Oh well: here he is preparing for an earlier event:

 

He's determined, there on the starting line. The race was a sort of modified steeplechase, I think. Thomas came...second.

 

It was a great day for the event. Beautiful and sunny, with a nice breeze, and occasional cloud cover to give everyone a bit of a break. I missed the morning events, as I am getting us ready for a trip to the US. But I was there long enough to see the boys compete and to chat with a few other parents.

 

Apparently this year there was a new mums' race--some sort of dressing up thing. I missed it, which was probably just as well. My last mums' event at sports day is probably the reason there isn't a sprint anymore. Also the reason I don't sprint anymore. But that's all right: Iain (and Thomas) really enjoyed sports day.