

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part Two

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 – Steve Leggett

Cover Image by Kayla Leggett \- Copyright 2013 - Used by Permission

ISBN: 978-0-9867537-8-7

Books by Steve Leggett

Heirs of the Magi Trilogy

Magi Sanctuary

Magi Master

Magi Ascension (Forthcoming)

Heirs of the Magi Archives

 Cassie's Journal 2011

 Cassie's Journal 2012 - Part One

 Cassie's Journal 2012 – Part Two

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part One

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part Two

Heirs of the Magi – First Christmas

The Catalyst Chronicles

 The Catalyst is Born

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

Notes

July 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

It's mostly been a holiday weekend and wedding work day, starting with housework and pre-cooking this morning and ending with decorating and filling gift baskets for the wedding tonight.

My jobs this morning, after Rowen went home to work around the house with her Mom and brother, included a two-hour stint as cook's assistant; an hour taking care of the third-floor cleaning; and the rest of my time between breakfast and lunch giving Mom and Alicia some babysitting assistance with Ethan and Ehlana.

Rowen and I were both able to spend a couple of hours this afternoon practicing our bike tricks with Michael and Tim after Michael was finished helping out at the Inn during the lunch rush. We finalized the routine, and Tim and his Dad finished making the obstacles and jump ramps for the trailer on the weekend; so we were able to practice with them. They won't get put onto the trailer until Wednesday, but Michael and Tim had them set up for us like we'll be using them; and the only difference to what it'll be like for the parade was the height off the ground. We'll get to have one practice for that on Wednesday sometime, so that change shouldn't be a problem; and it'll just make the jumps from the trailer to the ground a bit easier.

The biking was at the top of the fun list for today, and so was the cool-off swim that we hit the river for at my house after we were done our practice. Ethan and Ehlana came with us for that; and we all had a blast until Nora tracked us down and reclaimed Tim. Michael had to get back to the Inn and I needed to get back to helping Mom by then anyway; so that was the end of our play time until after dinner.

Mom and Dad only had the twins and me home for dinner. Violet was with Dillon, and everyone else had other plans until we were meeting at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for a wedding work evening. I helped with the cooking and cleanup tonight, and then Mom sent me off to play with Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana at the park for an hour or so before joining the gift basket work crew. I'm sure that the timing of that play break had everything to do with Michael being at the park for his team practice too; but I was okay with that – and with having him hang out with us for a while after he was finished playing baseball.

I'm going to take a little side trip for a minute because there was some teen weirdness tonight that doesn't have anything to do with me directly; but is apparently a big deal for Jenny.

There's a new guy in town, and though Rowen and I haven't met him yet, he was at the park tonight too; and hanging around with some of the other teens – including Jenny and Rebecca. Michael told us that his name is Joel Alden, he's fourteen, and will be here in Witch Falls with his Dad for about half of the summer holidays. Jenny apparently caught his eye earlier today while he was taking a first look around town after getting here last night sometime, and from what Rebecca told Michael while they were having dinner; Jenny's definitely interested in him too.

I love Jenny a lot, but it sounds like she may have temporarily lost her mind; and flirting with Joel while still having a boyfriend is not likely going to end well for one or more of them. Thankfully, we weren't close enough to their group for Ethan, Ehlana, or I to get hit by the empathic bombardment that usually happens in situations like that; and we were on our way to Aunt Leanne's before passing Shane and some of the other teens when they were on their way into the park to join up with Rebecca and Jenny.

The empathic sparks were probably really flying after that, but then there were some sparks with Michael and me too – especially while we were having a little swim with Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana before we all went inside to help with the gift baskets. I did warn Michael in advance that we'd get teased if he came along, but he was willing to risk it; and we were both happy to have the extra time together. Rowen, Michael, and I mostly decorated baskets while Ethan and Ehlana joined the assembly lines that were filling them with four different sets of mementos and treats.

Mom let us work until ten-thirty, though Ethan and Ehlana needed to play normal toddlers; and didn't last nearly that long before getting bored and being set free to go watch a movie in the living room. Rowen decided to go home then, and helped Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace tease me by getting Michael to go home with me and help put Ethan and Ehlana to bed while Mom and Dad stayed to work for another hour or so.

Michael and I didn't have a problem with that set-up; and we had fun getting the twins ready for bed and then cuddling with them while Michael told them their bedtime story. Michael went home shortly after we finished tucking Ethan and Ehlana in for the night, but just to make sure that we didn't totally disappoint my aunts or his mother; we practiced our goodnight kisses for a little while before he left.

Trust me; we really don't mind making those little sacrifices for the people we love the most!

I needed to stop in and distribute some tickle hugs when I heard my adorable little brother and sister giggling at me on my way up to my room; Ehlana and I had a little girl chat; and then I hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak. Mom and Dad were home by the time I'd finished drying my hair and getting changed, so we had a little visit in the office while Dad took care of some work; and then I came up to my room again. I wasn't planning on staying up late tonight, but some family business work that couldn't wait until Wednesday needed to be done; and I spent an hour doing that before getting to the rest of my usual nightly computing.

That change in plans also meant that I wasn't sleeping when my new membership into the menstrual cycle club was re-affirmed. Yes, I did make the adjustment so I could be on the same schedule as Rowen, and I can make the experience easier for both of us; but that doesn't make the experience any more fun for us – just a little less uncomfortable. I can tell you that I'm happier this time around, but that has everything to do with Michael, being on holidays, and the upcoming Fourth of July and wedding fun. The good news is that if Rowen's on schedule too, we should both be done with our periods by Thursday.

I wouldn't exactly say this is a great way to end my day – or this journal update – but it's after one; that's all the news I have; and getting some sleep is now at the top of my priority list, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Since I ended up getting to spend so much time with Michael yesterday, I sort of forgot that it was an all-hands-on-deck week at the Inn; and he'd just been cut some slack yesterday because of baseball practice. Since we had wanted to put in extra practice time today on our bike routine, we had to work that out around his time at the Inn – and everything else that Tim, Rowen, and I had going on too.

That meant that we needed to get together for our first practice right after breakfast, and we worked on our tricks for an hour and a half before taking Ethan and Ehlana for a swim until Michael needed to get to the Inn. Our afternoon practice ended early when it started to rain, but we still went for another swim with the twins and had a snack break at my house before Michael went back to the Inn again. We would have liked to have a bit more time to practice; but I think we're ready for the parade anyway.

When I wasn't on my bike or swimming; Mom always had work on her to-do list for me to help her with. That included more cooking; running a couple of errands; and keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained – especially after it started raining. Aunt Grace, Mark, and their parents had been doing their own thing for lunch, but Mom and Dad were hosting another dinner with everyone at our house again; and the wedding work evening was at our house too. I was on the cooking and clean-up crews for lunch and dinner; and I spent most of the evening working and playing with Aunt Grace, Aunt Leanne, and Mom on everything from finishing the last of the gift baskets to making some of the decorations that would be used at the church, at the reception, and on some of the cars.

Ethan and Ehlana recruited Mark and his parents to do the bedtime story with them, so while they – and Aunt Grace – did that; I kept working in the dining room with everyone else until we decided to call it a night at eleven o'clock – mostly because Aunt Leanne was totally wiped out by then. She's almost always so fired up, I think that we all forget just how much she's been doing – and she's just finished a busy round of rental moves and home sale closings on top of getting ready for the Fourth of July and the wedding.

I came straight up to my room after everyone else left; got changed; and climbed into bed with Mandy and my computer. I only ran through the very basic nightly email, news, sports, and entertainment checks, and once I have this update finished; it's going to be lights out for me. Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day with incoming family and friends converging on Witch Falls for the holiday weekend, the wedding, or both. Mom and Violet are two of the drivers heading to the airport tomorrow to pick up Mark's family and friends, so I'll be helping Alicia with Ethan and Ehlana while Dad's at work; and we'll be the welcoming committee for the early arrivals. Add in our bike practice using the trailer, the big dinner that we're hosting again at our house, and the gang of girls I'll be sharing my room with for the next four or five nights; and we've got all of the ingredients for one of those crazy-busy days, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

It's heading toward one o'clock and I should be sleeping just as everyone else in the house probably is by now; but I'm still winding down and sitting in my window alcove with my computer while Dawn and Mandy are in bed and out for the count. Kaitlyn and Kara are asleep on the sectional sofa in the lounge too, while Ehlana got Jaimie to have a sleepover in her room instead of staying up here with us. The wind down is taking a while for me because it's been such a great day.

Tai Chi this morning was about the only thing that was calm and relaxing through until my cousins started nodding off while we were having a little bedtime girl chat. Breakfast was a busy rush because Mom and Violet both needed to get ready and pack a few things to take along for their airport day trip – like snacks and travel entertainment options for their passengers. Dad was working a short day, but he needed to get ready too, so it was up to me to get Ethan and Ehlana fed and dressed for the day. I had to get ready to go out too, but I waited to do that until Alicia got to the house to take custody of the twins.

My first outing of the day was for the hair appointments Rowen and I had with Liz at the salon. We were booked for today because there were not enough available openings for us on Friday or Saturday. Since styling our hair wouldn't last the day let alone until Saturday afternoon, we just went with basic cuts, and Liz and Vicky both taught us a few styling tricks that we'll be able to use when we get ready for the wedding on Saturday. That tutorial did mean that we were still looking pretty good when we left, and that earned us some attention from Michael and Tim when we met up with them for our last bike practice this afternoon.

I'm getting ahead of the update, though, so we'll get to that in a minute. After our appointments, Rowen was working at the store, so I went home; put a little time in on the family business; helped Alicia with the twins; and then she and I both helped Grandma and Grandma Mercy when they came over to help with making lunch. That kept us busy all morning, and the fun level kicked up a few notches when Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and the kids arrived shortly before noon. Welcoming them home and unloading their SUV took a while, and by the time we had that done, Mark's parents, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah had joined us; and we were able to sit down and have our lunch. Everyone else was either working, at the airport, or on their way there by then; so the parents and grandparents had time to relax while Alicia and I were kept busy with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden.

The seven of us had a little picnic by the river, and Jaimie and Kaitlyn had time to give me the travel report and a few stories about their summer so far before I went to help with the post-lunch clean-up; and they helped Alicia keep the three toddlers busy until we could all go for a swim. Rowen came to get me when it was time to meet up with Michael and Tim for our final bike practice; and we went over to the farm equipment lot at Landry's where the trailer was set up and ready for the parade except for some signs that would get added in the morning. We ended up bringing Jaimie and Kaitlyn along, but left Jayden and the twins at home so that Alicia wouldn't need to try and keep up with all three of them while we were busy.

Tim was already there and practicing his tricks when we got there, and Michael was only about ten minutes behind us; so we were able to put the entire routine together – including everything we were going to be doing on the street around the trailer; like back and front tire wheelies and one-eighties. The jumps off of the trailer are going to be the coolest looking stunt, but that looks higher than it really is. The bottom of our tires will only get about four feet off the ground; and the dual-suspension makes the landings a breeze.

The entire routine takes about six minutes, but we're doing the tricks in two teams; taking turns two at a time on the trailer and road. I didn't mind one way or the other, so three out of four of us decided that Michael and I would pair up tomorrow while Rowen and Tim rode together instead of a boys against the girls set-up. Since we only have three minutes to fun the little course we have set up on the trailer with the big finishing jump; that half of the routine for each pair is a fast-paced blast of action while the three minutes on the road lets us catch our breath with easier tricks and one blast along the sides of the road to toss candy to the kids of all ages. Finally, Tim was just using a portable stereo today, but Michael picked out music that'll give us a rhythm to work with on the tricks. They're going to customize that a bit tonight so that we'll have a track loop that will fit exactly with our tricks.

Jaimie and Kaitlyn had loved watching us, and had fun trying a few tricks on their bikes too. We took them for ice cream at the Emporium after our practice, and Michael and I had them giggling when we shared a little goodbye hug and kiss before he went back to the Inn and we headed home. We took frozen treats back with us for Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and Rowen and I were in charge of kid control from then on – and the welcoming committee for incoming guests – while everyone else was busy with getting ready for the major dinner meal.

The airport inbound arrivals were first, and Mom was leading the first group because she had his brother and sister-in-law; and four out of five of his nieces and nephews with her – mostly because our minivan had the built-in entertainment system that kept three of the young kids entertained after a very long travel day. We added three out of four of the kids to our play group after helping get their luggage up to two bedrooms at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house. Mark's youngest niece, Noel, is about six months old; her big brother, Noah, turns three this month; and their two oldest cousins, Kellum and Colleen, are going on six and just turned three respectively. Noah and Colleen jumped right in to play with Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and despite the fact that she was a girl, Kellum didn't seem to mind hanging out with Kaitlyn. They are going to make a really cute flower girl and ring-bearer couple. Kellum and Colleen's almost one-year old brother, Julian, was with their parents, and while they were in town nearly at the same time; their first stop was at the Inn to deliver luggage for all four parents – since they were members of the wedding party.

Mark's younger brother, Matthew, looks a lot like their father. He's a doctor too, and his wife, Candice, is a medical researcher; though she isn't working right now so she can be home with Noah and Noel. Their older sister, Maria, specializes in women's medicine, and her husband, Colin, is a Psychologist.

I bet he'd have a field day in Witch Falls if he knew about the Magi here!

Mark's family really is great, and the kids are all adorable, but his father wasn't the only guy who thinks he's nuts to make the move. There were even some half-jokes that Mark told us about passing all of the psychological tests he'd been given by his brother-in-law – and had passed despite the worries that he'd lost his mind. I'll take a guess that Mark's had enough of that, and I'll skip reporting on most of the other sanity-related humor.

While they weren't in the first group back to town, Mark and Grace weren't far behind; and they had his best friends from back home with them. They'd needed to go over to the Inn first too, but then they finally got to do the tour of their new home with Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and both sets of parents. Kids were not allowed along on that first tour, but we did get to go over there after dinner so we could see the house too. The new house earned quick approval from Mark's family, and while I'm thinking about it, that didn't happen when Mark showed his parents the clinic on Monday. I'm sure they'll have a different impression of the new medical center when it's completed in a couple of years. Compared to what they're used to in Seattle, our little clinic probably does seem fifty years out of date.

While I'm still on the subject of construction and houses, one of the reasons why Uncle Blaine took the day off and came here early was so that he could have a meeting this afternoon with the construction contractors. They normally do their meetings by conference call or video, and the occasional meet at Uncle Blaine's office; but this gave him a chance to tour the lab construction site. He did that while we were biking, and seems to be happy with everything so far.

Getting back to the action, while Rowen and I played with the younger kids, the incoming family and friends arrivals continued. We didn't have everyone at the house right away, but everyone who was spending the weekend with us was here by five o'clock. Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, and the kids were first, and we just had time to get their luggage up to three bedrooms before Uncle Adam's cousins, Scott, Melanie, Kara, and Eddie pulled into the crowded driveway. I know that sounds like a lot now that we only have five guest bedrooms, and we are going to be a bit crowded; but since all of the girl cousins, except Violet, will be staying in my room, the lounge, or with Ehlana; the only change from the normal we had to make this time was to have Chris and Martin bunk together until Sunday night when the parents head home.

Rowen was able to stay for dinner, and we were on kid control until the food was ready; and then we supervised the kid tables with help from Violet, Chrissy, Dawn, Chris, Martin, and Jonathan – though the boys were reluctant draftees. It wasn't until after dinner, when we were sent to the park for some playground time, that I stepped out of my little world to see that this was going to be a big home-visits weekend thanks to having a lot of people taking a four-day weekend or vacation time around the Fourth. Rowen needed to go home to help with her own incoming family, but Dawn, Violet, and Chrissy came to the park with me; and we had some grandparent support too with so many kids. We didn't have Chris, Martin, or Jonathan with us – they grabbed bikes and went in search of their friends about a minute after they finished second or third plates of food; and took desserts to go.

As I think about it now, the entire evening was just a fun, action-packed blur. While my main job was to entertain my cousins and the other 'kid' guests, I still managed to at least meet all of Mark's family, the closest friends he and his parents had invited, and the group of Aunt Grace's friends who had come early so they could spend the Fourth of July with us. After playing at the park, there was a round of short canoe rides for the younger kids, and then we went for a swim while the parents and grandparents were busy with the babies and youngest kids; getting the campfire ready; or just continuing the meet and greet around the tables we'd used at dinnertime.

The campfire was mostly for the benefit of the kids who wouldn't be staying with us for the next week or two, and they're all younger; so Mom and Dad planned on a two-hour time limit so we could all get to bed in decent time – though that hasn't worked out for me. My favorite part of the campfire was when Michael stopped in with Dillon after they were done at the Inn. He had a house full of family too, and couldn't stay long, but we had fun for the half hour he could stay, and getting to share a goodnight kiss was pretty good too – even though that meant getting teased some more by my family.

I was on kid control again when it was time to call it a night, and Dawn and I had our own group of girls to help get changed, take turns in the bathrooms, and then tuck them in for the night. Just doing the rounds of goodnight hugs and kisses with everyone heading to other houses or the Inn, and with our own parents, aunts, and uncles and getting all of the younger kids into bed took an hour. Our little girl chat wound down fast because it was so late by the time we had Kaitlyn and Kara settled on the sofa in the lounge; and I'm mostly re-processing everything from today – going over all of the details that I heard and saw but hadn't been able to really think much about while I was busy.

That's probably what it's going to be like for the next four days – non-stop action; and not much time to appreciate everything until later. I've been working while trying to wind down, and took care of some family business in between writing this update and the usual nightly computer checks. There were only work-related email, since most of my regular email buddies are here in town tonight. There was one pep talk message from Carolyn Landry, but I didn't dare answer that – especially since part of her pep talk was a request for all of us to get to bed early so we'd be well-rested for the three o'clock game.

It's too late to take that advice, but I really should at least try to get to sleep, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Fourth of July! (Happy Un-Independence Day, Mom!)

This holiday has been one of my favorites since moving to Witch Falls; and today definitely qualifies as the best-on-ever so far!

We had a bit of rain roll through off and on overnight and early this morning, but that didn't even get in the way of our Tai Chi; and the weather has been great since about eight-thirty or nine. Breakfast was a wild event. With the Inn closed for the day, all of our visiting wedding guests needed to be fed; and we had a total of thirty-six at our house for the meal. Add in the work that needed to be done for our contributions to the food booths and to get everything ready for a day at the park; and the usual holiday crazy was several notches above anything I've experienced here so far.

Being in the parade this year changed a few things too, the biggest being that I needed to be at the school early enough to help with the last bit of work that needed to be done on the trailer and truck we were using; including loading the large baskets of candy we'd be dipping into as we went along the parade route and tossed the treats to the spectators.

Even with everything I'd been doing at home for the nearly three hours since I'd gotten up, I was still ready to go before Rowen was; though that was mostly because she was having second and third thoughts about wearing one of her new biking shorts and top sets during the parade. Owen looked like he was having second thoughts too, but for a completely different reason. It only took me five minutes to convince Rowen to stick with plan 'A', and five more for some hair enhancements that Patricia helped me with; and then we were on our way to the school to meet up with Michael and Tim. They were already working around the trailer, and I may need to transfer that photographic memory moment to digital file some day; because the expressions on their faces were priceless when they saw us.

I can also assure you that Michael had a fairly strong reaction to my outfit when we shared a little good morning hug and kiss too.

We all needed to finish getting everything ready, and we had time to run through our trick repertoire once before it was time for Tim's Dad to get the truck and trailer lined up and in the spot we'd been placed for the parade between one of the VIP classic cars and a fashion show float that Palmers was sponsoring. That gave us time to visit with some of our friends, and take a look around at the other parade elements that we wouldn't get to see or listen to this year.

That seemed strange, and I missed getting to share all of the fun with my family; but being in the parade and sharing the experience with Rowen, Michael, and Tim was a blast too – especially once we found out right from the start that we were a hit with everyone watching us – or almost everyone. We had Tim and Rowen start out on the trailer while Michael and I were on the road; and Tim's Dad turned on the music as soon as he had the trailer straightened out behind the truck and on the road.

Our 'street' obstacle course was fairly simple. There were two rows down the middle of the trailer for each rider to navigate the length of; we switched lanes for the return trip; and then there were two ramps on each side of the trailer near the back that we used for our big, tandem, three-sixty jump to the ground. The obstacles included a balance beam, boxes of varying sizes to bunny hop on and off, and a couple of things to jump over along the way. We each had some variations of the tricks, so there was some variety too; and we all seem to have a knack for showing off.

We'd been sure that the jumps would get the biggest reaction from the crowds, and they did, but they weren't actually the hardest tricks to do – especially while the trailer was moving. While doing the 'road' part of our routine, by the time we finished a candy-tossing run there really wasn't all that much time for wheelies and one-eighties; but Michael and I – and Tim and Rowen, when it was their turn – managed to fit in three passes along the truck and trailer in the minute and a half we had before needing to hop on the trailer again.

There was a little extra showing off each time we were passing members of our own families – and all of the extra guests that were home for Aunt Grace and Mark's wedding. I didn't get to hand out candy to my brother, sister, and cousins; but Michael and I did pull off one of our best sets of tricks of the day for them while it was our turn on the trailer. By then, we were almost to the park, so we only had time to run through our routine three more times before Tim's father turned right onto River Road after crossing the bridge instead of going into the park and trying to turn around there.

He parked the trailer at the lab construction site, and we got to work on packing everything up while waiting for the roads to clear. Rowen and I dealt with the signs, decorations, and candy while Michael and Tim helped Martin with quickly disassembling everything on the trailer and loading it all into the back of the truck. Once that was done, Martin set us free so we could bike home once the parade was over, but he needed to wait until the crowds heading into the park along Quarry Road cleared before he could get back across the river too.

Getting home took us a while, mostly because we needed to stop regularly to spend a few minutes with our respective families and some friends. I didn't really think about it until then, but this was really the first time that I've gotten that kind of public attention in my life. Michael had his music, and he and Tim both get attention when they play sports, but this was new for Rowen too. We had fun, but there is still a little part of me that was cringing and worried about the dangers of getting noticed like that.

Old habits and fears are hard to get over; but then new things – like spending a lot of my time with Michael today – can be very easy to get used to; and like a lot!

My first order of business after getting home was to grab a quick shower, and then get dressed for baseball; though I wore a swimsuit too in case we wanted to cool off in the river before or after the game. I met up with Rowen and Michael for the walk back to the park, but Tim had already hooked up with Nora and the gang they were going to hang out with for the afternoon by then; so we didn't see him much until our baseball game started at three.

Mom and Dad were taking a turn this year working a food booth – mostly because the Fix-it Uppers weren't playing a noon game. Grandma and Grandpa were officially watching Ethan and Ehlana while they were busy, but Michael, Rowen, Dawn, and I all joined in to help with kid control while we had lunch; and then we played with the mid-aged kids – like Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and Eddie – for an hour and a half or so until Rowen and I needed to get to our warm-ups.

That was another wild blast of non-stop action, with a blur of little cameo visits that were all fun, while not really giving us much time to spend with anyone other than the kids we were helping to entertain. One thing that was really different this year was not having a cheerleading competition with – or against – Miranda at the noon co-ed ball game. I wasn't the only person missing that today; and there were noticeably fewer spectators watching the Gas Guzzlers play the Big Shots. We checked in with Miranda and Jacob a couple of times, and Miranda seemed particularly happy to see us spending the afternoon together – even though that meant that Michael wasn't spending much time at all with his grandparents, uncle, aunt, or cousins.

We managed to play quite a few games with the kids before our ball game, and though the games continued for my cousins and the other kids while Rowen and I were busy with our team warm-ups; quite a few of them came to watch the game and join the cheerleading squad that Dawn led with some lawn chair support from Aunt Leanne.

I mentioned earlier that not quite everyone was thrilled with our biking demonstration, and you probably guessed correctly that it was Vanessa and Nora who were not impressed. The reason I bring that up now is because there were some tweeird zone moments for me to go along with the baseball highlights. First up for that was when I picked Michael for my good luck hug and kiss partner before the game. That earned me another loud scolding from Coach Sarah; whistles from Miranda and Aunt Leanne; and the full-out fire-and-ice glare from Vanessa. All of that helped to motivate me, and Michael didn't seem to mind helping me out with that little change in recent tradition; so I didn't have a problem with being teased about it – or having Vanessa mad at me. Dad needed a hug after the game, and seemed just a little disappointed to find out that he was out of a job as a baseball good luck charm; but I think he'll be okay.

We were the home team today, so the Cheetahs were at bat first. They didn't get off to a great start, and I have to wonder if that was because of getting some bad information about our team – and Rowen and me specifically. As I think about the scenes from the game now, there were definitely some smirks being directed my way in the lead-up to nearly every hit belted toward me during the first few innings; and Rowen was tested a half-dozen times too. Unfortunately for the Cheetahs, that didn't work out very well. In the first inning alone, I caught a fly ball for an out; Rowen held the second batter to a single; and Rebecca and Carolyn helped me turn the double play that I started by letting the hit from their fourth batter bounce in front of me to force the surprised base runner to try to get to second base even though it was already too late by then.

I'll admit that my first base hit of the game was intentionally directed at Vanessa, but it was also placed so she had no chance of catching it anyway; and getting that double was the only time I picked on her during the game. It was satisfying getting to score the first run of the game when Carolyn dropped a hit in for a single that let me get home from third after advancing there on a sacrifice fly.

Nobody was surprised that Carolyn was the best player on the field today, but even she was a bit surprised to see Rowen and I playing a best game of the season so far. Thanks to Carolyn, Rebecca, and Jenny; Rowen and I scored six of our ten runs. We also were in on eleven of the defensive outs. The Cheetahs managed to score seven runs, but five of them came on two home runs; including the three runs they scored in the top of the last inning that came just before Rowen earned the last out with a fairly impressive, on-the-run, pop-fly catch.

I really do love winning, but this is the first time I've gone through a post-game scene where there were anyone was actually mad at me; and Vanessa and Nora were both throwing off some very unpleasant empathic vibes. Trying to deal with that silent anger while doing the post-game team handshakes – and offering support to other friends on the Cheetahs' team who were genuinely disappointed – wasn't easy. Fortunately, we needed to vacate the field for the dinnertime match for the men's division game; so that tweeird zone moment didn't last long. We weren't doing a post-game celebration because it was dinnertime; and Rowen and I rejoined our family to help out with kid control while parents and grandparents did the food booth runs.

Michael spent that next couple of hours with his family, and after having dinner, Rowen and I ran home to grab showers again and get into more comfortable clothes for the evening dance and fireworks. We met up with Michael at the park again about a half-hour before the dance started, and while Rowen attempted to make an escape and leave us alone, we added Dawn to the group instead; and the four of us played a couple of games before going to the dance.

What a difference a year makes! Getting set up to dance together for just one song last year was a lot different than how it felt to dance with Michael tonight. There was a big difference between being pushed together and having people cut in and split us up – including once when my giggling sister and brother wanted to dance with Michael and me. It may have been Aunt Leanne's suggestion, but they were enthusiastic about their mission.

It wasn't as if I danced exclusively with Michael anyway – I went for a spin with Dad and Grandpa; and we were out on the dance area in groups for all of the up-tempo songs. Michael could dance just fine last year, but I think he's been practicing for the wedding; because he's learned some line dancing and was a lot more confident leading tonight. Rowen and Dawn weren't matchmaking victims, but they did both get asked to dance by some non-relative boys – one for Dawn; and two for Rowen. We'll have to find time to talk about it in more detail, but Rowen didn't notice the effect those dance offers had on 'Tommy' tonight until I pointed it out to her when we met up after the two-song set she'd spent dancing with the first of the guys. He wasn't being too obvious about it, since he was dancing with his girlfriend; but he did keep an eye on Rowen for the rest of the night while looking slightly perplexed – as if he was trying to figure out why what he was seeing was bugging him.

I'd help him out with that, but he wouldn't believe me right now anyway.

That news flash made Rowen very happy, and her brighter smiles and laughs had as much impact on 'Tommy' as on the guys who were dancing with her. She didn't spend any serious time off of the dance floor with either guy because she didn't want to start anything with guys she wasn't interested in; but it was fun to see her step away from the usual shyness around guys even that little bit.

Tweeirdness alert!

Rowen wasn't the only person getting some attention from members of the opposite sex. Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were even more popular than last summer, and things started getting tweeird when Vanessa invited Martin to dance with her – and then pulled him into the group that she was hanging out with – including Tim and Nora.

And I thought that it was weird last year when Jenny and Rebecca were spending so much time with Martin and Jonathan!

Speaking of Jenny, she was still technically dating Shane this morning, but they broke up sometime today; and she was with Joel every time I saw her at the park – and he was watching most of our ballgame today too. I'm sure that was hard on Shane, and I hope he had friends helping him deal with it. Jenny should have tried to handle that better, but as I mentioned earlier this week; she's temporarily lost her mind. Maybe it's my own history that affects how I feel about relationships, but even if I didn't know what I do about my future; I can't imagine a scenario where Michael would just be the first of a string of boyfriends for me the way that Jenny has been going through boyfriends since crossing over.

I'm like Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne – I want the fairytale!

Moving on, even while having breakfast and dinner, I didn't actually get to spend much time with Mom and Dad today, and while hanging out with the other tweens and teens for the fireworks had been an option; Michael was okay with the idea when I suggested that we watch the fireworks with my family. That meant that we had Rowen, Dawn, Ethan, Ehlana, and all of my younger cousins around us, so it was far from a romantic end to our Fourth of July; but it was really fun and special to get to share that family time with him. We sat on a blanket in front of Mom and Dad, and Ethan and Ehlana sat in our laps most of the time during the fireworks display. Rowen and Dawn were next to us, and had Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and most of the other girls with them. Michael and Ethan got teased a bit about being the only guys; but Ethan thought that was hilarious, and Michael was happy to put up with the teasing in exchange for cuddling with Ehlana and me; and sharing the occasional kiss with me.

We had to settle for a fairly short goodnight hug and kiss after the fireworks show ended because he needed to go help his parents haul their day camp gear home; and I needed to do the same with my family. He was home before I was, so I didn't see him again during the walk from the park; and I've been busy since then helping with the work and getting the younger kids into bed for the night.

Ehlana got to have Kaitlyn with her tonight, so Dawn and I have Jaimie and Kara with us; and all three girls – and Mandy – are sleeping now while I'm again sitting in the window alcove with my computer. It's after one-thirty, and we have another busy day ahead tomorrow; but I needed the wind down time again, and there's always more work I can do when I can't sleep and need to think.

One note that I should add from today that Violet told us about tonight is that Chrissy McEwan and Josiah Palmer found out that they are going to the same college. That isn't a surprise for Ethan, Ehlana, and me, since they're both important enough to our future plans for us to see parts of what's meant to be for their future; and it's going to be fun watching that develop between now and when all of our favorite freshmen leave on their college adventures in August.

There were some other stories being passed around tonight too, but I'm sure there was a lot that I missed out on today; and it may even take a few days before I hear all of the stories – especially since we'll be in wedding mode for the next three days. We have more incoming guests tomorrow, and a lot of work will be going on; but the only thing going through my mind right now in association with 'wedding' is 'first date with Michael'. He's going to be busy between the Inn and his own family guests for the next two days, and now that the parade is over; we won't have the daily bike practices either. Add in a holiday weekend buffet day on Sunday; and the only times we may even see each other will be at the wedding and at church on Sunday.

I'm still obstinately sticking to the notion that we need to have that first 'official' date before we can use boyfriend or girlfriend labels, but after today, and thinking about how not seeing Michael much is making me feel right now; that's pretty much just semantics at this point – even though I'll still wait until Saturday night to publicly concede the obvious.

Right now, though, I need to go to bed. I'll be lucky to get four hours of sleep, and while the Inn will be open for breakfast so we don't have extra guests to feed; we do still have twenty people to feed, and seven younger kids to help and keep entertained while the parents are busy, so I really need to wrap this up and have that little nap.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, July 5, 2013

My day is ending the same way it did the last two nights – with me sitting in the window alcove with my computer while three of my cousins are sleeping in my bed or on the sectional sofa in the lounge. I was crazy-busy all day again too, though the work and fun were both a lot different than it was for the holiday.

After Tai Chi and breakfast, one of my first jobs was supposed to be cutting the lawn, but Aunt Melissa drafted Chris and Martin to do that; and I worked in the gardens with Dawn, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara instead. Dawn, Jaimie, and Kara all had to go for hair appointments first before helping me to plant some new flowers, but Kaitlyn was in the wedding party; so her appointment isn't until late tomorrow morning.

We went swimming a couple of times to cool off and get rid of some of the dirt from the gardening – especially right before lunch; and then my job for the afternoon was to keep my younger cousins, brother, and sister entertained while the adults and teens were all busy with other things. Rowen and Dawn helped me with that, and it was fun getting to play even while it kept all three of us running to keep up with the gang we were watching.

There were two trips to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to see the pavilion tent. Our first visit ended because a couple of the boys were a little too enthusiastic, and were getting in the way of the men and women who were raising the pavilion. We didn't return until the work was done, and then we still had to be careful while the younger kids raced and chased each other around the tables, chairs, and poles. After doing that with them, spending an hour running around at the park, doing a major ice cream run to the Emporium, and going for two more swims; Rowen, Dawn, and I were definitely ready for the little break that the parents gave us before dinner.

While I'm at that brief pause in the action, let's go over some of the things that were going on today that I wasn't involved in at all. Our house – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's – were where most of the final wedding preparations were happening. There was also a crew at the church this morning to decorate the sanctuary, and a handful of shopping volunteers dealing with the errands to re-stock food and supplies; and pick up everything from dry cleaning to bakery orders.

On the tweeird side, Martin spent some time this afternoon with Vanessa. I strongly suspect that she has revised the game plan for Michael, based on a couple of smirks that were directed my way this afternoon; but she may actually like Martin too. Martin was enjoying the attention, and definitely likes her if the vibe he was giving off at dinnertime was any indication. If they're going to hook up while he's here for the next two weeks, there is sure to be more than a little tweeird in my life. Chris and Jonathan haven't made any love connections yet that I'm aware of, but we'll see if that lasts through the weekend – there are going to be a lot of people at the wedding.

Getting back to the main story, while Rowen, Dawn, and I had a little break before we had the little snack dinner that would tie us over until the rehearsal party later; we were back in charge of the kids' tables again while we ate. We followed that up by leading the evening entertainment for all of the kids except babies, Kellum, and Kaitlyn while the members of the wedding party were at the church for the rehearsal. Our play time included another visit to the park, an optional swim in the river, and some back yard action that included some little canoe rides that Rowen and Dawn led while I was in charge of the lawn games. We needed to move the gang down to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's when it was time for the party to start.

There had been more guests arriving right through until then, so there were a whole new group of friends of the bride, groom, and their families to meet. Every room at the Inn was full, and so was every guest bedroom that Aunt Leanne and Grandma could arrange. Most of the incoming today were from the Granite Park area, though there was one more group from Seattle too.

I especially loved getting to meet all of Aunt Grace's and Mark's best friends, and their long-time family friends, but since I was also still helping out with the younger kids; there wasn't time for more than little cameo chats and a handful of favorite stories. It was a little strange to find out that Aunt Leanne and I were both known by all of those friends while the jokes and teasing were fun too. I even had two girls want to watch a movie and cuddle with me just in case it'd work for them too!

Moving along, there was too big a gang to feed to do that indoors, so we used the pavilion instead. There was just too much going on to cover here, but the highlights included an open house next door for anyone who wanted to check out Aunt Grace and Mark's new home; the food was great; and though Chris, Martin, and Jonathan had a group of video gamers with them in the third-floor game room; there were also more lawn games to play too. That's what Rowen, Dawn, and I were doing a lot of the time, though our group started shrinking by ten-thirty when the youngest kids started running out of steam. A group of Dads and Grandfathers put an end to our fun at eleven-thirty when they were drafted to get all kids and most teens heading back to their assigned homes and off to bed.

Rowen went home then, while Dawn and I helped Dad and our uncles with getting the younger cousins ready for bed and tucked in for the night. That was delayed a bit when Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne came home with Mom at midnight because Jaimie and Kaitlyn needed a little extra time with Aunt Grace before they were ready to settle in for the night on the sofa in the lounge. That reminded me again of just how big a deal Aunt Grace's move to Witch Falls is for her nieces. She's lived close to them their entire lives, and it's going to be very different for them to not see her several times a week like they have until now. It's probably a good thing that they'll be with us for a week so they'll be too busy having fun to miss their aunt after the wedding.

Ehlana has Kara with her tonight; and Violet is bunking with Chrissy so that Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne could us her room. Jaimie and Kaitlyn fell asleep fairly soon after being tucked in by Aunt Grace, but Dawn and I talked for another half hour before she nodded off. I waited until then to kick my computing into a higher gear, but there really isn't that much for me to do tonight while in the middle of a four-day weekend.

That's giving me a bit too much time to think about Michael and me; and our first date. I wouldn't say that I'm scared, but there are equal parts of excitement and nervousness. You may be thinking that because I have the Sight there shouldn't be anything to worry about, but knowing what parts of the bigger picture are supposed to be like doesn't mean that there won't be good and bad surprises along the way; and I can't help but wonder whether having a first date at something as big as a wedding is a good or bad idea. When you think about it, I don't have much control over anything; and we'll have my entire family and a lot of our friends and neighbors there to witness the event – whether it goes great or bombs spectacularly.

I wonder if anyone would notice if we skipped the reception and went with a pizza and a movie night in instead? Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

That would be a terrible waste of shopping effort too after going through all the trouble of finding the perfect dress and shoes; so I guess I'm committed. Then again, some of the younger girls probably think I should be committed – though they do at least concede that Michael is different, and nicer, than most of the boys our age.

Been there recently enough to relate. ;^)

It really is past-time when I should be sleeping, so I'm going to wrap this up now and try to do that. There's only about thirteen hours to go before the wedding ceremony, and even I'm going to eventually run out of steam if I put too many nights together with only four or five hours of sleep.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Congratulations, Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark!

I know they're technically my cousins, but I've really been looking forward to having an 'Uncle' Mark.

It's time to confirm that I also officially have a boyfriend too. I'll get to the details of that later in the update.

Mom, Dad, and I had Aunt Leanne with us this morning for Tai Chi, and then we jumped straight from the calm of our exercising into the breakfast and morning routine. Having Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne with us for breakfast was fun – especially watching Aunt Grace and Uncle Blaine together. The banter was entertaining, and the love was palpable and touching.

There wasn't actually all that much time available for having breakfast, and while almost all of the women in our house had to make visits to the salon and other things to do around the house before getting ready for the wedding, Dawn and I had to juggle keeping our cousins and the other kids entertained with helping out with the car wash and pavilion decorating going on at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. Uncle Adam had lots of help for both jobs, and though Dawn and I had extra girls with us while we were decorating, there was parental support for the rest of the kids; with most of the jobs meant to keep us busy and out of trouble until lunchtime.

That meal was at our house, and Grandpa led the grilling; offering hotdogs and burgers from eleven-thirty until one o'clock to go along with the rest of the buffet options that were available with everyone eating whenever they could make the time to do that. I ate early, and then helped some of my cousins to get ready for the wedding while waiting for my turn to grab a shower. My bedroom and lounge was where Mom and Aunt Melissa had set up hair and make-up stations, so my bathroom was just being used for showers – as were the guest bathrooms on the second and third floor while Mom and Dad's bathroom was exclusively for the bride, matron of honor, and the bridesmaids – though only Aunt Alison got ready for the wedding here while Mark's sister and sister-in-law did that in their rooms at the Inn instead.

It seems funny now as I write this that the most time I spent talking with Mom today was when she helped me with my hair before I got dressed. We went with some small braiding accents, a small, fancy hair clip that matched my dress; and some curls that looked amazing when she was done with it. The dress, and the necklace and earrings from Mom and Dad's wedding, looked as great as I'd hoped; and by a quarter to two, I had joined the other girls in the living room who were ready to go; but waiting for the men to clear out of Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house so that we could walk over there with Aunt Grace for the bridal party photos.

The second-best compliment I was given today came from Dad when he joked about either having me stay home sick or wear a full-length dress coat the entire time I was at the wedding and reception; and I'll get to the best compliment in a minute; but it's funny that he didn't have the same reaction to Mom – and she looked way hotter than I did. I'm sure perspective has everything to do with that.

We got the all-clear call at five-to-two, so the non-wedding party parents gathered up the cousins, nieces, and nephews for the walk over to the back yard of Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's new house. The 'kid' pictures were being done first so that most of us could then be rounded up and driven over to the church while the rest of the photos were being taken; and Ethan, Ehlana, and I were in three of those first shots with Aunt Grace – one with just the three of us; and two group photos. The first of those was with the kids and teens on Aunt Grace's side of the family and the second included Mark's cousins, nieces, and nephews too. Once that last picture was taken, I was set free to go and pick up my date!

That brings us to the best compliment I got today. Michael opened the door about five seconds after I rang the doorbell, his beautiful blue eyes lit up and opened wide when he saw me; and he blurted out "I love you, Cassie" before blushing when he realized that he had said something completely different from what he'd likely planned on saying. In case you missed the actual compliment, it was the complete loss of control over what he wanted to say – the 'I love you' was a nice added bonus. He didn't look away or show any signs that he regretted telling me that even if he was a bit embarrassed; so he didn't miss seeing my happy reaction to his unintended admission. It really is amazing just how much power those three little words have, and if Michael was surprised about telling me that; he was floored when I stepped close for a hug and whispered "I love you too" before sharing a soft, brief kiss.

That is one of those moments that make me so grateful for my photographic memory!

We weren't alone, or that kiss might have been a bit more serious. One of Michael's cousins had been asked to take pictures of us for Miranda before we left, so she took a couple of them in the living room and then out in the front yard while the guys had fun teasing Michael. By two-thirty, we were set free to start walking to the church; and we were both smiling brightly as we held hands and headed toward Quarry Road.

Michael's reaction to me had been even better than I'd expected, but I was impressed too. He was wearing a new suit that looked great on him, and though it was a very hot day to be stuck wearing a tie; he should think about wearing them more often than he does. His hair looked good too, and while he hasn't been into the gel and other things that some of the guys use, he must've added something today to keep it from getting messed up in the breeze – though it still looked as soft and thick as always.

There' s one more thing I'll add before moving on, and though it didn't matter to me at all; I know – and knew – that it was a big deal for Michael. We're currently exactly the same height – five feet, one inch. He never said a word to me about it from the time I invited him to the wedding until now, but he had been worried about how much taller I'd look compared to him if I'd gone with heels and a 'big' hair style. Knowing that was the main reason my shoe choice didn't have as much of a heel as my cross trainers; and my hair style was down and pulled back. We didn't talk about it today either, but I could sense the relief along with the love and happiness while we were walking together.

What we did talk about was what we'd each been doing for the last day and a half. I gave him the condensed version of the action that had been going on around my family; and then he had time to tell me about a few things that had happened at the Inn and what he'd been doing with his visiting family in between work. We were getting some attention from the neighbors and friends we passed along the way; and we found out from Stephanie later that we were a big hit – according to the reports delivered to Miranda at the Inn by some of those witnesses.

We made an impression when we walked into the sanctuary too; and I loved walking down the aisle holding Uncle Adam's arm while he quietly teased me about quite possibly being the second-prettiest girl at the wedding today. That was sweet, but he probably changed his mind about that the moment he saw Aunt Leanne walk down the aisle – even if Michael agreed with him.

Mom and Dad were there with Ethan and Ehlana by then, so we were seated with them in the third row – behind Grandma, Grandpa, and about half of the Rice family. Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy would be in the front row ahead of us when they arrived, but Jaimie and Jayden were already there; and sitting with Grandpa Richard, Grandma Carrie, and Dawn. I would've preferred having Dawn in front of us instead of Chris and Martin; but only because it would have been more fun to talk with her. Aunt Melissa made sure that my cousins didn't tease me much; and they didn't really have much time to do that before the mothers of the bride and groom were seated just before Pastor Lewis led Uncle Mark and the other men in the wedding party to the front of the sanctuary while Pastor Martha closed the main doors – a sure sign that the bridal party had arrived.

Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace were having a reception that was a bit larger than the one for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, but the sanctuary was less than half full. That seemed strange, but wasn't really surprising since Aunt Grace didn't grow up here; and Uncle Mark didn't yet know all that many people yet – though he would soon enough once he begins working at the clinic. The advantage that smaller crowd had for me was that I could see more of the processional than I would have been able to if the sanctuary had been full.

When the doors were opened again, Kaitlyn and Kellum led the way down the aisle; and they really were adorable. There was a lot to take in right then, but now that I have time to replay the scene, I really love seeing things like Uncle Blaine's reaction to seeing his younger daughter that was so much like how Dad looked when Dawn and I were doing that at Mom and Dad's wedding. The reactions of the men to their respective wives was wonderful too, and going back to Uncle Blaine again, there was definitely a feeling of déjà vu for me comparing his reactions to both his wife and his sister that was exactly how Dad looked at Aunt Leanne's wedding. Well, this time around Aunt Leanne is the pregnant woman in the bridal party, instead of the wife of the bride's brother; but then Uncle Adam's reaction to seeing his wife was awesome too.

Getting back to the processional, Uncle Mark's sister-in-law, Candice, was next in line; followed by Aunt Alison, his sister, Maria, and Aunt Leanne. There was some more déjà vu when I first saw Aunt Grace with Grandpa Duncan. I guess I'll probably feel that way at every wedding, but I hadn't gone to any weddings before Mom and Dad's; and they'll always feel magical to me.

Of course I was also holding hands with the boy who had just told me for the first time that he loves me; so there was already a little Witch Falls magic in the air – and more than enough warm fuzzies to share with everyone.

There were lots of warm fuzzy moments over the next twenty minutes or so. Some members of Uncle Mark's family may still think he's nuts to be moving to our little town, but there couldn't possibly be anyone in the sanctuary today with any doubt at all about whether he and Aunt Grace were in love. My favorite moments included the little things – like Grandpa Duncan having Kaitlyn climb up into his lap and wiping away tears before hugging him after he'd placed Aunt Grace's hand into Uncle Mark's. I didn't get specifically mentioned when they exchanged vows, but the word 'matchmakers' did come up once; and I'm sure that nearly everyone knew that Aunt Leanne and I were the primary members of that little group. That seemed even funnier today while I was holding hands with Michael; though I still have a very different opinion about being an eleven and twelve-year old target of a matchmaking conspiracy.

Before you say anything after reading that, Rowen, don't forget that you are a willing client in our matchmaking mission this summer.

Even on replay, the actual wedding ceremony is practically a blink in time compared to the months – and thousands of hours – of work that go into creating that perfect moment. A longer ceremony might be okay in the Fall or Spring, but it was very hot in the sanctuary at three o'clock today; so everyone was happy to get Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace married quickly and then get outside again where there was at least a breeze to help out with the heat. If it's this hot tomorrow, I'll guess that we'll have one of those short Sunday services too.

While most of the parents and youngest kids had rides back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house, there were also a lot of pedestrians too who were either going on to do something else until the social hour before dinner started at five; or were walking back so that we didn't use vehicles and drivers that weren't really needed. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace had been whisked away in their limousine for a little 'victory lap' around town, so they probably didn't get to the house much ahead of us. Michael and I walked there with Dawn, Rowen, and some of the other kids and teens. We had time to grab cold bottles of water in the pavilion, but then we needed to be at the next photo shoot – where the kids and teens pictures with the bride, groom, and wedding party were again being taken first before the younger kids – and some of the teens – were too restless to keep under control.

I wasn't surprised when Michael was included in most of the pictures I was part of the group for – except for two 'girls only' shots with the bride and groom. We both expected to be helping out with the younger kids today, and we started doing that as soon as we were finished with the photo shoot. At first, all we needed to do was keep an eye on Ethan, Ehlana, and a bunch of the younger cousins and friends while they all had drinks and a snack break, but then we needed to work a bit at keeping them entertained while still mostly staying clean and out of mischief.

Playing with a bunch of kids probably isn't something that most tweens and teens would consider fun for first – or any – dates, and I won't tell you it was the best part of our day; but we did have fun. None of us were dressed for sports, but tossing a Frisbee around or playing croquet wasn't too tough – even for those of us who were wearing dresses. Aunt Leanne also had activity books and crayons available in the pavilion; so Dawn had a small group of kids doing that for a while too while Michael, Rowen, and I were busy with the rest of the kids.

The social hour before dinner started at five o'clock, and we soon had more inbound kids joining us. We had some help, and only had about another forty-five minutes of play time left before parents started rounding up their kids and going to find tables to sit at in the pavilion. Most of the seating was unassigned, but Michael, Rowen, Dawn, and I were at a family 'kids' table with Ethan, Ehlana, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn. Again, not a romantic, candlelit dinner for two kind of date; but Ethan and Ehlana especially made up for that with their amazing 'normal toddler' act.

Since we're pretty much to the dinner part of the night, I wanted to mention that Violet and Dillon were both juggling being wedding guests with trying to help Jake and Stephanie with their catering job. Even doing a buffet set-up was a lot of work; So Violet and Dillon helped out right up until the members of the wedding party were invited to get up and begin filling their plates; and then they went back to work again once it was time to start clearing the tables after dessert. Michael felt a bit guilty about not helping too, but Stephanie and Violet in particular had refused to let him do that while we were on our first date. Their excuse for why being on a date wasn't a problem for Violet and Dillon too was explained away by advising us that making money for college superseded date rules when you were down to just weeks left to add cash to the college fund.

As for the meal that Jacob and Jake put together for us, it was just as spectacular as the one they did last year for Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah. Whether you were at one of the first tables to be called up for the buffet or the last there was some waiting around time – either before or after dinner. For us, it was after we'd eaten, and though there were the usual speeches and reception entertainment; we also took some of the kids outside to play again once they started getting too restless from sitting around so much. It was eight-thirty by the time the last groups of guests were finished dessert and the clean-up kicked into high gear; and that was also when Mom decided that Michael and I – and Rowen and Dawn – needed to be set free from helping out with the younger kids for the rest of the night.

While I'm in that interlude between dinner and the start of the dance; let's get the tweeird for the night mentioned – and then ignore it. First up: Patrick was not a happy camper tonight, and while he still talked to me the few times I spoke to him first, he wouldn't talk to Michael at all. I've seen 'the icy glare' often enough recently to know why Michael was on the receiving end of it, and while I can empathize; Patrick is going to have to get over his crush on me. That did have me looking around at the younger girls, but if Michael has any younger girls crushing on him too; they weren't at the reception tonight.

He does have Vanessa, though, which brings me to the other tweeirdness of the night. I didn't get the details, and I guess they don't actually matter, but Vanessa was at the reception with Martin from shortly before the dance started until after it ended. I tried not to let that bug me, but it was annoying to have her watching us a lot to see how our date was going while she also seemed to be trying to make Michael jealous by getting close and personal with my older, handsome, high-school bound cousin.

Thankfully, none of that really made an impact on Michael and me; and I'm not going to write anything else about those ongoing moments of tweeird. When Mom and some of the other parents took over entertaining the younger kids, we sat down and had cold drinks with Rowen and Dawn for a few minutes, and then went for a walk by ourselves for the bit of time we had before Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace were invited to share their first husband and wife dance. We were sharing our first 'boyfriend-girlfriend' dance about ten minutes later, and I'm again glad that I'll be able to remember that dance forever.

We spent most of the next four hours together, though we both needed to dance with other people too; and we sat with Rowen, Dawn, and a rotating group of tweens and teens when we weren't dancing or visiting with people at other tables. My favorite parts of the dance included everything Michael and I did together; having Aunt Leanne, Violet, and Ehlana all cut in on me at different times; and the little bits of time we got to spend with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace.

I had absolutely no involvement with most of the action going on around the bride and groom. They were especially busy trying to spend time with Mark's family, and with friends that they wouldn't see regularly anymore now that they were both moving here. Trying to fit all of that, and a few dances, into just three hours was impossible; but they did try their best. Aunt Grace made the change out of her wedding gown into the dress she'd picked for travel comfort in only about twenty minutes; and by a quarter to twelve; she and Uncle Mark were both ready for the last round of dances with their parents, best man, and matron of honor.

When they left in the limousine, Michael, Rowen, Dawn, and I wandered out front to watch them go; but we didn't join the group seeing them off because they already had a big enough group around them with the wedding party, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. Since we were over by Rowen's house, we did get to exchange waves with them as they passed us; and then we went back to the pavilion for the rest of the dance.

There's a lot that I've skipped over and wasn't involved in either – like bedtime for most of the younger kids – but there are some things that I should include. While the dinner was invitation only, we had lots of extra, casual guests stopping in during the dance; and Vanessa wasn't the only person to get invited for that part of the evening. I'll take a wild guess that Stephanie and Violet may have been involved in Josiah Palmer's invite, but he and Chrissy seemed very happy to hang out with their friends and go dancing together. 'Tommy' was there for about an hour with his parents and girlfriend; and I know for sure that he had a tough time trying not to be obvious while watching Rowen. I didn't get a chance to talk to her about it, but she smiled a lot while he was there; and I'm sure she noticed his attention too.

I don't think we're going to need until the Labor Day weekend to succeed in our little summer challenge!

Getting back to the wedding report, but still skipping over lots of details – like the babysitting support that Mom and Aunt Leanne had set up for the kids that ran out of steam early; Michael and I spent most of that last hour dancing together, including during the last set of ballads that the band ended the night with. While working with Jake and Stephanie hadn't been allowed, I was on the pavilion clean-up crew. Michael wouldn't let me walk him home first and come back to help out; so we both spent more than a half hour doing that while the remaining members of the wedding party and the parents of the bride and groom saw the rest of their guests on their way home or to the Inn. The tables, chairs, and pavilion wouldn't be taken down until Monday sometime, but we had everything else cleaned up by two o'clock.

Dawn had gone back to our house by then, but Michael and I walked next door with Rowen before going on to his house. I'll find out tomorrow, but won't be surprised if she was one of the witnesses to the goodnight kiss Michael and I shared on his front porch.

She won't know that it wasn't the last one until we get a chance to talk tomorrow. ;^)

That's because I mentioned to Michael that I was going to get changed and jump into the river to cool off before going to bed; and he offered to go for the swim with me.

He's really great about making the little sacrifices like that for me!

We met out on the dock at my house ten minutes later, and though we were left alone, Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon all thought that going for a dip in the river was such a good idea that they did the same thing over at the Stone's house. That meant that Michael and I got whistled at during our last goodnight kiss, but then one of those whistles came from Miranda; and it sounded like she and Jacob had decided to wind down on the back porch before going to bed.

I suppose that Michael and I better just get used to those whistles and jokes, because I definitely plan on sharing goodnight kisses with him on a regular basis from now on!

Anyway, we only swam for about fifteen or twenty minutes; the goodnight hug, kiss, and whistles didn't take long; and then I went up to bed after sharing some more goodnight hugs and kisses with the members of my family that were still awake, in the kitchen, and grinning at me when I joined them there. I had Dawn, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara all in my room and the lounge tonight; and they were all sleeping by the time I took a change of clothes with me into the bathroom and got ready for bed.

That's where I'm going to be heading now, but I've been sitting in the window alcove again while doing my nightly computing, writing this journal update, and enjoying the memory replays of the highlights from today. It is after three o'clock now, though, and we're one of the host houses doing breakfast for everyone who is staying at the Inn. I'm on the cooking crew for that, and while Mom, Dad, and I agreed to skip Tai Chi; that still means we need to be up in less than three hours – especially since we will also be juggling bathroom time for twenty to get ready for church.

I can't put this wedding ahead of Mom and Dad's, or Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's, but it does rate fairly high on the best-day-ever-so-far list. Michael and I will probably get teased about having our first date at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's wedding, but the good news for him is that it will make remembering our dating anniversary very easy to remember.

What I'm going to remember right now as I go off to sleep is that Michael Stone told me that he loves me for the first time today. There's no better ending to this report than that, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Michael Stone is my boyfriend!

Oh yeah, you already knew that from yesterday, but it was a news story around town today; and there were two people who were not happy to get that grapevine bulletin.

Of course, while Michael and I are a couple now, we didn't get to spend much time together today except at church; during his afternoon lunch break; and when we went for a swim after he was finished work for the night. He was busy the rest of the time at the Inn, and I had another crazy-busy morning; helped with the massive lunch we put on at our house; and then spent the rest of the day playing with Rowen and my cousins while most of the parents and grandparents were away driving wedding guests and Mark's family to the airport.

I'm getting ahead of the story, though, so let's back up to this morning – starting with waking up at a bit after six o'clock. Mandy and my cousins were all still sleeping then; so I grabbed a quick shower, dried my hair, and threw on some shorts and a top before going down to the kitchen and getting to work. Mom and Dad weren't there yet, but I knew what the main breakfast menu plan was; so I started mixing up pancake batter after starting the first pot of coffee brewing. I had four batches ready by the time Dad joined me; and he started working on cooking sausage and making the pancakes while I moved on to scrambling a couple dozen eggs. Mom, Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Rick joined the work crew next, and I was re-tasked to set both the dining room table and the patio table on the back porch; where most of the kids and teens were going to have breakfast in groups.

We'd gotten a dash of rain between the time I went to sleep and woke up, and it was cloudy; but the grass had already pretty much dried by the time Mom and Dad were ready to feed the first wave of guests at seven. I ate on the fly and kept helping Mom and Dad except for a ten-minute break while I ran up to my room to get dressed up for church. The clean-up didn't completely get done before we needed to leave for church, but I worked at that too until the last group had finished eating; and Mom and Dad were ready to leave. Ethan and Ehlana had gone on ahead with the group that Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa led, so we only had the stragglers with us – and Michael; because he waited for me on the front porch steps of his house.

That earned him a good morning hug and kiss, and just to make sure that nobody missed hearing about my change in status; I introduced my new boyfriend to everyone in our group who hadn't met him yet. Mom and Dad both thought that was very entertaining; and Michael seemed to enjoy being referred to as my boyfriend a lot too. I can probably stop mentioning this soon, but we held hands while walking the rest of the way to church, and sat together for the teen-led holiday weekend service.

I hadn't really thought about that while writing my update last night, but there was not going to be a heat-relief service because the teens and kids put a lot of effort into these special events; and they wouldn't cut out any of the songs or skits. The good news is that it was a fast-paced, entertaining hour and five minutes; so nobody really minded the heat at all.

Michael needed to get to the Inn right away, so I walked there with him; shared a hug and kiss; and then went home. I was changed and working on the rest of the kitchen clean-up before anyone else got there, and soon had more help as the crew that was working on the post-wedding lunch barbeque either got changed before helping in the kitchen; or joined us after stopping in at their own homes first. While Dad and Grandpa fired up the grills, Uncle Rick led a gang of draftees and volunteers to set up tables and chairs. We'd considered using the pavilion again for lunch, but Mom and Grandma had decided that Aunt Leanne had done enough over the last four days and she didn't need to worry about another big meal too.

We also had some time constraints because so many of our visitors needed to get to the airport for late afternoon or early evening flights; with the first groups needing to leave by one o'clock. Since I wasn't a driver, and could help with the younger kids while we were short of parental support this afternoon; I was on the kitchen work crew until nearly two o'clock. After that, Dawn and I helped Kara and Eddie with their move over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house. They were staying there until next Sunday with Chrissy, Jonathan, and Nicole while the rest of Uncle Adam's aunts, uncles, and cousins were heading home this afternoon. We eventually moved Jaimie and Kaitlyn into the two guest bedrooms on the third floor, but we didn't do that until after dinner – and after Chris and Martin both opted for second-floor bedrooms when they were finally able to get their own rooms for the rest of their visit.

Kara and Eddie were moved and we'd added Rowen to our gang by the time Michael was on his afternoon break, so pretty much all of the kids and teens went swimming then while the parents who still needed to pack and get ready to go home did that. Grandma, Grandma Mercy, Grandma Carrie, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah were in charge of all of the cousins who were staying for one or two weeks while most of the guys, Mom, and Violet were all driving people to the airport.

There was time after our swim to play in the back yard, and then Michael needed to get back to the Inn while I helped my uncles and aunts load up three vehicles and started an hour-long round of goodbyes that began at our house and ended at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. Jayden was the only kid going home from our house today, and he was a bit cranky about leaving without Jaimie and Kaitlyn; but that was mostly because Aunt Alison had kept him awake so he'd sleep for at least some of the drive to Granite Park.

Scott and Melanie seemed to be looking forward to their first kid-free week since Kara had been born while Melanie also had a few tears when saying goodbye to her babies too. Kevin and Elaine hadn't been sure about leaving Nicole for her first holiday in Witch Falls, but their precocious three-year old (going on four) daughter had not wanted to miss out after learning that Eddie was staying. She did not think that the ten-month age difference between them was a big deal; and wanted to do everything he did. Elaine had some tears when she said goodbye to Nicole, but I'm sure that Robyn will be able to keep her busy while her big sister is here with us. Chrissy and Jonathan didn't have that problem with their parents or sisters when they got on the road for home; though their father did ask Chrissy to 'watch out for those Witch Falls boys – especially that Josiah Palmer'.

He's still blissfully happy with the Witch Falls girl he married; so I don't see why he'd have a problem with a guy as great as Josiah. He and Dillon aren't as hot as Jake, but they're definitely next best in class; and they're at the top of their class with Stephanie – just like Michael and Rowen are with me in our year.

Let's keep the story moving along. By four-thirty or so, the last of our weekend guests and family that were going home were on the road. The only difference from other holiday weekends was that we didn't send them off after going to one of the buffets at the Inn – only because we'd just had as amazing a meal at the wedding instead. Aunt Leanne was sent for a little nap then, and the three grandmothers were available if we needed them at my house; but we – the kids – were set free to play until six o'clock.

Rowen, Dawn, and I took all seven of the younger kids to the park first, and played there for just less than an hour before going home again so we could cool off in the river before dinner. Aunt Leanne had come over by six o'clock too, and there were more than enough leftovers to feed everyone – even Chris, Martin, and Jonathan. The three boys had been hanging out with other teens this afternoon, and were off again on their bikes about five seconds after finishing second helpings of Olde Bakery desserts.

I'm really glad that Grandma hid the last few slices of cherry cheesecake – Dad would've been disappointed if the boys had scarfed them too.

There was another trip to the park after dinner, and one more swim with the younger kids, but by eight o'clock, Grandma and Grandma Mercy started doing bath times with Ethan, Ehlana, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn while Grandma Carrie helped Aunt Leanne with the bath and bedtime routine for Kara, Eddie, and Nicole. That left Rowen, Dawn, and I free to just hang out together and relax for a while; though we stayed around the house, and helped out with bedtime stories and getting the four younger kids tucked in for the night.

Before I get to the swim time with Michael – which was the highlight of my evening; I should mention that Josiah came by our house shortly before the kid bath times were starting; and invited Chrissy to go for a walk with him while Violet was away and Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie were all busy at the Inn. I seriously doubt that her father's warning about Witch Falls boys even crossed Chrissy's mind when she accepted the invitation.

Then there was Martin and Vanessa. They were only in the back yard long enough to grab a pair of drinks and life jackets; and then they grabbed a canoe and started paddling toward the falls. I'm going to stop commenting on the vibes I'm getting from Vanessa, but I'm sure that their choice of direction had everything to do with the chance that Michael would see them out on the river each time they passed the Inn. I found out later that he actually did see them, but I imagine that Vanessa was more surprised later when Martin was walking her home and they passed Michael on his way here after he was finished work.

Rowen was suddenly exhausted when Michael joined us, and while her excuse for going home was transparent; I'll concede that Dawn's simultaneous desire for some quality time in my Jacuzzi was at least plausible after four days of fighting for bathroom time with me, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara. Since we hadn't had any alone time all day, though, Michael and I pretty much just thanked them; and happily accepted their gift.

Getting to that alone time was delayed a bit when Mom, Dad, Violet, and all three grandfathers got home from their airport run. We ended up getting a condensed version of the travel recap before all six grandparents went back to Grandma and Grandpa's; Violet went to meet up with Dillon; Mom decided that Dawn's plan for some Jacuzzi time was for her too; and Dad went to get some work done in the office.

Michael and I were both tired by then, but playing in the river was relaxing, and then we sat on the dock and talked for nearly an hour before deciding it was time for us to go and get some sleep. Okay, we shared a few kisses too, and that is something that we both like a lot; but it was being together and winding down from another busy day that I loved the most.

Well, maybe second-most after goodnight kisses. ;^)

After Michael went home, I stopped in to talk with Dad for a few minutes before coming up to my room. Dawn and Mandy were already sleeping by then; so I got ready for bed in the bathroom, and then sat in the window alcove again to do my nightly computing. Most of the email I dealt with tonight was confirming that all of my favorite travelers got home safely. I'm sure that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace have better things to do while on their honeymoon, but they did send me a message earlier this afternoon to let me know they'd made it safely to the resort where they'd be spending the first part of their holiday. Their 'undisclosed location' wasn't a secret for a Magi Master who was trained by a computer expert; but that is one secret I can keep until it doesn't matter anymore.

There was a bit of family business work to deal with tonight too, and I got to watch Jake, Stephanie, Dillon, Violet, Josiah, and Chrissy go for a swim while I was taking care of that. They came inside after cooling off, but since I haven't heard Violet on the stairs or people leaving again since then; I'll guess that they're watching a movie or something.

They may still be able to keep going, but I'm going to need more than three or four hours of sleep tonight; and don't have anything else to report for today, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Michael had a surprise for me this morning when he was sitting on one of the benches by the river when Mom, Dad, and I went outside for Tai Chi – and asked if we'd teach him.

Ethan and Ehlana had come outside with us, and they decided to play with us too when I started Michael's first lesson; and Mom and Dad worked through the Wu long form without me. This was my first experience with teaching Tai Chi, and Mom kept an eye on me; but she let me do everything with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana. The twins probably had the warm-ups and all of the forms they've ever seen us do memorized, but they still needed to play at being normal toddlers; and they also didn't want to do better than Michael – though he learned fast too.

I taught them the warm-ups first, and then we went through all of the postures for the Beijing 24 Simplified form. Our workout took longer than Mom and Dad's, but we wrapped up by going through the complete form once at the end. They all did really well for a first lesson, and what was most important was that we had fun. Michael joined us for the breakfast that Mom, Dad, and Violet had already started making by the time we took Ethan and Ehlana inside; and we were the primary meal-time entertainment for my family.

Dad was back to work as normal today – and then some; since he also needed to get ready for a week in Crystal Springs next week. We – the kids and teens – didn't have anything planned for today; but Mom needed help this morning to handle all of the extra work from having a house full of guests for the past four days. I would have volunteered even if I wasn't drafted, and Violet and Dawn helped too while Jaimie and Kaitlyn entertained Ethan and Ehlana so that Alicia could work with Mom this morning instead of watching them.

We had all six grandparents over for lunch because Grandpa Richard, Grandma Carrie, Grandpa Duncan, and Grandma Mercy were all heading home after staying the extra night so they could help out with the airport shuttles and kid support yesterday. That was an entertaining little blast of fun, and with more leftovers available; it wasn't even all that much work to get everyone fed and the kitchen cleaned up before doing the round of goodbye hugs and kisses in the front yard.

Michael was working all morning at home with his parents, brother, and sister anyway, but he was finished his work too by the time we were set free to play for the rest of the day. He and Tim rode into our back yard just as Rowen, Dawn, and I were getting bikes ready to go. Chris and Martin had already taken off by then, and Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Alicia were going to take all of the younger kids to the park; but we were going to ride the trails for an hour or two before playing with Ethan, Ehlana, and our younger cousins again. Violet and Chrissy were spending the rest of the day with Dillon, Jake, Stephanie, and whoever else they were going to hang out with. I'll guess that Josiah was added to the group later; but he has a summer day job during the week. I'll have to get those details in the morning, because we didn't see Violet for the rest of the day; and she isn't home yet.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were mini celebrities out on the trails today thanks to our biking demonstration in the parade last week. Rowen and I got teased about not wearing our biking outfits today by a couple of the guys. Michael and I didn't have any problems with the guys teasing us about being a couple now; but I have no idea whether Michael will get razzed about it when there aren't any girls around.

That doesn't mean that our biking time was tweeirdless. Chris and Martin were both out on the trails with some of the other teen guys too, and though they were pretty much doing their own thing; we did meet up now and then while waiting for turns on some of the trails. We also had Vanessa and Nora show up on their bikes. It was hot, dusty, and they don't really like dirt, sweat, or biking. I didn't need an empathic link to figure out why they'd wandered into the woods.

I really am going to try not to write about the details of scenes like that, and at least they didn't come around until it was nearly time for me to go home again anyway. There was time for more biking first, and then Michael, Rowen, and Dawn left the park with me while Tim stayed and kept riding with Nora, Vanessa, and Martin. The funny part of that is the fact that the two girls would have rather been leaving the park too. They did, eventually, but I'll get to that in a moment.

When we got home, it was definitely time for a swim, and all of the younger kids were happy to hop in the river with us. Ethan, Ehlana, Eddie, and Nicole really kept us busy, with one of their favorite games being to simply float down the river so we needed to 'catch' them and tow them back to where we had a few of the water games set up next to the dock. We played and swam for about three-quarters of an hour before getting out of the river and going to sit at the table on the back porch so we could have ice cream cones before moving on to some back yard play time.

Chris and Martin may have food radar; because that's when they came home – and they had Vanessa, Nora, Tim, and a half-dozen other friends with them. The usual guy games ensued, though building and eating the biggest ice cream cone isn't anywhere near the scariest food feat I've ever seen; and Chris and Martin are actually getting better as they get older. They all went swimming after their snack break, and while Michael, Rowen, Dawn, and I were playing with the younger kids again by then; we were still close enough for me to see and hear pretty much everything that was happening in the river.

There was more tweeirdness to put up with, but Michael made a point of ignoring the water play action – especially anything that involved Martin, Vanessa, Tim, and Nora. Again, there's not point in continually writing about the details; but Michael and I are both getting very tired of these stupid games. We're not alone in feeling that way. Tim was not impressed when Nora gave him a hard time the one time he came over and tried to play for a little while with Michael, Ethan, and Eddie. Her razzing and jokes worked; and he went back to hanging out with her and the other teens; but he was not happy. Then there's Martin. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure he knows exactly what Vanessa is trying to do. Since she is definitely the hottest and single girl showing interest in him this summer, though, I have no idea how long he'll play along. As long as nothing happens that's more serious than the current games; he likely won't have a problem with having two weeks of no-strings-attached fun with Vanessa.

Our play time in the back yard included one more swim; but we waited until the teens had vacated the river before taking the younger kids in again. Mom had an open invitation for dinner tonight, but Michael and Tim had their practice at six; so they went over to Michael's house to eat instead because we weren't eating until six or six-thirty; depending on when Dad got home from the office. Nora and Vanessa did accept the invite – as did four out of six of the other teens.

After Michael left, Rowen and I traded kid control for helping Mom in the kitchen while Dawn had some support from Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah. Grandpa and Uncle Nick also had the grills fired up and ready to go by the time Dad got back from the office; and then the three of them started cooking up a storm while Rowen and I mostly spent that last bit of time before we sat down to eat hauling food and supplies out to the patio table on the back deck. We didn't have enough tables set up for everyone, but the younger kids wanted to have dinner by the river; so there was enough seating for the adults and teens.

Rowen, Dawn, and I were quite happy to supervise that little picnic by the river – it kept us away from the food and drinking games. That's one thing that hasn't changed for me post-crossing over; but then I didn't expect to suddenly find those little contests to suddenly be any less gross than I always have. I am glad that Michael wasn't here for that, though I'm sure he will be at least a few times over the next couple of weeks; so we'll see how he deals with the peer pressure to join in.

He and Tim made it back to the house by the time we'd finished eating and cleaning up; and they went for a swim to cool off – and get rid of some of the dirt and dust they'd brought back with them from the ball diamond. Some of the other teens joined them, but Rowen, Dawn, and I were getting the younger kids ready for another visit to the park playground; and we wanted to keep them dry – though we were planning on ending our play evening with a swim.

That next hour and a half was a rush of action. Mom and Dad were both working in the office while we were at the park, and even with having Michael along to help with kid control; we were all kept busy keeping up with my brother, sister, and cousins. Chris, Martin, and Jonathan didn't want to help out; and they had instead opted for some video gaming with their friends at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. Tim, Nora, and Vanessa went with them for that, so we had the bonus of being out of the tweeird zone for the rest of the evening.

The swim was fun, and then there was another little blast of work as we returned Kara and Eddie to Aunt Leanne and Uncle Mark; picked up an overnight bag for Nicole so she could do a sleepover with Ehlana; and then got the three youngest kids ready for bed before going up to the lounge to watch a movie. Our first boyfriend-girlfriend movie in the lounge was fun for Michael and me, though we're going to need to try it again sometime when we don't have Ethan and Ehlana cuddling with us; and Rowen and my cousins entertaining themselves by teasing us while we watched the Disney flick that Nicole picked out for us. Sofia the First wouldn't be on the top picks list for tween or teen movie nights –especially for guys; but I won't get Michael in trouble by telling anyone that Ethan, Ehlana, and I heard him singing and humming along to the catchy little tunes tonight.

Oops! ;^)

I expected Nicole to fall asleep before long, but she didn't; though she probably didn't last much longer once she and Ehlana were tucked in for the night. Rowen went home after the movie, and Dawn, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn all got ready for bed then; and Michael and I decided to go for another moonlit swim after having a little visit with Mom and Dad while they took a break and helped with getting Ethan, Ehlana, and Nicole into bed.

Ending long, not-so-lazy summer days with quiet swims, wind down chats, and goodnight kisses would be easy to get used to; though we'll see how often we actually get chances to do that – especially while my cousins are here – or on the days when Michael is working or busy with his own family. For tonight, I'm glad that we did get to do that – especially when the video gamers jumped into the river at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house just as we were getting ready to call it a night. There were some whistles and razzing that followed us as we walked away from the river, and while they probably thought that we couldn't hear most of the comments; sound travels on water, and I heard everything.

Fortunately, the goodnight kiss we shared once we didn't have that gang in sight and ready to bug us some more gave me something more pleasant to think about after Michael went home and I came up to my room. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Dawn were all asleep by then; so I've been back in the window alcove with my computer again after getting changed and ready for bed. Since I'm not going to be doing any daytime work sessions for the family business over the next two weeks, I am going to need to do some work when I can; so I spent an hour doing that before moving on to my usual nightly computing.

The video gaming may have continued after the swim, but not with the entire group. Martin, Vanessa, Tim, and Nora came over to our house about a half hour after I'd started working on my computer; they grabbed drinks; and then sat on the benches by the river for a while before leaving again – probably so the guys could walk the girls home. I'm sure that Vanessa and Nora think that I didn't notice the subtle glances directed my way, but I did; and I'm sure that the choice of location for that little break wasn't random. Whatever their motivation for doing that, they must be getting caught up in their games to the point where reality is suspended if they think that having me see Vanessa cozying up with one of my cousins means anything to me at all – other than still being as tweeird as it was when Jenny and Martin were hanging out together.

Speaking of Jenny, she and Joel Alden are apparently spending just about every waking moment together now, according to Michael's last update from Rebecca. Shane isn't taking the break-up very well at all, and Rebecca tried to talk to him; but he made it clear to her that he doesn't want to be consoled by Jenny's best friend – even though they've been friends for a long time too. I'm fairly sure that seeing things like that happen with her friends is exactly why Rebecca still isn't getting back into the dating game.

I don't really want to end my night thinking too much about things like that when Michael and I are just at the start of our relationship; and I really should get some sleep anyway. Rowen, Michael, and I have a birthday party to go to tomorrow afternoon at Quarry Lake, and since we're going to be out there; Mom and Aunt Leanne are taking all of my cousins there too. I'm sure that Vanessa will be very happy that Martin will be there – and there will likely be more tween games being played. I don't know the details about what Elliott's parents have planned for his party, so escaping those games and playing with the younger kids may not be an option; but I really hope we won't be in the tweeird zone all afternoon.

Whatever happens, it's supposed to be another beautiful day; I'm going to get to spend it with my boyfriend and best friends; and we'll be playing at Quarry Lake, so there should be a lot of really good fun to offset any tweeird.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Elliott!

I may decide that sharing good morning kisses and Tai Chi with Michael is even better than moonlit swims and goodnight kisses. Our second lesson went just as well as the first; and he – and Ethan and Ehlana – are learning fast. The twins are really going to need to be careful with this. They're not doing anything that would be impossible for toddlers, but I'm sure that Mom and I both noticed that the intentional little mistakes they're making are being done in perfect unison. They have things like that happen fairly often, and are trying to learn to control it; but that's harder for them to do when they're really concentrating on something.

Mom and Dad finished exercising before we were done again, and went inside to get started on breakfast for twelve. Michael went home to have breakfast there instead of staying with us, and though I needed to stay home; he advised me that Miranda was expecting me to come over for some of their 'day off' breakfasts once my cousins went home again.

I do not have a problem with going there for any meals that Michael's father and brother are cooking!

After sending Michael off with another hug and kiss – several hugs and an extra kiss, if you include the ones from my giggling brother and sister – I traded places with Mom on the breakfast work crew so she could take care of Ethan, Ehlana, and Nicole while Dad, Violet, and I finished getting the food ready to feed the masses. It wasn't really an improvement on the morning tweeird of recent days, but Chris needed to spend more time teasing Martin about Vanessa than razzing me about Michael. At least it probably did indicate that the novelty was wearing off already.

I was on the clean-up crew again, and then had some chores to do too before being able to take the rest of the day off. Aunt Leanne needed to work in the office this morning, so Chrissy, Jonathan, Kara, and Eddie all came over to our house when she and Uncle Adam left for work. While Chris, Martin, and Jonathan all took off on bikes shortly after that, Chrissy stayed and helped Alicia and Dawn with the younger kids while I was busy doing things like laundry; cleaning bathrooms; and helping Mom to put the picnic together that we'd be taking with us to Quarry Lake. Grandma and Grandpa came over to help us with that too – and they were going to help with driving and kid control for the afternoon too.

Mom set me free at eleven o'clock, and Dawn and I split the last hour we had left before leaving getting our own bags packed for the afternoon and going over to Rowen's house so we could help her pick out appropriately hot swimsuits and clothes so that she'd be all set for another party opportunity to wow 'Tommy'.

She accomplished that mission for sure; but I'll get to that later.

We were back again in time to help load up the vans, truck, and Violet's car – and get the younger kids buckled in and ready to go too. As usual around here, these little trips get a lot of interest; and there were lots of kids and teens heading out to Quarry Lake for a weekday afternoon adventure. Since Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca were all going with us, Jacob and Miranda thought about going along; but decided to stay home instead.

I don't need to know what they decided to do instead while kid-free for the rest of the day; but wouldn't need a second guess either! :^)

Rowen, Michael, Dawn, and I were temporarily put in charge of the younger kids when we got to the campground while the adults and teens hauled most of our gear from the parking lot to the spot we picked for our day camp. For a Tuesday, the campground was very busy. It was becoming more popular every year, but having so much construction going on in Witch Falls was making a difference this year too; with Quarry Lake being one of the closest campgrounds available where family and friends of the workers could stay while visiting. That was keeping the rooms at the Inn booked to capacity nearly every day too; but there weren't that many rooms there anyway; and camping was about the only other option within twenty-five miles of town.

Getting back to the action, we went for a short swim; had our picnic lunch; and had time to play and go for another little swim before Rowen, Michael, and I needed to get to Elliott's party. There are a couple of things that need mentioning before getting to the main event of the day. First, Aunt Leanne is not all that enthusiastic about how she looks in a swimsuit right now. She's closing in on the end of her second trimester, and she was over-compensating with too many 'whale on the beach' type jokes. Just because bikinis are out this year doesn't mean that you didn't look beautiful – even if you don't want to believe anyone right now.

Let me know when you read this some day in the future, Aunt Leanne, and I'll show you the memories I have from today of the guys that were at Quarry Lake who thought that you were hot enough to be worth watching.

We don't necessarily need to tell Uncle Adam about that, though! :^)

I'm sure that he and Dad both wished they could be out there with us today, but they wouldn't have been able to have any adult-rated fun anyway with the gang of kids that Mom, Aunt Leanne, Grandma, and Grandpa had with them. They at least had six teens, and Dawn, to help them out after we went to the party; or I wouldn't have wanted to leave them – especially when Aunt Leanne can't exactly run around after kids right now.

Elliott's parents had booked one of the small picnic pavilions for his party. The one they were assigned was about two hundred yards from the lake, but close to one of the playgrounds; and in a nicely shaded area. Michael, Rowen, and I were among the first 'friends' guests there, so we were able to sit and talk with Elliott and his girlfriend, Gretchen, while we waited for the rest of our friends to arrive. Since there hadn't been Sunday school at church on Sunday, and Gretchen is one of the 'farm kids', we hadn't talked together since seeing each other for a couple of minutes on the Fourth of July; and she wanted to hear all about the latest with Michael and me. Rowen was happy to help her out with that while Michael and I let her entertain Elliott and Gretchen and enjoyed the show.

I also enjoyed seeing 'Tommy's' first reaction to seeing Rowen in the hot little sundress we'd picked for her to throw on over her swimsuit. Yes, he has a girlfriend, and spent most of the day in close proximity to her; but as I do a quick little memory review of the scenes around me from this afternoon and evening; 'Tommy' spent a total of almost eighteen minutes watching Rowen. That may not sound like much over the course of about eight hours, but think about what that means when most of that time happened at an average of five-point-eight seconds per glance. He needed to look at Rowen one hundred and eighty-three times; nearly twenty-three times an hour; or a bit less than once every three minutes.

Just in case you're wondering, Michael watched me for a lot more that eighteen minutes; but let's not do the math for that. What's important for me is that he wasn't spending eighteen minutes or more doing that kind of girl-watching. Before you start wondering if I'm in denial or something, I'm not suggesting that Michael's stopped finding other girls attractive in the last couple of weeks; but there's a big difference between appreciating beauty and the slightly obsessive girl-watching that 'Tommy' was doing today.

Oh, and I still think that Jake Stone is hot even though I'm dating his brother now; so that kind of thing hasn't changed for me either.

I need to work on how easily I'm distracted into these little mental side-trips lately! All of our friends were at Quarry Lake by one-thirty; including the girls who needed to arrive fashionably late. They know who they are; so no names are necessary. Every birthday party is at least a bit different, and in this case, Elliott's parents had set up some group activities instead of just setting us all free to do our own thing for the afternoon and evening. That started out with a beach volleyball competition with games on the side like Frisbee and lawn darts for the kids and teens when they weren't playing volleyball. There were four teams, and four matches that ended with the 'championship' game.

Elliott's team made that final; but so did the team Michael, Rowen, and I were on. It's his birthday, and we probably should have taken it easy, but I'm sure I mention regularly that I like to win; and today we did – in straight sets. It wasn't close. I wouldn't dream of skipping over the fact that having Tim, Nora, and Vanessa were on Elliott's team too helped my personal motivation; but Rowen didn't mind helping me out with that – and giving 'Tommy' another reason to be impressed with her was a nice bonus.

I continue to wonder how it's possible that 'Tommy' – and practically all of the guys around our age – have been so completely clueless about just how amazing my best friend really is. For that matter, there are a lot of girls who are just starting to figure out that Rowen is a lot more than one of the class brainiacs. One of these days they may even discover that she's got a wicked sense of humor – though she rarely lets that out to play in public.

We did get to have some free time after the little volleyball competition, and pretty much everyone at the party went swimming. That gave Michael, Rowen, and I a little time to spend with my family; and we mostly played with Ethan, Ehlana, and my younger cousins while the adults and teens packed up most of the day camp gear and hauled it back to the vans and truck. All of the teens were staying at Quarry Lake, but they came back and played with us until again helping Mom, Aunt Leanne, Grandma, and Grandpa to round up my brother, sister, and younger cousins; get them dried off; and into the two minivans and Dad's truck for the trip back to town.

Michael, Rowen, and I needed to get back to Elliott's party by then, and though Chris, Jonathan, and Rebecca stayed with the four older teens; Vanessa had hooked up with Martin earlier; and he was hanging out with her for the rest of the party. There were more organized games for the hour or so until we had dinner, and though I heard a few quiet, derisive comments about party games and prizes at our age; I thought the games were fun, and so did nearly everyone else.

Dinner included standard barbeque picnic fare, and the only comment I have about that blast of tweeird is to record for posterity that my new boyfriend chose not to play any of the reindeer games at the expense of getting severely razzed about it by the other guys. Hopefully the bonus hugs and kisses we shared made up for that sacrifice. I am so glad that I didn't have to watch Michael trying to do things like stuff multiple hotdogs into his mouth at one time. 'Tommy', on the other hand, had me wondering how sure Rowen is that he's her match. During dinner, the only way that could possibly be true would be with the 'opposites attract' theory.

Moving along, getting through dinner, and doing the cake and birthday gift thing with Elliott, took an hour and a half or so, and then there was a scavenger hunt and time for one last swim before it was time to head back to town when the day pass visitors needed to leave the campground. The last tweeird moment at the lake deserves mentioning, if only because Violet thought that it was just as weird to drive Martin and Vanessa home as I did. Michael, Jonathan, Rowen, and I went home with Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca; while Chris squeezed into the back seat of Violet's Car with Martin and Vanessa. That must've been cozy.

Jonathan had Chris, Martin, Vanessa, and some of their other friends go to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to wrap their day up with some video gaming. Rowen decided to go home instead of hanging out with Michael and me; but that was mostly because she wanted to get a decent night of sleep before we started two major camping adventure days with an all-day canoe ride to the whirlpool in the morning. When Michael and I got home, we were just in time for the bedtime snack and story for Ethan and Ehlana. Dawn, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn wanted the party report too; and then after we tucked the twins in for the night, we helped Mom with putting together most of the picnic lunch we'd be taking with us on the canoe trip.

Another swim was next on the fun list, but Dawn, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn all came swimming with Michael and me this time. That made playing with the glow-in-the-dark water toys more fun; but kept the goodnight hug and kiss time fireworks-free when it was time for Michael to get home. There isn't much else to report for tonight. Dawn and I took turns having some Jacuzzi time; I had a bedtime girl chat with Jaimie and Kaitlyn while Dawn was in the tub; and both of my bed buddies were sleeping by the time I started working on my computer after I finished in the bathroom.

There was more family business work to do, but the email traffic is pretty low while most of my cousins are here. (Jayden almost never sends me email.) It's already going on one o'clock, and even Chris and Martin have gotten home and gone to bed; so I should call it a night so I'll be ready for the canoe trip and camping. Hopefully, my first trip to the whirlpool with my boyfriend will be as awesome as our first date and first birthday party have been!

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

We had some early morning rain, but Mother Nature was nice enough to move that out of town before we went outside for Tai Chi by the river – though the lawn was still wet and we needed to be careful with our footwork.

Though teaching Tai Chi isn't as relaxing as it is to just work through the forms with Mom and Dad, it is comparatively quiet and fun – and our lesson this morning was the only quiet Michael and I had until things started winding down at the campfire tonight. Michael needed to go to the Inn to help out with the breakfast rush so that he could go on the canoe trip with us; and then work the dinner shift too. While he was at the Inn, I was busy helping with breakfast; cleaning up; getting ready for the day; and packing for the day trip to the whirlpool. That took a couple of hours; and then we needed another half hour to get everyone organized and the canoes loaded and ready to go.

Not all of my cousins were happy campers when we left – Jaimie was the youngest allowed to go with us; and Kaitlyn and Kara in particular weren't happy to be excluded. Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie were back at work today, though, and they eventually found out that Violet and Chrissy had some fun plans for them too. All of the younger kids are camping tonight; so they're all very happy now.

We have quite a few canoes, but needed extras today; and Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were in charge of getting some of Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's canoes; while Violet and Rebecca brought two up from the Stone's house. Chris and a couple of his friends were the oldest teens going along; and I've already mentioned that Jaimie is the youngest. We'd invited Emma Norton for the trip and camping; so she was dropped off when her Mom went in to the office. Rebecca had signed up for today and at least one night of camping; though the camping was only because Jenny talked her into it so that she could invite Joel to hang out with us too. If that wasn't enough tweeird, we had Nora and Vanessa coming along with Tim and Martin.

Michael and I had Jaimie with us in our canoe, and we paddled most of the way there and back paired up with Rowen, Dawn, and Emma. There was a fair bit of horsing around going on all day, but we were part of the group that mostly stayed out of the way of the ongoing goofiness. I wasn't surprised to have Rebecca hanging out with us instead of with Jenny while she and Joel were right in the middle of the tweeird zone; but I did find it interesting that Chris and his friends ended up spending more time with us than with the rest of the teens. It really did feel like we were two separate groups – especially while we were at the whirlpool and having our picnic; but that probably just ended up making the day more fun as we all pretty much got to do what we wanted without too much drama or tween and teen games.

I'm going to skip the personal tweeird news from today, since it really was just a few blips in an otherwise great day. While I'm thinking about that, though, 'Tommy' needs to be mentioned again because he and his girlfriend were on the canoe trip, and are here for the camping too. He spent even more time watching Rowen today than yesterday, though I guess we have spent a lot more time together than we did at Elliott's party. A quick memory check tells me that the average per hour was nearly identical, but that still means that he feels the need to check Rowen out about every three minutes. I can also add that he's particularly interested when Rowen's taking clothes off or putting them on before and after swims; any time there are other boys hanging out with her; and when she's swimming or playing games.

Getting back to the action, we took our time paddling to the whirlpool, but still had a couple of hours available to play and have our picnic before needing to head home again. We had a big enough group that it felt a bit crowded in the whirlpool, so our half of the group swam and played in the river to the south of the whirlpool. We didn't all have lunch at the same time either, so when Martin, Tim, and some of the other guys led the charge for the picnic baskets and coolers; we had a perfect chance to play in the whirlpool with Jaimie, Dawn, and Emma.

The picnic that we'd packed wasn't for everyone, but waiting to eat still ended up leaving us with less food than I'd expected after Martin and Jonathan were done sharing with their friends. Chris had to settle for one sandwich; we split up the remaining salads; and finished off what little was left of the snacks and desserts except for a few energy bars in case they were needed on the trip back to town.

By the time we started paddling downriver, the members of our group that didn't enjoy certain aspects of being miles from modern conveniences were not nearly as enthusiastic about a full day in the great outdoors; and that created some motivation for speed that made the trip home more than a half-hour faster than the trip to the whirlpool. The guest bathrooms at my house, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's, and the Stone's were very popular first destinations once we were out of the canoes.

There was also a lot of work to do next too; starting with getting the canoes unloaded, and some of them put away in the storage barn. Then we needed to set up a bunch of tents; and Mom and Dad needed help with getting dinner ready too. Michael and Rebecca had left for the Inn as soon as we got home so they could help with the dinner shift there, and some of the teens found a way to disappear while the work was going on; but we had nearly everyone who was camping – except Michael and Rebecca – here for dinner.

I'll skip the recap of the fairly scary tween and teen dining demonstration; though there were a few things that happened that are worth mentioning. I had a chance to talk to Joel a bit; and it was interesting to see him around the younger kids – including Ethan and Ehlana. I'm sure that Jenny's initial attraction to him, beyond the fact that he's not from Witch Falls, was the rebel teen persona. He was in that mode all day, but since I spent most of my time during dinner and this evening with the younger kids; I saw the gentle and kind way that he handled every little kid encounter. If Ehlana's hug of approval for him was witnessed by too many of the guys; the reputation he's shooting for may be busted already.

Next up was Martin and Vanessa. They were both having fun while Michael was at the Inn and Vanessa wasn't spending half of her time trying to get his attention or make him jealous. Be careful, Vanessa, or you might actually find out that you like my cousin more than the boyfriend plans that you and Nora have been working on for so long now. Lastly, Chrissy invited Josiah to have dinner with us, and it's obvious that they're a couple now. They each have that 'how did this happen?' look on their faces, and I don't know if they've even admitted to each other how they feel; but I'm sure that they will officially be a couple before Chrissy heads home in a week and a half.

Rowen, Dawn, Emma, and I had some teen support for a visit to the park playground after we'd finished the dinner clean-up; and we had time to play there for an hour or so and go for a swim back at home before getting all of the younger kids cleaned up, changed, and out to the campfire. Michael and Rebecca made it back from the Inn in time for the swim; and Michael helped with Ethan and Eddie while I was busy with Ehlana and Nicole.

There had been parental support to get the work done for the campfire, but it was kids and teens only for the campfire. Michael was one of the guys drafted to play guitar; and he played the first set until Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon came over after closing the Inn for the night. That made him popular with the younger kids, though they were all on our side of the fire anyway because we were more fun than the tweens and teens who didn't want to do any fun stuff with them.

With Michael playing guitar, and Ethan and Ehlana in our laps a lot of the time too, our campfire experience tonight didn't have room for much romance; though there was more than enough of that going on with other couples – too much, according to some of the younger kids. That made for some more tweeird moments that I won't mention because Michael and I had fun despite the tweeird; and we both like helping my brother, sister, and younger cousins to have fun too.

Rowen and I have Ehlana and Nicole in our tent, and when Nicole nodded off to sleep while cuddling with Chrissy and Josiah; we decided that it was time to take both girls with us and tuck them in for the night. We didn't go to bed then too, but we did stay near the tent in case Ehlana or Nicole needed us. Eddie and Ethan lasted a little longer, but Michael brought them over to their tent at a bit after eleven. Jonathan had helped him take both boys inside for bathroom breaks; and he carried Eddie out to the tent; but then he went back to the campfire again while Michael sat and talked with Rowen and me.

It's been another hot night, so nearly everyone went swimming to cool off at least once; and Michael, Rowen, and I went in for a little while with Dawn, Emma, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn when they wanted to do that before getting into their sleeping bags for the night at a little after midnight. Rowen was not very convincing when she decided to go to bed too, but Michael and I still sat outside of our tents and talked for another ten minutes before sharing a couple of soft goodnight kisses and going into our own tents for the night.

Rowen teased me about wasting the opportunity, though I don't know what she expected us to be doing when there was still a bunch of teens wandering around, swimming, or at the campfire. We've had other things to talk about since I climbed into my sleeping bag and started doing my usual nightly computing. There's been a lot to discuss, and while Rowen is happy that 'Tommy' is showing so much interest in her; that plus was at least evenly off-set by how much time he spent making out with his girlfriend at the campfire tonight. Rowen's picked them to be the couple most likely to swap tent mates. That isn't a happy thought for her, and I'd like to help her out; but she probably isn't wrong – and I won't be surprised if there are other co-ed tents.

I've got an early Tai Chi lesson, a big gang to help feed, and our first riding lesson of the summer at the Ridge River Ranch in the morning; so I should probably finish this up and get some sleep. There isn't anything to write about from the nightly computing; and I only had a couple of quick things to deal with for the family business. I'm going to need to find some time to deal with a few other work projects over the next couple of days; though I'm not sure when I'll get that done when we're planning on one more night of camping and a canoe trip on Friday morning especially for the younger kids.

Using a little Magi power to help with that isn't an option with so many guests, and it just occurred to me that I haven't done anything like that in a week – and may not again until after we're done with the cousins' vacation visits a week from Sunday. I don't actually miss it much when we're having so much fun, but it does feel a little strange.

I do need to get some sleep, and shouldn't keep letting my mind wander off, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sometimes, life is strange; and some middle-of-the-night action qualified for that.

If there was a plan behind the scenes, it wasn't very well thought out. To make a short story shorter, Vanessa found herself without a tent to sleep in while Nora and Tim were in the one she was supposed to share with Nora, and if she'd expected to be in Michael's tent with him; she obviously had forgotten that he had two little boys camping with him. She was sitting outside of their tent talking with Michael when Ehlana gave me the wake-up call to take her inside for a bathroom break; so instead of waking Rowen, she helped me with taking Ehlana and Nicole to the bathroom while Michael took Ethan. (Eddie didn't wake up then.)

By then, Vanessa was just tired and ready to sleep, so there weren't any games going on. I offered her a guest bedroom or a sleeping bag and a spot in our tent, and though I think she would have preferred the comfortable bed; she decided that it would be better to stay with us – and the rest of the campers. We tried not to wake Rowen while moving a few things around – and out of the tent – to make room for Vanessa, but she woke up anyway; and was very surprised to see our new tent-mate!

It didn't really take long to settle down again and get back to sleep, and I was out for the count for the few hours we had until dawn. I left the other girls sleeping and went for a quiet swim before throwing shorts and a tee on over my swimsuit and going inside to put a pot of coffee on for Mom and Dad. Ethan, Ehlana, Michael, and Vanessa all came inside for bathroom breaks while I was doing that; and I found out that Vanessa had woken up with a cuddle buddy because Ehlana had rolled and snuggled with her after I left the tent.

I don't know if that'll mean anything for her, but after seeing those smiles and hugs she shared with Ehlana this morning; I'm probably not going to be able to be annoyed with Vanessa about anything anymore.

Ehlana invited her to join us for our Tai Chi lesson; and she sat on one of the benches to watch us; but wasn't interested in giving it a try. She was all for having a nap in our tent for the forty-five minutes or so she'd have until breakfast was ready; so we let her do that and went inside to get the cooking started. The next couple of hours were just a mad rush of action. We needed to get everyone fed; clean up; and Rowen, Dawn, Emma, and I had to get ready for our riding lesson.

I'd known that Emma had signed up for lessons too, and it hadn't been a problem to get Dawn added for two weeks; but there was a surprise waiting for us when we got out to the ranch – Michael and Tim were taking lessons this summer too! Michael was very happy to have pulled that surprise off; and I was very happy to share an enthusiastic hug and kiss with him to say 'thank-you'. Tim wouldn't admit anything one way or the other, but I got the distinct impression that he was doing Michael a best-friend favor by doing the lessons with us too. He's very athletic, and rides fairly well, but even though he won't be driving cars for another couple of years; I know he prefers his horsepower to be under the hood of cool sports cars.

Now that Michael has already started doing two things that I really love to do; I'll have to see what I can do about getting into some of the things he loves too. That thought evokes images of me getting flattened by Kyle Landry because I tried to play pick-up football with the guys; but maybe we can try a few less-dangerous activities – like learning to play the guitar or some of Michael's favorite video games.

Let's get back to current events. The six of us didn't need to do the riding assessment, but about half of the kids and teens in our group did; so we spent the first hour of our lesson doing that, and going on the usual tour of the barns, stables, and corrals. Rowen and Tim made sure that Michael and I were paired up for the trail ride, and while they were doing that for us; they looked like they had fun too. I'm sure that cracking jokes about their best friends was involved in their entertainment, and I'm glad that we could help them to have as much fun as we did. I'm glad that Dawn and Emma could hang out together too, and judging by some of the laughs I've heard from them yesterday and today; they're finding some entertainment value in my recent change in social status – though not for the same reasons Rowen and Tim do.

I was really glad to be out on the ranch trails again. A rainy spring, and too many other things going on, kept us from being out there as much as I would have liked. Except for our lessons; that isn't likely going to change much this summer either. Rowen and I found out that Mom had been in the know about Michael and Tim taking the lessons too, because Violet was there to get all of us in the minivan. Michael needed to get to work at the Inn once we were back home again, but he hopped into the river with us to cool off and get rid of most of the trail dust first before swimming down to his house and getting cleaned up and changed on his way over to the Inn.

Lunch had almost been ready by then, so most of the other kids and teens were already eating by the time we joined the gang hanging out around the back porch. The first wave of hot dogs and hamburgers had already been demolished by then; which is why we hadn't worried about going for a swim first. Since I hadn't helped with making lunch, I was on the clean-up crew; and then Rowen, Dawn, Emma, and I took all of the younger kids to the park for some playground play and woods exploring time. The rest of the tweens and teens did other things for the afternoon instead – biking, canoeing, swimming, or just laying around and sunbathing on blankets by the river. We were able to recruit the bikers to help us with an Emporium ice cream run; though that assistance only lasted until we got back to the house. For some reason, none of the guys wanted to help with cleaning up toddlers or getting them changed out of ice cream-caked shirts and shorts.

Let me offer my condolences to the next generation of kids who might be reading this if you've had to put up with fathers that are completely incapable of changing diapers, clothes, or helping you with bathroom breaks. The good news is that you probably learned how to play video games before your first birthday!

Michael didn't come over for his afternoon break, so I spent the entire afternoon playing with Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, Emma, and my younger cousins. After the ice cream clean-up, we went for another swim; and then we played games in the back yard until it was time for me to start helping out with major camping dinner number two. This time, Mom was going with Olde Bakery sub buns; lots of sliced meat options; cold salads and chips sides; and six bakery dessert options. About half of the food was donated this time; so it wasn't really that much work to put everything together and get a buffet table set up on the back porch.

Rowen and I had to eat early this time and then get to our baseball practice – and so did Jenny and a few other teens that had Thursday evening practices at the park or school. Our next game is a week from Saturday, so we have one more practice before we play the Tigers; but Carolyn was still pushing us hard today – even if Coach Sarah wasn't quite as fired up as her daughter after a long, hot, busy day at work. I'll admit that I wasn't nearly as motivated tonight, but we still had a fairly decent practice. Rowen, Jenny, Rebecca, and I were all ready for a swim when we went home; and had quite a few kids and teens join us.

That group included Naomi and Aiden. They'd been dropped off in time for dinner with everyone else; and they're doing the second camping night with Ehlana and Ethan – and going canoeing with us tomorrow too. By the time we'd cooled off, it was pretty much time to start getting the younger kids ready for the campfire and camping; so it was back to work for me while I helped out with that. Michael was back in time to help with Ethan, Aiden, and Eddie; but that also meant that we didn't spend much time together until we sat down for the campfire.

Michael took a turn playing guitar again tonight, but there were more scary stories tonight; so he only played for about a half hour of the time we had before we needed to take all of our junior campers inside for bathroom breaks on our way to tucking them into our tents for the night. We had extra help with that; and then Michael, Rowen, and I had another chat and bedtime swim. The only difference from last night is that we were in our sleeping bags quite a bit earlier; and Rowen and I are going to be sleeping soon too.

We'll probably get at least one bathroom break wake-up call; but shouldn't have any extra campers because Michael made Tim promise that he and Nora wouldn't leave Vanessa without somewhere to sleep again tonight – and be there to help with the three younger boys if needed. Nora probably isn't too happy about that, but she and Vanessa aren't really into camping any more than Rebecca and Jenny are – and three out of four of them are only doing it because of the extra time they get to spend with certain boys. By the way, I should have mentioned yesterday that Joel's staying in the same tent with Chris; and seem to be getting along pretty well. Joel will probably be joining upcoming video gaming action once the guys are back indoors again tomorrow night.

The party will be continuing for a while around the campfire, but I've had enough fun for today, and don't really have anything else to write about, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, July 12, 2013

There was no middle-of-the-night tweeird to report, though I did have two trips into the house with Ehlana, Naomi, and Nicole; and shared a bonus goodnight kiss with Michael after the first trip.

I had another early morning swim; Tai Chi was fun; and then it was time to get to work again. For the next three hours, we cooked, cleaned, packed for the kids' canoe trip, and cleaned up the campground before being ready to head out on the river by a little after ten o'clock.

Rowen, Dawn, Emma, and I had a total of nine younger kids to take care of, and that didn't meet parental safety requirements; so Violet, Chrissy, and Alicia semi-volunteered to come along. We also added Patrick and Scott, though other than their contributions on the paddles; they mostly helped with devouring lunch and getting Eddie wound up and having a bit too much fun.

We needed six canoes; with the three teens, Rowen, Dawn, and I each taking one older kid and one toddler with us. I made sure to thank Violet, Chrissy, Alicia, and Kara for taking all of the boys with them while I got to have Kaitlyn and Ehlana; Rowen and Jaimie had Naomi; and Dawn and Emma had Nicole. While taking my younger cousins canoeing was the main reason for our little adventure this morning; we knew that most of them really didn't want to paddle around all that much. After going upriver for about twenty minutes we stopped for a swim; back-tracked past out house to the park for some playground fun, another swim, and our picnic; and then paddled home again.

After a couple of camping nights, we had some toddlers ready for afternoon naps by then, and Rowen, Dawn, Emma, and I only had Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara with us when we went for a bike ride – and to meet up with Michael once he was finished helping with the lunch rush at the Inn. He and Rebecca had the rest of the day off, so he was able to hang out with us – with me – for the rest of the day.

They both wanted to cool off first, so we went for a swim at their house. Biking the trails was next on our to-do list, though Rebecca didn't want to come along for that; and went to hang out with some of her friends instead. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara couldn't ride some of the trails, but Dawn and Emma didn't want to go on those trails either; so the four of them did their own thing whenever Michael, Rowen, and I wanted to take turns doing the jumps and tricks that were possible on the more difficult trails.

It was another really hot afternoon, and there weren't a lot of teens or kids biking in the woods by then. That was good for having no line-ups on the best trails, but we were also ready for another swim in less than an hour; so we biked home again and went for another swim before having a snack break with most of the kids and teens that were hanging around the house then. The last part of our afternoon was spent playing in the back yard, doing a little more swimming, and taking it easy until dinnertime.

We were having a dinner and co-ed baseball game night, and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and Leah were all here to have dinner with us. Naomi and Aiden stayed too, I invited Michael and Rebecca, Chrissy had Josiah come over, and Martin invited Vanessa; but we didn't have the rest of the teen and tween gang around again until after the ball game – with that little party at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house. Mom had decided that we were past-due for a 'real' meal; and while she still had Dad and Grandpa working grills; they were cooking steaks and chicken instead of burgers and dogs. Michael and I helped with the work both before and after dinner; including setting the dining room table; making up the half-dozen side dishes; and a fairly major clean-up that Grandma and Grandpa supervised while the parents were either getting ready for baseball; taking care of babies; or using pregnancy exemptions.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Martin; though he'll never read this. Why? Because a funny thing seems to have happened with Vanessa's latest plan for Michael – she was actually so interested in hanging out with Martin and having fun that she forgot to play any of the games that have been directed at Michael and me regularly since the Fourth of July. I don't know if anything happened last night or today to change things, but Michael and I are both glad that there wasn't even a trace of tweeirdness during dinner – or for the rest of the evening either.

Having a formal, sit down meal felt strange after so many days of camping and picnics; and Mom was definitely right about most of us being overdue for some real food – though Chris and Martin joked about the missing chips and cold salads; what the 'new-fangled utensil thingies' were for; and pondered how to consume liquids that didn't come in cans or have straws. Since they were mostly playing that game for the under-five-year old crowd; their banter was a hit with the target audience.

There isn't anything newsworthy to report from the kitchen and dining room clean-up; but then there isn't any good news to write about from the baseball game either – at least not for our team. Even with lots of extra cheer support tonight, the Fix-it Uppers lost to the Gas Guzzlers thirteen-to-nine; and that scoring ratio pretty much carried through from the first to last innings. We all mostly still had fun, but only having one win and two losses at the half-way point of the season is disappointing.

We weren't doing another campfire tonight, and though the parents were given the option to go to Sheldon's after the game; Mom and Dad didn't want to do that – mostly because Dad needed to work when he could to get ready for his week in the city. Emma went home with her parents after the game, but we kept Naomi and Aiden for one more night. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had all of his cousins back again for the night; and, as I already mentioned, they also were video game central for the teens and tweens.

Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden were all pretty much ready to go to bed after the game, so we did the bedtime snack and story with them; they were tucked in for the night; and Mom and Dad went to work in the office while Michael, Rowen, Dawn, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and I wrapped up our night with a short swim before going to watch a movie in the lounge. Michael and I were teased a fair bit, but he didn't really mind being the only guy in the room; and we are definitely going to find time for more movie nights – possibly without company now and then too!

Dawn, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn all went to bed after the movie; Rowen went home; and Michael and I went to sit out by the river and have a little chat before doing the goodnight hugs and kisses when he needed to get home. Mom and Dad were still working then, but about to call it a night; so I had a little visit with them too before we all went up to bed. Dawn was sleeping by then, so I got changed, grabbed my computer, and have been sitting in the lounge window alcove and mostly doing family business work for the past couple of hours.

We're doing a family day at Quarry Lake tomorrow; and another campfire and camping night too – though the camping is just for the seven younger kids plus their tween support this time. That is going to be a long, busy day for me; and I should wrap this up and get some sleep. It's hard to believe we're there already, but tomorrow is the last full day that we'll have Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, Eddie, and Nicole here before they head home after church on Sunday. I want to be ready to help them make that one of those best-ever kind of days, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

I may have jinxed Michael's baseball team. The Wranglers lost today; and it might be because Vanessa wasn't helping Nora support them – she was at Quarry Lake with Martin instead. That was their first loss of the season, and Tim suggested to Michael and me that it may be entirely my fault. He had fun teasing us about that, but his suggestion that we break up to help the team get back on track is not going to happen. Nora and Vanessa thought that some of his jokes were funny, but I'd also like to smack Tim because his little monologue reminded Vanessa that she was supposed to be mad at me; and trying to get Michael interested in her. Hopefully she'll also remember that Martin helped her to have a really fun day at Quarry Lake; and I doubt that Michael even crossed her mind once until we all got together for the campfire tonight.

Other than that little blip of tweeirdness, and wishing that Michael could have spent the afternoon at Quarry Lake with us; it's been a pretty good day. The Tai Chi lessons are going great, and Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana are all able to work through the simplified form with me. The twins continue to do a modified version that's within 'normal toddler' physical abilities; but anyone who knows Tai Chi well enough would see that their postures are being done perfectly. Michael is trying to match me move-for-move; and I keep that in mind when doing things like the kicks so that I don't do more than he's ready for yet. He is catching on fast, though, and I only needed to show him a couple of corrections this morning.

There were chores to do before we could head out to Quarry Lake, plus we needed to get the picnic and supplies packed too; so after a quick and easy breakfast; most of us got to work while Jaimie and Kaitlyn kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained. Dad, Chris, and Martin started on the yard work while I led the third floor clean-up and started running loads of laundry. There was some outdoor work for Dawn, Gillian, and me too; and then we helped Mom with our contributions for the picnic. The chores were done and we were on the road to Quarry Lake by eleven-thirty; and our camp was set-up and we were swimming in the lake by shortly after noon.

We had a pretty big group with us, but there were lots of other Witch Falls families spending the afternoon at the campground too. Rowen had come with us, but Patrick and Scott were there with some members of the Faulkner and Palmer families. Rowen, Dawn, and I spent a lot of time playing with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara; and Jaimie was particularly happy when Lindsay Faulkner and Jessica Bassett wanted to hang out with us too.

Note to me: Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia are Michael's cousins; and we should try to spend a little more time with them – just as he's been doing with my cousins all week. That'll have to wait until at least a week from now, but I'm sure we can do that; and Sophia already gets to play with Ethan and Ehlana now and then when they're all at KidZone.

Continuing the Quarry Lake report, we swam for a half hour; stopped for lunch; played some games; visited the playground; and spent a total of another hour and a half in the lake before needing to pack up and head home again. Once we were back and had everything unloaded and put away; Rowen, Dawn, and I set up three tents. We put sleeping bags in all of them, and rounded up the gear we'd need for the night; getting all of that done with time to spare before the parents and grandparents had dinner ready for us.

That was another fairly big group barbeque, but comparatively quiet too after a long afternoon of sun and fun. Rowen and I were on the clean-up crew, and skipped most of the grandparent-led park visit while doing that and then helping Dad with getting everything ready for the campfire. We caught the tail-end of the park play, and then went for a swim back at home again before getting the younger kids ready for the campfire and camping.

The campfire was fun, and we had quite a few friends and neighbors stop in at least for little cameo visits. Even after a busy day of running around, the youngest kids were still wired for sound. The lulling effects of the stories and songs were counteracted by the sugar rush from marshmallows and s'mores snacks. That didn't keep Mom and Aunt Leanne from ordering the five-and-under kids to bed at eleven; and Michael, Rowen, and I helped with getting them tucked into sleeping bags. We also stayed near the tents after that too; and were pretty much out of the loop for the rest of the campfire. Dawn, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara decided they'd had enough fun by midnight – as did all of the adults; and maybe half of the teens and tweens. We had a little chat with them before they went into their tent for the night, and Rowen made an excuse to give Michael and I a bit of alone time so we could say goodnight in a partially non-verbal way before we split up into our own tents too.

Going to sleep while the campfire was still going on wasn't an option for me, so I've been doing a little work on my computer and talking with Rowen since snuggling into my sleeping bag. We really should be getting some rest, but Violet is the only teen still at the campfire who will be in the middle of the same crazy-busy morning rush that we'll have; and the other teens don't sound like they're particularly worried about staying up late again.

There isn't anything special to report from my work tonight, but Rowen and I had fun chatting about Michael, 'Tommy', and commenting on some of what we overheard from around the campfire – and from one couple that was apparently oblivious to the fact that even whispers carry quite a distance along a river. That moment definitely qualified as too much information; and I won't be recording the details here either.

I guess there is one news flash that I haven't written about yet, and Rowen brought that to my attention just now by telling me that she's thinking about working at the store tomorrow afternoon. Violet and Dawn are going to take Jaimie and Kaitlyn up to Crystal Springs and have a visit with their parents and grandparents. Grandpa Richard and Aunt Carrie are going to take Jaimie and Kaitlyn the rest of the way back to Granite Park from there. Dillon's working at the Inn anyway, so that'll work out – and save Mom the drive; but the travel news for tomorrow is actually that Chrissy and Josiah are going to take Kara, Eddie, and Nicole to their half-way home meeting point.

That's going to keep Aunt Leanne from doing the trip, so I'm all for the idea; and giving Chrissy and Josiah two and a half or three hours of alone time for the trip back is a nice matchmaking bonus – not that Aunt Leanne's services seem to be needed in this case.
With Dawn away for the afternoon and Rowen possibly working; I could end up with nothing to do for five or six hours. That's a novel concept; but then I'm also sure that something will come up. If we don't get some sleep soon, that 'something' might just be an afternoon nap. That's all I have for this journal update, though, so I'm going to put my computer away and hope that the campfire action is about done for the night so we can get some sleep.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Welcome back to Witch Falls, Jillian!

That was the surprise news of the day when Violet and Dawn brought Jillian back with them from Crystal Springs; though it obviously wasn't a surprise for Mom and Dad.

Having Jillian here also means that it's just Mandy and me in my room tonight; but I'll get to that part of the report later.

First up, there was another toddler, middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom between the time Rowen and I finally got to sleep and morning. There was a semi-conscious, bonus goodnight kiss with Michael too, but by then, we both just wanted to get back to sleep. Ethan and Ehlana provided the Tai Chi wake-up calls for us; we met Mom and Dad by the river benches; and they did the short form lesson with us instead of doing their own thing today – mostly so they could have a little bonus play time with Ethan and Ehlana.

Since this was the last holiday breakfast for Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, Eddie, and Nicole; Dad cooked up their favorites while Violet, Rowen, Dawn, and I helped with everything from the work in the kitchen to getting cousins packed; Violet's car loaded; and making sure that everyone got cleaned up and ready for church. Michael had gone home after breakfast, and by the time we met up with him again on our way to church; – and his family – I was just about ready for a nap.

It was a comparatively cool morning, so there was no need for a short, heat-relief service today; and Pastor Martha may have taken advantage of that opportunity to add a little extra to her message today. I didn't mind having the extra time with Michael, but not all of our friends were as excited about the extended Sunday school classes. That did mean that Michael couldn't hang around after the service, and I couldn't walk with him to the Inn because I was busy helping out with my cousins; getting them ready to travel; and then doing the goodbye hugs and kisses when they left from our house and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's.

Once our five youngest guests were gone, Rowen and I got changed; and then she helped me with cleaning up our campsite while Mom and Dad were making lunch for eight. That was a light and quick meal, and then Chris and Martin met up with Jonathan and headed out on their bikes; Rowen went to work at the Inn; Dad hid in the office; and Mom and I juggled entertaining Ethan and Ehlana with cleaning Jaimie's and Kaitlyn's rooms and doing laundry. Mom set me free when Michael stopped by to see me while on his break; and we took Ethan and Ehlana for a swim and some back yard play time until he needed to get back to the Inn again for the dinner buffet rush. Since I didn't have any cousins to entertain or best friends to play with; Mom let me go along to help out too.

It had been a long time since I'd actually worked in the kitchen with Rebecca and Michael; though I try to pop in for short visits at least a couple of times a week – even if it's just long enough for some hugs and a cameo chat. I expected to get teased because of that, even though I pretended to be there to hang out with Rebecca at first – just in case she was missing Jenny while her best friend was spending most of her time with Joel right now. The happy hugs from Miranda were more than worth being teased by Jake, Stephanie, and some of the other teens, and though I'll still be busy with my cousins for another week; I'm going to need to find time to hang out at the Inn more often too.

Too bad the Magi Council won't let me openly use time-phases because I could use more than twenty-four hours in a day!

The rush at the Inn wasn't as bad as on holiday weekends when Jacob and Miranda are running extra buffet sittings; but feeding four hundred people, and the ongoing clean-up that goes with that really can get a bit wild. I really did work with Rebecca a lot because she does more prep line work and he's usually on the cleaning crew with Dillon and the other guys. Jake now cooks alongside Jacob; though he was also in charge of the cleaning crew once the cooking was done for the night.

I missed dinner at home, and Violet, Dawn, and Jillian were already home by the time Michael, Rebecca, and I were set free from the Inn – supposedly because I did enough extra work that they didn't need to stay with everyone else. We were all ready to go for a swim by then, and Dawn and Jillian were happy to go in with us. Ethan and Ehlana didn't get Mom approval for swimming too because they'd already been dunked in the bath tub by then.

We swam for more than a half hour, and then Michael and I were left on our own by the river while Rebecca went home and Dawn and Jillian went inside with plans to take turns borrowing my Jacuzzi. Once we were on our own, we stretched out on the dock; watched the stars; and had a nice wind-down chat before deciding that we both wanted to have a comparatively early bedtime after three late camping nights in four days.

I was inside and changed into dry clothes in time to do the bedtime story with Ethan and Ehlana, and after tucking them in; I hugged Mom and Dad goodnight and went up to my room to wait for a turn in my Jacuzzi. I had a chance to chat with Jillian then because she'd had her bath first; and Dawn had only been in the tub for ten or fifteen minutes. Her parents had surprised her with the trip news too; and she's really fired up about spending the week with us again this year. When Dawn joined us after finishing in the bathroom, we only continued chatting for a few more minutes; and then they went into the room across from Violet's that they'd decided to share for the week and left me to go have a long soak in my Jacuzzi.

With the bathroom door closed and locked, I put up my wards and did a little multi-tasking with my computer while I was enjoying the Jacuzzi action. I wanted to get some family business work done, and I was able to do that without needing to stay up until two or three o'clock again – thanks to a little private time-phasing that is allowed. I spent some extra time on my hair tonight too, but still managed to climb into bed with Mandy by a bit after eleven. I've been doing the usual nightly computing since then. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, Eddie, and Nicole are all home safely; and are both glad to be back with their parents while also being sad that their holiday is over.

This is probably a good time to mention that Chrissy and Josiah were late getting back to Witch Falls. I haven't talked to them, but Mom let me know that they'd stopped somewhere to have dinner on the way home after dropping off Kara, Eddie, and Nicole. If she's not sleeping when Chrissy gets home tonight; I'll take a wild guess that Aunt Leanne will be getting the rest of that story in more details than I'll probably need.

I guess there isn't anything else to write about for today. Dad will be leaving for Crystal Springs in the morning, and we don't have any special plans for the day – other than resting up a bit before the next batch of fun starts with another canoe trip on Tuesday. Mom will need some extra help with Ethan and Ehlana this week too – and with the never-ending work; but without our younger cousins here, that won't really mean more to do – just different jobs.

Right now, getting some extra sleep is my top priority, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, July 15, 2013

I'm writing this update from a tent again tonight. We hadn't planned on camping tonight, but Dawn and Jillian wanted to have a camping night without a big gang; so Rowen and I are doing that with them – and it has been fun with just the four of us out here by the river – though we haven't been alone all night.

Before I get to that part of the story, let's back up to this morning; when Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I started our day with seeing Dad off on his way to Crystal Springs. The cuddle time after that was nice, and then we went outside for Tai Chi by the river. With Dad away, Mom helped me with my lesson this morning again; working with Ethan and Ehlana while I helped Michael. He went home for breakfast after that, and had chores to do for the morning; but other than doing a quick run-through on the third floor and getting the clothes and towels to the laundry room; Mom set Dawn, Jillian, and me free for the entire day.

When Rowen came over after breakfast, we hopped onto our bikes and took Jillian on a tour of the new section of town and the construction sites on both sides of the river. There were still a couple of people working at each of the three houses that will be getting moved into next week; but that's mostly just a little finishing work and final cleaning. Over at the lab building site, you can actually see a lot of the workers moving around now that they're nearly up to ground-level; and the construction is going to be a lot more interesting to watch soon.

After finishing our little tour, we biked the park trails for a while; stopped in at the Emporium for ice cream; and then did a little window shopping before going home again for a swim. We took Ethan and Ehlana with us for that; and then played with them until lunchtime. Chris, Martin, and Jonathan had a few friends with them for lunch, but Violet and Chrissy were having lunch with Dillon, Josiah, and some other friends; so that didn't make for too much extra work. We helped Mom and Alicia before and after we ate, but we also sat on the dock and had a little picnic away from the teen weirdness that Dawn and Jillian didn't really want to be around. That had the added bonus of putting some distance between Vanessa and me; and helped to cut down on the number of games being played today.

That doesn't mean that there was no tween or teen drama – the drama seems to be unavoidable these days.

Michael came over while Rowen and I were helping with the clean-up and Dawn and Jillian were playing with Ethan and Ehlana. Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and their friends had already left to go riding at the park by then; so he pitched in to help us get the work done so we could go and play too. The jokes and tween games started pretty much as soon as we biked over to the park; and Michael was on the receiving end of some razzing from the guys – led by Tim – because he was hanging out with four girls. I know that Tim was just trying to be funny, but two of the people egging him on weren't doing that innocently; and that kind of thing can go viral and get way out of control – like it did this afternoon.

By the time we left the park to go home and cool off in the river, Tim knew that Michael was truly mad at him; Vanessa and Nora were very pleased with themselves; and I still need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

Rowen and Michael don't agree with that last part, and maybe those guys did need to hear what I told them; but I really wish someone else had done that instead.

I stayed close to home after that. We played in the water for quite a while, and then set up our tent after making the decision to have another camping night – while having a break on the back porch and watching a brief thunderstorm roll through and drop a little rain on Witch Falls. My lamented verbosity at the park probably had something to do with why we not only didn't have company for dinner; but Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were eating elsewhere too. That left Michael and Ethan the only guys at home for dinner; and we ate early enough so that Michael could get to his baseball practice. Ethan and Ehlana wanted to go to the park after dinner, so Dawn and Jillian took them there while Rowen stayed at home with me – all of us knowing exactly why I wasn't interested in going back to the park again today.

Rowen's told me that she was proud of her best friend this afternoon, but I'd say that the best friend of the day award has to go to Tim. I have to be careful with my hugs these days for any boys around our age, but Tim earned one tonight when he and Michael came back from the park with Dawn, Jillian, and the twins. He'd patched things up with Michael already, and had come with Michael to clear the air with me too – even though doing that put him in the doghouse with Nora. He stayed long enough to go for a swim with the rest of us; but then he needed to go on to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for the gaming action there that Nora and Vanessa were already there for with the rest of the gang that was hanging out with my cousins tonight.

Michael didn't want to go and do that any more than I did, so he stayed and played with us for a couple of hours. Ethan and Ehlana got him to tell them their bedtime story, and after they were tucked in; Michael and I went for a little walk by ourselves before doing our goodnight hug and kiss by the river at his house. Rowen, Dawn, and Jillian were all in the tent by the time I got home, but I went inside to have a little chat with Mom before joining them there. We don't seem to be able to find the time to do that much lately, and didn't get to talk together for very long tonight either. That's just one more thing that we should do more often but won't work into our schedules very well; and that's one of those things that really seems strange sometimes compared to our lives before Witch Falls when we spent most of our time together with nobody else around.

Our chat tonight included some discussion of my latest tween issues, and though I still feel like I'm doing a lousy job of dealing with some of my peers; Mom mostly agreed with Michael and Rowen – and suggested that there isn't anything wrong with dealing with kids my age on their level instead of looking at everything I do through my own perspective and social and mental filters. She's probably right about that, but then I have to wonder if she'd still feel that way if I applied that theory to other tween applications – or if Ethan and Ehlana really started acting their age all of the time.

Probably not. :^)

Moving along, after saying goodnight to Mom and going out to the tent; Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and I listened to music; had a nice long girl chat; and went for a swim before Dawn and Jillian were both ready to crash for the night. Rowen's still awake as I write this, and we've been talking about everything from Michael and 'Tommy' to our plans for the rest of the week while I've been working on my computer. I took care of some family business work once it was safe to do that; and Rowen's mostly been surfing the web on her computer. Since we'll be paddling to the whirlpool and back tomorrow, we should put our computers away and get to sleep. Judging by the noise level we can still hear at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house; they may be wishing that the video game party will end soon so they can have some peace and quiet too. I should probably suggest to Chris and Martin that they move the gaming to our house for a day or two to give Aunt Leanne a break; but having to clean up after my lounge gets trashed wouldn't be fun. Maybe Mom could invite Aunt Leanne and Chrissy over for a girls' night sleepover instead!

I don't have anything else to report for today, and though it may be a while longer before Rowen and I do get to sleep; I'm going to wrap this up and put my computer away.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

We've had an amazing day, though it didn't start out that way; depending on whether you count the late-night wake-up call as being 'this morning' or 'last night'.

Rowen and I hadn't been sleeping for very long when we were woken by the gang of teens going for a swim at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. It's not that they were being exceptionally loud; just that we were right next to the river, and could hear everything going on just upriver from us. I'll skip writing about some of the comments we were able to hear; other than to mention that my comments at the park yesterday – and the jokes directed at Michael and me were still being talked about in a not very nice way. There were some new jibes too, but I'll guess that seeing our tent got the jokes started; but they probably didn't think that we would be awake or hear what they were saying about us.

That whole scene was annoying at the time, but if the tweeirdness yesterday had anything to do with the changes for our canoe trip today; I'm not sorry for shooting my mouth off anymore.

We were awake until after the teens either went home or back inside to do more gaming; and then I slept through until starting the morning out with Tai Chi. Mom taught a new lesson to Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana while she had me do a long-form workout on my own. Michael stayed for a light breakfast, and helped out with packing our picnic lunch and getting canoes ready to go. We all helped out with the usual morning work; and cleaned up our campsite too before getting ready to spend a day on the river. It wasn't until we were nearly ready to leave that we found out that we weren't going to have Chris, Martin, Jonathan, or any of their friends going with us today. In fact, only Tim and Emma joined Michael, Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and me; and while Tim attempted to call Nora, he didn't get an answer, and decided to go along despite telling us that he'd likely be in trouble for doing that instead of staying behind. I'm sure that Michael appreciated that, since he'd have been in for more razzing if he'd been the only guy spending the day with five girls.

There's a chance he could be in more trouble from being Rowen's canoe 'buddy' too, but I did offer to let him go with Michael instead; but he didn't want to do that, and it was easier for each of us to talk with our best friends when we paddled side-by-side anyway. I haven't heard whether Tim is in the doghouse with Nora, but she didn't look happy the last time I saw them this afternoon when they left shortly after we got back from the whirlpool.

I honestly think that we all had more fun with a smaller group while paddling up to the whirlpool. There wasn't any of the games and goofiness; and we managed to keep ourselves entertained all day without even one derogatory joke or comment about anyone. We weren't completely tweeird-free, but that was fairly mild; and happened because Patrick and Scott joined us at the whirlpool about twenty minutes after we'd arrived there. Let's not make a big deal of it, because we still had a lot of fun while we were there and when we all paddled home in one group; but they had definitely followed us upriver to keep an eye on Rowen and me. Patrick still barely said anything to Michael except for when he had no choice but to answer a direct question; and though Scott knows that Tim has a girlfriend, he was watching him very carefully whenever Tim was anywhere near Rowen. That was a lot of the time, since Rowen and I were swimming and playing with Michael and Tim almost all of the time – even when we were playing with Dawn, Jillian, Emma, Patrick, and Scott too.

Patrick and Scott had received parental support for their picnic, but we still shared what we had with them too – particularly since they'd already put a pretty good dent in their supplies while paddling up to the whirlpool. We had lunch in my favorite place – the flat rock by the river that Dad and Aunt Leanne had taken Mom and I to for our first whirlpool adventure. There was even a bunny there this time that Dawn, Jillian, and Emma left food for; and we all did a little exploring before going back to the whirlpool for a little more play time until we needed to head home again.

The trip back to Witch Falls went fairly smoothly. We had the five younger kids lead the way so that they could set the pace; but with the added bonus that Patrick and Scott couldn't watch us very easily or covertly when it meant turning around to look back while wearing life jackets. Dawn, Jillian, and Emma earned some bonus points from Rowen and I for helping to keep the two younger boys entertained – including doing one race with them and playing some water and nature-themed 'travel' games. We went for one cool-off swim about half-way back; and another dip when we got home that Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and the rest of their gang today joined us for – along with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden.

While we were away, Ethan and Ehlana ended up having a play afternoon with their best friends; and our breakfast-time comments about helping Aunt Leanne out with a reprieve from the teen video gaming gang by preferably having a girls' night at our house had turned into a fairly big event once Aunt Leanne found out about the suggestion. That wasn't totally girls-only all night because some guys were invited to dinner and at least one movie before being sent home while most of the girls stayed for a sleepover.

Since it had been our suggestion, though, Mom did draft Rowen and I to help her with the work to get ready for dinner; though we had help from Grandpa and Uncle Nick with the grilling too. The invitees included the usual dinner and a movie gang, along with Michael's and Rowen's families; the Seagers, and the Drapers. We were also feeding Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and some of their gang; but then they were set free to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the evening – including having all three boys stay overnight at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's while we kept Chrissy and Aunt Leanne with us.

I know, that wasn't a fair trade for Uncle Adam; but he loves us, and took one for the favorite girls on his team.

Dillon, Jake, and Josiah rounded out the guys on the dinner and a movie part of our evening; and Stephanie stayed for the sleepover with Violet and Chrissy. The work before and after dinner didn't include anything worth writing about; but we had fun during dinner – mostly because we were with the group having a picnic by the river or on the dock while the parents and teens sat around tables near the back porch. Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden provided most of our dinner entertainment; and they were set free to play at the park with Dawn, Jillian, Emma, and some grandparent and parent support while Michael, Rowen, and I were on the clean-up crew with all of the older teens and some parents.

We had too many people to make watching a movie together in the living room comfortable, so the younger kids were with the parents and grandparents in the living room while the older kids and teens were in the lounge. That was still a bit crowded in both rooms, but the boys especially liked being able to watch an action-comedy instead of a toddler-rated show. I'll pick cuddling with Michael as the highlight for me, but it was fun seeing Josiah and Chrissy together too; and the little music session we had after the movie before our toddler bedtime intermission were a close second and third.

There was a river swim during that intermission too, and then the three teen couples went on to do their own thing for a couple of hours when most of 'the men, and some of the women, went home for the night. There'd been some discussion about whether to make a sleepover exception for Ethan and Aiden or ship them off to spend the night at the Drapers; but Hannah and Nathan were in the middle of packing to get ready for their move and Nathan started work at the bakery very early; so the boys stayed with us.

Since the rest of the guys were leaving, Michael and I decided to go for a walk together before he went home for the night. We wandered over to the new section of town and did the loop around the area. We crossed paths with Jenny and Joel when they were heading over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's to hang out there for a while, and had a short chat with them; but didn't see anyone else over there – even around the work crew trailers. That's not really a surprise, since most of them are working long shifts, six days a week, while the weather is good. That was definitely why Jenny and Joel were going elsewhere so that his father could get some sleep.

Having big construction crews around without late night partying may sound strange, and we have had people hired who didn't last long; but the vast majority of the men and women who have come to work on the lab or housing projects are here because they're professional and some of the best in their respective specialties. For them, it's about the work and the money. They're not interested in screwing that up – especially when many of them are away from their families specifically because they can make a lot more money here while times are pretty tough for a lot of construction workers nearly everywhere else in the country right now.

That went a bit off topic, so let's get back to the daily update. I eventually walked Michael home; we spent a little quality time saying goodnight on his back porch in an often non-verbal sort of way; and then I went home again. Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah were taking turns watching a movie and spending time in Mom's Jacuzzi, so I talked with Mom and Aunt Leanne for a few minutes before coming up to my room for the night while Aunt Deborah was in the tub and Leah was sleeping in the crib that had been rolled into the guest room that Aunt Deborah and Chrissy were using for the night.

My Jacuzzi was in use by then too; and Emma was taking her turn second by then while Jillian was getting a post-Jacuzzi hair and nails mini-makeover while watching the first chick flick of the night with Dawn and Rowen. Teasing me about goodnight kisses with Michael added to their entertainment for a while; but we mostly watched our movies, talked, and had fun with our mini-makeovers and turns in the Jacuzzi. We had a little help with the makeovers when Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah stopped in on their way to bed, but they were all tired out by then; and didn't stay long.

Dawn, Jillian, and Emma took over the sectional sofa when we started our last movie while Rowen and I sat on the floor in front of them until they all fell asleep. We moved into my bedroom then; Rowen started surfing the net on her computer; and we've been chatting quietly while I've been doing some family business work. Violet and Stephanie stopped in to see us on their way to bed after getting home with Chrissy; but only stayed for a few minutes. They're both back to work tomorrow, and didn't want to stay up late.

We're not exactly staying up all night either, but we are the last two still awake here. I'm sure that isn't the case two doors down; and Chris, Martin, and Jonathan will likely be up late and sleeping in again in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa are hosting a lunch at the Inn; and there's a good chance that'll be the first meal of the day for the hard-core video gamers in our family.

There isn't anything else for me to report tonight, and though Rowen and I aren't quite ready to crash yet; I'm going to put my computer away and let her entertain me with her latest YouTube finds for a while.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Michael was back to helping out at the Inn again today, but he came over this morning for Tai Chi; and that was especially fun because we had Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne with us this morning too. They exercised with Mom while I did the lesson with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana; but Aunt Leanne had fun teasing us before and after we worked through our respective Tai Chi forms. With the three teenaged boys at their house still sleeping, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne stayed for breakfast. Michael stayed, and Uncle Nick joined us too; so we had a pretty big group to feed. Michael, Rowen, and I were on the work crews before and after breakfast; and we ate in the dining room. Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam both needed to get to work, so though we had fun while we ate; it didn't take long to finish breakfast and then get on with the clean-up.

Mom set us free once the kitchen and dining room were clean, but Michael went home then to do some chores before needing to go to the Inn to help with the lunch rush while Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, Emma, and I went for a bike ride around town and at the park. That ride included a visit with Aunt Leanne and Emma's mother at the real estate office and a little window shopping when we wanted an excuse to get out of the heat for a few minutes.

Naomi and Aiden were both picked up while we were away, so we took Ethan and Ehlana with us for a swim before we all needed to get ready for our lunch at the Inn with Grandma and Grandpa. Mom was one of the parent-helpers; and walked over to the Inn with us. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were there too, and though Dillon and Michael were working; Chrissy invited Josiah, and Martin had Vanessa join us too.

There is no doubt that spending an hour or so having a meal with a rival for your boyfriend while she's hanging out with one of your cousins and sitting at a table with your grandparents qualifies as being in the tweeird zone. Rowen, Emma, and I were at least at one of the tables next to them with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; but there were still quite a few moments – including Vanessa's reaction to my hugs and kisses with Miranda and Stephanie. She at least wasn't in the kitchen with me for the hugs and kisses there before and after we had lunch.

Vanessa did have a different reaction to one comment from Stephanie that she overheard. Stephanie said something about me helping out last Sunday, and suggested that I could help Miranda and Rebecca keep things at the Inn under control when she and Jake were away at college. I don't know if she'd ever considered a future with Michael that included working with him at the Inn like Stephanie does with Jake; but I have a feeling she was thinking about it today – and not picturing herself doing that any more than I could see her working the prep line; washing dishes; or eventually being one of the servers once she was old enough. She may still not be ready to give up on Michael; but there are definitely some signs that she's not as committed to her plans for him anymore.

Maybe by the time we start school in September there'll be a chance that we won't start Grade Eight as strangely as we ended Grade Seven.

Moving along, while the grandparents were busy entertaining their grand-children or great-nieces and nephews, the rest of us had a fairly uneventful and quiet lunch. We didn't have any afternoon plans, and it was hot enough out that we ended up spending some quality time doing nothing under the shade of one of the oaks by the river. There were several long, lazy swims too, including one with Michael while he was on his afternoon break; and two with Ethan and Ehlana. Our afternoon snack break included ice cream cones; and dinner was cold salads and mini sub bun sandwiches.

Mom and Violet were playing baseball after dinner, so Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, Emma, and I took Ethan and Ehlana over to the park to play and swim while they were practicing with the Fix-it Uppers. I've been fairly successful until now in avoiding game nights in the lounge, but Mom had insisted that it was time for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne to get a break; so Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and their gang took over the lounge after dinner; and Jonathan was spending the night at our house – and probably tomorrow night too. That doesn't have anything to do with why Rowen and Emma both went home tonight; but Rowen has been teasing me that it was – both while we were still together; and a little while ago when we were chatting online. Emma was going to be heading home with her parents after their ball practice anyway.

There was a side benefit of having no sleepover buddies tonight – and that Dawn and Jillian were both tired out by the time we got back home from the park. Michael was finished work by then, and Mom had two willing helpers to do the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana; so Michael and I were set free to hang out together for a while. He wanted to go swimming first after working an extremely hot shift at the Inn; so we hopped in the river for a while first. It's possible we were seen from the lounge window, but if anyone was trying to mess with us by getting the gaming gang to go for a swim break; it took too long to get that to happen; and we were already out of the water and ready to leave by the time the first half-dozen teens hit the water.

That seemed to be a very good time to go for a walk, so we wandered around town for a half hour or so, and then sat out on his back porch with cold drinks for another half hour before Michael was ready to get some sleep. Yes, I played along, but then he should have been more tired – I didn't really do much work at all today compared to him. The goodnight hugs and kisses practice took a little while too, but I don't think Michael minded losing a little sleep to do that with me instead. :^)

Mom was doing some work in the office when I got home again, so we had another little chat before I came up to bed. I'd closed and locked the doors to the lounge before it had been taken over for the night, but it was still fairly noisy in my room; so after getting ready for bed, I sat in the window alcove with my computer, and plugged in headphones so I could listen to music while working on the family business for a while.

I dealt with a couple of back-to-school issues; approved a Halloween promotion; and reviewed some new product investment proposals aimed at Christmas season launch and marketing. It isn't always fun having to make some of those decisions, but considering the economic conditions in most of the world, we're doing pretty well; help out the best we can wherever possible; and don't have any major problems. I really love the work where what we're doing makes a big difference; and we're getting to be part of more of those opportunities every year now.

That's pretty much all of the news for today. I already mentioned my little chat with Rowen; there wasn't anything noteworthy in my email tonight; and though the gaming may continue all night, I have riding lessons in the morning and need to get some extra sleep while I can before we get to another busy weekend. I know that Chris, Martin, and Jonathan all like sleeping in until noon or later, but even if that was an option for me; it just seems like a terrible waste of half the day, so I doubt that'll ever be something I ever like to do. I also wouldn't want to miss out on Tai Chi with Michael in the morning either, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

I'm going to like Thursday mornings this summer! Tai Chi, breakfast, and riding lessons with Michael – and Rowen and Tim – make for a fun way to spend the first half of the day.

With Dawn and Jillian along too, Violet had a full minivan for the trips out to the ranch and back home again. It was really hot out on the trails, so riding was a bit uncomfortable by the time we were done. We didn't have a shorter lesson because of the heat, but we did need to take extra breaks to water both the horses and the riders. Going for a swim after getting home again was necessary to cool off and to lose some of the trail dirt that our Moms didn't want in our houses or at the Inn, store, or even Landry's auto shop or showroom.

Michael and Tim left after our swim, and Rowen and I helped Mom and Alicia with making lunch while Dawn and Jillian watched Ethan and Ehlana; and Violet was back working in the office again. Vanessa was the only extra lunch guest; and Chrissy was out having lunch with Josiah and his family.

I'll guess this has been her best holiday ever so far in Witch Falls! :^)

There really isn't anything to report from the long, lazy hours between lunch and dinner. We went swimming several more times; played a bit with Ethan and Ehlana; and did a lot of nothing during the hottest part of the day. We had a light, early dinner so that Rowen and I could get to our baseball practice by six o'clock; and pretty much everyone else decided to stay close to home or indoors all evening. Our practice went well-enough that even Carolyn Landry was happy and sure that we're as ready as we can be for our game on Saturday.

My lounge was video game central again tonight, so Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I watched a movie in the living room after we got back from baseball and went for a swim. Rowen went home after that, and Dawn and Jillian took turns in my Jacuzzi while I went to the Inn to meet up with Michael and spend an hour or so with him while he wound down from another hot evening in the kitchen. We went for a swim at his house, and then sat on their dock with bottles of water and talked while watching the stars. With a busy weekend ahead, we both decided to call it a night by ten-thirty; including having the goodnight hugs and kisses finished by then too.

That was good timing for me, because by the time I was getting home; the gamers were going for a swim. While they'd vacated the lounge, I felt a lot more comfortable with grabbing a quick shower when there wasn't a bunch of tween and teen boys in the other room; and I even had my hair dried and was sitting in the window alcove with my computer before they finished their river play time and came inside again to resume their competition.

I haven't done any family business work tonight, and once this journal update is finished; I'm crawling into bed with Mandy and crashing for the next six and a half or seven hours. We're going to Quarry Lake tomorrow, and some of us are biking there and back; so we should be in for another amazing day – with the bonus that Dad will be home tomorrow night. In addition to a yard work morning and my baseball game on Saturday, we're doing a late-afternoon trail ride and an end of holiday barbeque and campfire before our cousins head home on Sunday after church.

That won't leave much time for sleep, and I should get the extra rest now while I can, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, July 19, 2013

We had lots of adult support today, but I really love getting to bike out to Quarry Lake on our own; and we had another really great day.

There was one other group biking to the campground and back today, but we only had seven in our group after most of the teens and tweens opted to get rides out there instead of biking in the heat. Michael had to trade his normal Friday lunch shift for helping out at the Inn after we got home from Quarry Lake, but I did my best to make sure that little sacrifice was worth trading part of his Friday evening off for.

He was at our house in time for Tai Chi, and Mom did one last lesson with us; since she'd be able to go back to exercising with Dad again tomorrow morning. We had a light breakfast, and then Michael went home long enough to get ready for our day at Quarry Lake and grab his bike. By the time he got back; Rowen and Tim were at the house; Dawn, Jillian, and I were ready to go; and we just needed to wait for Claire to drop Emma off on her way to work. There was a lot of busy up to that point, but the details aren't important.

Our ride out to the campground was definitely fun. We stuck to the back roads as much as we could to avoid the truck traffic on Quarry Road going to and from the various construction sites in town. Nora was mad at Tim again for choosing to bike with us today instead of getting a ride with her, Vanessa, Martin, and the others; but Michael, Rowen, and I were glad that he came along; and he made the trips both ways much more entertaining.

No, Rowen, I'm not saying that because he and Michael took their shirts off to be cooler while we rode – that was a nice added bonus, though! ;^)

Don't try to tell me that you didn't appreciate the view too; 'cause I know you did. Since Rowen's sitting here and teasing me about that, I'll also mention that the outfits and swimsuits she picked out to wear today turned quite a few heads – including 'Tommy's'. Top fashion impact on boys marks go to the Quarry Lake bikini; the flirty, little wrap-dress; and the one-piece swimsuit she wore when we went swimming back at home that had kept 'Tommy' looking at her often enough that even his girlfriend noticed.

Some of our friends were at the campground by the time we got there, but Chris, Martin, and Jonathan hadn't been in any hurry to wake up this morning; and we'd been playing in and around the lake for an hour or more before they joined the party. Mom had lots of driving support, and brought Ethan and Ehlana along so that they could go swimming too. Violet and Chrissy were two of the drivers; and they helped all of the adults with the picnic lunch that had been thrown together to feed everyone.

Rowen, Michael, and I helped with the work too, but Tim was busy with Nora and the other teens from the time they arrived until we started biking home again. As I think about that, it's a little funny that Vanessa and Nora aren't really throwing any tweeirdness at Michael now, but they're also still excluding us from their reindeer games. Rowen and I haven't been in that circle with our classmates since I moved here anyway, and being so shy and quiet always kept Rowen out of the loop before that, so we don't really miss being left out now; but I'm sure Michael would prefer to hang out more with Tim and his buddies again no matter how much fun he's having with us instead. Maybe we'll work on that next week once my cousins have gone home.

Don't worry, Rowen – our summer challenge is still a top priority. I think that you've already got 'Tommy' right where you want him – he just doesn't know it yet.

Getting back to the Quarry Lake part of the report, we'd mostly played in the water and on the slides this morning until stopping to help Mom with lunch; including swimming with Ethan and Ehlana. It didn't take long to feed the gang, and then we helped with the clean-up; had some playground time and another swim with Ethan and Ehlana; and then they went home with all of the adults and younger kids while the older kids and teens stayed to play for the rest of the afternoon.

For us, that meant adding Patrick, Scott and Lindsay Faulkner, and Jessica Bassett to our group so we could keep an eye on them until they were picked up again. Lindsay and Jessica were easily entertained because they were happy to play with Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, Emma, and me. Patrick in particular was not interested in hanging out with Michael, though, and he and Scott were more interested in alternately playing their annoying little pranks and jokes; and taking off so that Rowen, Michael, and I had to regularly hunt them down.

Those little inconveniences didn't really take much away from the fun level, and Patrick even managed to have fun despite the problems he's having with seeing Michael and me together. Our afternoon adventures included an ice cream break; and we did a little tour of the campground while we munched on our fast-melting frozen treats; mostly so that Jillian could see some of the new games and additions to the campground. We watched some of the games that were in progress, and it looked to me as if the Quarry Lake owners were getting exactly what they'd hoped for by adding the games geared toward seniors. There were definitely more multi-generational campers around; and it was nice to see grandparents, parents, and kids all spending holiday time together.

After our tour, we had time for one more blast of fun on the slides and in the lake before it was time to start packing up and getting ready to go home. Patrick, Scott, Lindsay, and Jessica were among the first kids picked up, so we were able to start our ride back after that, but it took Michael about fifteen minutes to get Tim to join us – and then it was only because Nora's ride arrived and she needed to leave too. That put us a bit behind, but we picked up the pace so we could still be home in time for Michael to go for a swim with us before he needed to grab a quick shower and get to the Inn to help with the dinner rush.

His work wasn't a lot different than mine then; though we weren't feeding two or three hundred people at our house – only about fifty. There's going to be a big vacation finale barbeque and campfire tomorrow night; but this little dinner and a movie or gaming night meal wasn't exactly planned – it just sort of grew into a big meal; mostly because of the teens and tweens hanging out with Chris, Martin, and Jonathan at Quarry Lake. Nearly all of them came back to our house; and I don't even know how many they ended up having at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for the last video gaming competition they'd be having before heading home on Sunday.

After Michael left, Rowen and I joined the kitchen work crew. Mom and Grandma had lots of help, and we collectively made up everything from pasta and potato salads to trays of baked appetizers and snacks that kept the guys from chewing on the furniture until the burgers and jumbo hot dogs started rolling off the grills that Grandpa, Uncle Nick, and some of the other guys were working. While we were busy with that, and then hauling food out to the back porch; Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were actually put to work getting tables set up in the back yard. They had some friends help out, but probably didn't get the work done any faster because of that assistance.

My perspective on Michael has changed, but teen and tween boys in groups are just as scary as they were before I crossed over.

That's the main reason that Rowen and I took most of the younger kids with us and had a picnic dinner by the river instead of sitting at tables with everyone else. An industrial-strength yard vacuum and mulcher couldn't possibly have cleared the grills of every scrap of meat as efficiently as those same boys managed to do tonight. Miranda and Jacob may not notice the drain on their raw food supplies at the Inn for their two boys, but I have to wonder how many cars Tim's parents need to sell or fix to handle the grocery bill they must have to keep him fed every week.

Maybe that's why he's best friends with Michael! I'm sure his parents must appreciate the break for all of the meals he's had here over the past couple of weeks.

I'm picking on Tim, but he had lots of company helping him to empty those grills – and pretty much every bowl and tray that contained anything edible. While the guys were entertaining the adults and teen and tween girls with their feats of eats; our picnic by the river was fun; and having Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and the other younger kids entertain us was more interesting – and a lot less gross. That break in the action was followed by a big clean-up that Rowen and I were again on the crew for while Dawn, Jillian, and Emma were helper bees for the grandparents and aunts on a short trip to the park playground while the rest of us were busy and the teens mostly escaped to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to get started on their video gaming adventure.

After a long day of biking and play at Quarry Lake, I didn't mind skipping the trip to the park, and by the time we had the yard and kitchen cleaned up; Michael was back again. We didn't have a big group staying for the movie part of the night, but Dawn, Jillian, and Emma opted for watching our first movie in the lounge; so Rowen, Michael, and I tagged along – though we all went for another swim first; and Michael and I took an early break when Dad got home from Crystal Springs.

Now that was a bit on the tweeird side – welcoming Dad home for the first time with my boyfriend there too. That made for a few extra laughs, and Aunt Leanne teased us a bit, but that was mostly fun; and those jokes and comments are a lot easier to find entertaining while holding Michael's hand and sharing all of that with him. We helped to carry Dad's luggage inside; had a little visit with everyone in the living room; and then went upstairs again to catch the tail end of the first movie.

That next intermission included another swim in the river, and then we all joined in for the bedtime story and snack for Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. Mom and Dad joke about Ethan and Ehlana wanting to have their friends over for sleepovers when I'm having one too, but that's just for show; since my brother and sister really do ask to do that. Michael was drafted to help Dad with getting Ethan and Aiden tucked in while I helped with Ehlana and Naomi; and then we came back upstairs to the lounge to watch our second movie.

My cousin and our friends did not take pity on Michael for being the only guy in the room; and picked a tween-rated chick flick. They also teased us a fair bit too, but he managed to survive; we had fun cuddling together; and he liked the music and dancing – even if he had to at least pretend to be suffering through most of the show. We were on our own for one last swim after that while the rest of the girls were taking turns getting ready for bed; and then we shared a few goodnight kisses that were witnessed from the third floor alcove windows – and possibly from several other vantage points in neighboring houses before Michael walked home and I went inside again.

A third movie was underway by then, but Dawn, Jillian, and Emma were already starting to fall asleep; and they barely even managed to tease me about those kisses with Michael before running out of steam and dozing off. Rowen and I moved into my room then, and have been playing on our computers and chatting since climbing into bed with Mandy. She's mostly been watching videos – and showing them to me – while I've done some family business work and my usual nightly computing. She's going to work at the computer store in the morning, I have the yard work, and we both have our game at noon; so we should be getting some sleep too. The problem is that we're both still wired for sound despite playing and working hard most of the day.

I don't have anything else to add to this update, though, so I'm going to put my computer away now; and try to get serious about winding down. At the rate we're going, we'll be lucky to get four hours of sleep; and we still have about a day and a half of busy to go before my cousins head home.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Though Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were continuing our Tai Chi lessons this morning, it was still really great to have Dad with us again this morning. The full country breakfast was a nice bonus too that Michael helped out with and then joined us for.

That was fun, but then I didn't see Michael again until he and his family came over for the campfire tonight after closing the Inn for the night. He went home after breakfast, and I was on the yard work crew for the rest of the morning. I finished up at eleven-thirty; jumped in the river to cool off; and then got ready for my baseball game. Rowen collected me on her way to the park; and we biked there to be on-time for our team warm-ups.

We had lots of extra cheerleading support today thanks to my cousins and friends, and it was fun watching them play with Aunt Leanne; but we – the Leopards – didn't leave it up to them to win the game for us. The Tigers were the home team for this game, so we were up to bat first. Carolyn batted me home for the first run of the game; and we didn't look back from there – or give up our early lead. We had to play the bottom of the last inning, but the game was never really in doubt; and we won by a score of fourteen to eight.

Rowen and I had to skip the ice cream celebration with our team, because we went straight home from the park; hopped into vehicles with the rest of the riding enthusiasts in our family; and headed out to the Ridge River Ranch for a late afternoon trail ride. That was another blast of fun, and I especially liked getting to have some time to talk with Mom and Dad while Rowen and I rode just ahead of them on the trails. We were out there for an hour and a half, and then we needed to hurry home again so that the adults in the group could join in on the work in progress for our final 'cousins' vacation' barbeque dinner.

Violet and Chrissy dropped Emma off at home on their way back, and had Dawn and Jillian with them too so they could say goodbye to their best Witch Falls friend. That took a while because Emma showed them around her farm while they were there; and that's the main reason why Rowen and I were put in charge of Ethan and Ehlana when we got home instead of being on the work crew. Okay, being in need of a dunk in the river or a shower may have had something to do with it too after a hot afternoon of baseball and trail riding; but nobody specifically told us that we were too dirty and smelly to help out with the food.

Whatever the reason, we definitely had more fun going swimming and playing with Ethan and Ehlana until dinnertime. We had more guests tonight, but this barbeque had more 'real' food. In addition to the steak, chicken, and shish-kabob options, there was also corn on the cob and baked potatoes from the grill masters. The kitchen cooks had also put together several hot side dishes as well as the usual cold salads and veggies; and there were quite a few Olde Bakery dessert contributions to choose from for anyone who still had room for more food by the time those boxes and platters were set out on the back porch patio table.

Rowen and I were relieved of toddler duty during dinner, and sat at a table with Dawn, Jillian, Jessica and Ryan Bassett, Patrick, and Scott. Without having Michael there, and almost-six-year old Ryan to impress, Patrick was pretty much his normal self during dinner – though that wasn't really a good thing from the perspective of the girls at the table. He and Scott were doing their best to imitate the older boys' usual food and drink games; and Ryan was happy to help them in their attempts to gross us out.

Jessica had wanted to sit next to me, and had a lot to talk about; including some family and cousin perspective about Michael and me. That was a bit strange while giving me a few warm and fuzzy feelings too. It is nice to know that most of Michael's extended family think that we make a cute couple, but he hasn't exactly had a long line of girlfriends, so I'm not sure how I should take the 'best girlfriend so far' comments – as a comparison on a short list or because they think our couple status is temporary.

Even with the gross-out attempts by the boys, we had a fairly entertaining hour or so while we had dinner, and then Rowen and I were on the clean-up crew while all of the younger kids were set free to play. There was a trip to the park playground that had adult supervision; games in the back yard; and there was almost always at least a few people swimming in the river and going for short canoe rides. We didn't go out in the canoes at all, but Rowen and I did go swimming a couple of times, and played volleyball for a while too between the time we'd finished with the work and when the campfire started.

I'm sure you can guess that my favorite part of the campfire was the hour and a half or so that I got to spend with Michael. Rowen and I had fun with the younger kids too, and sat on the other side of the fire from most of the teens and tweens; with a parent buffer on one side and the older teens on the other. We didn't want to be in on the random acts of goofiness or watch any more of the tweeird than necessary. Even with so many adults around, it's sometimes amazing how much tweens and teens will try to get away with; thinking that they won't be seen or called out on what they're doing while they're part of such a big group. Maybe they're right about that, but for those of you reading this in the future; try to remember from now on that my brother, sister, and I see and remember everything around us all of the time. If you're blushing or feeling embarrassed right now, don't worry about it – your secret's safe with us!

Moving along, the campfire included the usual activities – toasting food, music, and campfire stories that were appropriately rated for the audience; with the scarier tales being told after the youngest kids were either put to bed or taken home for the night. Michael and Rebecca joined us a bit ahead of their parents, Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon; and they both sat with us. Rebecca did that because she didn't want to be a third wheel for Jenny and Joel – or be any closer to the more demonstrative teen and tween couples than Rowen or I wanted to be.

Michael and I were cuddling too, but not with each other – he had Ethan in his lap about a minute after he sat down; and I'd had Ehlana with me off and on since we'd sat down around the fire. We did hold hands and sit close together, though, and earned some giggles from my brother and sister while sharing a kiss now and then. Mom and Dad put the twins to bed at ten-thirty when Naomi, Aiden, and pretty much all of the five-and-under kids were taken home for the night – or tucked into spare rooms until their parents and older siblings were ready to go home too.

The campfire is still going on now as I write this, but Michael and I hopped into the river for a swim at eleven-thirty when his parents, the Emersons, and a few other families decided to call it a night. We floated downriver to his house and swam there for a while before getting out and sitting on the dock together for a little wind down alone time. There were whistles and comments called out to us after the only kiss we shared while on the dock; and that was enough to convince us to move over to the comparative protection of his back porch for our goodnight kisses to avoid any more razzing from the teens that were still hanging out around the campfire. We'd both had a really long day, so I was in my room, changed, and sitting in my window alcove with my computer by twelve-thirty.

I've done a little family business work and my usual nightly computing since then while enjoying the view of the campfire. Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon were probably as tired as Michael and Rebecca, but they stayed around the campfire with Chrissy and Josiah until a little after one o'clock; and Violet and Dillon are still downstairs – probably so that they can make sure the fire is out when the younger teens are finished having their fun. Jake and Stephanie went home then; and Chrissy and Josiah left with them. I'll guess that they're busy saying goodnight and a private goodbye at his house; since they won't be able to do that tomorrow.

Everyone around the fire would be able to see me, but other than getting a couple of half-waves from Violet and Stephanie; Vanessa was the only other person to even look up at me. I don't know if seeing me had anything to do with it; or if it was just the absence of adults around; but she was definitely more demonstrative with Martin. I suppose that could have been her way of saying goodbye to him too, or even keeping up with Tim and Nora, Jenny and Joel, or some of the other teen and tween couples; but the timing for those glances up at me weren't random. If she's trying to send a message to me; I have no idea what it is. Martin, on the other hand, looked like he was really enjoying his last vacation campfire a lot.

I don't want to watch them when they say goodbye any more than I wanted to watch him with Jenny last summer; and I'm ready to get some sleep anyway, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Happy 1st Anniversary, Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah!

Welcome home from your honeymoon, Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace!

I'm writing this report from Rowen's bedroom because Mom and Dad are getting a kid-free night after two weeks with a house full of them – and after Dad's week in Crystal Springs. Ethan and Ehlana are staying with Grandma and Grandpa; and Violet is in Woodvale tonight after taking Chris, Martin, Dawn, and Jillian home. None of us want to know the details about how our parents, or aunts and uncles, are keeping themselves entertained tonight while enjoying their parental night off; anniversary; or first night as a married couple in their new home town.

Rowen and I have both had a long, busy day; and we're not going to be staying awake much longer; though Patrick and Scott are still playing their usual sleepover pranks and games, so we'll need to deal with that while trying to get some sleep. My day started out quietly with Tai Chi by the river. Michael didn't stay for breakfast today, and was probably glad that he wasn't there for the mad dash we had trying to get everyone fed; ready for church; and have Dawn, Jillian, Chris, and Martin packed to head home, and all of their luggage loaded into Violet's car.

That couple of hours was just a blur of non-stop action. Mom, Dad, Violet, and I didn't really even sit down to eat breakfast – we just ate some food on the fly while continuing to work. By the time we left for church, I was ready for a break – and glad to have a little time to spend with Michael before we'd both be busy again for the rest of the day. Mom and Dad took the minivan for the short hop over to the church because it looked like it might rain before the end of the service; and Violet drove her car because she was planning on leaving for Woodvale from there. I met up with Michael and we walked there before meeting up with my family again and sitting with them for the first part of the service.

I was about to write that we were able to have a break and catch our breath for the next hour or so, and though that is true; I don't want you, reading this some day in the future, to think that I don't appreciate the messages we're taught at church and in Sunday school – even though I don't really write about that much in my journal. The main reason that I don't do that is worth mentioning because the reason I don't write about things like the Pastors' messages or Sunday school lessons has to do with the connection Magi Masters have with God. I honestly don't even think about it much – it's just there the same as the rest of my senses. That's a pretty big thing to sound so casual about, but in a way; that's exactly how it is for me. Mom is more contemplative and reflective about that connection, and Ethan and Ehlana are as inquisitive about it as they are about everything else; so their perspective is different than mine. I sense that there's a reason for that; but I haven't been given the insight to know why – at least for now.

That's something else I can usually accept fairly easily – the limitations on what Ethan, Ehlana, and I are allowed to know about our collective future and knowledge in general that goes beyond the 'normal' boundaries. I wasn't thinking about any of that this morning. It was enough to spend the time with my family and friends; and enjoy sharing the love and joy that always enfolds our congregation when we're together.

I would have liked to have a little more time with Michael after church, but he only stayed long enough to say goodbye to my cousins before hurrying on to the Inn to help get ready for the lunch rush; and I was kept busy with those goodbyes for more than a half hour before Violet left with her car load for Woodvale; and Josiah took Chrissy and Jonathan to the half-way home point where they'd be meeting their parents. I thought that having Josiah make that trip was going to save Aunt Leanne a long day in a car, but she and Uncle Adam headed out of town then too so they could get Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace from the airport this afternoon. She could have stayed home instead, and I'm sure that Josiah would have picked up the return passengers if he'd been asked; so getting a fast food fix may have been involved in the decision-making process.

Burgers and fries were not anything that was going to motivate me today after having regular doses of that sort of thing for the past two weeks. I was very happy with vegetable soup and soft bakery buns for lunch; and the anniversary dinner party buffet at the Inn we went to early this evening. It seemed very quiet in the house when we got home from church. We'd had a couple of dustings of rain while we were at church, but it started to rain more steadily after lunch.

Rowen had decided to spend the afternoon at the computer store because of the rain; so it was just the five of us for lunch; and then Dad needed to spend the afternoon working in the office. There was a lot of housework and laundry to do, so Mom and I both worked on that for about three hours. Yes, there were a lot more than six man-hours of work to do, but using a little Magi power was an option; and we had some help with that from Ethan and Ehlana while Mom made some of the work a lesson for them. I'm sure that we were all really happy to have the chance to use our talents again after two weeks of rarely getting to do anything.

Getting that work finished early allowed me to grab a shower; get ready for Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah's anniversary dinner party; and then go over to the Inn to hang out with Michael and Rebecca – and help out during the first buffet rush. We were booked for the late buffet so that all shop-owning family members could attend; and to allow extra time if there had been any flight delays for Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace. That worked out even better for me than I'd expected. I had a blast playing in the kitchen for a couple of hours; and then Miranda let Michael and Rebecca have dinner with us once the first wave of food for the second buffet hit the tables.

We were at a kids table with Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; so I missed out on most of the anniversary roast and the public and family-rated honeymoon stories. Mom will give me the report tomorrow sometime; and I won't want the in-depth details whenever she and Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah get the chance to have the honeymoon debriefing chat I did hear mentioned tonight.

Having four toddlers to feed and entertain kept us busy, but I really love how great Michael is with Ethan and Ehlana; and we always have fun with them. I also liked having a family meal that didn't include any tweeirdness. With Chris, Martin, and Jonathan gone, we didn't have any of the extra tweens and teens with us either; and I sure you can guess that not having Vanessa or Nora around directly and inversely affected the tweeird level.

It wasn't until we were getting ready to go home that Ethan, Ehlana, and I found out that we wouldn't be staying at home tonight. Michael had already gone back to work in the kitchen by then, so with the need to pack an overnight bag added to the schedule; I had to make the goodnight hug and kiss with him – and the round of hugs I shared with Miranda, Jacob, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca – fairly short before getting a ride home with Mom and Dad. Rowen came with us and helped me pack; and then we walked over to her house.

There was some work to do there too, and Rowen and I helped her parents for about an hour before they went up to bed and Rowen and I decided to watch a show in the living room. We had to put up with extra doses of Patrick and Scott to do that; and eventually just gave up and came upstairs to Rowen's room for the rest of the night. We got ready for bed, dodged the boys while taking turns in the bathroom, and then climbed into her bed with our computers.

I haven't done any work tonight, but there were some email to deal with from Chrissy, Violet, Dawn, and Jillian. Violet's glad to be home, and got to spend some time with her friends tonight. Dawn and Jillian are doing a sleepover at Jillian's after having a barbeque dinner with both families. Chrissy misses Josiah already, so I'll guess that there may be an extra trip where she comes here again or he goes to visit her between now and when they both head for college in three weeks. Jake and Stephanie leave for New York in three weeks too, and Violet and Dillon head for Kansas State in just four weeks. Let's not think about that tonight. I'd like to stay in denial for just a little while longer!

After two busy play weeks, Rowen and I are going to get back to work, but we're also going to help out with kid control too while the Everetts, Seagers, and Drapers move into their new houses this week. That'll probably be more fun than actually doing the moving work; but I'd still like to help out with that a bit too if I can. We haven't planned anything for the next couple of days with Michael; and I have no idea whether Tim will be spending much time with us now that our house – or Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's place – won't be tween and teen central.

Not having the guys around here hanging out with my cousins might put a damper on the summer challenge for Rowen and me; but I won't be terribly surprised to see 'Tommy' finding excuses to be in the same general vicinity as Rowen on a regular basis. If not, I'm sure we can find other ways to get his attention without being too obvious about it.

Yes, I know we've only got six weeks left until the Labor Day weekend, Rowen. Shouldn't you be more optimistic about getting that kiss with him than the prospect of me losing the challenge? She's joking about that depending on how good the kiss would be, but you think he's your perfect match, Rowen; so that should be a given.

We probably shouldn't be getting on that train of thought right before we go to sleep, but then I do have a different perspective on the dreams that include Michael in a starring role these days; so I don't need to start not thinking about soft, cuddly bunnies. I should wrap this up and put my computer away. Maybe if we turn the lights out and keep the noise down; Patrick and Scott will get the hint and leave us alone.

It might work – I'll let you know tomorrow.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Before I get to the recap of moving day number one, my day started out with more than a little strange. With Ethan and Ehlana at Grandma and Grandpa's, and Mom and Dad getting their kid-free break; Michael came over to Rowen's house for Tai Chi this morning.

We'd had more rain earlier, and the grass was wet; but we were able to do our lesson in the back yard. That'll be the last time I do that without back yard neighbors, but we weren't unobserved. Patrick was awake; watched us from his bedroom window; and was glaring daggers at Michael the entire time. That may have been because of seeing us share a good morning hug and kiss, but whatever the reason; his unhappy spectating made it a little tougher to concentrate on our lesson and postures. Michael managed to do that, and he didn't look up at Patrick even once, but he did know what was going on; and we may need to try and help Patrick deal with his crush a little better than he has been so far. We sat on the front porch steps and drank bottles of water while chatting for another ten minutes or so after we'd finished exercising. I'd hoped that being there would have spared Patrick witnessing our goodbye kiss; but a loud thump from the general vicinity of the front dining room window was a strong hint that he'd come downstairs to keep an eye on us – and hadn't liked what he'd seen.

That's probably why he didn't want to talk to me during breakfast, and though I really feel bad about being the reason why he's so upset and mad right now; Rowen and I didn't mind missing out on the usual morning pranks that Patrick wasn't in the mood to play on us with Scott. Taking turns having showers and getting ready to head over to my house for the day was a lot easier without those extra-curricular games.

I walked, and Rowen rode her bike when we left her place at the same time that her parents went to the computer store and Patrick and Scott biked off to go hang out with their friends. We were in time to see Dad off to work, and then have a little visit with Mom before Alicia came over to work around the house with Mom while they waited for Ethan and Ehlana to get home. It turned out that Rowen and I didn't really have much to do for the next couple of hours while we waited for a few things to happen first. Aunt Leanne, Claire, and Dad were all involved in getting the three house sales closed, and then Naomi, Aiden, and Hailey were busy for a while checking out their new homes with their parents before Naomi and Aiden were dropped off at our house; and Hailey went to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa Draper.

Ethan and Ehlana were home by then too, and Rowen and I took over watching all four toddlers until lunchtime. Alicia helped out when we took them swimming, but we were on our own for a trip to the park playground. We had extra company at our house for lunch so that the adults who were helping out with the work around the three new houses didn't have to take the extra time off to cook and clean. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah helped Mom and Alicia with that; and we all had fun hearing about what everyone else had been doing all morning.

Michael came over after lunch; and he joined Rowen and me for our toddler-rated play afternoon. We started out with a pair of bike and trailer rides around town; the first with Ehlana and Naomi, and the second with Ethan and Aiden. Rowen and I did the first one, and Michael was with me for the second loop. We followed that up with another swim, and then played in the back yard for a while before deciding that we needed an Emporium ice cream break. Mom and Alicia came with us for that; and we collected Miranda and Jacob along the way. Another trip to the playground was nixed when rain looked imminent, and we barely had time to get home again before the first showers rolled through.

The rain kept us indoors for the next four or five hours. Michael's baseball practice was cancelled, and after finding out that Rowen had family dinner plans tonight; he invited me to have dinner with his family. We managed to mostly stay dry when we ran over to his house after Dad was home and Naomi and Aiden had both been picked up for the night. Stephanie was there for dinner too, as she often was on their nights off; and I really loved everything about feeling like I was truly part of the family now. It was definitely a lot different than how it always felt anytime I was there as Rebecca's friend. Jacob and Jake had experimented with the entree they make for dinner; and this is one of those times that I really enjoy having a full-sensory photographic memory!

While dinner was really special, my favorite part of the evening was when Michael began teaching me how to play guitar. Dad's taught me how to play a few chords before, but my motivation for wanting to learn to play is different now; and we had a lot of fun tonight. The combination of a great memory and the fact that guitar will be the third instrument I'm learning to play helped to make for a very successful first lesson. The alone time in Michael's room felt strange, but it may feel that way for a while when we're on our own at my house too.

For those of you who may be reading this in the future and wondering if Michael's room was the kind of disaster zone that you'd find with most boys our age; I'll have to disappoint you by reporting that his room was fairly neat; and very organized. He takes great care of his music gear, and even his collection of music books is neat and tidy. His space and sci-fi themed decorations and collectibles were interesting, and while his gaming system isn't as cool as the one Dad put in my lounge; it is pretty good.

We didn't play video games, but after the nearly hour-long guitar lesson, we watched a bit of television with his parents in the living room; went for a walk once the rain had stopped; and ended our evening with a swim in the river before Michael walked me home and we shared a good night kiss or three on my front porch.

After watching Michael walk home, I went inside to find Ethan and Ehlana still awake and in the office with Mom and Dad. They apparently needed me to tell them a bedtime story about my adventures with Michael before they could sleep; so we did that while having a bedtime snack. Mom and Dad gave me the moving news update then too. There wasn't actually a lot of furniture moved today. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace have moving trucks or deliveries coming here starting tomorrow; but they didn't book anything for today in case they'd had a major flight delay.

They did get a couple of new deliveries from ValleyView Furniture, and spent some time shopping for the long list of supplies they'd need; using Dad's truck to haul loads of purchases from the Emporium and grocery store. The Drapers and Seagers had a lot going on too, but there's very limited capacity for moving trucks and trailers in Witch Falls; and they're all sharing that equipment this week. Add to that the need to juggle running a bakery and Liz's work at the Salon; the morning paperwork shuffle; and the afternoon rain; and that pretty much explains why the first day of work was slow and a bit disorganized.

Tomorrow is going to be different and busier; and Rowen, Michael, and I will be doing more babysitting. I'd thought about making it an early bedtime tonight, but after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night; I ended up spending some quality time with my Jacuzzi. The nightly computing after that dragged on for an hour and a half longer than I'd expected after I got caught up in a lengthy project proposal for the family business. It's heading toward two o'clock at a high rate of speed – rhetorically speaking; not through a time phase. :^)

With Tai Chi only a long nap away, though, I have had enough fun and don't have anything else to report for today, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne officially have new neighbors tonight. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace are staying in their new home tonight; though they're only doing that because getting the master bedroom set up was a priority today. They'll be getting daily deliveries for the rest of the week; and still have rooms full of boxes to unpack from the truckload of Aunt Grace's things that were delivered today.

While they're busy with moving, I haven't gotten to spend much time with Uncle Mark or Aunt Grace yet, but it is nice to get to see them every day; and I was busy today too.

It was nice being back by the river for Tai Chi again this morning – and with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. Michael and the twins have learned the basic short form postures we started their lessons with, so we're able to work through that form every morning now; and their lessons will continue to build from there on both the physical and mental aspects of Tai Chi. That was another really special start to our day, and then Michael went home while I helped Mom and Violet with Ethan and Ehlana and making breakfast while Dad got ready for work. He and I were the clean-up crew after we ate so that Mom and Violet could get ready to help out with the moving adventures today. I took a turn having a shower and getting dressed for a play day after that, and was ready to go in time to help out with the goodbye hugs and kisses for Dad when he left for work.

Mom waited until Alicia came over before she and Violet left to meet up with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace at their house; and when Rowen joined us; she and I took over taking care of Ethan and Ehlana while Alicia supervised us and did some of her other regular work around the house. Naomi and Aiden were both dropped off over the next hour. Aiden was last because his parents weren't able to start working on their house until most of the baking for the day was finished at the Olde Bakery. Rowen and I played with all four kids in the back yard for a while, and then we had a snack break in the kitchen. That was when we decided to have a picnic lunch at the park. Alicia helped us to put our picnic together; and we had all four kids ready to spend a couple of hours at the park by the time that Michael came over again to spend the rest of the day with us after helping out around his house again this morning.

There were a lot of kids at the park, and a handful of tweens; but not many teens – except for the few who had babysitting jobs like Alicia. She hadn't come with us, and was going to help out with the lunch Mom and Grandma were providing for some of the movers today; but we knew where to find her if there were any emergencies. Some parents were at the playground too when we first got there, but they started taking their kids home for lunch not long after that; and we had almost no waiting time for swings or slides by noon.

I get teased now and then about having a brother and sister who are ten years younger than I am, and I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have siblings closer in age; but it's also really amazing being old enough to have my perspective on watching Ethan and Ehlana growing up. There's nine months difference between Naomi and Aiden, with the twins nearly half-way between them. That's already starting to make less and less of a difference now that it has so far; and probably not even as big of a deal with how they play as their individual personalities are.

Naomi often leads because she's the closest to me when it comes to being fired up and outgoing; not because she's the oldest. Ethan and Ehlana, as I've mentioned before, are somewhere in the middle between Mom and Dad and me on that scale; and Aiden probably isn't the quietest just because he's younger than his friends. After all, I'm younger than Michael and Rowen; but am usually more hyper-active than both of them combined. Aiden needs more help to keep up with their little games, but even that won't be a problem by next summer.

Moving on with the report, we played for over an hour; cooled off in the river for a while; and then sat under one of the big oaks while having our lunch. By the time we'd finished eating, there were more kids running around the park again, so we joined in to play until it was time to go home and check in with Alicia. While we were there, Tim stopped in to see what we were up to while Nora and Vanessa were off doing something 'girly' and birthday-related. Vanessa will join the 'teen' club on Thursday, but that event isn't really anything I've been thinking about; since Michael, Rowen, and I were not on the guest list, and hadn't expected to be.

Since he had some free time, we invited him to help us take Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden for a canoe ride. The boys took one canoe, and Rowen and I had Ehlana and Naomi with us. Michael and I knelt in the stern of our canoes with Ethan and Ehlana sitting directly in front of us while Tim and Rowen knelt just behind the bow seats and had Aiden and Naomi sit on those seats. We paddled toward the falls; made a stop downtown for an Emporium ice cream break; and then paddled home again before going for another swim.

We had to move over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house after that. Alicia was finished work for the day, and Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah were leading the dinner work crew. They were feeding most of the people helping out with the Everett, Seager, and Draper moves, and while we continued our babysitting duties; we also helped out with getting tables and chairs set up in the back yard too.

Tim was invited to join us for dinner, and accepted after checking in with his mother first. We had fun, but after we were all teased a bit about looking like four couples while sitting together at the kids table; I'm not sure whether he had any regrets or not. Those jokes may have been partly my fault – and Michael's; but even though we wanted to sit together, that doesn't explain why Ethan ended up sitting next to Naomi and Ehlana was with Aiden. While Tim may not have liked being teased about him and Rowen making a cute couple too, he also didn't mind sitting next to her and having fun with us.

We were on the clean-up crew after dinner, but that was mostly because it was looking like rain was imminent; and everyone pitched in to at least get the outdoor part of the work finished quickly. Another cool off swim in the river followed the blast of work; but most of us were out of the water and getting dried off by the time the first spits of rain rolled in.

It's been raining more on than off since then, and after stopping in to see how Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's place is coming along; we went home with Mom and Dad – all eight of us. Dad had work to do, and Mom wanted to work in the office; so Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I took the four younger kids up to the lounge to keep them entertained until bedtime. Naomi and Aiden were staying for a sleepover while their parents were busy – or needing extra sleep while trying to keep up with work and getting moved.

The four boys started out with some video gaming action while Rowen and I played some music and games with Ehlana and Naomi. We didn't have time for a movie, but we watched a cartoon that the boys picked out before it was time to get started on the toddler bedtime routine. Michael and I took care of most of that while Tim and Rowen played a video game; but they joined us for the bedtime snack and story in the office with Mom and Dad; and helped to get the younger kids tucked in on our way back up to the lounge.

Michael had lent me his first student guitar to practice with, and he borrowed Dad's so he could do another lesson with me while Rowen and Tim went back to playing video games again while we practiced chords and a couple of simple songs for a half hour or so. Michael took over from Rowen on the gaming after that, while I cuddled with him on one half of the sectional sofa and we all talked together. Rowen and Tim weren't cuddling, but I don't think either of them even noticed that they were sitting close enough together to touch legs and arms; and weren't at all uncomfortable about the contact.

It was already past-time for Michael and Rowen to head home when Tim got a call from Nora that sent him jumping and on his way. We didn't hear her end of their short conversation, but he advised us that he was late; and she wasn't happy about that – or having to call around to track him down. While he didn't wait to leave, Michael and Rowen helped carry our glasses and snack dishes down to the kitchen before going home too. We all went out onto the front porch together, and Rowen left first; but she must have looked back toward us at least twice.

I know that, Rowen, because I heard those quiet, happy laughs even though you tried to muffle them with your hands. For the record, you weren't witnessing one extended kiss; not that it really makes much difference whether Michael and I shared one goodnight kiss or several. He was walking home by the time you waved at me from your front porch.

Once I'd watched Michael until he waved at me from his front porch too, I went inside and had a short visit with Mom and Dad before coming up to my room again. I wanted to have another soak in my Jacuzzi, but this time I multi-tasked the first part of the family business work I wanted to get done tonight. Violet was home comparatively early tonight too, and since I was still up sitting in my window alcove with my computer then; she borrowed my Jacuzzi before having a little girl chat with me once she was finished having a long soak.

She and Dillon are really getting excited about going away to college, but other than doing helping Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace a bit more this week; they're both planning on putting in extra work over the next two weeks because they'll be taking the last week off before they leave to spend time with us and with their families here and in Woodvale. Violet doesn't have to worry about money, and will keep her part-time job while she's away; but Dillon wants to make a bit extra while he can.

We have plans to help him over the next five years; but that won't really get started until next summer; and he doesn't need the help this year anyway.

Rowen and I are helping out with babysitting in the morning again, but then she's going to work at the store in the afternoon; and Michael asked me to go with him to help out with Ryan Bassett's sixth birthday party. I'll need to make a shopping trip part of my morning babysitting plans because Ryan hadn't been on my last birthday gift shopping list; but I'm sure we can find something for him at the Emporium or maybe at the Fix-it Shop. Mom and Dad have their co-ed ball practice tomorrow night too, so it's going to be another long, busy day; and I really should wrap this up and get some sleep. Violet went to bed nearly a half hour ago after we both heard Mom and Dad on the stairs when they finished working for the night. There are wards up in both bedrooms, so I'm not the only person still awake in the house, but I don't need to be the last; and I'm getting tired now anyway, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Happy 6th Birthday, Ryan!

The tail end of the rain moving through the area was still wagging a bit when it was time for Tai Chi this morning; so we exercised indoors; and then Michael joined us for breakfast. Sunshine was making an appearance by the time he went home again, and while Dad was at work and Mom was again helping Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace; Rowen came over and we spent the morning taking care of Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. Violet worked in the office all morning, and Alicia did her usual work around the house while supervising us – when we were around the house.

Rowen and I took our little gang for a walk and shopping to get the gift I needed for Ryan's birthday party; we visited the falls; stopped in to see Dad and Aunt Leanne; and picked up ice cream for our midmorning snack. That was followed up with a short playground visit to the park before we went home to go swimming. Mom came home in time to do another big lunch for the moving crew family and friends, but Rowen went to work at the store and have lunch with her parents while I met up with Michael at the Bassett's house to help out with Ryan's party.

Everyone in Michael's family stopped in for at least a little visit during Ryan's party, but he was the only one there during the barbeque lunch that his Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Bill were putting on for Ryan and his friends; and quite a few members of both sides of their family. Michael was already helping out with getting everything ready for lunch, so I joined the crew; and soon had a junior assistant when Jessica became my shadow for quite of bit of the time Michael and I were there.

Food choices for a bunch of five and six-year old boys isn't particularly tough when the goals of the meal don't include nutritional concerns. Hot dogs, snacks, birthday cake, and ice cream kept them happy; so the rest of the food was mostly for the older kids, teens, and adults. When it was time to eat, we sat with Jessica, Sophia, and the other kids that weren't part of Ryan's group of friends and classmates; helping with getting them fed and keeping them entertained.

It was different being there for a party with Michael's family as his girlfriend, and we were teased a bit about that just as we are with my family; but we both really enjoyed the afternoon of fun and excitement – even with doing a fair bit of work too. We helped with the post-lunch clean-up; supervised the party games after that; and were two of the supervisors for a swim in the river. My last minute birthday gift purchase wasn't likely on Ryan's best gift this year list; but he and his friends did have fun playing with the motorized toy boat while we swam. They also thought that it was very funny to send it motoring downriver so that Michael or one of the other older boys would have to swim, chase it down, and send it back upriver again.

While we spent most of our play time with the younger kids, it was fun getting to hang out with Rebecca, Erica, and some of the other older cousins and teens too when they stopped in to see Ryan. Most of the teens had summer jobs, so none of them stayed for more than an hour before getting back to work again; but Ryan was too busy with his buddies to really notice much except for the extra birthday gifts that came with those cameo visits.

The party started wrapping up at four o'clock, and Michael headed for the Inn to help out with the impending dinner rush while I went home to help Mom with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. With Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace in their home, and their moving helpers mostly taking the night off; we didn't have extra guests for dinner. Having their co-ed baseball practice tonight may have had something to do with that decision too, but after a busy afternoon; I was glad to have a little break in the action while we had a quiet dinner for eight out on the back porch.

Rowen came over in time to help me with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden while Mom and Dad were playing baseball with their friends. We added Jessica and Sophia Bassett on our way to the park; and had Emma Norton help us with kid control at the playground when she came into town with her parents. That was another toddler-rated blast of fun that kept us busy until it was time to go home again after the Fix-it Uppers practice ended.

The Seagers were far enough along in their move-in to spend the night in their new house, so Naomi went home from the park; but Aiden was spending a second night with Ethan. That was the main reason why we ended up dropping Jessica off at home and picking up an overnight bag for Sophia so that she could be Ehlana's sleepover buddy. Since Ryan was having a sleepover with a couple of his buddies too; Sylvia didn't have a problem with letting her baby spend the night with us instead.

When we finally got home, we all went for a swim – including Mom, Dad, and Violet. Michael came over and joined us for that shortly after we'd jumped into the river; and then he helped out with the toddler bedtime action. Once Aiden, Sophia, and the twins were tucked in for the night, Michael, Rowen, and I went for a walk down to the falls. Rowen had tried to go home instead, but we didn't let her do that this time. As we expected, there were some other tweens and teens hanging out there, and we all had fun hanging out with some kids our own age for a while.

That was partly because we hadn't expected Nora or Vanessa to be there when they had probably spent the entire day getting ready for Vanessa's party tomorrow; and they weren't there. Neither was Tim, but Michael didn't know whether he was busy with Nora tonight or doing something else. There was still some guys there in goof mode, but Michael didn't join in for any of that action; and what was going on was fairly tame compared to what we'd all put up with while Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and their buddies were hanging out together.

We only stayed at the falls for three-quarters of an hour before wandering toward home again. Rowen needed to be convinced to go for another swim with us, but then she only stayed in the river with us for about ten minutes before making a well-timed escape and leaving Michael and I alone to finish our swim. Since that was fun, and so was the chat time on the dock after we got out of the water too; I'll have to thank Rowen – even if I wish that she didn't feel uncomfortable sometimes when it's just the three of us together.

Moonlit goodnight kisses by the river are still setting off special fireworks for us, but we didn't really spend much time doing that before Michael walked home across the back yards and I went inside to have a little visit with Mom and Dad in the office on my way up to my room. I've mostly been working on the family business since getting ready for bed and sitting down in the window alcove with my computer, and it's now after one-thirty, but with riding lessons, baseball, and more babysitting to do tomorrow; doing that work late at night is really the only time I have right now to do that. Maybe next week I can get back onto a better work schedule, but something always seems to come up; so we'll see what happens.

For now, though, I've had enough fun for the day, and don't have any other news to report, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Vanessa!

Yes, I know she could care less about my best wishes for her big day, and might even be annoyed by the gift that Rowen and I sent with Tim to give her at the party; but that won't keep us from doing things like that for her just as we do for the rest of our classmates. We certainly don't expect to hear about it one way or the other from anyone who is at the party.

I do hope that she's having a happy day, but I'm also glad that we're not there – and that she didn't invite Michael to get an opportunity to play more personal matchmaking games with him. She's obviously still mad at us; but I'll still hope that'll pass before we head back to school in September.

I was busy enough today without adding a birthday party to the schedule. We had Tai Chi; Michael stayed for breakfast again; and then Tim and Rowen came over in time to get a ride out to the ranch with us for our morning trail ride and lesson. Rowen and I have loved doing these rides since my first summer here, but we're having even more fun with Michael and Tim; and even Tim looks like he's enjoying himself despite the fact that he probably wouldn't have signed up if Michael hadn't asked him to do it with him.

While I'm thinking about our ride, I'd like to mention that there are several guys, including Tim, who are fascinated with Rowen when we're riding. I think it's the wind-tousled red hair and how great she looks on a horse that is getting their attention – along with the bright smiles and sparkling eyes that especially come to life when we get to take the horses for short runs.

She was getting noticed back at home again too when we changed into swimsuits and jumped in the river to cool off and clean up a bit too. Michael and Tim couldn't stay long for that, but we did play in the water for fifteen or twenty minutes before Michael left to go to the Inn and Tim needed to get ready for Vanessa's party.

Rowen and I stayed home for lunch, and then we took care of Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden for the afternoon while the moving adventures continued. Sophia had gone home and Naomi had been dropped off while we were at the ranch. We took the four kids to the school playground for a change of scenery; did an Emporium ice cream stop on the way home; and spent the rest of the afternoon in the back yard playing and going for short swims in the river. Mom and Dad were staying in to work tonight, but Rowen and I had an easy dinner on our own before going over to the park for our team practice. That was mostly because Dad was going to be a bit late getting home, so Mom and Violet delayed their dinner to be ready when he was.

Our next game isn't until a week from Saturday, but we'll be playing our second match against Palmer's Panthers; and Carolyn made sure that we worked hard tonight to get ready for that game. The Panthers are in first place, and our only loss is to them; so we pretty much need to win this game to have any chance of at least a tie with them. We'll be the home team this time, so maybe that'll help us out too; but they have a really good team this season, and it's going to be a tough game.

It was time for another cool off swim when we got home, but Rowen didn't stay to hang out with me after that. I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and ready for bed instead after she left; and then we did the bedtime story and snack with Dad in the office. Naomi had gone home again after dinner; and Aiden was with his grandparents tonight. The Drapers still weren't quite ready to move into their new house yet; but Mom told me that they would have enough done to stay there by tomorrow night; and had extra family and friends help lined up for the weekend.

Once the twins were tucked in for the night, I met up with Michael at his house. Rebecca joined us for a short swim, and then Michael and I had another guitar lesson before going to sit out by the river again and having a quiet wind-down chat. I love that time with him almost as much as the goodnight kisses; and the small confidences we share definitely draw us closer together.

I was home again by a bit after eleven, and pretty much just did a quick round of hugs and kisses with Mom, Dad, Violet, and Dillon before coming up to my room to get started on more family business work. Sitting in my window alcove to do my nightly computing was easier when Dawn was bunking with me – or when we had sleepover guests in the lounge; but I like being able to look out over the back yard and river too while I'm busy, and the stars are always beautiful from that vantage point whenever it's clear enough to see them.

That isn't the case tonight, since it's been overcast all night; and a dusting of rain started falling as I was wrapping up my work and moving on to my usual nightly checks before starting this journal update. We're supposed to have the rain hanging around off and on through the morning, and maybe into the afternoon; but Rowen's going to be at the computer store in the morning anyway, and I'll be busy helping out with toddlers again; so rain isn't really a big deal – except it'll slow down the movers a bit. Michael, Rowen, and I have a play afternoon planned, and we're doing a dinner and a movie night at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house; so hopefully the weather will be nicer for all of that.

I'm seriously ready to sleep now, and there isn't any other news; so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Another wet morning kept us indoors for Tai Chi again. Exercising by the river is always more fun, but I'm also starting to have a new perspective on why Mom and Dad – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne – enjoy Tai Chi more when they're together. It'll be a while before Michael and I have that kind of synchronicity and communion while working through our forms; but there is already a connection between us that's different even from what Mom and I have always shared since she started teaching me Tai Chi.

Michael didn't stay for breakfast this morning – he was going to the Inn to help out there instead; so there were just the six of us for breakfast. Violet and I helped out with making breakfast and cleaning up, and once I'd had a chance to grab a shower and get dressed for the day; I took over taking care of Ethan and Ehlana for the rest of the morning. Naomi was dropped off early so that her parents could keep working on their new house before Liz needed to get to work at the salon. She was starting to cut back her hours a bit, but that really just means that she isn't working twelve or thirteen hour shifts anymore. Aiden was dropped off later, after Mom and Dad were both gone and Alicia was in charge again for the morning.

Since Rowen was working at the computer store, Alicia needed to help me with the four toddlers. The rain kept us indoors, and my room and lounge were play central. I had Disney cartoons playing on the television, but that was mostly just background noise while we played games; had a little music fun; and spent an hour making crafts with Alicia. That little diversion was mostly so that Naomi and Aiden could give their parents first crafts for their new homes to stick on fridges that were shiny, new, as-yet uncluttered, and sterile-looking. That wasn't a problem at our house, but there was always room for new works of art in our kitchen, the home and work offices, and at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

Alicia and Violet made lunch for us, and Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa came home to spend that hour with us before I was set free for the afternoon. The parents had collectively made a decision sometime this morning to drop the four toddlers off at KidZone for the afternoon so they could play with some of their friends for a few hours; and they were already on their way over there by the time Rowen came over to meet up with me. Alicia and I were still cleaning up from lunch, so Rowen pitched in to help while we waited for Michael to join us.

The rain had pretty much stopped by then except for a sprinkle here and there, so when we were ready to get started on our play afternoon; we hopped on our bikes and went for a tour over to the new section of town. There was still one moving truck at the Draper's house, and Mom had told us about the deliveries that had been going on despite the rain this morning at all three new homes; but most of the work going on when we stopped for three short visits was happening indoors. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace were going to be nearly finished the big jobs today, but then they hadn't needed to juggle work and kids like the Seagers and Drapers had been doing.

Liz was working by then, and Hannah and Nathan were playing tag so that one of them was at the house and bakery all day. I had hugs for all of my favorite people, and then we moved on to check out the other house construction projects in progress before heading over to the park. We collected Tim along the way, and rode back into the woods to see what kind of shape the trails were in after the rain. There were a lot of puddles and mud on most of them, so we ended up riding out river road and doing a country roads loop instead.

We'd been surprised that Tim wasn't hanging out with Nora, Vanessa, and the rest of their usual group of friends. He didn't say anything about it, other than to tell us that he'd wanted to hang out with Michael – and Rowen and me – for a while before Michael was into another busy summer weekend at the Inn. There was a hint of stress in his voice, and the expression on his face made it fairly obvious that choosing to do that may have been a problem; but he was genuinely happy to be hanging out with us, and we all had more fun because he did.

Biking the trails gives us more opportunities to do tricks on our bikes, but even when we're out on the roads there are still chances to do some more extreme riding. We were away from town for an hour and a half or so, and then went back to my house to go for a swim and have a snack break. I needed to go over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to help out with getting dinner ready for an expanded dinner and a movie night after that, and Michael and Rowen came with me. Tim was invited to stay with us and get added to the guest list, and I'm sure that he wanted to do that; but he had plans with Nora instead, so he headed home when we went to meet up with Aunt Leanne, Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa.

We were kept busy for the next couple of hours. Setting up tables and chairs was first, and then we split the rest of our time between helping out with getting the food ready and entertaining some younger kids when they started arriving for dinner with their parents – including Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had invited all of their new neighbors tonight, though Liz and Hannah couldn't come over for dinner while they were busy at the salon and bakery. They did both stop in after the stores closed for the night, but that just let them catch the tail end of the movie and a little social break before everyone headed home for the night.

That jumped ahead of the story a bit. Grandma, Mom, and Aunt Leanne had decided that we all needed to have a good meal after days of easy-make lunches and dinners. That meant steaks and chicken on the grills and several hot casserole options; along with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. That made helping out with feeding toddlers interesting, entertaining, and messy enough that it was easier to dunk them in the river after dessert than cleaning them up with washcloths. Aunt Leanne even ran a load of laundry instead of sending home bags with food-covered clothes.

We didn't have everyone stay for the movie, since there was work still going on tonight at both the Seagers and Drapers houses; but it was fun doing our first movie night with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace – or at least their first one as residents of Witch Falls. Having Michael there was really special too, and though that was making Rowen feel a bit out of the loop; she did have several cuddle buddies during the movie – taking turns spending some time with Leah, Ethan, and Ehlana. The movie was a family-rated action-comedy; and I pretty much just cuddled with Michael and enjoyed the show and the quiet conversations going on around us while winding down from the afternoon work and play.

After the movie and follow-up social break, Michael and I couldn't convince Rowen to stick around and go swimming with us; so we walked home with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. Violet had met up with Dillon by then and they were spending some time with Jake and Stephanie; so we helped to get the twins ready for bed and tucked in before going out to the river for a swim. We're not in any hurry to take things to more intimate levels – even to the kind of making out some of the other couples our age don't have a problem with doing in public; but swimming together in the dark does lead to some incidental contact that heats things up between us quite a bit. That's all new, exciting, and amazing; and I fall a little more in love with Michael with every one of those brilliant little shared experiences.

We swam and played for more than half an hour, and then went for a long walk around town before doing our goodnight hugs and kisses on his back porch on our way home. Dad has an all-day yard work to-do list ready for tomorrow, and I'm going to sleep as soon as I finish this update; but I needed some Jacuzzi time before climbing into bed with Mandy. I could have done my nightly computing then too, but I really just wanted to shut down and enjoy the moment; and I didn't do any family business work tonight anyway.

Compared to the last few weekends, this is going to be a quiet couple of days, with not much else except work and baseball going on. Michael and Tim have a game tomorrow afternoon that I probably won't get to unless the yard work is done a lot earlier than I expect it will; but Ethan, Ehlana, and I will be at Mom and Dad's game tomorrow night. They're also going to be taking Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace out to their first post-baseball night out at Sheldon's Pub; so Rowen and I are doing a sleepover, and our house is babysitting central with Alicia and Erin Green doing that for Mom, Dad, and the other parents.

I'm getting tired just thinking about all of that, so it's time to wrap this up and call it a night.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

I'm a jinx!

That's according to more than one guy on the Wranglers' team, but Michael advised me that Nora started that little rumor. I'm earning that title because the Wranglers have gone from undefeated before I became Michael's girlfriend – when Vanessa was helping Nora to support their team – to losing two in a row since then. I guess my priorities are messed up because I didn't show up to watch the game either; but I have to wonder if Nora and the other girlfriends of players who were there think that their boyfriends would be incapable of playing the sport without their support and guidance.

If it helps some of the guys get past another close loss, though, I'm willing to take the hit.

Other than when we were together for Tai Chi this morning, I didn't even get to see Michael until he finished work tonight and came over to watch a movie with Rowen and me. He was busy at the Inn and with his baseball game; and I worked around the yard from right after breakfast until we stopped for a quick dinner at six before needed to go to the park for the Fix-it Uppers game. I took care of all of my usual chores, and helped Dad with some work and cleaning in the storage barn; washed all of the vehicles; and we also took care of a few minor repair jobs. Mom and Violet took care of the housework and Ethan and Ehlana while Dad and I were busy outdoors; and we only visited with them during our short morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks.

I wasn't being accused of jinxing the Fix-it Uppers tonight, but they lost their game to the Big Shots too. Both the Wranglers and Fix-it Uppers had been the 'away' team for their respective games, but while Michael's team lost in the final inning; the Fix-it Uppers had only been able to make up two of the four runs they'd been behind going into the final inning. With and eighteen-to-sixteen score, there was a lot of action during the game, and a lot for us to cheer about too until the abrupt, double-play end. More wins this season would be nice; but our team is still having fun playing together; and the co-ed division is just as entertaining for the spectators as it is every year.

Alicia and Erin Green had come over to the park to meet up with us near the end of the game; and they helped to get the kids they were babysitting back to our house. We had a comparatively small group, but they had two infants and four toddlers; so that was more than enough to keep up with. Rowen and I were glad that we didn't have Patrick and Scott along too; and let's not discuss the jokes that were mostly directed my way during the game suggesting that Michael, Tim, and Rebecca weren't staying with us too because Mom and Dad were worried about having my boyfriend stay overnight.

Rowen and I helped Alicia and Erin with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden while Mom and Dad got ready to go out; and Michael got here just before they left for Sheldon's with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne. He helped us with a lengthy bedtime routine for the toddlers; and once they were tucked in for the night; Rowen, Michael, and I came up to the lounge to watch a movie while Alicia and Erin took care of Leah and Hailey.

Two out of three of us were tempted to vote for a chick flick, but we opted for an alien action flick instead that was fairly terrible; but fun to watch and laugh about for an hour and a half or so. Mandy cuddled with Rowen to make sure she didn't feel too uncomfortable hanging out with Michael and me, and though she tried to skip the post-movie swim; we were able to talk her into doing that too. By the time we'd finished playing in the river, Michael really needed to get home; so our goodnight kiss and hug was quick enough that Rowen didn't even get the chance to go inside first and give us some alone time.

I know you would have, Rowen, but we're twelve; and there doesn't have to be fireworks every night before bedtime.

After coming inside, we checked in with Alicia and Erin. There'd been some baby nap time while we'd been watching the movie and swimming; but they were getting ready for midnight feedings. They assured us that they didn't need help with Leah and Hailey; so we came up to my room and got ready for bed. One bad movie was enough, so we just climbed into bed with Mandy and have been playing on our computers since then. Rowen had been busy all day too between working at the computer store and doing some chores at home, and we were both tired; but still needed some wind down and girl chat time.

I'm again being reminded that our summer challenge isn't producing any results yet; and I've reminded Rowen again that she should be more enthusiastic about us succeeding than she is about me losing the challenge. We still have five weeks to go; and I'm not at all worried.

That does remind me that we should spend a little extra time getting ready for church in the morning. I really enjoy the entertainment that goes along with seeing the boys – including 'Tommy' – looking completely messed up when they see Rowen when she's dressed up. I'll let you know how many times 'Tommy' sneaks peeks at her during church and Sunday school in the next journal update.

We're also going to have four toddlers and two babies to help with in the morning too, so I'd better put my computer away; and Rowen and I really need to speed up our wind-down time so we can get some sleep.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

This is going to be a short update, because I don't really have much to report for today; and I'm making a point of going to bed early so I can get a little extra sleep.

We were able to exercise by the river this morning, but had some rain move in by the time we sat down for breakfast. Michael went home after Tai Chi to have breakfast with his family; and we only spent time together during church and his afternoon break. Rowen and I were as busy as Mom, Dad, and Violet were between the work in the kitchen, helping to get four toddlers and two babies fed and dressed; and taking turns having showers and getting ready ourselves. Naomi, Leah, Aiden, and Hailey were all picked up by their parents by the time we were ready to drive over to the church, and though we could have all squeezed into the minivan; Rowen and I went with Violet in her car so we didn't need to climb into the back bench together.

As promised, the most important news to report from church – for Rowen – is that 'Tommy' needed to look at her thirty-four times while we were at church. There may have been more glances, but that was all of them while I was around until I left to walk with Michael to the Inn. That is fairly significant since we were only at church for an hour and a half.

There was some minor tweeirdness too, but I'd expected to hear more about being a jinx for the Wranglers today; and Nora and Vanessa made sure that I wasn't disappointed. Vanessa hasn't been trying to play any of the games she'd been using to try and get Michael interested in her anymore; so excluding us from birthday parties and putting me down with their little jokes and comments is probably payback for messing up their plans. That's going to get annoying if it goes on too long, but hugs and kisses with Michael make all of that fairly easy to take for now. :^)

Moving on, after walking with Michael to the Inn, I went home again. The rain had already stopped about half-way through the service today, so Mom and Dad decided to have lunch on the back porch. Rowen stayed for that, and we were set free to play for the afternoon, but then she had family plans for dinner and this evening; so she went home shortly after Michael finished his break and went back to the Inn for the start of the buffet rush.

Dad's been working in the office most of the afternoon and evening, and Mom spent some time there too when she wasn't doing other things with Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana. Rowen and I took the twins to the park for a visit after lunch, but only had them with us for a swim while Michael was with us before he, Rowen, and I went for a little bike ride and spent the rest of his break time on our own.

It was nice having a quiet dinner with just our family; and spending a little time with Violet tonight too while she waited for Dillon to finish his shift at the Inn. Mom even did a Magi lesson with Violet, Ethan, Ehlana, and me; and it seems like it's been a really long time since we've been able to do that. I came up to my room for some Jacuzzi time after that while Mom and Violet did the full bath and bed routine with the twins. I multi-tasked my family business work while doing that, and then went downstairs again for the bedtime story and snack that we had in the office with Dad. Violet went to meet up with Dillon after that, so I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in before coming up to my room again and climbing into bed with Mandy.

Michael and I had talked about getting together after he was finished at the Inn too, but decided not to do that. The chat and goodnight kisses would have been nice; but we both need the extra sleep more tonight. Since we are making that sacrifice to get the bonus down time, I should put my computer away and do that, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, July 29, 2013

It's been a rainy day in Witch Falls, so nearly everything I've been doing has been indoors; starting with Tai Chi through until now.

Michael came over to exercise with us this morning, but then he went home to have breakfast there and help with a major house cleaning day that they were doing instead of the yard work that was being delayed due to the rain. Since the weather wasn't cooperating anyway, Rowen decided to work at the computer store with her parents this morning; and I helped Mom and Alicia with some house cleaning around here. I had time to do a little work on the family business in the office too; and that gave me a chance to have a little chat with Violet too. That made for a quiet, uneventful morning, and it stayed quiet until after lunch; when Rowen, Michael, and Rebecca were the first to come over and make our house rainy-day central for the afternoon and evening. Rebecca invited Jenny and Joel, and while Tim and Nora were both invited; Nora didn't want to do that, and apparently wasn't happy when Tim decided to hang out with us anyway.

The guys mostly wanted to play video games, and Jenny stayed close to Joel nearly all of the time they were with us; but Michael took some time to play music with Rowen and me; and we all made time to play with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. Joel was once again really good with the younger kids, and even though he still plays the rebel role in public; he didn't really do that with Michael and Tim today. We managed to keep ourselves entertained while cooped up indoors, but I honestly don't know how other teens – like Chris and Martin – can sit around playing video games day and night instead of being outside and actually doing something – anything.

That might have had a lot to do with why I suggested another canoe trip to the whirlpool for tomorrow. Jenny wasn't exactly warm to the idea until Joel assured her that he really liked the idea of spending a day with Jenny in a swimsuit – and away from parental supervision. I think he liked going canoeing too, but didn't admit that to us. As of right now, I'm not sure about whether we'll have extra tweens and teens along; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, Rebecca, Jenny, and Joel are all going for sure; and Nora is a 'probably'.

Mom invited everyone to stay for dinner, and offered frozen pizza and wings. Grocery store frozen pizza might not earn much enthusiasm for teen meals in cities where take-out pizza is an option, but even Joel was up for that invitation after going a month without pizza. Using the dining room had been an option, but Mom didn't have a problem with having our pizza party in the lounge either – especially since that made it my job to do most of the clean-up. Rowen, Rebecca, and I helped with all of the work and cooking while the gaming continued in the lounge. Dad had picked up extra on his way home, and even though Michael, Tim, and Joel didn't have any food contests; we still needed all of the extra pizzas and wings.

Two out of three of the boys were convinced to give up video gaming in favor of watching a movie after dinner. Naomi and Aiden had been picked up by their parents by then; but Ehlana, Ethan, and Mandy were happy to cuddle with Tim, Rebecca, and Rowen while we watched the show. Hopefully Tim won't be in trouble with Nora for cuddling with another girl for nearly two hours. I'm sure he'll tell her, but knowing Tim; he'll probably leave out the fact that it was Ehlana right up until the moment he's in real trouble. Since he was on his way over to her house when he left here, we'll know in the morning if he took another joke too far if Nora's 'probably coming' turns into a 'go ahead without me and don't hurry back'.

We considered watching a second movie tonight, but with the canoe trip plan; most of us wanted to make it an early night – or have some couples alone time before needing to split up and go home. Rebecca left at the same time as Joel, Jenny, and Tim; but Rowen and Michael stayed to do the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana. Michael told them their bedtime story while we had our snack break with Mom and Dad in the office; and then he and Ethan spent a little time together while we were tucking the twins into their beds for the night.

I went outside onto the front porch with Rowen and Michael when they were ready to leave, and we had a little chat before Rowen went home first; Michael and I shared ad quick goodnight hug and kiss; and I watched both of them dash through the light rain until they had each gone inside. Violet was hanging out with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie somewhere; so I had a little chat with Mom and Dad, and then came up to my room and got ready for bed.

My nightly computing didn't take long; and I only did a couple of things that were family business-related. Getting the extra sleep really is my top priority right now, and there isn't anything else to report for today, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The top news flash from our trip today is that Tim got himself into serious trouble with Nora. I didn't tell anyone else why Nora got so mad at him, and it won't matter by the time you read this some day in the future; but I did hear what he said that earned her instant anger and kept her seething for the entire canoe trip home again.

What did he do that was so bad? He didn't hear a question Nora had asked him the first three times because he was distracted; and then when she actually needed to grab his arm and ask him a fourth time; he called her 'Rowen' while answering – and didn't even notice until she slapped him fairly hard on the shoulder. That probably didn't feel very good with wet skin on wet skin; but he didn't blush a brighter shade of red than Rowen's hair because he was hurt or angry; and that reaction definitely didn't help his case with Nora. She barely talked to him much after that, and he probably preferred the silence to the few quiet growls she did throw at him like invisible knives. When their canoe hit the dock she threw her life jacket off; grabbed her bag; and had a few choice words for Tim that I won't repeat here before she stormed off.

When you do get to read this, Rowen, I'm sure that you won't believe that Tim's faux pas with Nora had anything to do with that hot little bikini you were wearing today; but I was there, and saw everything. What do you think that says about your personal hot factor when you have that effect on a guy while his girlfriend is right there with him – and looking pretty good in a swimsuit too?

I'll add a bit more to that part of the story, but let's back up to this morning. We were able to go outside for Tai Chi by the river; and Michael stayed for breakfast – and to help out with the work to get ready for our canoe adventure. Rowen came over early enough to help with packing our picnic and loading the bags and coolers into the canoes; and the only thing we had left to do when everyone else arrived was to added their own contributions and bags to the middle of their canoes before getting on our way upriver.

As is obvious from the start of this update, Nora did come with us, and she and Tim paddled next to Joel and Jenny most of the way to the whirlpool while Rowen and Rebecca were alongside Michael and me. That worked out pretty well for all of us; and we enjoyed the chat and play time as we took our time getting to the whirlpool. We had time for a swim and some play time once we were there before having our picnic lunch. Tossing a Frisbee around and playing with the other water toys I'd packed kept the fun going; and we enjoyed having lunch together before Michael, Rowen, Rebecca, and I went for a walk and explored as we wandered along the bank of the river while Jenny, Joel, Tim, and Nora mostly had a rest on the blankets we'd set out to have our picnic on.

While Tim's girlfriend-identity amnesia put a chill in the air for all of us even if nobody else knew why; he'd at least made that blunder close to when we needed to head back anyway; so we had enjoyed the second-half of our whirlpool play time until then. There are lots of teens and tweens that think that playing at the whirlpool is boring compared to video games or other entertainment options; but I'd pick canoeing and swimming in the river – or at Quarry Lake – every time.

As already mentioned, the trip back to Witch Falls was a little tense, and though there was some conversation and attempts to lighten the mood; we were a fairly somber group by the time Nora made her dramatic exit. I think Jenny wanted to get going right away too, but Joel again took a hit to his rebel image by getting her to stay so they could both help us with hauling all of the gear inside or into the storage barn; and to help Michael and Tim put two of the canoes away too.

He and Jenny and Rebecca all left after that while Michael, Rowen, and I had a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; mostly to trade stories about what we'd all been doing while we'd been away. Michael had invited me for dinner, and though I didn't want to leave Rowen hanging with nothing to do tonight; she was okay with having dinner with her parents; and turned down our offer to come over to Michael's house after dinner to hang out with us. We are going to need to work on that, Rowen, or you'll be backsliding and going back to being a shy bookworm whenever I'm spending time with Michael.

Not getting to hang out with Rowen too was the only downside of the rest of my day. Dinner with the Stone family, including Stephanie, was another amazing culinary experience. Jacob and Jake really have fun playing in the kitchen together when they can create their little experiments on willing family guinea pigs. I get bonus points with them for being willing to try anything – something that doesn't happen with most of their friends; and even the majority of their family.

Most of our friends would likely think that the clean-up that follows those special meals isn't fun either, but while my perspective on that isn't quite the same as Miranda's; I can definitely see why she finds working in the kitchen with Jacob so entertaining just from my limited experience so far with Michael.

Our guitar lesson in his room was great too, and after practicing for nearly an hour, we went for a swim in the river with Rebecca; and wrapped up our evening by watching a movie in the living room with Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon. Miranda and Jacob stayed for part of that, but then decided not to stay up past their usual bedtime. I don't know if they'd have stayed longer if the movie we'd picked had been better, but I stayed for the cuddle time with Michael; and Rebecca stayed for the hot guys in the movie who needed to lose their shirts regularly while making their way through the action and fight sequences.

There was another post-movie clean-up, and then Michael and I went for a walk before doing our goodnight hugs and kisses on my back porch. Our practices are working out nicely; and I've been smiling ever since watching him jog home through the back yards to his house. Ethan and Ehlana were asleep already, and though Mom and Dad weren't; they had gone to bed, their wards were up, and I did not try to stop in to say goodnight on my way up to my room.

Spending some time in my Jacuzzi was the first order of business, but I don't want to be up half the night either, so I've been multi-tasking my nightly computing and some family business work since sliding into the hot, churning water. Even with doing that, it's heading toward midnight now. The water is getting tepid, and since it'll take a while to get my hair dried; I should probably wrap this up and get out of the tub.

That thought has me suddenly wondering what Michael – and the rest of the guys our age – would be thinking about my Jacuzzi comments if they could read these journals now. I can assure them that whatever they'd be thinking that I am absolutely, totally and completely naked while drying my hair after my baths – clothes would just get wet and uncomfortable.

Just kidding! ;^)

It's a good thing that Aunt Leanne won't be able to read this journal for a long time either; and she'll likely still tease me about including a joke like that regardless of how old I am when she does find that little gem. What's really funny about that is the fact that it's also exactly the kind of joke she'd make about something like that.

Wrapping up this report on that note feels weird, but I really do want to get out of the tub; put my bathrobe on; and finish getting ready for bed. Rowen and I are having work mornings, and we don't have anything else planned for the day except a little babysitting during the Fix-it Uppers practice tomorrow evening. With Michael back to work too, the next couple of days should be fairly quiet; and I won't be surprised if we don't see Tim at all – unless he's in so much trouble with Nora that he has nobody else to hang around with. Then again, that'd be a real catch-22 for him. After today, I seriously doubt that Nora will look at him hanging out with Rowen, Michael, and me as dismissively as she has up until now.

I sense a disturbance in the tweeird, and should probably rest up so I can be alert and ready to help Rowen if she needs me, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Up until a couple of hours ago, I expected this to be a very short update. Tai Chi this morning had been about the most exciting part of the day until then – including the Fix-it Uppers ball practice.

That all changed when Tim met up with Michael when he was done at the Inn; and they both came over to go for a swim and hang out with Rowen and me.

Before I get to that, Michael came over for Tai Chi, but then went home right after that. I split my time this morning between working on the family business in the office with Mom and Violet; and doing some housework that was mostly running a couple of loads of laundry and cleaning most of the third floor except Violet's room. We had sandwiches and veggies for lunch, and then Rowen and I had a lazy afternoon that included spending some time with Ethan and Ehlana; hanging out with Michael during his afternoon break; and not doing much of anything at all.

Rowen stayed for dinner, and then we had Emma with us at the park to help us keep Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi entertained while our parents were playing baseball. I guess that was a little more exciting than Tai Chi, but the play time fun was offset by the parts of the practice we watched that didn't show much improvement in our team play – or prospects for the last two games of the season.

I do not need to use my Sight to predict that I won't likely need to get a cheerleading squad together for the co-ed championship game. The fact that I like to win as much as Aunt Leanne does has a lot to do with why this season has been harder on me than on any of the Fix-it Uppers players. I really need to work on that, but then considering what I do know about my future; that drive to win may come in very handy.

Getting back to the story, Rowen came home with me after the practice was over, and Michael and Tim joined us while we were still doing a bedtime snack with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. We fed them too, and after doing a round of goodnight hugs and kisses with the twins before they went up to bed; we grabbed towels and bottles of water on our way out to the river for our swim. Once we were on our own, Tim advised us that he was still in the doghouse with Nora, and that hanging out with us tonight was going to make that worse; but he wanted to talk to us too, and needed to vent and blow off a little steam of his own while we played in the water.

Working off some of that energy was the main reason why we actually went for a swim downriver to the bridge and back along with playing with the glow-in-the-dark water games. Most of the talking came after we got out of the water and sat on the dock. I don't know if Tim told Michael everything either before or after they were with us, but he didn't tell Rowen and me the specifics about how his fight with Nora had started. He just told us that he'd experienced yet another foot-in-mouth moment that Nora was not forgiving him for without terms of surrender that he wasn't willing to accept.

In a nutshell, Nora doesn't want Tim to hang around with Michael anytime Rowen and I are around. Since Michael is spending most of his free time with us; that's a bit of a problem – not to mention the fact that we really have fun together. Our conversation from that point on was fairly serious, with a few touches of humor; and more than a little tweeirdness.

This was also another example where I think that I suck at being a tween if for no other reason than my apparent inability to keep my mouth shut. The good news for Tim is that my blunt truthiness is complimented by Michael's steadfast friendship and Rowen's quiet thoughtfulness and earnest compassion.

There were several levels of tweeird for me, with the first being because I knew more about what had happened with Tim and Nora than he was willing to tell us. That made answering some of his questions a bit awkward; and Tim may have wondered how I reached some of my assertions. The way that Tim kept looking at Rowen was tweeird too – especially when they were talking directly to each other. Finally, Rowen definitely looked like she was deep in the tweeird zone; and the empathic vibes swirling around all of us was fairly intense.

Talking about all of that with Tim had been because he needed us to be there for him, but it's also made me think more seriously about my own relationship with my classmates and friends. Setting aside the obvious rivalry reasons for why I've had problems with Lisa and Vanessa; I'd gotten along just fine with all of the girls in my class until they started crossing over. Finding out about Rowen, and then being able to sense all of the Magi has made a difference too; so the council is at least partially right about their concerns though that's still just one factor.

Changing common interests; financial and social status; and personal talents and abilities are all more important now too. I tend to think of things like that from the perspective of how that affects me; and don't consider how it affects how Vanessa, Nora, and some of the other girls feel about me. Friends like Sally and Gretchen don't care about those differences, and though we don't really do a lot of things together if for no other reason than because they live on farms and we don't see them much during the summer; we get along just fine, and have fun together when we are doing things that we all like to do. That isn't the case right now with about half of the girls in our class. I don't know if that's temporary, or whether it will change now that Michael and I are a couple and might eventually get to join the couples club too; but I do need to think about that a bit more and try and change that a bit if I can.

Getting back to Tim's current problems, our collective comments and advice did not include bashing Nora, stroking Tim's ego, or suggestions about whether he should or shouldn't be dating Nora. We did talk about all of the issues I've been thinking about since then, along with a couple of specific issues that apply to his relationship – like why he was initially attracted to Nora; and how important that particular common interest was to their relationship.

That would be where my blunt assessments were most uncomfortable for Tim – and probably for Michael and Rowen too. I'm sure that Tim and Nora do have some other interests that they share, but if they were both honest about it; I'm sure they'd admit that exploring their physical attraction at a mutually acceptable pace has been the main reason why they've been together. Most of the laughs happened during that part of our chat – especially when Tim countered my comments by asking me how that was any different for Michael and me – or any of the other tween and teen couples.

Michael was interested in my answer to that question, though he knew as well as I did what the differences were for us. I'm not actually sure whether Tim did or not until then. It's possible that he hadn't thought about a lot of things when it came to Nora. Now that he was basically being asked to make a fairly significant choice; he really needed to take a close look at what was most important to him – including how important his friendships with Rowen and me were to him.

He didn't have any answers when he went home tonight, and we didn't help him to feel better; but Michael's sure that we did help him; and that Tim would appreciate the honesty and sincerity without the tween games or pandering.

When Tim was finally talked out, he and Rowen left together so that Michael and I could be alone for a few minutes before he went home too. We didn't really take that long saying goodnight to each other, but after spending so much time talking about a relationship that wasn't going very well right now; the kisses and heart-felt 'I love you' exchange meant a lot to both of us.

Mom and Dad were in the office, and Violet and Dillon were in the living room when I got inside; so I made two quick stops to say goodnight to all of them before coming up to my room. Getting wound down enough to sleep has taken a while, but I'm pretty much ready to call it a night now after playing a little music and spending the past hour and a half working on my computer. With Riding lessons and baseball practice tomorrow, I should have climbed into bed with Mandy before now; but I'll manage to survive on the four hours or so of sleep that I will get.

Being awake to see the end of July and the start of August didn't have anything to do with why I needed the extra wind down time tonight; but being into August now will probably have a lot of kids and teens thinking about how close we're getting to the end of summer and start of another school year.

Now that's something I really don't want to be dreaming about tonight; so I'm going to put my computer away and think about more interesting things – like goodnight kisses and everything else I love to do with Michael.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

August 2013

Thursday, August 1, 2013

I totally get why Nora was mad at Tim on Tuesday, and the reasons she has for not wanting Tim to hang out with Michael, Rowen, and me; but dumping on him for going to our riding lesson when that's something that his parents paid for in advance for the entire summer session is taking her demands at least a step or two too far. To be fair, I only heard about her rant from Tim during our second riverside chat in two nights; but it didn't sound like he was embellishing the story very much or even putting a spin on it that made him look better.

Their latest fight didn't happen until this afternoon, and since we'd had a really good morning riding the trails and then going for a swim with Ethan and Ehlana after getting home again; the contrast between fun and misery was something that made things worse between Tim and Nora – at least from his perspective.

We don't need to re-hash the details of what we talked about tonight, but while Tim has been in trouble with Nora lots of times while they've dated; he's sure that this time is different and much more serious. I'm a bit conflicted about the situation because I know he's upset and having a tough time; but this is also strengthening our friendship – all four of us. That's actually one of the differences from other fights they've had; and another is that it doesn't sound as if he's trying to charm or joke his way back into Nora's good graces. Tim didn't have any answers to his problems when we split up tonight and he and Rowen again left Michael and I alone on the dock so we could have some alone time; other than that he's sure that he won't give in and accept a ban on hanging out with us. Since they both seem to be drawing that line in the sand; the drama is likely to continue for a while.

Let's move away from that story for a minute, and I'll cover the rest of my daily report. Michael came over for Tai Chi and breakfast again; and he'll probably do that for the rest of the riding lesson mornings this summer. Ethan especially likes having him around; and he and Ehlana both kept Michael entertained while we ate and cleaned up. Rowen and Tim came over with time to spare before we needed to hit the road for the ranch, so they sat at the kitchen table with the twins and joined the chat in progress while Michael, Violet, and I finished our work. Violet drove us out to the ranch again, and we had Christie and Cody Carter leading our lesson and trail ride today. That made all of the girls and boys in our group happy, including about half of the kids and tweens who had crushes on Pamela and John's youngest daughter and son.

Christie finished high school a year ago, but isn't going to college like most of her classmates and friends are. She is traveling and working with other horse experts during the off-season at the ranch; mostly because her passion is trick riding; and she wants to train specialty horses. That is really going to be a cool job; and it'll be great for the Ridge River Ranch reputation too. Cody's starting his senior year, and though he doesn't talk about it with us; I know from Pamela that he's planning on going to college after graduating – just as his older brother and sister did. Kyle Landry has the most-popular senior title locked up this year – especially if our football team has another great season; but Cody will probably take over the hottest guy designation from Jake. The big difference for that from last year is that Cody has never had any serious girlfriends while Stephanie had Jake off the market early.

I don't want to think about back-to-school tonight, and that little blurb went off on a little side-trail; so let's get back to the update.

The trail ride was a blast, and I really loved the little break we had where Christie showed us a few new tricks she was learning while we were giving the horses a rest and water. As I already mentioned, Michael and Tim stayed with us for the swim with Ethan and Ehlana after we got back to my house; and we played for nearly a half hour before Michael needed to run home to finish cleaning up and getting ready to help out at the Inn and Tim went home for lunch.

Rowen stayed, and after having our noon meal on the back porch with Mom, Violet, and Alicia; we spent most of the afternoon playing with Ethan and Ehlana. We took them for a bike ride around town, including a tour of the construction sites and a short visit with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace. After that, we met up with Michael and played at the park for an hour; stopped at the Emporium for ice cream; and then went for another swim before he needed to get back to the Inn and we went inside to help Mom with making dinner.

The food was ready by the time Dad got home from the office; and Rowen and I had to eat quickly so we could get to our baseball practice early – as requested by Carolyn so we could put in a little extra time to get ready for our big game against Palmer's Panthers on Saturday.

Coach Sarah is just as competitive as her daughter, but Carolyn manages to get her friends and teammates working harder than her mother would push us. I don't know how the game will go against the Panthers, but we couldn't possibly be more prepared than we are right now. I really would like to win this game too, and don't mind tougher practices; but not everyone on our team was having fun; so we may need to lighten up a bit if they're getting too stressed about trying to keep up with the better players like Carolyn and Jenny.

Rowen and I needed to hop in the river again after we got back from our practice, and we took Ethan and Ehlana in with us again. There was time to play with them in the back yard too until Mom wanted to dunk them in the tub before getting them ready for bed. We helped her with that, and then Michael and Tim came over in time to do the bedtime story and snack with us. Once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night, we went outside for another long, lazy swim; and then we sat on the dock again and talked until a bit after eleven o'clock. Michael needed to go home and get some sleep because he was helping out at the Inn both at breakfast and lunch; but we wanted to have a little more alone time than we'd had yesterday; and it was eleven-thirty before we reluctantly shared one last goodnight kiss – or maybe two or three of them. ;^)

Violet and Dillon were somewhere else tonight, and Mom and Dad had gone to bed already by then; so I came straight up to my room, got changed, and have been working on my computer since climbing into bed with Mandy. I haven't even had very many chats in other languages this summer, but tonight I had two internet chat friends check in with me while I was online; and spent nearly an hour in total talking to them in two different languages while doing some family business work and my usual nightly computing. There was also an email from Dawn asking me what I was doing for the first weekend of August; and a couple of email answers from notes I'd sent out last night that brought me up-to-date on some of the action going on around the Proctor, Johnson, and McEwan families.

Rowen and I are both working tomorrow morning before taking the afternoon off to play with Michael – and possibly with Tim too if there is no major change for him with Nora by then. Since there's more rain in the forecast heading into the weekend, I may switch my office work time and mow the lawn in the morning instead if it looks like our morning yard work might get rained out on Saturday. Hopefully rain won't get in the way of our ball game; but I guess if we do get stuck with rain on a Saturday it's better to have it on a weekend when we don't have any major fun plans. Considering how bad the forecasts have been this summer even a couple of days out, though, we'll just wait and see how it turns out.

I've been working and chatting longer than I should have after not even getting started until nearly midnight, so I'm going to put my computer away and get some sleep now while I can.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Congratulations Amy and Jared – it's a boy!

Drew Spencer became the newest resident of the Ridge River District early this morning. We heard the news when Aunt Leanne came over for Tai Chi and breakfast after spending a couple of hours at the clinic with Uncle Adam and the Spencer and White families when her own pregnancy – and Uncle Adam's absence – was keeping her awake anyway. Amy and Drew are doing just fine; and while Jared was a bit shaken up by the whole thing, he's going to be okay too – and he's already a very proud new Daddy.

Though Uncle Mark doesn't officially start work at the clinic until Monday, Uncle Adam got to find out one of the benefits of having two doctors in town when he was relieved of duty for a few hours this morning so he could go and have a nap while Uncle Mark took care of Amy, Drew, and a few regular patient appointments that couldn't be rescheduled. We got to hear all about that and about Drew too while we had dinner together tonight; but I'll get to that part of the report in a minute.

Having Aunt Leanne with us made Tai Chi and breakfast more fun; though she exercised with Mom and Dad while I continued my lessons with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana. Michael went home and on to the Inn after we'd finished our workout, and I didn't see him again until he was finished helping out with the post-lunch clean-up. While he and Rowen were busy working at the Inn and computer store; Dad had agreed with my suggestion to get the lawn cut today in case it was either raining tomorrow morning or too wet to cut; so I started working on that as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up from breakfast. I ended up weeding all of the gardens too instead of doing any work in the office, but I didn't have anything that absolutely had to get done this morning anyway; and I'll catch up sometime this weekend on the work I do want to get done before Monday.

I hopped into the river for a cool off swim before stopping for lunch that also helped to wash away most of the garden dirt. Mom and Alicia went with a quick and easy lunch, so it didn't take long to eat or clean up. Rowen came over after having lunch with her parents; and we played in the back yard with Ethan and Ehlana for a while until Michael and Tim met up with us and we headed out for some trail riding at the park.

The clouds gradually grew deep and dark over the next few hours, but the rain held off until about a half hour before dinnertime. Getting to spend some quality time on the bike trails was great, and we followed that up with another very entertaining swim with Ethan and Ehlana before going inside for a snack break. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening indoors after that; and Michael and Tim were both added to the dinner guest list. Mom and Dad weren't doing a dinner and a movie night, but they had invited Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner. Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Grace were added mostly so that they'd all have a little less work to do tonight after a busy baby day at the clinic.

Saving them some work meant that Mom needed some extra help. Rowen and I were drafted for the before and after dinner work crews, and while we were busy; Michael and Tim played video games in the lounge and kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained. The rain didn't affect the meal plan tonight because Mom had already decided not to have anything grilled. She instead went with two casseroles, corn on the cob, and Dad's mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese. Yes, that's mostly because it's my favorite; but Rowen, Michael, Tim, Ethan, and Ehlana all love it too.

In addition to the baby stories, there was some other news we heard about from Aunt Leanne while having our meal. Tops for the family was that Josiah was going to spend the weekend with Chrissy and her family. Going shopping in the city for some of the things he needed before leaving for college gave him a good excuse for the trip, but I'd say things are getting serious with them fast; since they'll be at school together anyway next weekend. Aunt Leanne also had a chat today with Jenny's Mom, and though we'd already known that Joel was going home to spend a couple of weeks vacationing with his mother and step-family; Emily's perspective on that was different than Jenny's or Joel's. Mrs. Warren does like Joel just fine, but she thinks that a little time apart after practically being glued to each other during most of July will be good for them.

Since Michael and I want to spend a lot of time together right now too, if not as overtly and demonstratively as Jenny and Joel, I won't comment on that; but Rebecca will like getting her best friend back for a while.

We haven't been involved in the getting ready for college action that's been going on with Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon; but that topic was on the dinner chat schedule too. Getting ready to leave for college is different for Jake and Stephanie than it is for Violet and Dillon or Josiah and Chrissy; mostly because they're packing light and will buy a lot of the things they'll need once they're in New York. Violet and Dillon will have Violet's car, and though they'll be limited by dorm restrictions for the first couple of years; they will be able to take more with them from home than they could if they needed to travel by airplane.

Note to me: stop in and visit Stephanie's Mom more often after they leave for school next weekend. Miranda will still have two out of three of her kids at home, but Samantha's one and only baby will be away for a lot of the next four years; so she'll probably need some regular cheering up for a while.

While the adults weren't going to be watching a movie after dinner, that's what Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I decided to do once the post-dinner work was finished. Before we moved up to the lounge to do that, though, Rowen and I had decided to have a sleepover, so I ran over to her house with her while she packed an overnight bag and grabbed her flute; and Tim invited Michael to stay at his place for the night whenever they did eventually finish hanging out with us; so they went over to Michael's place so that he could get what he needed too.

We were going to invite Ethan and Ehlana to join us, but they ended up having some play time with Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, and Dad instead; so it was just the four of us in the lounge – and my room while we played a little music in between the movie and video gaming that Tim had suggested would be more fun for him and Rowen. I'm sure that the second movie was also supposed to be girls' choice had nothing to do with his sudden interest in doing something else. I will cut him some slack on that, though, since it would be a bit inappropriate for us to make him sit through a romance movie in close proximity to Rowen while in the middle of a big fight with his girlfriend. I don't know how much Nora knows about how much time Tim's been spending with us for three nights in a row now; but she wouldn't be happy about it.

Tim needed to talk about his problems some more tonight, and we mostly did that after the movie; the goodnight hugs and kisses that Ethan and Ehlana stopped in for on their way to bed; and our music play time. I haven't really thought about it until he brought it up, but we all have another Quarry Lake birthday party on Sunday afternoon and evening for Denise Burroughs. She invited Michael, Rowen, and me; and Tim is worried about what'll happen there if he and Nora are still fighting. We weren't able to help him out with those worries, other than to promise to be there for him if he needed us; and Rowen gently suggested that he should try and sit down with Nora and have a honest talk with her about everything he'd been discussing with us for the past few days.

Once you've read these last few journal entries, Rowen, I'm sure you'll get why I don't think that Tim should tell Nora the truth and nothing but the truth. Yes, they do need to talk about their problems to have any chance of working things out; but even that is going to be tough to do right now when they've both dug in and don't seem interested in compromise.

The funny thing for us again tonight is that even with having that fairly serious chat; we had a really great afternoon and evening together. Outside of her involvement with Vanessa's plans for Michael and her problems with Tim, I like Nora; but also understand that we'll never be best buddies simply because of our different interests. That won't change if she and Tim make up; and she won't want to do the things we like to do together – especially right now while her best friend is still mad at Michael and me.

Hopefully Tim won't have more problems once word of our goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch hit the town gossip network in the morning. I'm sure there were witnesses, and Michael, Rowen, and Tim all teased me about getting the boys mixed up when I gave Tim a big hug and kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight to Michael. Those jibes led to Rowen hugging both boys too; so how Nora takes that news flash when she hears about it will probably depend on how wildly the story grows and changes between now and then.

All I can say in our defense is that Tim really needed those hugs and kiss. Since Michael was going home with Tim, and we had those witnesses too, our goodnight hug and kiss was short and sweet tonight. He and Tim started running as soon as they hit the ground, though they were going to get wet whether they walked or ran over to Tim's house. Rowen and I watched them from the front porch, and had smiles and waves for them when they looked back toward us before going out of sight around the corner by Rowen's house.

It was going on eleven-thirty by then, so Rowen and I checked in with Mom and Dad before coming up to my room and getting ready for bed. We've been having a nice long girl chat since climbing into bed with Mandy while playing on our computers. Rowen has been entertaining both of us with appropriately-themed YouTube videos to match our chat topics, and I've been doing my usual nightly computing and a bit of family business work.

We probably won't know until sometime in the morning whether our game is on or not at noon depending on whether the rain ends early enough to have the ball diamonds ready to use by then. The morning games have already been rescheduled, and from the looks of the weather forecast; it's a good thing that I did cut the lawn and weed the gardens this morning. Whether the game is on or not, Rowen's working at the computer store in the morning, and I'll either be helping with house cleaning or working in the office on the family business; it's now after one; and time for us to get some sleep.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

It was still raining a bit this morning, so Tai Chi was indoors; but by the time we started cleaning up after breakfast, the rain ended – temporarily.

The good news that came along with the break in the rain was that our ballgame was on for noon. Unfortunately for our team, though, the Panthers won the game seven-to-six when we came up short during our last at-bat. I'd like to say that it was a good game, but it really wasn't. Hits were hard to get, and more of the runs were scored on both sides because of fielding errors than from clean plays. While the ball diamond had been groomed, the grass in the outfield was still wet during the game; and that made the ball harder to catch, throw, or hit while wet and slick. There were a lot of pop fly, tips, and foul ball outs than hits today.

Carolyn was especially upset about that, and she really didn't like losing both of our games against the Panthers. We're still in a good position to make it into the championship game against the Panthers; but there's no chance for us to be the home team now – not that being the home team helped us out today. Rowen and I went along for the post-game ice cream stop at the Emporium, but there wasn't much enthusiasm; partly because we were all disappointed, and because most of us were damp, dirty, and uncomfortable.

Being damp and dirty was the main reason why Michael, Rowen, and I went for a swim after he met up with us to spend his afternoon break with us. Tim didn't come over too; and Michael told us that Tim had decided to try and have that honest talk with Nora that Rowen had suggested last night. The fact that Tim didn't come looking for us this afternoon or evening probably meant that he and Nora were at least talking now even if that didn't say anything one way or the other about whether they've been able to work anything out or not. I'm sure we'll have a better idea about that when we see them at church tomorrow.

I skipped over the action from this morning, but there wasn't really anything newsworthy going on anyway. Michael stayed for breakfast and helped with the cleanup before heading home when Rowen left for the computer store. I mostly helped out with the housework until I needed to get to the park for my game; though I did a little family business work too.

While I grabbed a sandwich before leaving the house, Mom and Dad put together a little picnic to have with Ethan and Ehlana while watching my game. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam all stopped in for visits and to offer their support; but Aunt Leanne can't comfortably sit on a bleacher for hours right now; and they all had other things to do this afternoon too. The one good thing about noon games is that there seems to be more parents that are able to stop by to watch while on their own lunch breaks; so more of the girls on both teams were happy to have the extra support. I can appreciate that more this summer while Aunt Leanne needs to cut back on her cheerleading for our team.

Ethan and Ehlana had gone with Mom and Dad after the game to do a little running around town, so they only caught the tail end of our swim; but then Michael, Rowen, and I played with them until Michael needed to go back to the Inn. Rowen stayed until she needed to meet up with her grandparents and brother for dinner; but we moved our play time with the twins up to the lounge when it started to rain again.

There really isn't much else to add for the rest of the evening. We've had a quiet dinner and evening indoors. Violet had dinner with us, and we all had a play time Magi lesson with Mom and Dad; but then I came up to my room for some Jacuzzi time when Ethan and Ehlana were getting ready for an early bedtime. Michael and I had decided this afternoon that we wouldn't get together after he was finished work – unless Tim needed us – so that we could both get to bed early. With work at the Inn and the party tomorrow, he's going to have an extremely long, busy day; and I'm overdue for a normal night of rest even though I'd have really liked to spend an hour or so with Michael.

Violet and Dillon are hanging out in the living room with Jake and Stephanie, but I didn't go downstairs after my bath. They need the time together without being bugged by anyone now that they're down to less than a week before Jake and Stephanie leave for New York.

I'm still trying not to think about that too much – or about having Violet and Dillon leaving for college in two weeks. Right now, I mostly just want to pack up my computer and get some sleep. Dealing with parties, impending partings, and everything else that'll be going on for the next week or two can wait until I'm fully re-charged.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Denise!

I think that she mostly did have a happy day, but the big tween story at her party wasn't happy at all, and quite a scene for those of us who were near the epicenter of Nora's break-up with Tim.

Before I get to those details, let's get to the morning and afternoon news first. It was still raining this morning, so we were indoors again for Tai Chi. Michael came over for that, but then we were at our own homes for breakfast before meeting up again at church. Tim and Nora weren't back to normal this morning, but they did sit together during church and Sunday school; and were talking to each other and their usual group of friends. He didn't say more than a couple of words to Michael, Rowen, or me; and just saying 'hi' to us earned him hard looks from Nora that had a lot to do with why he didn't push the issue.

While Rowen, Michael, and I were more affected by what was going on with Tim and Nora, the spotlight for nearly everyone else was on Amy and Jared Spencer – and their little bundle of joy, Drew. With a long line of well-wishers around them both before and after the service, I only got to spend a few moments with them; but Amy is doing great, and Drew is absolutely adorable. One bit of news that I picked up while talking with them was that at least some of the incoming Grade Four kids are upset that they'll be getting a substitute teacher while Amy is on maternity leave with Drew. She's planning on coming back in January, so they will at least get to have her for the rest of the school year. I can relate to the kids being disappointed, but then I only got to have Amy for my teacher for a handful of weeks.

Denise's party didn't start until one-thirty, and though it was still sprinkling lightly after church; it was clearing up by then and we only had a couple of little showers while we were at Quarry Lake. While Mom and Dad drove Ethan and Ehlana home, I walked with Michael to the Inn first before going home and getting changed and ready for the party before having lunch with Mom, Dad, Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana. Michael was set free a bit early from the lunch shift so that he could come out to Quarry Lake with Rowen and me; and he had time to stop in at home to change and pick up a few things before Violet gave us a ride to the party.

There weren't any organized games today, so after having a little visit with Denise and her boyfriend, Kris, we went swimming and played on the slides, rafts, and diving platforms in and around the lake. Tim and Nora got there sometime after we did, and were busy hanging out with some of the other couples until about an hour before Michael needed to head back to town and the buffet shift at the Inn. Nora didn't come with him; and we found out tonight that his play time with us had been negotiated and reluctantly agreed to.

Unfortunately for Tim, he apparently wasn't supposed to have fun while with us; and Nora wasn't happy to see that we were having a blast together. Since she and Vanessa didn't really do anything except keep an eye on us the entire time instead of playing too; I'll guess that how Nora was obviously feeling made Tim's happiness even harder for her to take – especially since he'd been comparatively subdued while hanging out with her.

The real problems didn't start until after Michael left for the Inn. Tim dutifully returned to Nora's side as promised, and Rowen and I went back to playing in the lake mostly on our own until going over to the picnic pavilion that Denise's parents had booked for the day and offered to help out with getting everything set up for dinner. Our offer was gratefully accepted, and that kept us busy for the half hour until we sat down for dinner. We were really happy to help out, and didn't mind ending up on our own at a picnic bench on the edge of the dinner party after nearly everyone else was either seated or had reserved spots close to Denise.

We weren't alone for long, though Rowen didn't know why Tim came and sat with us until he explained it to her later. I did know why after doing a quick memory scan; but I won't repeat the pair of comments that Vanessa and Nora made about Rowen and me that earned Tim's disgust and anger. He tried to hide that from us, and Rowen and I both played along. That was mostly because we didn't want to distract anyone else from concentrating on Denise and making her dinner party special; but also because it was more fun to enjoy the birthday entertainment and just enjoy hanging out together.

It took nearly an hour and a half to eat, do the cake and ice cream dessert, and have Denise open her gifts. Tim, Rowen, and I all helped out with cleaning up, packing, and getting everything loaded into a truck and minivan. That earned some more comments from Nora and Vanessa, but the help was needed; and we had to wait a while before going for one last splash in the lake before Violet was coming to pick us up again anyway.

The big scene with Nora happened about fifteen minutes after we'd gone into the water again. She and Vanessa intercepted us while we were walking from the beach over to one of the water slides; and things got ugly fast. Writing about the details of that nasty little fight would be pointless, but I will mention that Tim didn't just stand there and let Nora and Vanessa blast him without defending himself; and Rowen and I stood up for him just as he had a few choice things to say about how badly the other girls had been treating us for no real reason other than that he and Michael had the audacity to be friends with, and love, two of the kindest, nicest girls that any of them knew.

You can imagine why the way he'd phrased that particular assertion didn't go over very well with Nora or Vanessa; and some extremely nasty retorts were directed at all three of us. While I still wish that I could learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes; I don't regret standing my ground despite the fact that it also hurt to see Nora in tears and both girls about as angry with me as they've ever been.

My experience with actually witnessing break-ups is fairly limited, but I am sure that when Nora told Tim that she was finished with him in a blistering, minutes-long rant it ranked among the worst for tweens in our little town. Nora also made sure that a handful of our friends and some innocent bystanders heard that last part of the fight; so the three of us were tween outcasts for the rest of the time we were at the campground.

We didn't feel like partying anymore, but we did go back into the lake; float around; and talk quietly until it was time to meet Violet in the parking lot. Since Tim wasn't expecting to get a ride home with Nora now, he came with us; and while Violet was curious about that, she didn't say anything about it until a little while ago when she stopped in to chat with me on her way to bed. When we got home, Tim went to check in with his parents first, but then came back over to hang out with us until Michael could join us once he was done at the Inn.

While waiting for Michael, we spent a little time with Ethan and Ehlana until Mom took them upstairs for their bath, and then we went outside and sat on two of the benches by the river. After spending a lot of time in the water already; we didn't really feel like going swimming; though we did hop in with Michael when he wanted to cool off for a few minutes after a hot evening in the kitchen. Tim seemed to want a little time too before he was ready to tell Michael about the fight and too-public break-up with Nora, and just in case he wanted a little time to talk with Michael without Rowen and I around; we went inside after our swim to get changed and pick up snacks and drinks for four before returning to the benches by the river.

Tim had started telling Michael about everything that had happened at the party after he'd left; and it was obvious that Tim was still a bit shocked at the vehement and abrupt end to his first serious relationship. Being in shock didn't mean that he was devastated too. After hearing some of the things that Nora told us and apparently believed; he's sad, and sorry that things were ending on such a bad note after spending a year together that had mostly been good for both of them; but relieved too that she'd made that final choice. If Nora had stopped short of breaking up with him; I think he would have taken that step anyway.

The chances that we were getting verbally bashed tonight were high, but we didn't do that in return. Instead of doing anything like that, or trying to console Tim with insincere platitudes, Michael helped him to remember some of his favorite adventures with Nora while suggesting that Tim focus on those good memories instead of the fights and unpleasant moments that had been sprinkled throughout their year together. Rowen and I didn't have much to contribute to Michael's little trip down memory lane, but we offered our support and an occasional hug. Rowen sat on the same bench with Tim while Michael and I sat together and held hands. They were close together, but only brushed shoulders or arms a few times. Tim looked like he appreciated her choice to sit right next to him instead of at the other end of the bench or with Michael and me.

Before moving on, I should be fair and point out that just because we weren't saying anything nasty about Nora or Vanessa that I wasn't thinking some bad thoughts – and I doubt I was the only one. The fact that we don't talk trash even when we might really want to is one of the reasons why Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I do love each other.

That brings me to the part of our little riverside chat when Michael pointed out to Tim the way that Nora must have interpreted his comment about why they were friends with, and loved, Rowen and me. What was surprising for all of us was that after being a bit stunned to look at that differently than he had at the time; Tim admitted that he actually did love us.

Then he promised to deny it if we told anyone about that admission. ;^)

We sat out there for quite a while before Tim was ready to go home, and Michael went with him again tonight just in case his best friend needed some guy talk time. There may have been some back yard witnesses, but hopefully a full round of hugs and the one goodnight kiss that Michael and I shared won't be a big news story around town tomorrow. After Rowen, Michael, and Tim left, I went inside; gave Mom and Dad the condensed version of the party news that we didn't tell them while Ethan and Ehlana were with us earlier; and then they went to bed when I came up to my room and opted for a shower instead of a soak in the Jacuzzi.

I had been sitting in my window alcove working on my computer for a while when Violet stopped in to get the party report. She hadn't been surprised to hear about Tim and Nora, or that the break-up scene had gotten nasty. Her advice for helping Tim and dealing with Nora and Vanessa was welcomed, and though she didn't say anything; I got the impression that she was basing that on some information about Tim and Nora from other sources and not just a lot more personal experience with this sort of thing that came with living in cities and going to big schools.

While Violet went to bed after our chat, I continued working on the family business project that has been my main work focus tonight. I finished with that about twenty minutes ago; and wrapped up the usual nightly computer checks before getting to this update. I'm ready to get some sleep, but want to mention a few things that are happening this week.

First up, and most important to our future plans, is that Aunt Grace officially starts her new job as CEO of the lab. She'll work from home for most of the next year until the building is completed; but she'll have a lot to do as she works with Uncle Adam, the construction companies, and all of our suppliers. Uncle Mark will be working at the clinic with Uncle Adam starting tomorrow, and while they don't plan on splitting the practice and having Uncle Mark take half of the patients; some planning has gone into making the integration go smoothly. About half of Uncle Mark's schedule for his first week is booked; including a back-to-school check-up for me and appointments for Ethan and Ehlana. Most of the recruits will help to spread the word that Uncle Mark is a great doctor too – and I'm sure he'll be popular with some of the men and women that find it weird to have Uncle Adam for their doctor now – like former classmates, teachers, and babysitters.

Since more than half of the college-bound students will be leaving for school this weekend, there's a going away party that's mostly for the departing seniors on Friday night. They're having dinner at the Inn and then moving over to the Jacobs' house for the rest of the evening. I guess that time has run out for me to stay in denial. While I won't be going to that party, I may stop in to help out at the Inn for a while since they'll be a bit short-handed with so many of their teens having dinner there instead of working.

I will be getting to spend some time with Jake and Stephanie this week, because Michael invited me to spend the day with him and his family on Tuesday. He doesn't know what his parents have planned; but we're going to spend the entire day with Jake and Stephanie because it'll be Jacob and Miranda's last chance to do that before they leave on Saturday.

It's late, and tomorrow could be a very interesting day if there's more Tim and Nora tweeirdness. I need to wrap this up and get some sleep, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Two of the best, most-fun stories from around town today were about Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace.

At the clinic, it was Grandma-Nurse Johnson getting to boss two doctors around; and tease her grandson outrageously about how much better Uncle Mark's first day at the clinic was going than his had. She expects to have Uncle Mark trained in just a few days! The stories from the clinic started making the gossip network right away; and Dr. Mark is earning top grades from his patients so far – including from Ethan and Ehlana when they had their appointments with him this morning.

For Aunt Grace, her new job wasn't getting much mention on the gossip network, but that was fun too; starting this morning when she stopped in for a little meeting with Mom to pick up her new work computer. She doesn't know about our involvement in the lab, and won't for quite a while yet; but she does know that Mom is her tech support until they're ready to hire their own staff; and she'll be developing all of their computer systems too. That has a bonus advantage of giving Mom a big cover job that'll last for the next year and a half or two – and give her an excuse to be at the lab regularly once it does open.

While I'm thinking about the lab anyway, the construction is humming along; and they've started to work on the steel framing above ground. Since there is going to be a lot of visible progress for the next few months; there are likely going to be lots of people making regular visits to see the changes – especially the kids and teens. Aunt Grace will be able to see some of the action through the trees and across the river from her house.

Compared to all of that, my personal report isn't particularly exciting; but we did have a fun, relatively tweeird-free day.

Michael came over for Tai Chi; and we were all happy to be exercising by the river this morning. He went home for breakfast and morning chores. While Michael was busy, I helped out with making breakfast and the clean-up after we ate so that Mom and Dad could take turns getting ready for the day. Violet helped with Ethan and Ehlana before breakfast, and worked with me in the kitchen with the cleaning while the twins supervised us and played on their iPads. After Dad headed to work and Alicia came over, Violet and I both did a little housework on the third floor and ran a couple of loads of laundry before she left to meet up with Dillon, and Rowen came over to hang out with me.

We decided to take Ethan and Ehlana for a bike ride and play time at the park while Mom was having her meeting with Aunt Grace; starting our ride with visits to the new section of town and the lab site to check out the construction action. There were some other kids watching the cranes lifting and positioning the big steel beams while the steelworkers did their thing. I don't really think about the actual work going on at any of the construction sites, but it is pretty amazing; and takes a lot of coordination to keep it all running smoothly. We didn't stay to watch the work, and after talking with some of the kids for a couple of minutes; we rode over to the park and ran around at the playground for a while.

Ethan and Ehlana didn't have to try very hard to talk me into sponsoring a visit to the Emporium for morning snack break supplies, so we made a quick stop there and brought extra frozen treats home for Mom and Alicia. Rowen and I were on our own after that while Mom took Ethan and Ehlana to their appointment with Uncle Mark and Alicia took a break until after lunch. The news from the clinic was the top lunch chat topic, but that was a fairly quick little break because Michael and Tim came over to go biking with Rowen and me; and we'd sat down to eat a bit later than usual because Mom had gotten tied up at the clinic talking with Nurse Johnson and some friends.

I wasn't sure what to expect with Tim today, and I think that he's more than a little surprised to discover that he isn't really very upset about having Nora break up with him now that the initial shock is wearing off. Not seeing Nora at all may have helped him too, and I was surprised that she didn't track him down to at least find out if he was acting appropriately devastated.

That doesn't sound very nice, but then while she didn't come to check up on Tim personally; there were friends of hers who were keeping an eye on us for a while at the park when we were biking the trails; and I have no doubt that Nora was getting regular reports. Having those observers didn't keep us from having fun on the park trails, and we played there until we were ready to move on to a long ride out on the country roads. We didn't have any followers for that part of our afternoon, but there were two girls watching us from the bridge when we went for a swim after getting home again. Mom let Ethan and Ehlana join us in the river when they got home too. She'd taken them to KidZone for some afternoon play time with their friends so that she and Alicia could run some errands and do a few extra jobs around the house instead.

Michael and Tim left to have an early dinner before going on to their ball practice; and Rowen stayed to have dinner with Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and me. After eating, getting the latest stories from the clinic, and helping with the clean-up; Rowen and I took the twins to the park again while Mom and Dad went to do some work in the office. We didn't go to the park to watch the Wranglers' practice, but we did stop there first so that Ethan could watch them play for a little while. Nora wasn't there, and that didn't seem to affect Tim's game at all; though we did have other classmates there, and two of them seemed to be very interested in us while we were at the ball diamond; and then again when Michael and Tim came over to the playground to meet up with us after their practice was over.

Ethan and Ehlana didn't go for a swim with us again when we got back to my house, but Michael and Tim wanted to cool off and wash off the worst of the grime from their practice and playground time; so Rowen and I went swimming with them for a half hour or so. We went to hang out in the lounge after that, and while Michael had another guitar lesson with me; Tim and Rowen played video games. When my fingers told me it was time to stop playing the guitar, we took a break and went downstairs to do the bedtime story and snack with Ethan and Ehlana. Once they were tucked into their beds and Mom and Dad had gone back to work in the office; we returned to the lounge and played video games until a bit after eleven o'clock.

There were more goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch, but Tim and Rowen left ahead of Michael so we could spend a little extra time saying goodnight without any more of an audience than usual for our little town. We didn't spend all that much time on those extra kisses, so Michael was on his way home by the time Rowen and Tim split up at the sidewalk leading up to her front porch. We all exchanged some waves and smiles, and I waited on the porch until Michael was ready to go into his house too before going in and up to my room after a little side trip into the office for some more goodnight hugs and kisses.

Though this really is a big day for our future plans, that's really about all I have for tonight. I got ready for bed, played my keyboard for a while, and then climbed into bed with Mandy and my computer. I've only done a little family business work along with my usual nightly computer checks; and there isn't any major work or family and friends email news to report. Michael's parents still haven't given us any clues about their plans for tomorrow, so I'd better call it a night and get some sleep to be ready for whatever we'll be doing.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

I've had a really great day with Michael and his family!

Michael came over for Tai Chi, and then I got cleaned up and ready for a play day before going over to his house for breakfast. Jacob and Jake weren't doing anything fancy for the morning meal today; mostly because Jacob and Miranda wanted to be on the road for Crystal Springs without needing to do a big clean-up first. Stephanie had come over for breakfast too, so once we'd eaten; she and I helped out in the kitchen while the cooks took their turns getting ready for our adventure and play day.

We were on the road by a bit after eight-thirty, and that hour and a half in the minivan was a new experience for me – especially with Rebecca, Michael, and me on the back bench seat together when I was along as Michael's girlfriend instead of Rebecca's guest. Rebecca thought it was funny, but not at all weird, and holding Michael's hand and sitting close together as all seven of us kept entertained made the trip to the city seem quick. Our first stops were at Wal-Mart and the Mall; but that was mostly to pick up supplies and a few things that Jake and Stephanie wanted to get before heading to New York. We had a fast food lunch in the food court while we were at the Mall; and then moved on to our main destination – a family entertainment center that opened earlier this year in an old, remodeled and re-purposed factory.

Going to SportsFusion was a rainy day plan B, but it was also a perfect place to get to have fun and spend time together. Jacob and Miranda don't get to play all that often, so it was even more special to be sharing one of those rare moments with them. We started out slow with some mini golf, and worked our way up to rock climbing. The zip line return to ground level from the pinnacle of the rock wall was cool too, and though the boys were more interested in laser tag than Miranda, Stephanie, Rebecca, and me; playing that together in a two-level maze was a lot of fun.

While I'm writing about that, and since the story will be making the gossip rounds by tomorrow anyway; yes, Michael and I did get caught 'kissing the enemy' during our girls against the boys match. We weren't the only couple sharing a kiss or two in the darkened maze – I just didn't call Jacob and Miranda or Jake and Stephanie out on it.

Don't deny it – I have the full-sensory memories for proof!

The 'what' we were doing wasn't as important as creating the happy, fun memories before Jake and Stephanie will be away for most of the next four years. Michael and I found out that we both love rock climbing, though that isn't really surprising; since we love extreme biking, snowboarding, and pretty much every sport we've ever tried. We were the only members of our group to climb the tallest rock wall more than once, but everyone went on the zip line at least twice. That was the only activity we did more than once. The round of mini golf we played took the most time, but we managed to try everything except the young kid activities before heading out for dinner.

Jacob and Miranda like to try out different restaurants whenever they get a chance to do that; and their pick for tonight was a Mediterranean-themed bistro in a big, old house with beautiful gardens that had been renovated into a two-story restaurant. The main dining room was on the second floor, and the ground floor was set up for multiple purposes; including light dining, before and after dinner drinks, and live jazz music on the weekends.

Having dinner at a 'real' restaurant with a chef – and a want-to-be chef – adds a whole new dimension to the dining experience. Everyone else at our table was used to that, but since I've always been willing to try new things; I fit right in. Admitting that I could break down each dish into precise recipes wasn't an option, but it was fun to watch Jacob and Jake try to do exactly that – with a success rate that was a little surprising to me. I loved all of the food; and expect to see some of those appetizers and entrees make an appearance now and then on the Witch Falls Inn specials of the day menus.

After spending nearly two hours at the bistro, it was time to head home again. The return trip to Witch Falls was a lot quieter, but after a busy play day; I was good with an hour and a half of cuddling with Michael while we mostly listened in on the conversation going on in front of us. Rebecca was mostly quiet too; reading an e-book and having a short nap. We had a little drink break and visit after getting home, but Jacob and Miranda needed to get to bed by then, and I went home at the same time that Jake and Stephanie left for her house; though they were out of sight before Michael and I got around to our goodnight kiss on his front porch.

That's pretty much all of the news for today. Ethan and Ehlana were in bed by the time I got home; Mom and Dad were getting ready to head for bed; and Violet was at Dillon's house, helping out with some work they were doing to get ready for the party his parents were hosting on Friday. Exchanging condensed versions of our daily updates didn't take long, and then I came up to my room to start my bedtime routine with some Jacuzzi time. I multi-tasked most of my nightly computing, and only had one little family business job to do that couldn't wait until morning. I cheated doing my hair, and hopped into bed with Mandy about fifteen minutes ago. Rowen and I were having a little messaging chat, but she's got my full report and didn't have much to tell me about because she mostly just stayed indoors and read a couple of books while I was away. We are going to need to make another trip to SportsFusion sometime soon so that she can check it out too. Maybe I can swing that sometime around Michael's birthday in September; and we can go with some other friends too.

Getting some sleep is fast moving up to the top of my immediate to-do list, though, so I'm going to wrap this up and get to that.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

This has been a fairly quiet day, right from when we started out with Tai Chi by the river until now.

Rowen and I both worked this morning; though I needed to wrap up early and head over to the clinic for my back-to-school check-up with Dr. Mark. Yes, that was a completely pointless visit from the perspective of my personal health, but Uncle Mark appreciated all of the quiet help he was getting this week; and I do still need to keep up appearances. From what I heard while in the waiting room, I'd say our doctor integration efforts were right on track.

I ended up having lunch with Rowen and her parents at the computer store when I stopped in to get her on my way home; and that was mostly because Patricia wanted to hear all about my day in the city with Michael and his family. With Michael back to work today, Rowen and I spent most of the afternoon taking it easy and playing with Ethan and Ehlana. Our only trip away from the house was to meet up with Michael while he was on his break. We picked up treats at the Emporium; played at the school playground; and went for a swim back at home before leaving Ethan and Ehlana with Alicia and taking our time walking back to the Inn when Michael needed to go back to work.

After getting home from that little walk, Rowen and I were drafted to help out with making dinner. Mom was doing an easy-dinner night, so that work – and the clean-up after we ate – didn't really take that long. When Mom and Dad needed to get changed for their ball practice, Rowen and I took the twins over to the park early while Violet went over to help out at Dillon's house even though he was working at the Inn. With all of that effort, they must be planning a great party for their college-bound teens!

We didn't watch a lot of the Fix-it Uppers' practice tonight, but from what I did see, they were having a pretty good work-out. Maybe they were motivated with their next game just two days away. With just two games left in the season and only one win in their first four games; they may be feeling the urge to win too – especially since they're technically not out of the running for a spot in the championship game yet even if they are in last place. Since they'll need more than a little luck in addition to winning both of their last two games, though, I won't get too excited just yet.

Michael met up with us at the park as the practice was wrapping up, and came home with us. Rowen tried to escape then, but I bribed her with Olde Bakery bedtime snacks to get her to stay. The three of us did the snack and story time with Ethan and Ehlana in the office so that Mom and Dad could both get to work on their computers. We tucked them in for the night too, and then came upstairs to my room for a guitar lesson. Rowen played on my school computer while Michael and I were practicing, and then we went for a swim before they both headed home for the night and I came back upstairs for the night.

There's nothing newsworthy to report from my nightly computing, and I'm going to manage another comparatively early bedtime tonight. With riding lessons and baseball practice tomorrow, Rowen and I don't have anything major planned for the afternoon, but it's going to be a busy weekend; so the extra down time is probably a good idea.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

It's amazing how much things change in a week!

Seven days ago, Tim was in the doghouse with Nora just for coming to our riding lessons. We had just as much fun today as last week, but Tim is definitely in a happier place now. Not seeing him for the past two days made a difference too, and he was as glad to be hanging out with us for the morning as Michael, Rowen, and I were to spend a few hours with him. The only blip in our time at the ranch was getting caught in the rain when we were still five minutes away from the barns. We didn't get soaked or anything, but I did get teased about getting caught in the rain with Michael again.

I'll guess that'll be an ongoing joke that we won't escape from anytime soon unless we get a drought for the next ten years.

It rained off and on for the next few hours, so Michael went home to grab a shower and change before going on to the Inn, and we dropped Tim off at the auto shop. They both came over to hang out with us during Michael's afternoon break, but Rowen and I stayed indoors and played with Ethan and Ehlana while it was raining. We took them with us when we started Michael's break time with a dip in the river, but left them with Mom and Alicia when we went for a bike ride that included a check on the construction sites. The park trails were a bit slick, but not too muddy; so we played there for a while too before hopping into the river for one more swim before Michael went back to the Inn and Tim went to find something else to do until dinnertime.

Rowen and I ended up just sitting out by the river after that until we needed to grab some food and get to our ball practice. Our team is in a weird position right now; and our fate for the season will likely be decided this weekend before we play our last game a week from Saturday against the Cheetahs. The fact that it may not matter what happens in that game didn't keep Carolyn Landry from pushing us hard anyway; mostly because she thinks we will be in the championship game against the Panthers. She wants to be ready for that game – and doesn't want to lose to them three times. Rowen and I have our own motivation for the game against the Cheetahs – Nora and Vanessa.

We already had enough reasons to want to play our best against them, but we heard some gossip tonight from some of the other girls that not only added some incentive to playing a good game against the Cheetahs; but gave me a reason to make sure that I bring a cheerleading squad to Michael and Tim's game on Saturday afternoon. That will hardly guarantee a Wranglers win; but they won't lose because of lack of fan support either.

Some of the girls were stopping in at the Emporium for ice cream after the practice, including Rebecca and Jenny, so Rowen and I went along for that; and then met up with Michael at the Inn. Jacob set him free early so he could come home with us; we picked Tim up along the way; and managed to get back to my house before the rain started falling again. That'll be one less round of teasing for Michael and me! Doing the bedtime snack and story with Ethan and Ehlana was next, and Tim was drafted for the story this time. Dad was working in the office, so we had that break there so that he wouldn't miss out while continuing to get his homework finished.

We left Mom and Dad in the office when it was time to tuck Ethan and Ehlana into their beds. Michael and Tim had a few minutes of guy time with Ethan while Rowen and I got Ehlana settled in for the night. There were two votes for video gaming and two for watching a movie; so we compromised, and while the girls won the movie tie-breaker; the boys got to pick the flick.

There's probably some kind of man-law against them picking anything other than action, alien, or monster-themed movies; though Rowen and I didn't expect them to pick a romantic tear-jerker anyway.

Michael and I cuddled together while watching the movie, but we're not the 'all over each other; making out in public' type; so that wasn't weird for our best friends. They sat close together at the other end of the sectional sofa from us; and they both seemed to be a lot more comfortable together now that the way they reacted around each other wasn't affected by his relationship with Nora. Don't take that the wrong way – it's just a fact that tween and teen girls and guys have to interact differently when one is dating and the other isn't. I've certainly mentioned before how much more careful I've been with my hugs since the guys our age discovered that they like girls, and though I have a boyfriend now; that probably won't change much for a while.

The guys may have preferred the video games, but we enjoyed the quiet couple of hours together; and then we listened to music and talked together for another half hour or so until the rain let up a bit and gave Michael, Rowen, and Tim the chance to get home without being soaked; so they left with just the quickest round of goodnight hugs and kisses, and I cleaned up the lounge after they left before getting ready for bed.

I've been snuggling with Mandy and working on my computer since then. Going to sleep a couple of hours ago had been an option, but I was still wide awake; and decided to get a little extra family business work done instead of just keeping myself entertained while waiting to get drowsy. Working on Christmas-themed projects in early August may always seem strange to me; but that's also one more thing that feels different now that I have a boyfriend too. Getting an advance look at what the perfect gift for him or her trends are expected to be this year was fun – even if most of those suggestions were for things that Michael or I wouldn't be putting on our wish lists this year.

Unless you're reading this during some future Christmas season, I'm sure those manufacturing and marketing plans for a Christmas in your past don't interest you at all; and I have finally gotten to the point where I'm ready to get some rest, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, August 9, 2013

The top event today was the going away party for Jake, Stephanie, Dillon, and the rest of their classmates, but the Fix-it Uppers game is my top story because they managed to pull out a win against the Gas Guzzlers.

Before I get to that part of the update, though, it was a fairly quiet morning around here. Michael came over for Tai Chi and breakfast before heading home to do a few chores around the house, and after he left; I mostly worked in the office until lunchtime. Rowen came over in time to have lunch with us, and then we took Ethan and Ehlana for a bike ride and some park play time until it was time to meet up with Michael for his afternoon break. With the teen party going on tonight, he wasn't getting to take the rest of the day off as usual for a Friday; so he and Tim only had a couple of hours to spend with Rowen and me until he needed to be back at the Inn again. The four of us took the twins swimming first, and then left them with Mom and Alicia so we could bike the trails for a while.

There was time for one more quick swim after that before Michael needed to get going, and after doing a quick change; I went with him so that I could help out in the kitchen too. Rowen and Tim decided to do some more biking together; and had already left to do that by the time I'd finished getting changed. We didn't find out until later, but they ended up staying together until Rowen came over to the park to meet up with me in time for Mom and Dad's game.

While this was the first time they'd had one of their own kids leaving for college, Jacob and Miranda were used to the annual loss of teen staff every August. They 'promoted' most of the members of the upcoming senior high school class who worked at the Inn; and new hires were starting this weekend too. Though they would have managed without an extra junior helper, Miranda and Jacob appreciated the bonus set of hands while needing to spend extra time with inexperienced newbies and training those students that were working different jobs tonight. Having a big dinner party, and trying to find a few minutes here and there to spend with Jake and Stephanie while they were having dinner with their friends and families wasn't easy; but they somehow managed to do that too.

I was able to stay at the Inn until about fifteen minutes before the Fix-it Uppers' game was starting at the park; and then I ran there in time to take over watching Ethan and Ehlana – though Rowen was already doing that by then with support from Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne. The next couple of hours were pretty much the most fun I've had all season watching and cheering for our team. There were a lot of factors that went in to making it a big win for the Fix-it Uppers; including some missing regulars on the Gas Guzzlers' team due to the college going away dinner at the Inn and party at the Jacobs' house. We got some lucky breaks and great timing for a pair of home runs, and even though we were the 'away' team, and needed to play the bottom of the seventh; the twelve-to-seven win wasn't really in doubt by then.

Michael and Tim met up with Rowen and I by the end of the fifth inning; and we all came back to my house after the game. Mom and Dad decided to go out to Sheldon's with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and some of their friends for a couple of hours, so while they got ready to do that; the four of us took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed – including doing the snack and story with them before letting Mom and Dad tuck them in for the night on their way out.

Once I saw Mom and Dad out and got the final, unnecessary 'be good' instructions, I checked in on Ethan and Ehlana once more to make sure they didn't need anything; and then met up with Michael, Tim, and Rowen in the lounge where they had already started a little video game competition. The gaming was really just something to do while we talked. Michael needed to discuss how he was feeling about Jake and Stephanie leaving for college early tomorrow morning; and we all tried to help him out – me with extra hugs and kisses; Tim with jokes; and Rowen with offers to either lend him her brother for the next four years or send Patrick instead and keep Jake.

By the way, Rowen, you didn't exactly make it clear whether Jake would be staying with you or at Michael's house with that trade. :^)

Either way, I'm sure that Patrick wouldn't be in the mood right now to be living with Michael; though he might have a different view about moving to New York with Stephanie. While I'm thinking about Patrick being mad at Michael; I may have to try and do something about that sometime soon. We really don't want to have problems with Patrick once we're all back at school in a bit more than three weeks. Now that's a thought I don't want to keep pondering tonight – summer is not almost over!

Staying in denial about the clock ticking on our summer holidays is still an option, but our play time came to an end when Mom and Dad got home from the pub. Since Michael and I were going to be up extra early to say goodbye to Jake and Stephanie in the morning; we kept our goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch short and sweet. I came straight up to bed after watching Michael and Rowen walk home, with the most interesting part of that few moments being Tim's choice to walk with Rowen on his way home instead of with Michael. Yes, they had tried to leave Michael and me alone on the front porch for our kiss, but he had caught up to them before they reached the sidewalk; and Tim could have walked with Michael instead.

Just saying...

Anyway, after getting changed and into bed with Mandy, I skipped doing most of my usual nightly computing; and I'm tired enough that I plan on crashing about two seconds after I put my computer away, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

I guess the only place to start with the report today is the goodbyes this morning.

For Jake and Stephanie; that was right before Tai Chi; because they had a morning flight to New York. I made it over to Michael's house just before Miranda and Jacob needed to wrap up their hugs and kisses and get to the Inn. The bags were already loaded by then too, so Jake and Stephanie only spent a few more minutes saying goodbye to Rebecca, Michael, and me before Samantha nudged them to get going; and the three of them were on their way to the airport.

Michael came home with me for Tai Chi while Rebecca stayed to grab a shower and get dressed before joining us for breakfast too. Mom and Dad had a long list of chores for me today, but before I got started on them, Michael came with me; and we went to say goodbye to Josiah, Isabelle, and Andrew. The quick visit with Josiah was a bonus, because I was able to send a little gift with him for Chrissy instead of mailing it to her; and it's because I don't get to see Isabelle and Andrew much now that Isabelle doesn't babysit for Mom and Dad anymore that I wanted to see them before they were away until Christmas. There were other teens that I didn't get to say goodbye to, but Michael wanted to spend extra time at the Inn for his parents; and I needed to get my chores done in time for his game.

I decided to get the dirty work out of the way first; and spent most of the morning working in the gardens and doing the rest of the messier chores before stopping for lunch. By the time that work was finished, I seriously needed to hop into the river to wash off the worst of the grime; and then I sat on the dock with Ethan and Ehlana while we had a twenty-minute long picnic lunch break. Mowing the lawn took the rest of the time I had until Rowen met up with me and we took Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi to the park in time to wish Michael and Tim good luck before the game started.

Naomi had been dropped off so that I could have her on my little cheerleading squad, but had been early enough for some play time with Ehlana and Ethan first. Rebecca was on her afternoon break at the start of the game too, so she and Jenny helped us out for the first couple of innings before moving on. The Wranglers were playing their second game against Palmer's Posse; and this was a big match for both teams because the Ridge River Ranchers had pulled into the lead in their division with their third win of the season last weekend.

I hope our cheerleading helped to make the game more fun for the players and spectators, but I'm not going to suggest that the Wranglers couldn't have won without us. The game was close; each team had the lead twice; and the Posse just came up a run short today. Michael assured my three junior cheerleaders that they did help him to play better; but all of the players on both teams looked like they were fired up and playing their best from start to finish.

While we could have gone to the Emporium for ice cream after the game, Rowen and I decided not to get in the way of the post-game festivities that the Wranglers and Posse were having there; and took our squad back to my house for ice cream cones and a swim. We found out that Mom and Dad were hosting another impromptu barbeque dinner when we got back from the park, and after our snack and swim; Rowen and I were recruited to help out with the work – starting with setting up tables and chairs in the back yard.

The top dinner news, from a kid perspective, was the parent, aunt, and uncle announcement that we are going on a second-annual amusement park adventure on Monday and Tuesday. I especially loved that we were going to have an even bigger group going this year. Now that we have two doctors in town, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne can come with us, and while we won't have Jake and Stephanie there; Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, and Jillian's parents are going to meet us there with Chris, Martin, Dawn, and Jillian; and Ethan and Ehlana will have Naomi and Aiden to play with this year too.

Rowen and I spent most of our time hanging out with Michael and Tim on the trip last year; but I'm sure it will be a lot different for Michael and me this time – in a best-ever kind of way!

Finding out about that kept all of us kids entertained during dinner, and Rowen and I were put in charge of kid control after we'd finished eating while the adults and teen cleaned up. We took all of the younger kids, including Patrick and Scott, to the park for an hour before being set free to do our own thing for the rest of the evening. We wandered around and didn't do much of anything until meeting up with Michael and Tim once Michael was finished at the Inn for the night.

We'd planned on getting together with them anyway, but the amusement park trip news gave us something to talk about while we went swimming and then a walk around the new section of town. Michael also had an update on Jake and Stephanie for us. They're safely to their hotel in New York after an uneventful flight; and are possibly still out doing a little sightseeing as I write this – or not. Whatever they are doing, though, it doesn't include writing email replies to Michael or me. I'm sure that their adventures in and around New York will make for fun reading whenever Stephanie makes her Magi Journals available to other Magi some day.

Getting back to my own update for the day, there really isn't much else to report. With the upcoming trip and a busy Sunday ahead for most of us; we didn't stay out late; and started splitting up on our way back from the new section of town. Tim exited stage left when we turned right to walk up to Riverview Road; Michael and I did the goodnight hugs and kisses with Rowen in front of her house; and then we shared our minor fireworks moments on my front porch before he continued on to his own house.

After watching him until we were both ready to go inside, I came upstairs and hopped into my Jacuzzi for a quick soak. I've been multi-tasking my computing too, including getting this journal update written, but it's time to wrap this up; get out of the tub; dry my hair; finish the rest of my bedtime routine; cuddle with Mandy; and pass out for the next six hours and change.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

I'm going to keep this short and get what sleep I can before we'll be up early and hitting the road for our amusement park adventure in the morning.

Let's start with my dinner buffet time at the Inn this afternoon and tonight. This was Dillon's last shift at the Inn, and that felt nearly as strange as it did to be playing in the kitchen with Michael and Rebecca without Jake and Stephanie there too. Sure, they hadn't been working on Friday night either, but they had been in the dining room at the party; and now they were in New York beginning their assimilation into big city life for a while before they'd be moving into their respective college dorms at the start of freshman orientation week.

That kept an undercurrent of emotion floating around the kitchen today; and I did what I could to help out by adding a little fun and regular doses of hugs and kisses for Jacob, Miranda, and anyone else who seemed to need a bit of cheering up. I'd done some more of that this morning at church too with friends who were missing their college-bound kids; and Rowen and I dropped of surprise Olde Bakery afternoon snack treats – and hugs and kisses – to Samantha and Stewart at the furniture store too just before hanging out with Michael and Tim during Michael's afternoon break from the Inn.

I'd wanted to be at the Inn tonight because of it being the first buffet for Michael and his parents and sister without Jake and Stephanie, but that was all for moral support – the actual work managed to go on just fine without them. The memory lane stories that were included as part of Dillon's unofficial last shift roasting were fun too; but his heart wasn't in it without having his best friends there. I missed out on the family dinner that Mom and Dad brought Ethan and Ehlana to for the early buffet, but I did take a little break for a drink and visit while they were here; and it was a fair trade-off for getting to spend the time with Michael instead.

Helping out at the Inn tonight and looking forward to our trip in the morning have been the two things I've been thinking most about tonight, but I should probably mention the tween weird that was going on at church this morning too. I honestly hadn't really thought about it, since there hadn't been anything going on with Tim and Nora since their break-up; but this was the first time since then that we were together with all of our classmates in one place.

Nora may have intentionally been avoiding Tim, but she was not happy; and that meant that Vanessa and their best friends weren't happy either. They didn't talk directly to Tim, Michael, Rowen, or I; but I was able to hear most of the whispered comments; could 'read' a handful of notes that were passed back and forth during Sunday school by watching the pen flow; and the frosty glares and sneers were back in full force today too. Tim was a little uncomfortable to be getting the cold shoulder; but the fact that he looked happier than he'd been in weeks instead of crushed really frosted Nora even more.

I'm playing some memories back now after that thought, and Tim really has been happier for most of the last week than he had been before the break-up – even when he'd been hanging out with us there had been a difference that I doubt he even noticed. That should help to make the next couple of play days with Michael, Rowen, and me even better for all of us – though I doubt that Nora or Vanessa were happy about that news either when they heard about it this morning.

Okay, there's more that went on today, but I really do need to get to sleep; so here's the condensed version.

Tai Chi by the river; breakfast with Michael at his house; tweeird zone church and Sunday school; lunch at home; and play time with Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana. The snack break surprise for Stephanie's parents was next; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I went biking during Michael's break; and we ended that time with a river swim that included some water play time with Ethan and Ehlana. I split up with Michael long enough to get cleaned up and changed; and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Inn until we were set free near the end of the last buffet.

We met up with Rowen and Tim, since they were spending the night at our houses; and found out that they'd spent most of the last couple of hours together while waiting for us. Michael and I wanted to go for a cool-down swim then; so we did that at my house and then we had a little visit with Mom, Dad, Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana in the kitchen before Michael and Tim left for the night. Rowen and I helped with getting the twins tucked in; and then we came up to my room to get ready for bed too. She and Mandy are already sleeping, and I need to join them in slumber land, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Summer mission ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Rowen is still grinning as we sit here in our hotel room bed; and she has so many warm fuzzies going on that some of them migrated over to me to join the little gang of them that have been hanging out in my stomach since Michael and I split up for the night.

I'm sure that some of you, reading this is the future, will have known before now that 'Tommy' has been our code name for Tim; but that revelation is mostly for those distant future Magi who will some day read this just as I've been reading journals and books written by Magi thousands of years ago.

There's a lot more to write about for today, but I won't leave you hanging on this – Tim kissed Rowen tonight after they made up an excuse to give Michael and me some alone time. Rowen told me that one minute they were watching us holding hands and sharing a little kiss while waiting in line for one of our favorite roller coasters; and then, after turning to smile at Tim, he suddenly put his hands on her waist; tugged her closer; and kissed her. She's not exactly sure how long that kiss lasted; but it was long enough that Michael and I were out of sight by the time she looked to see if we'd noticed.

Now that you've got those basics, I'll back up to the beginning of the story for today; and fill in the blanks when we get to the most recent events.

While I'd been playing and then hanging out at the Inn yesterday, Mom had made sure that everything was ready to go for this morning – including picnic breakfast packages for everyone in each vehicle. That meant that we only needed to get cleaned up and dressed; load our bags into the vans and cars; and hit the road once the gang had gathered at our house. Tim and I switched places when we stopped for our half-way there break, but he and Jenny were with Michael, Rebecca, and their parents when we left town. Violet and Dillon had Alicia and Erin with them; Rowen and I were with Mom, Dad, Ehlana, and Naomi; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne took Ethan and Aiden with them; and Rowen's parents only had Patrick and Scott with them. The four younger kids did a half-way switch too, but that was mostly so that Tim didn't have to spend the last half of the trip with four girls; and wouldn't completely ruin his reputation by watching one of the 'Cars' movies with Ethan and Aiden.

We managed to keep ourselves entertained on the long, uneventful drive; but the fun really kicked in to high gear once we were at the amusement park shortly after it opened for the day. They'd needed to leave earlier than we had, but Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, Chris, Martin, and Dawn were already there with Jillian and her parents by the time we pulled into the parking lot. Going on a Monday and Tuesday works out great because of the lighter crowds compared to weekends and holidays; and we hadn't even finished the reunion pleasantries, hugs, and kisses before we were through the gate and free to play.

With thirty-two in our group, we didn't try to stick together all day, but only Chris, Martin, Rebecca, and Jenny left to start hitting the thrill rides right away. Violet and Dillon wanted to spend some time with Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa first, and while Alicia and Erin were only going to help out with the younger kids for about half of the day; they stayed to help out with getting the kids through bathroom breaks, set up with strollers; and came along on the first couple of toddler-rated rides. Michael and Tim wanted to get going so we could make the rounds of the thrill rides that the younger kids were too small to go on; but they stayed with Rowen and me so that we could spend a little time with Dawn, Jillian, Patrick, and Scott first – mostly because they were not allowed to go off on their own.

Though we weren't getting any extreme thrills during that first hour or so, I really loved getting to play with my brother, sister, cousin, and friends, and since I don't exactly have a lot of amusement park experience; even sharing the kiddie rides with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden was fun for all of us. Tim entertained himself by razzing us about those rides, but he also went with us; and helped Michael with Ethan and Aiden.

When Violet and Dillon took Dawn and Jillian along to spend some time just with them, Mom and Dad set Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me free until we were all to meet up again for lunch. Mom gave me her cell phone, and that had Tim teasing me about her keeping track of us with the phone's GPS signal. Since Rowen was the only one who knew about my link with Mom; she was able to really appreciate why I thought that was so funny.

Rowen is still really shy a lot of the time when she's in groups or crowds, and especially with strangers; but she's also as much of an adrenaline junkie as Tim, Michael, and I are; and there aren't many thrill rides that she doesn't love – with the minor exception of rides with too much multi-directional spinning. That wasn't a problem this morning, because we kept busy going on all of our favorite rides from last year, including the best roller coasters and my personal favorite – the Sky Coaster. I am so going to have to try bungee jumping some day!

While everyone checked in at lunch, we didn't all end up eating together. Rebecca and Jenny were too busy flirting with some boys they'd met – Jenny's word, not mine; and Chris and Martin only wanted to grab slices of pizza and get back to the rides. The rest of us rounded up the various food and drink choices while keeping the younger kids busy too; and then we watched a stage show while eating.

As I mentioned already, Dawn, Jillian, Patrick, and Scott weren't being allowed to go around the park on their own; but we did get parental approval for them to hang out with us for a while after lunch. That wasn't all good, because Patrick is still having problems being around Michael and me; but with Dawn and Jillian along too, he managed to play nice while we went on a half dozen of the biggest rides that we could all go on together.

Alicia and Erin helped out with the four toddlers while we were doing that so some of the parents could go on some thrill rides too; though Aunt Leanne was obviously not able to do that with them. We crossed paths and went on one ride with our corresponding parents and one uncle; but that ended up being the only thrill ride that I went on with Mom and Dad today. We were rounded up again in time to have a little water park fun before dinner; and then we watched another stage show while everyone had dinner together.

All of the Moms, including Aunt Leanne, went over to the hotel with Naomi, Aiden, and the twins after dinner; and stayed there after checking in for all of our rooms. That left the Dads and Dad-to-be to keep Dawn, Jillian, Patrick, and Scott entertained while the rest of us were set free again until we were supposed to meet up again at the park entrance fifteen minutes before the park was closing for the night.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did another round of our favorite rides together, and then Rowen came up with the totally transparent excuse for why she and Tim needed to leave Michael and I alone for a while. In hindsight, she thinks that worked out pretty well for all of us; but I'm sure she wasn't expecting that there'd be an earth-shaking, fireworks-worthy kiss just moments away when she set that up for Michael and me.

What would you have done if you had known, Rowen? Make that suggestion a lot sooner; or be too shy to suggest it at all?

For some reason, she's more interested in talking about what did happen instead of irrelevant hypotheticals.

Since we're back to that moment, it's time for the rest of Rowen's report on the big kiss. I scanned my memories, and hadn't been looking in there direction; so I didn't witness the kiss, and couldn't help her out with how long it lasted. I'm sure that she wasn't exaggerating the moment, and the shared, wide-eyed astonishment that followed was probably understated more than a little. Rowen wasn't sure how long they were in shock for, but she would have liked it if Tim had held on to her longer before letting go of her waist and stepping back. That decision might have had something to do with the fact that he'd kissed Rowen speechless; and they both needed time to process what had just happened between them.

Rowen's kicking herself now for being so blown away that she went into full-shy mode; and she's sure that's why nothing else happened between them for the rest of the evening. The timeline during and immediately after the kiss may be a bit fuzzy for her, but she's sure that it was a full five minutes before she could manage to do more than nod, shake her head, or smile and shrug in response to the few questions and comments Tim tried to fill up the empty space with.

If you could have managed some of those lines you're coming up with now, Rowen; that definitely wouldn't have been the only kiss with Tim tonight. I wouldn't expect that you would have just jumped in and started making out with him or anything; but a simple 'Wow', or almost anything else would have been sending the right kind of signals to him.

I didn't witness the kiss, but when Rowen and Tim caught up with Michael and me again; she didn't need to say anything before I knew something big had happened to them. By then, it was time to start working our way back to the park entrance, so we went on a few more rides while doing that; and still managed to be the first group there. Alicia and Erin were next, followed by the Dads' group. They had Violet and Dillon with them by then, and Chris, Martin, Rebecca, and Jenny were last; catching up with us at the same time, but from two different directions.

The trip to the hotel didn't take long, and Rebecca and Jenny only had time to tell Rowen and me a couple of boy-related stories while we were in the minivan with Jacob and Dad. I'm glad that they both had fun today, but I can't help but find it weird that Jenny doesn't have a problem flirting with boys while we're here when she also refers to Joel as her boyfriend. They could have paired up with Chris and Martin instead, though, so the weird is relative – or not, in this case. :^)

Rowen and I have Ehlana and Naomi in our room with us, but they were already sleeping by the time we got here; and Aunt Leanne and Aunt Melissa had been staying with them until we arrived while Mom was in her room with Ethan and Aiden. Doing the evening updates, goodnight hugs and kisses, and getting everyone settled into their rooms took nearly an hour; so it wasn't until Rowen and I were alone with our adorable sleeping toddlers that we could talk.

'The kiss' has been our main focus tonight, and though that ends our summer challenge; we talked about the next step for Rowen too. Rowen's wondering if Tim's talking about this with Michael even as she is with me; and isn't sure how to feel about that if he is. I'll be able to sense the answer to that in the morning, but that won't necessarily mean that I'll be able to ask Michael about it.

Stop worrying, Rowen – the only regret I can imagine Tim having right now is that he didn't kiss you again. We'll be spending the entire afternoon at the water park tomorrow, and after spending that much time with you in a swimsuit; be ready to get kissed again if he gets another opportunity to do that.

We do need to get some sleep so we'll be ready for another long day of fun, but there are a few other things I should mention first. Last year, Violet and Dillon may or may not have traded roommates with Stephanie and Jake, but this year they're eighteen and chose to stay in one room without asking for parental approval. Violet's siblings and cousins really appreciate all of her precedence trail-blazing! This hotel doesn't have a lot of adjoining rooms, but Mom was able to book two of them so that Patrick and Scott could be next to Owen and Patricia; and Dawn and Jillian are in the room next to Jillian's parents.

I haven't really mentioned them much in my journals, but it's no wonder to me why Jim and Lily Wright are two of Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa's best friends. They're a lot of fun; fit right in with our family and friends; and they love thrill rides as much as any kid. We should invite them to come along once in a while for holiday weekends.

Chris and Martin weren't hanging around with Rebecca and Jenny today, but the four teens are probably still out exploring our hotel right now. Since Rowen and I are watching Ehlana and Naomi, we couldn't have gone with them; but then we weren't invited anyway. Alicia and Erin were asked to join them, but if Chris is still harboring any remnants from his infatuation with Alicia last summer; he wasn't given any opportunity to get close to her tonight. That's for the best, since it wouldn't be good for Chris and Martin the next time they were in Witch Falls if Alicia's and Erin's boyfriends found out that they were trying to hang out with their girls – especially since Erin's boyfriend is Kyle Landry. He may be as much of a teddy bear as his father; but he's a very big teddy bear!

It's time to call it a night, though it may be a while longer before Rowen's completely wound down. That must've been some kiss! :^)

We need to get some sleep, though, and that's really pretty much all the news I have for today; so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Our day started out with a very entertaining Tai Chi demonstration on one of the garden patios.

We had a fairly large group for that, including Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Naomi; along with about half of our group among the spectators watching us from the nearby patio tables in front of the cafe where we eventually had breakfast. I loved getting to share Michael's first 'public' Tai Chi workout with him, and Naomi wanted to try following Ethan and Ehlana through the short form we were practicing; but Aunt Leanne won the entertainer of the morning award for not only keeping up with Mom, Dad, and Uncle Adam when she's about seven months along – she also brought a hat along with a hand-written 'Tai Chi Toddler Souvenir Fund' sign that she placed between us and those cafe tables.

Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi ended up with twenty-two dollars and seventy-five cents; not including the two tens that were added by Uncle Rick and Jacob. ;^)

While I'm on that topic, Naomi's a natural. We'll have to see if we can work out some lessons with her if she wants to learn Tai Chi too. Now that the Seagers are back yard neighbors to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, we could probably take our Tai Chi down the road once or twice a week so Naomi could do that with us – at least until winter.

We were still up fairly early for Tai Chi, and had lots of time to take turns having showers and getting ready for another extreme play day before meeting up again at the cafe for breakfast. Chris and Martin looked half-asleep, and they'd apparently stayed up and played video games for hours while the rest of us were either smart enough to get the sleep while we could – or were just better at faking being wide awake. Let's not even think about what some of the parents were doing with their five-star sleepover away from home. That's definitely something kids don't need to know about their parents.

The first thing that I want to mention about our second day of extreme rides and water park fun is that Aunt Leanne is amazing. She wasn't able to go on most of the rides or slides, but she was on the go all day; did a lot of things with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and only stopped for a couple of extra breaks when she needed a little rest. Mom was very self-conscious about how she looked while pregnant with the twins despite the fact that everyone else thought she looked beautiful; so it's really cool to see Aunt Leanne so confident whether she's wearing a maternity sundress or swimsuit.

Of course it probably helps that she was one of the hottest-looking women at the water park – pregnant or not.

That's as far as I want to take that thought, so let's move along. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I stayed with the adults and younger kids all day until after dinner; mostly because three out of four of us wanted to spend extra time playing with our parents. We were able to go on some roller coasters and other thrill rides with some of the adults while Aunt Leanne, Alicia, Erin did something else with the younger kids; but we mostly did things that we could all do together – like the different shows and junior rides.

There was a mandatory check-in at lunchtime, and after we ate; we spent the entire afternoon at the water park. We – Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I – played with the adults and younger kids for about half of the time; and then we went off on our own to go on the bigger slides until dinnertime. I love those thrill slides a lot, but it was just as much fun playing in the water with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and going with them on the small slides and wave pool that they could do with us. Being with Michael and Tim kept Rowen and I from being approached by any same-aged admiring boys, but Jenny and Rebecca had at least four boys around them every time we crossed paths; and Jenny really seemed to be enjoying the attention a lot. We were all together for the walk-up on a couple of slides, but while I would have liked to spend more time with Rebecca and Jenny; I'm glad that we weren't around to witness most of that flirting action.

Violet, Dillon, Alicia, and Erin pretty much did the same thing we did this afternoon; and we met up with them for a couple of slides each too. Those moments with Violet and Dillon feel really special as I think about them while writing this because they drove straight to Woodvale tonight; and will be spending the next few days there. They'll only be back home again for a couple of days before leaving for college next Monday; and won't likely have much time to spend with Ethan, Ehlana, or me while getting packed and keeping busy with all of the goodbye visits with their families and friends.

We're up to the dinner scene of the update, and I'd like to mention that I love nearly everything about amusement parks; but two days of the food there is one or two meals too many. Unlike our trip to Crystal Springs, I can assure you that there won't be any recipes showing up at the Inn for anything we've had to eat at the park. That's about all I need to write about for a meal that wasn't really worth reporting on.

The only time that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I spent completely on our own was the last blast of fun time we had between dinner and when it was time to meet up at the park entrance and head for home. We didn't quite have enough time to hit all of our favorite rides, but we did another drop on the Sky Coaster, and took turns picking rides while doing a last loop around the park.

Since Violet and Dillon were going to Woodvale, we needed to juggle the seating for the trip back to Witch Falls for Alicia and Erin. Rowen and Aunt Leanne got involved with that to make sure that Michael and I were together; so we ended up with his parents, Rebecca, and Jenny; Alicia and Erin rode with Mom, Dad, Ehlana, and Naomi; and Tim and Rowen went with her parents, brother, and Scott. I didn't have a problem cuddling with Michael for the entire trip home, and I had as many warm fuzzies every time Miranda or Jacob smiled at us as I did from sitting on the back bench with Michael's arm around me and snuggling against him.

Rebecca and Jenny watched a movie and listened to music on Jenny's iPad; and they teased Michael and me a bit now and then too; but it was a fairly quiet trip home. We took one break at a bit more than half-way back, and while I didn't hear about it until Rowen needed to chat with me once we were both home and in our beds; that's when her travel time got really interesting.

She and Tim had won the middle seats lottery for the first half of the drive, but had to switch spots with Patrick and Scott for the second half. I'll get more details tomorrow, but Rowen assures me that she fell asleep on Tim's lap because he suggested that she use the middle seat belt so she could stretch out across the bench; but she didn't want to put her feet at his end after a long day of walking around.

I didn't bother mentioning that we did spend hours in the water, and she and I both had clean clothes on for the last couple of hours after we were finished playing at the water park; so smelly feet shouldn't have really been an issue.

Since they didn't get a chance to share another kiss today, though, I'll cut her some slack. Falling asleep on Tim's lap must have been as nice for them as cuddling was for Michael and me; though she was more than a little surprised to wake up with Tim's arm around her waist and his other hand gently stroking her hair. That was enough to get the butterflies going again for her, but the shy kicked in again; and she didn't say anything to Tim about how she was feeling. Even if they both wanted to try another kiss then, I'm sure they wouldn't have with her parents and brother in the van with them.

Rowen wrapped up our little computer chat about ten minutes ago. It's really late, and I should get some sleep too; so let's condense the rest of the report. Jenny stayed with Rebecca tonight instead of going home so late. I helped with unloading their van, and then Michael came home with me to help out with unloading ours after Mom and Dad dropped Alicia and Erin off at the Jennings' house. Naomi and Aiden are staying with us, so we had four toddlers to get changed and tucked into bed too before Uncle Adam took Aunt Leanne home; and Michael and I shared a short goodnight hug and kiss on my front porch once we were alone. I did the goodnight hugs and kisses with Mom and Dad too; and then came straight up to my room to get changed and in bed with Mandy. I kept the nightly computing to a minimum, so the chat with Rowen and writing this update were the only reasons why I'm not already out for the count. Now that both of those distractions are taken care of, I'm past-ready for the nap I still have time for, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

We were having a work morning, and Rowen and I didn't plan on doing anything this afternoon other than take it easy and recover from a couple of long, extreme play days; but there still ended up being a lot going on.

That started with Tai Chi. With Violet away, Mom, Dad, and I needed to get all four toddlers dressed and meet Michael out by the river. Naomi tried to follow along with Ethan and Ehlana again; and Aiden joined them for about two minutes before deciding that he wasn't quite able to keep up with his older friends. He sat on one of the benches after that and played with the cars he'd brought along until we were finished exercising and ready to go inside again. Michael went home then instead of staying to eat with us, and while Rowen was working at the computer store today; I ended up spending most of the morning working with Mom. Alicia had the day off, so after Naomi and Aiden were picked up; Mom combined a Magi lesson for the twins with some of our housework so that we could get everything except the laundry finished in just a couple of hours. I stayed with Ethan and Ehlana when Mom ran some errands, and she brought back fresh bakery buns to make subs with for lunch.

I met up with Rowen at the computer store today after Mom set me free for the afternoon, and had a little chat with Patricia and Owen while she finished having her lunch. When she was ready to go, we did a construction site bike tour. There weren't any major, visible changes in the new section of town because they're mostly working on the interiors of most of the houses in progress right now. Yes, there is still lots of time left in the construction season before the outdoor work will mostly come to a stop, but quite a few of the crews are also getting ready for the first apartment building construction that is going to keep them busy this fall – and all winter for the interior work. The construction at the lab was more noticeable, and though there's a lot more going on there that you can't see – particularly in the basement levels; it's cool to see how fast the steel beam framing is getting done. I'll guess that the lab will be the talk of the town over the holiday weekend for most visitors.

After our tour, we stopped in at the park to see what was going on there, and what we'd apparently missed out on while we were away was the unofficial start of football season. Our school doesn't start team training until the Monday before their first game; but Kyle got some of his buddies to start working out with him every day starting on Monday. They're doing that in the afternoons at the park football field; and they were still getting together to start their workout when Rowen and I went over to the bleachers to find out what was going on.

Tim was there with Kyle; and he joined in for all of the drills that Kyle put his friends and teammates through for the first hour. For some reason, Rowen felt the urge to stay and watch; so that's where we were when Michael met up with us on his afternoon break. Tim let him have nearly five minutes with us before drafting him to join in on the football workout. Michael only caught the tail end of the drills, and then he and Tim were put on Kyle's team for a scrimmage game. Kyle only had six guys who were actually training with him, and had either been on the team last year or were hoping to make the team this year; but there were other guys – like Tim and Michael – who were willing to join in for the game; so they were able to play with eight a side.

While Kyle and most of the other guys are a lot bigger than Michael and Tim, they are the two best guy athletes in our grade; and did pretty well against the older guys. It helped a lot that they were on Kyle's team instead of playing against him, but Kyle did put the next-best offensive and defensive players on the other team so they could train against him; so they weren't just up against fluff competition. They took turns playing running back and wide receiver positions when their team was on offense, and were the safeties on defense.

After watching the action this afternoon, I'm really glad that Kyle's on our team – and I'm sure his friends are glad too. Michael and Tim each scored a touchdown too, but Kyle had three; got two of them on defense; and plowed his way through the other team to lead other guys to big run gains over and over again. The toughest part of that for the guys on the other team was that he was holding back so he didn't really hurt anyone. By the time they were finished playing, Michael didn't have much time left before needing to get back to the Inn. We came back to my house for a swim so that we could take Ethan and Ehlana in with us; and then he and Tim both left while Rowen and I stayed and helped Mom with the twins while she did some work in the office and made dinner.

Rowen stayed for dinner, and she and I did the clean-up while Mom and Dad got ready for their baseball practice. They may have been tired tonight, but all of the Fix-it Uppers' players seemed to be off tonight; so maybe their motivation level was just down after getting the big win last Friday night. After watching football for too long this afternoon, Rowen and I were happy to take Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi to the playground; and Emma Norton joined us to play too. We need to invite her over for another sleepover or camping night before the end of summer, but we all have a lot going on between now and the holiday weekend; so we may have to settle for having her at the camping adventure we're planning for a week from Saturday while the parents will be at the end-of-season party at Sheldon's Pub. Mom and Dad need to have a break for the rest of this week – especially since Dad will be busy getting ready for his week in the city between now and Sunday. I should talk to Grandma and Aunt Leanne about giving them a kid-free night this weekend.

Michael met up with us at the park, but Tim was busy with something at home. Dad needed to get some work done when we got back to our house, but he and Mom came for a cool-off swim with us first before leaving Ethan and Ehlana with Michael, Rowen, and me to keep playing for an extra half-hour or so. Not even Olde Bakery bedtime snacks could keep Rowen with us after our swim; and she went home then while Michael and I took care of the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana – including doing the snack and story with Mom and Dad in the office before getting them changed, doing the bathroom visits, and tucking them in for the night.

I would have been happy to have Rowen hang out with us, but getting some actual alone time with Michael for an hour or so was really great too – and something we're going to need to make more time for in our busy schedules! We cuddled on the sectional sofa in the lounge; put a show on that we didn't really watch; and had our first actual make-out session. Before you let your mind wander too far down that trail of thought; don't forget that Mom and I have a very close link. You can trust me when I tell you that nothing happened – and definitely not as much as we've seen other tween couples doing at some of the dances and parties over the past year or two.

It was a lot of fun, though! :^)

Michael went home at eleven o'clock, and after saying goodnight to him, and then to Mom and Dad, I needed to spend some time with my Jacuzzi. It was time to do some extra family business work tonight too; and that meant having another late night. I started on that while in the tub, and then I took a break while doing my hair and getting ready for bed. I ended up sitting in the window alcove for an hour and a half after that instead of working in bed; but that was as much to keep me more awake than because of the view.

There isn't anything specific of interest to report from the work, but I did have some email from Dawn, Violet, Stephanie, and Chrissy waiting for me tonight. Dawn and Jillian were the center of attention today with their friends; and they wanted to let me know that there were some jealous girls in Woodvale after they saw some of the pictures she took of Michael and me. I don't think I'll take Michael along for any trips to Woodvale for a while just to be safe.

Violet and Dillon had a good day hanging out with her best friends; and they spent the evening with her grandparents and parents; though they're going out with some friends tomorrow night. Stephanie and Jake are loving their first week in New York; and are missing home a lot too. They aren't having any problems getting around the city; though using subways, buses, and trains is a serious culture shock. The shopping sounds like fun; and they have tickets to their first Broadway show on the weekend – a going away gift from her parents. Chrissy had an update reply for me too; and though she and Josiah aren't in the same residential hall; they're spending as much time together as they can around their own frosh week schedules – and all of the orientation events they each need to attend. They'll be starting classes on Monday; so I hope their schedules will still give them lots of time to spend together – that's going to be a fairly important part of their involvement in our future plans.

I guess that's it for now, and my Tai Chi wake-up call isn't all that far away, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Before I get to the rest of my report, I want to bring up something that I honestly haven't been thinking about enough lately – my Magi training.

Mom had me stay home without friends over after baseball, and advised me that we both needed to get back to more regular lessons. While Ethan, Ehlana, and I don't sense any immediate danger in our near-future, Mom is right that I still have a lot to learn; and more reasons to keep at my training than she needs to know about anytime soon. Spending nearly two hours working with her tonight plus hours more of archive assignments that I'll need to get done over the next few days reinforced her message loud and clear – though the lesson was still fun too.

Having Michael with me for Tai Chi; breakfast; our riding lesson; and a swim once we were home again helped to keep the fun level high all morning. It felt strange to get rides to and from the ranch from Tim's and Rowen's Moms instead of Violet; but she won't be doing that for the rest of the summer anyway. There isn't really anything special to report from anything we did this morning, but I will mention that two-out-of-two Mom-drivers suggested that the four of us could occasionally give my parents a break and hang out at Michael's, Tim's, or Rowen's houses even though I have the 'coolest kid room ever'. That's something else I don't really ever think about, and I'm sure we can do that more once school starts; but my house – or Michael's – is the most convenient for doing things like swimming and canoeing.

That's something else we haven't done enough of; and we should make time for more canoe trips before summer is over. Then again, I'd also like to do more trips to Quarry Lake; trail rides with Mom and Dad; and a bunch of other things that we won't get done in the two and a half weeks we have left before we head back to school.

We had Ethan and Ehlana with us for the pre-lunch swim, and Tim and Rowen both stayed for lunch. After helping with the clean-up, we had time for a bike ride with the twins in the trailer; and then Tim went over to the park for Kyle's football practice while Rowen and I dropped Ethan and Ehlana off with Mom before picking up bottles of water and a few snacks and heading over to the park too.

I don't have a problem with Michael getting football fever, but I also don't plan on being a football groupie either. Rowen and I left my backpack with Tim in case he needed any water or food; and then we hit the trails for an hour or so before going back to the football field and sitting in the bleachers while taking a break and downing a couple of bottles of water. Michael was on his afternoon break by then, and had joined the on-field action in time for the scrimmage game.

We watched for more than half an hour before Kyle allowed a 'half-time' break. This is the first year that Michael and Tim have been big enough to even think about competing with the high school players, even though some of those guys are more than a foot taller than they are; and Kyle outweighs them by a lot. One thing that I really noticed today was how well Michael and Tim were able to keep up with Kyle. He's the biggest player on our team, but he's also the fastest. I don't know if anyone else really even noticed, but when Kyle was lead blocking for either Michael or Tim; they stayed right with him whether it was a five yard gain or fifty.

Since Michael wants to play high school football nearly as much as Tim does; I'd better get used to them being in that mode from August through November for at least the next five years. There's certainly no doubt they can already play, and I don't need to use my Sight to deduce that they'll get their shot a playing once we do hit high school in another year.

That little visit with Michael and Tim during their break wasn't very long, and I barely had time to get Michael's lunchtime at the Inn report before Kyle had them running again. Rowen and I went back out on the trails for another half hour while they were playing, and then brought the boys home with us for a short swim before Michael needed to get back to the Inn again.

Tim left when Michael did, but Rowen stayed and we played with the twins until Mom had an early dinner ready so we could eat as soon as Dad got home from work and still have time to get to the park for our baseball practice. It's very unlikely now that it matters whether we win or lose our game on Saturday, but Rowen and I still have our personal motivation playing against Vanessa and Nora; and Carolyn doesn't want to risk the slim chances that a loss might lead to a tie-breaker for second place in our division – or go into the championship game on two losses. Those thoughts were all she needed as motivation to work us even harder tonight that she had last week; and I don't think that there is any way she or Coach Sarah could have done more to get us ready to play this weekend.

Rowen and I went for a swim after practice, but then she went home so I could do my lesson with Mom after that. Ethan and Ehlana played on their iPads in the office while Dad worked and Mom was busy with me, and then we did the full bath and bed routine with them before I was able to come up to my room and get started on my archive homework and nightly computing. That was almost three hours ago, and I've had enough fun for today.

Michael has his usual Friday afternoon and evening off tomorrow, and though he and Tim will be playing football with Kyle and the other guys again in the afternoon; they're both going to be with Rowen and me for dinner and a movie night – and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace are hosting it for the first time at their new house. Violet and Dillon will be home from Woodvale in time for that; so it should be a fun evening – if I'm not too tired to stay awake for it! Let's make sure that isn't a problem.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Dinner and a movie nights are different now that I have a boyfriend; and more fun than ever. I've visited Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace at their house quite a few times, but this was our first time spending the evening and having a meal there with them.

I'm starting my report with that part of the day because it was the most fun. Michael, Tim, and Rowen were all invited; and even getting teased about that by Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace just made for bonus entertainment. They made sure to warn Tim about the dangers of cuddling with me at dinner and a movie nights, but he doesn't need to worry about that anymore.

When you read this some day in the future, Aunt Leanne; thanks for holding back on Rowen and Tim. I know that you were thinking about the fact that your warning was already way too late for Rowen; even if the results of those past movie night cuddles are just catching up with her now.

While I'm thinking about that, there hasn't been any news to report for Rowen and Tim since Tuesday night, and though they sat close together during the movie; there wasn't any hand-holding, cuddling, or anything else going on between them – except for some empathic sparks flashing between them that were impossible for Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, or I to miss. I've written before about Tim's liberal views on public displays of affection, so he has other reasons for holding back on his obvious attraction to Rowen; and I'm sure that her extreme shyness around him during situations like this is probably one of the factors. I'll also guess that changing his years-long perception of Rowen is going to take a while too; since what he's feeling isn't matching up with image he's always had of Rowen.

Since I've gotten off track, I may as well jump back and cover the morning and afternoon action before continuing on with the dinner and a movie news. Michael came over for Tai Chi, but went home for breakfast and to do some chores around the house before going on to the Inn to help with the lunch rush. I spent the morning working in the office on the family business. Mom took Ethan and Ehlana to KidZone for the morning, and then she and Alicia did the grocery shopping and errands while the twins and I were busy.

Rowen came over in time for lunch after spending the morning at the computer store, and we did another picnic on the dock with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Alicia sat at the patio table on the back porch and took a well-deserved break after their hours of shopping and work. That's the main reason why we also took Ethan and Ehlana for a bike ride after helping with the clean-up. We did the usual construction tour that they both liked to do with us; and then we went to the park playground for a half-hour or so – until Tim, Kyle, and the other guys arrived at the park for yet another football practice.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but this extra football training must be tough on Kyle. He works with his Dad and Uncle; and is still putting in full shifts working on farm equipment and going out on service calls to make on-site repairs before and after the practices. His time at the park is really just a late, extended lunch break. He'll probably still work before and after football once they officially start training a week from Monday; and those work-outs are all-day events.

Rowen, Ehlana, and I were not surprised that Ethan wanted to go and watch the guys, so we did that for a while; and he had fun running around trying to do the speed drills with all of the older boys. Michael joined in to do that too when he joined us after he was finished at the Inn for the day; and he scooped Ethan up and carried him back to the start line on the way back from each sprint turning point. That slowed him down, but he still didn't finish last; and Kyle thought that it was such a good idea that he carried Ethan for the last set of 'suicide' sprints. Ethan thought that was a blast – and they still won too!

We stayed long enough to let Ethan watch the start of the scrimmage game, and then Rowen and I took the twins home; dropped off the trailer; and biked the trails for a while until Michael and Tim were finished playing football for the day. They came back to my house with us, and we had time to take Ethan and Ehlana for a swim before needing to help Mom with carrying our dinner contributions over to Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house and then helping out with the work there for a while.

Our jobs included hauling tables and chairs over from Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's storage barn and setting them up in the back yard; some food prep help that included husking corn and getting potatoes cleaned and peeled; setting up the buffet table; and keeping an eye on Ethan and Ehlana while they played in the back yard.

Michael and Tim hadn't been the only extra guests tonight in addition to the usual dinner and a movie group. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace had invited other neighbors and friends to at least join us for dinner; though the Emersons and Drapers were busy at their stores; and while Philip and Naomi came over, Liz was busy at the Salon tonight.

I haven't done a pregnancy update for Liz lately, so let's take a brief side-trip and do that. She has about a month left to go now, and while she has cut back on her hours at the salon a bit; she's still working the busiest times of each day to help Vicky keep up – and Friday and Saturday are always busy during the summer. It'll be time to cut back even more after the holiday weekend; and then she'll be off with the baby until going back to work part-time for the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season. On the baby side of the pregnancy, Liz is doing the full pre-natal training that Mom's been putting together; and it sounds like that's going pretty well for her – though not quite the same as it is for Aunt Leanne. There are several factors affecting those results; with the most important being the Magi strength of both the mothers and the babies.

Those reports are available in the pre-natal training archives if you're interested in reading more about that. For tonight, I'll just add that Liz and her baby are both healthy and doing just fine. Philip is in full protective-husband and father mode; and Naomi is excited about having a new baby. They have the baby's bedroom set up, stocked, and ready to go too; and are now just waiting for the big day.

Speaking of baby rooms, since that topic came up during dinner too; that's a job coming up on the to-do list for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne. They're going to start working on that in September, and it should be a lot of fun getting to help out with that. They're going to use one of the cribs and change tables we had for the twins; but I'm sure there will be painting, decorating, and shopping involved.

Getting back to current events, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had our end of the work done by the time the Dads and Grandfathers started working the grills; so we took Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi for a swim. That cooled us off, and then the three younger kids ran us around the back yard with their games until we were dry and dinner was ready. Violet and Dillon got back from Woodvale just as we were rounded up; so Aunt Grace and her cooking assistants must have been staying in touch with them so we could sit down and eat as soon as they were back.

I didn't have a chance to talk with Violet or Dillon much during dinner; they went to check in with his parents and drop off his luggage during the clean-up; and Michael and I were on the other side of the room from them during the movie, so the only chance I had to chat with Violet was when she stopped by to say goodnight to me about an hour ago on her way to bed. That little visit didn't even give us time to cover her full Woodvale report, but she was really tired; and I didn't want to keep her up when she has so much to get done over the next two days.

This update feels a bit disjointed tonight, and that's probably because my mind has been wandering around while I've been sitting in the window alcove and working on my computer since coming up to my room tonight. We were at a 'kids' table for dinner, and were out of the loop for a lot of the conversations going on at the other tables; but in addition to talking babies, new homes, jobs, and the rest of the usual grown-up chat topics; there were some things that I heard about but didn't have time to think about until now.

First up, chronologically, is the back-to-school shopping trip – on Monday! Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it at all this week even though I knew that Mom and Aunt Leanne had been keeping up with the planning for that as they always do now. The news I hadn't known about was that Aunt Leanne had decided not to go on this trip; and that there are going to be more boys going along this time. Aunt Leanne is staying home because Dad will be in the city; and Claire is going on the trip. I'm sure that a long day of Mall walking had something to do with the decision too, but she'll be able to get a bit of a shopping fix at the sales going on around town instead; and we'll bring a fast food fix home for her. The addition of more boys to the group is apparently because some fathers suck at shopping for their boys; and those mothers don't want to make two trips to Crystal Springs.

I don't think that Miranda was one of those Moms, and Tracey Landry hasn't gone on the back-to-school trip before, but Michael and Tim are two of the guys on Mom's list. My thoughts on that news right now are mostly about whether that will make the shopping more fun – or really, really weird. Having my boyfriend along while I'm trying on clothes – or shopping for new underwear – could be very uncomfortable for both of us. Yes, I know that won't happen, but my imagination doesn't seem to care about the facts while coming up with those hypothetical scenarios.

If only not thinking about soft, fluffy bunnies still worked for me there might be a chance that those thoughts won't migrate into my dreams whenever I do manage to drift off.

Moving along, the next piece of dinnertime news was from Violet, when she confirmed that her family won't be coming here for the holiday weekend – mostly because she won't be here; and that'll give them a chance to spend the holiday with Uncle Richard's and Aunt Melissa's sides of the family for the first time in years. Since the Rice family won't be here for the holiday; we're not going to have any weekend guests. Uncle Blaine and his family were already booked to stay at Inn Everett, and Grandma and Grandpa are having Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy with them. I'm sure we'll still have some kid sleepovers; but that won't be the same as a house full of family.

Finally, Aunt Leanne told us that Pastors Lewis and Martha are expecting their son and his family to get to town on Monday – after sharing one final Sunday service with their 'home' church. The Pastors picked up the keys to the house that Pastor John, his wife, Stacey, will be renting from Aunt Leanne already; mostly so they could take delivery on some new furniture from ValleyView today, tomorrow, and Monday. Our new Pastor and his family don't travel like Mom and I did when we were on the run, but they have been doing missions work for years; and didn't have much in the way of their own furniture before now. I'm sure this will be as exciting for them as it was for Mom and me when we moved here.
The Grandparents had kid-control duty during the clean-up, and everyone else except for pregnant women or Moms with babies – and Violet and Dillon – pitched in for the clean-up. It took a while to get that done, and then there was a little time to play in the back yard while some of the dinner guests headed out and the drinks and snacks were readied for the movie part of our evening. That next couple of hours, including the post-movie clean-up, was fun; though the movie choice was a bit boring for most of the guys. Since we're likely to have toddlers in the group for quite a few years to come, we'll all need to get used to appropriately-rated movies; and save the action flicks and extreme video gaming for after the younger kids go to bed.

That isn't what we did tonight, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did go for a walk to the falls and back after helping Mom and Dad get the twins home. We were a bit surprised when there weren't any other teens or tweens hanging out at the falls, but it was nice to have the place to ourselves and enjoy some quiet time without little kids or adults around. Michael is working the breakfast and lunch shifts on Saturday because we all have Roger's birthday party to go to tomorrow, so he couldn't stay out late; and we were all in our own homes by eleven o'clock – though Rowen and Tim split up with us at Quarry Road so that Michael and I were on our own for a goodnight kiss or three on his front porch.

Mom and Dad had already gone to bed by then, and Violet was still at Dillon's house; so I came straight up to my room and got ready for bed. That's where Mandy and I have been since then; working on my computer. I probably should have just gone to sleep, since I do have a yard work morning, our ball game, and that birthday party tomorrow; but I wanted to do my usual nightly computer checks; and got interested in a family business project proposal that was waiting for me to look over. The visit with Violet was nice, and I could have stopped working then; but I wasn't quite ready to crash yet then, so I finished the job before moving on to this update.

I am ready to spend some time in dreamland now; though that'll be more like a long nap at this point. It's a good thing that self-energizing is an option – I may need that by morning! There isn't anything else to report tonight, though, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Roger!

It's been one of those days with a bit of just about everything mixed in from the tweeird to the mundane.

While it didn't rate high on the tweeird scale, it did seem strange to not have Michael exercising with us this morning. He was already at the Inn with his parents by the time we went out to the river for Tai Chi. Mom and Dad did their own thing while I worked with Ethan and Ehlana, and we still had fun; but it's amazing how quickly Michael's become such an important part of my morning routine. I really missed having him there with us.

Breakfast was quick and easy, and then it was time for Dad and I to get going on the yard work. That next few hours was the tedious and mundane part of my day. Dad and I both just wanted to get the work done so we could get on with the rest of our day. I had the lawn mowed, the gardens weeded, and the rest of my usual chores finished with enough time left over before my game to hop in the river for a quick swim before getting ready for the game and heading over to the park. I even managed to have my bike out and eat a sandwich for lunch before Rowen came by to collect me on her way to the pre-game warm-up.

Depending on your perspective, the game was a blast, and there were more than a few tweeird moments to deal with too. As I've mentioned, Rowen and I had some extra motivation to play our best today; and Vanessa and Nora didn't exactly help themselves – or their team – with that even before the game started. They weren't openly taunting us or anything like that, but I was paying attention to them; and could hear the comments they were making to each other and to some of their teammates and friends. Maybe I shouldn't have passed those comments on to Rowen, but I did; and we were both fired up and ready to play right from our first at-bat.

I'm not going to even try to defend myself for the way I played today; because I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I was playing harder than usual – and better than I should have. Picking on Vanessa and Nora while batting wasn't fair either, but we've already established that I'm far from perfect; and being verbally provoked isn't an excuse.

That isn't an apology either because I'm not sorry that we won the game or that Rowen and I both had best games of the season so far to help our team to the twelve-to-six victory that could have been a blowout if Mom hadn't given me 'the look' that advised me to tone it down by the top of the fifth inning.

Now, with that admission out of the way, let's talk about the cool parts of the game that I shouldn't have done! Mom isn't the only person who can do advanced math in her head, so Vanessa didn't have a chance when I belted my first inning first pitch in a line drive that was just out of her reach – and with the perfect rotation and velocity to roll all the way to the back fence; where it bounced off of the post I'd aimed for and gave Vanessa another five yards to run before she could grab it and through it toward the infield. I did stop at third so she didn't give up an in-the-park home run; though Vanessa didn't appreciate that if the comments she was muttering to herself about me were any indication.

Carolyn was having a good game today too, but I wouldn't say the same for everyone on our team. That could have been because it really didn't matter much when Carolyn, Rowen, and I were making it easy for our teammates to relax and just have fun. We ended our half of the first with a three run lead; didn't give up anything in the bottom of the inning; and three-down was the closest the Cheetahs got to us. We were up nine-to-three when Mom gave me the tone-it-down look. That's the main reason why we only scored one run in the fifth, and the two runs in the sixth weren't in my control; since I didn't get up to bat. Rowen did, though, and I'm glad that she had a hit in all of her at-bats today. Out of our twelve runs, one of us was involved in ten of them.

I'd love to report that our game play was able to get Vanessa and Nora to stop talking trash about us; but they were just more angry with us by the end of the game – and that annoyance just kept festering with them all day – especially when we were with Michael and Tim almost all of the time we were at the party. My hopes for an improvement in the tweeird by the time we go back to school are still alive; but it isn't looking very good right now.

Rowen and I did the post-game celebration with our team, and then headed home to hit the showers and get ready for Roger's party. I packed an overnight bag; did the goodbye hugs and kisses with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and went over to Rowen's house early enough so we could do a little bonus work on our hair and accessories before going to meet up with Michael and Tim. Staying with Rowen tonight was my contribution to Mom and Dad's kid-free night; and the twins are staying with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne tonight.

We walked to Roger's party with Michael, and had Tim catch up with us along the way; so we were together when we got to the Jennings' house. Roger's parents are cousins of Alicia's mother and father; though her family didn't come over for his party. That's not unusual, since inviting all of your cousins to a celebration for some of the families in Witch Falls would require having nearly everyone in town attend! Roger had only invited his friends; and the family guests only included his grandparents, uncles, aunts, and two first-cousins. His younger brother and sister each had one friend over too; but they mostly stayed out of the way except for during dinner – possibly on big brother orders.

There had been time to get ready for the party because some of the guys had a baseball game at three o'clock; and that was the main reason why there were more girls than guys at Roger's house during the first half of the 'social hour' we had before dinner. That inequality helped to fuel the tweeird; and there was already enough of that going on because this was the first party for all of us since Nora broke up with Tim – at the last birthday party.

Before I get to that, one other thing that was noticeably different today was that Tim and Nora weren't the only new 'single' members of our class. That's especially strange for me after spending so much of the past year or more with Rowen and I being the only singles in our class – along with Michael when he wasn't either dating Lisa or being chased by Vanessa. Having three couples break up over the summer would barely be noticed most places, but in our little town; that's nearly one-in-three of the couples from our Grade Seven class not making it to the start of Grade Eight – and exactly a third of our classmates are single right now too. That certainly changes the group dynamics; and not always in a good way.

Roger is one of the members of our singles club, but his split with Karla wasn't really contentious at all. Karla's one of the 'farm kids'; and they just didn't get to see each other much once we were out of school for the summer. Brock and Marcie was the third couple to break up; and their split seemed to be the opposite problem – spending too much time together. It's not as if I thought that all tween pairings were final by Grade Seven in a small town; but I'm also having a tough time imagining being romantically involved with several of the guys in our class the way some of the girls will be over the next few years. If you include Vanessa, Michael's been involved with three out of eleven girls; and half of our friends think he was involved with Rowen too for a while. I have no idea why that doesn't feel weird to me; but it doesn't.

That's enough procrastination – it's time to get back to the tweeird zone.

Nora and Vanessa came to the party together, and were about ten minutes behind us. They weren't happy to see Rowen and me there at all; and definitely not together with Michael and Tim. I don't know if Vanessa's been back-sliding on how she feels about Michael and me because of what happened with Nora and Tim, or if she's just blaming me for everything that's happened to mess up their plans.

Whatever the reasons, they were not looking to play nice right from the start, and when one of the first questions they were asked was about how their baseball game went from one of the girls who hadn't been there; things went downhill from there. Maybe I should hire Aunt Leanne's matchmaking service for Vanessa and Nora and give them something better to do than whisper insults at Rowen and me with their friends; try to outcast us; and worst of all – talk smack about the two boys we're in love with.

That ongoing tweeirdness put a damper on things for me tonight; but Michael, Tim, and Rowen were not getting the full-sensory input that I was; and I tried my best not to let what I was seeing, hearing, and feeling get in the way of their fun – and we did have fun too. Whether we were playing Frisbee, tossing a baseball or football around, or sitting around the campfire after dark; I loved getting to share everything with Michael and our two best friends.

The changing social demographics in our little group changed how much Vanessa and Nora could affect how their friends interacted with us too. They weren't currently part of the couples club, so friends like Sally and Joshua were able to hang out with us; and though Tim and Rowen aren't a couple (yet); the four of us played all of the games that the other couples got involved with tonight.

We were a bit out of the loop during dinner, but that was okay too because we sat with Roger's brother, sister, and their two friends; and that gave me a chance to get to know them better than I had been able to do so far since moving to Witch Falls. Vanessa and Nora were happy about who we were sitting with for dinner, though that also put us at one of the tables next to Roger, his best friends, and the parents and grandparents tables. Summer birthdays inevitably seem to require barbeque meals, and we didn't have an exception to that general rule today. While the burgers and jumbo hotdogs were grocery store staples, I do like getting to try different family recipes for things like cold salads; and I never get tired of corn on the cob.

It took nearly two hours to have dinner, do the usual birthday routine with Roger, and get the clean-up done. That spit of work was refreshingly taken care of by all of the party guests – something that I think we should do more often. We still had about an hour to play after that before the campfire was lit and we gathered around it for the rest of the evening. That play time included some video gaming for a group of guys to try out one of Roger's new games, but Michael and Tim stayed with Rowen and me; and we split our time between tossing a Frisbee around and taking turns playing pairs badminton.

I'm sure that you can guess my favorite part of the night was getting to cuddle with Michael during the campfire. Rowen and Tim sat with us; though they didn't do anything tonight that would have even remotely hinted that they'd recently shared that fireworks-worthy kiss last Monday night. That observation seemed to baffle Nora, while my cuddling with Michael definitely earned some glares and muttered nasties from Vanessa. Again, I was the only member of our foursome to catch all of that extra-curricular action; so we had a very entertaining evening singing songs, telling scary stories, and doing some roasting of the birthday boy.

That's one thing that I can't really be in on as much as the rest of my friends, but it's still cool to hear about stories from when they were four or five through until more recent times. Maybe I'll feel like I have that kind of history here too – in another ten or fifteen years.

Our campfire curfew for tonight was midnight, and we stayed until the end this time; including helping out with the final clean-up before heading home. There was some entertainment for us with that too; beginning with walking Tim home first while having tween witnesses around when Rowen and I had goodnight hugs for him before we continued on to Rowen's house with Michael. Rowen would have liked to kiss him too, but she was in full shy-mode by then; and didn't. That wasn't a problem for me when it came time to say goodnight to Michael; though Rowen took a slow walk up to her front porch while waiting for us to share a tender, sweet, and stomach-flipping kiss or two. We sat on the front porch railing and watched Michael until he got to his front porch; and the warm fuzzies from that last set of waves and smiles have been hanging around since then.

This may be a shocker, but Patrick and Scott were already asleep when Rowen and I got inside. Her parents had been in bed by then already too, but Patricia came into Rowen's room to have a little girl chat with us while we were getting ready for bed. That was fun, but the real heart-to-heart talk didn't start until Rowen and I were alone; in bed; and playing on our computers.

Tim had a starring role for that, and while Rowen quietly berated herself for not doing anything tonight to encourage Tim to do anything romantic with her; I was able to divert her from that and talk about gift ideas for his birthday next Wednesday. She surfed the web for some ideas; and we're going to run them by Michael sometime tomorrow so we'll be ready when we're on the shopping trip on Monday.

It's heading toward two o'clock now, and while we don't have any major plans for tomorrow other than a family buffet dinner at the Inn for Violet and Dillon, we do need to get some sleep; and I want to spend as much time with Violet as I can tomorrow too, so we need to wind down and get some sleep.

That reminds me – I forgot to mention earlier that Violet's doing a sleepover at Dillon's tonight – just in case you were wondering where she was staying for Mom and Dad's kid-free night. I'll take a wild guess that she's not using Isabelle's room; but we don't need the details for that any more than we need to write about what Mom and Dad are doing tonight.

I continue to be quite happy with the precedents my cousin is setting for her younger siblings and relatives, though – whether I ever take advantage of that trail-blazing in the future or not.

For now, though, the only thing I need to be doing is getting some rest, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

We have a very important shopping trip tomorrow morning, so I'm writing this – and doing the rest of my nightly computing – at Magi speed for a change so that I can get to sleep early and be fully-charged and ready for some serious Mall action.

My day started out great when Michael met up with me for Tai Chi at Rowen's house. We would have exercised with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Ethan, and Ehlana; but they didn't come outside while we were warming up; so we exercised on our own. I knew that the twins were awake, but it wasn't until we met up for the walk to church that I found out they'd let our aunt and uncle sleep in before doing a light Tai Chi workout by the river together. I'm sure that would have been fun too, but there's a lot to be said for couples-only Tai Chi time too – even when we had an unhappy audience watching us.

Patrick wasn't happy to see Michael exercising with me, so I'll guess that the kisses and hugs before and after Tai Chi didn't go over very well with him either. I wish there was something I could do to help him, and I'm really sorry that he's still crushed; but I don't seem to be able to handle that any better than I deal with other tween and tweeird issues – like Vanessa and Nora. I am trying, though, and the closest I came to getting some normal out of Patrick and Scott was when I hugged them just before we went outside to walk to church – to thank them for a prank-free sleepover. Rowen thought that was funny, but she also thinks that we'll need to be prepared the next time I stay at her house. Since last night may have been our last sleepover at her house before we go back to school, though, I was willing to take the risk.

We were too busy at Sunday school to have any major tweeird moments today. The teens were getting ready for their holiday weekend Sunday service; and we were drafted to help out with the usual props and costumes that were mostly for the skits they'll be putting on. That work made the time fly, and Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I didn't mind that the Pastors were on a roll today; and kept their congregation entertained for over an hour and a half before setting them free to enjoy another beautiful day.

Michael had to get straight to the Inn by then; and I haven't seen him much since walking there with him on my way home – except for when he stopped in to hang out with me during his afternoon break. While he was busy at the Inn, I helped Mom and Dad with making lunch. Violet and Dillon were with us for that; and we had the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and Leah over too. That didn't give me much time to spend with Violet, but we did get to spend nearly an hour together this afternoon while she and Dillon split up so they could each finish packing.

Having her go away to school really isn't any different than it has been when she's gone home after spending the summer with us over the past few years, and it'll be a lot easier for Violet and Dillon now that they'll be together; but I'm still really going to miss them. We haven't really spent all that much time together this entire summer, but it's those every day moments that people don't really even think about, and I don't write about very often in my journals, that you miss the most. We're all going to be busy tomorrow; but I'm sure that I'll feel that when Violet isn't there with us for breakfast on Tuesday morning.

Moving along, Violet went over to Dillon's for the rest of the afternoon sometime while Michael and I were playing with Ethan and Ehlana in the back yard. We took them for a swim too, and after Michael went back to the Inn; I had some time to go and hang out with Rowen at the computer store until we needed to get ready for dinner. Rowen had mostly worked at the store today to help her back-to-school shopping fund – or to get a head start on re-building the bank account she expected to deplete tomorrow – even with the parental support. While I was there, we finished cleaning the main workshop and stock room that Rowen had been working on most of the afternoon.

That wasn't exactly the most fun we've had together this summer, but we had some privacy back there; and were able to talk about Tim, his birthday, and the feedback I got from Michael about our gift ideas. He had a couple of suggestions too. We're not going to top that anonymous autographed football Rowen gave Tim last Christmas; but if the gifts don't help to make his day; Rowen can always try kissing him again and see if that works! :^)

There wasn't much boyfriend kissing going on in my life today; and Michael and I should work on making more time for that – though I seem to mention that regularly without actually making that happen. Other than my pre and post-dinner visits to see Michael, Jacob, and Rebecca in the kitchen, and the pair of kisses we shared; Michael and I didn't spend any other time together tonight.

While I'm thinking about the kitchen and the Inn, I should have mentioned before now that Joel got back to town late Friday night. That's only connected to my thoughts about the Inn because Jenny was back to spending all of her spare time with Joel; and wasn't hanging out with Rebecca in the kitchen tonight. They only have two more weeks together before he goes home again on the holiday weekend, and though he isn't going on the shopping trip tomorrow; I expect they'll be together a lot between now and then.

Our dinner party was fun, but Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and I were at a kids table; and didn't spend much time at all with Violet and Dillon. I was going to say that they were spending most of that hour and a half with their parents and grandparents, and while that was really only true for Dillon; Violet thinks of Mom and Dad more as a second set of parents than cousins; and they feel the same way about her – just as she's the big sister I never had to me.

There isn't much else to report for tonight. After giving me time to say goodnight to Michael, everyone came back to our house for a little visit. We ended up doing that in the back yard; and spent about an hour together before Dillon went home with his parents; the rest of our family headed out; and we had Violet to ourselves for the rest of the evening.

She had a few things left to do in her room, so while Dad finished getting ready for his week in the city; Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I kept her entertained while she worked. We did the bedtime story for Ethan and Ehlana in the office with Dad, and then Violet spent a little time talking with him while he worked and Mom and I did the rest of the bath and bedtime routine with the twins.

I came up to my room after that to spend some time in my Jacuzzi while Mom joined Violet and Dad in the office; and then it was my turn for a few more minutes of girl-chat time with Violet when she stopped in on her way to bed. She's really excited about her n0w-imminent college adventure, and I'm happy for her even though I wish we'd be seeing her more than we will be between now and next May. It's a good thing that I'll have all of that shopping to keep distracted with tomorrow! That's also everything I have for tonight, and I really do want to be rested and ready to play with my friends and our Moms, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, August 19, 2013

I haven't seen them yet, but let's start out this report by welcoming the newest members of our town – Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah Burroughs – to Witch Falls! Pastors Lewis and Martha must be thrilled to have their son and his family home to stay; though I'm sure it's been a busy, crazy day for all of them too.

Busy and crazy would describe the morning action around our house too. Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were all up early to see Dad off to the city; but we didn't have time for our usual cuddle and a nap with Mom after he was on the road today. Instead of doing that, the twins and I gave Violet her wake-up call; I helped her with hauling her luggage downstairs and we packed her car; and then she hit the shower and got ready for her own trip before going over to Dillon's house to get this things loaded up too.

Mom and I took turns getting ready for our shopping day while taking care of Ethan and Ehlana; and then we needed to get over to the Inn by seven o'clock for the pre-shopping breakfast buffet. One big change for this shopping trip was that Ethan and Ehlana weren't coming with us – they were spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa instead. They weren't disappointed about that; and got to have some shopping fun at the sales around town anyway. I liked the arrangements today because Mom was able to have Miranda, Rebecca, Rowen, and Michael come with us in the minivan.

I haven't written much about the work that went into getting this trip together, but I do appreciate everything that Mom, Aunt Leanne, and the other volunteers do to make these shopping adventures possible. The totals for today were one-hundred and four shoppers; twenty-one vehicles and drivers; twenty-five adult chaperones; thirty-five teens (including four teen drivers); and forty-four kids and tweens.

The dining room was full between the shoppers and the family and friends who had come along just to share the morning meal. Mom, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne sat with Violet, Dillon, and his parents to have one last little visit before the two teens got on the road too; so I sat with Rowen and her family while Ethan and Ehlana were with Grandma and Grandpa. Miranda, Rebecca, and Michael were all working right up until it was time to hit the road for Crystal Springs; so except for a quick good morning kiss in the kitchen before I went to have breakfast, I didn't see Michael until we met outside and climbed into the minivan.

As always, we were in the last group to get on the road once Mom and Aunt Leanne had made sure that everyone else was accounted for and in the correct vehicles; plus we needed to say goodbye to Violet and Dillon – though they were on their way by about half-way through the shopper check-off.

Note to me: add Dillon's parents to the bonus hugs list. They're kid-free for the first time in twenty years or so; and may need them for the next few weeks.

I missed having Aunt Leanne with us today, but Miranda is an awesome stand-in; and she even had some fun teasing Michael and me so we wouldn't miss Aunt Leanne's jokes. That was fine with us for everything except one particular joke that seriously annoyed Michael – though he didn't let his mother know that.

What could be so bad? The combination of reaching the sixty-two inch milestone and having brilliant blue eyes. He was sick of the five-foot-two, eyes of blue song and jokes right from the start. Rebecca could commiserate, since she'd been on the receiving end of that kind of razzing when she'd hit that comedically important mark for ever blue-eyed person; but she didn't try to intervene either. She did advise Michael that it got worse if you fought it – especially with your friends. Since his best friend is class practical joker extraordinaire Tim Landry; that's really sound advice.

Michael didn't have to wait to have that confirmed because Tim and his mother joined our group after we crossed paths twenty minutes after we got to the Mall. They'd been part of one of the groups that had left for Crystal Springs first; but Tim was happy to hang out with Michael instead of his cousin, Carolyn, and the group of girls she was shopping with. Kyle was at the Mall too, but he'd gone off with Erin Green and some of their friends.

Sarah, Carolyn, and the rest of their group wandered in the same direction as we were going for the next twenty minutes, but Michael and Tim were usually in different stores than the girls; and had Miranda and Tracey helping them with their clothes-buying decisions. That was easier for Miranda, but Tracey and Sarah Landry know how to handle their boys; and while Tim occasionally gave his Mom a hard time; she usually won most of their little fashion skirmishes.

Rowen and I didn't get to spend much time with Michael and Tim during the morning, but we sat together during lunch; and then we were given an hour to do some running around on our own so we could take care of more of the gift shopping we all had on our to-do lists. That had the bonus of giving the Moms time for some personal clothes shopping too; so it was a win-win for everyone. One cool part about doing that together was that we started doing some 'friends' gifts together. Rowen and I have been doing that for a long time now, and though Tim seemed to be a bit weirded out to be doing that with us; he liked the idea of splitting the cost and being able to get better gifts. Michael and I paired up for some specific gifts too – like his Mom's birthday and my parent's anniversary. It's a wonder we didn't need to buy a trailer to get everything home; but we managed to pack everything into the van – except for a few bulk supplies from Wal-Mart that we sent with Dad when he met up with us for dinner.

Before I get to the dinner with Dad part of the story, we still had more Mall fun and the Wal-Mart visit after Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I met up with the Moms again. Rowen and I were pretty much set up for back-to-school clothes by then, so we dealt with shoes and some accessories that gave us a chance to pick up a few more girl gifts too. When we were ready to leave the Mall, Mom and Miranda coordinated a shopper check-in with everyone in our collective groups. We had seven vehicles and a bit more than a third of the shoppers come with us to Wal-Mart while everyone else either headed for home or to do something else. Rebecca and Jenny wandered around Wal-Mart with Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me while the Moms were busy dealing with the boring shopping; though we split up a few times while picking out some specific gifts – for Tim and Michael.

The Wal-Mart time limit was two hours, and Dad had already met up with Mom by the time we were supposed to meet them at the checkouts. I knew that, but didn't try to rush my friends; and I couldn't tell anyone except Rowen how I could possibly know that anyway. Getting out of the store didn't take long, but then we did a bit of passenger juggling before we could move on to the restaurant that Dad and Angela had picked. We traded Tim for Rebecca; partly because Rebecca and Jenny wanted to have more fast food – and didn't want to stay late and miss the tail end of the sales at home. Tim was good with that change, and the rest of the passenger juggling was so that Patricia and Tracey could stay too while sending kids and teens home who didn't want to do that with us. Including the Malloys, we ended up with twenty-one at our little dinner party.

I really loved getting to spend some time with Terry, Angela, and Valerie; though Rowen and I really only got to have Valerie with us a lot at the kids' table while the parents were busy having fun with their friends. Valerie will be one in about a month; and she's at a very entertaining stage. She's very happy, giggles a lot; and wasn't at all shy about sitting with us instead of Mommy and Daddy. I could have lived without the diaper change, but if Terry thought that one dirty diaper was going to scare me after going through all of that with twins; he was disappointed.

Michael and I were the only kids willing to be even remotely adventurous with our meal choices; and I liked getting to try two new things even though Tim and Rowen razzed us about sharing our food. I don't see what the big deal is – we weren't feeding each other or anything weird like that. We didn't bug Tim about picking a burger and fries platter. Sure, it was a lot better than fast food; but a step down from any burger option at the Inn.

I didn't get to spend much time with Dad either, but we had a little visit in the parking lot after dinner while Mom was busy with Terry, Angela, and Valerie; and we had just seen each other this morning. At least now we only have four days left until he'll be home again. Miranda rounded us up when it was nearly time to go, and let Mom and Dad have a few minutes together too; but then he needed to get back to the hotel and his homework; and we still had an hour and a half of travel time ahead of us. That break in the action was fine with me – Michael and I cuddled all the way home in the back seat and talked with Tim and Rowen while watching a 'B'-rated space movie that we'd picked up in one of the cheap bins at Wal-Mart. I'll classify that flick as so bad it's funny; and I really wish that my memory would allow it to be forgettable.

One thing that did work out for us was not needing to do a lot of running around town dropping off boxes and bags to other houses like we normally would when we take the van and truck. We unloaded everything from our driveway; and Tim, Rowen, and I helped Miranda and Michael with carrying all of their things home. I had to say goodnight to Michael after our last trip to his house; and Tim stayed with him for a little while before going home too. Rowen and I ran down to her house to give her Mom a hand with unloading their minivan once she got there after dropping off all of her passengers except Patrick. He helped too, but barely talked to me; and disappeared into his room once the work was done.

I stayed for another ten or fifteen minutes to do the first part of the shopping trip recap with Owen; but then headed home again to help Mom with hauling bags upstairs and putting the supplies away that couldn't be left in Dad's truck for the rest of the week. Grandma and Grandpa were there with Ethan and Ehlana; so we had some extra help to get the work done before getting cold drinks and sitting around the kitchen table to tell each other bedtime shopping stories.

Trading dinner with Dad and the Malloys for missing out on the big sales here was worth it, but Grandma, Aunt Leanne, Aunt Deborah, Ehlana, and Leah had fun when they went shopping together; and I doubt that the store owners missed our business all that much – especially since it just means that we'll be more interested in the Labor Day sales than we usually would be. Ethan and Ehlana had needed to stay up until we were home, but Grandpa and I took them up to bed once they had their shopping news fix; and I came up to my room right after Mom and I did the goodnight hugs and kisses with Grandma and Grandpa when they were ready to go home.

Before getting changed, I needed to deal with putting my own clothes away; and I wrapped all of the gifts too before stacking them on the usual shelf in my closet too. Mom had opted for some Jacuzzi time after checking in to make sure everyone was home safely from the city, and I thought about doing that too; but opted for a quick shower instead before getting changed and into bed with Mandy. I was tired then, but Mom will want to get back to my Magi lessons again; so I finished my archive homework and needed to do some family business work first before getting to my usual nightly computing and this journal update.

Since I didn't even get started on that until nearly midnight, it's now after two; and I am past being ready to crash for the rest of the night. I don't know what we're doing tomorrow for Michael's second day off from the Inn; but since Jacob had to work today and we were away; he'll have yard work for sure. Maybe I'll help out with that so he isn't stuck with it all day – they are one set of hands short now that Jake and Stephanie are in New York. Whatever we do, I'll need an early night tomorrow night so I can catch up on my sleep. We have Tim's birthday on Wednesday; riding lessons and baseball practice on Thursday; dinner and holiday weekend cooking on Friday night; and baseball and the big kid campout and adult party and the pub on Saturday.

If the last week of August is that busy too, I'll need to go back to school just to get some rest! Getting some sleep is my top priority for the rest of the night, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

It's a good thing that my go-to-sleep early plan is going to work out tonight; because I'm really, really tired!

That's mostly because Michael and I did about five hours of yard work at his house this morning until we stopped for lunch at about one-thirty. He came over for Tai Chi; we split up for breakfast; and then I got our lawn tractor ready to go and took it over to his house so we could get their lawn cut in about half the time it normally took with just one riding mower. After our amusement park adventure last week on their days off and going shopping yesterday, the to-do list was long and tough; but we managed to get nearly everything done by putting in that extra time before stopping to eat. We probably would have stayed and helped with some of the housework after lunch, but Tim came around looking for Michael to go with him to play football; and Miranda took pity on them and set us free for the rest of the day.

While the boys went straight to the park, I helped with the post-lunch clean-up; checked in at home with Mom; and hopped in the river for a swim with Ethan and Ehlana. Rowen came over to do that with us, and then we grabbed our bikes and met up with Michael and Tim at the park. It'd be more accurate to say that we were at the park too; since they didn't do more than wave at us from the field when we reached the bleachers. If you wanted to get in on Kyle's workouts, you didn't get to skip any of the work to go and talk to girls instead. They were at the tail end of the conditioning drills, so we stayed long enough for the break between that and the scrimmage game; and then we went for a bike ride on the trails while Michael and Tim played with the other football fanatics and their friends.

We all went for a shorter ride after the game, and then came back to my house to go for another swim with Ethan and Ehlana. Michael, Tim, and Rowen all went home after we played with the twins for nearly an hour; and it's just been the four of us at home since then. After a couple of big dinners in a row, Mom and I threw together an easy-meal that we ate out on the back porch at the patio table. After cleaning up, it was Magi lesson night. I helped with Ethan and Ehlana's lesson; and then Mom did my lesson with me while they played on their iPads in the office.

My lesson was about time-phase transmutations; and mostly included refining my ability to control the 'border' of a time-phase – and adapting for outside influences – like power supply if I'm including and using electronics while in the time-phase. There aren't very many problems with that sort of thing if you're slowing time, but you can blow breakers or get power surges if you try and draw hours worth of power in minutes without taking precautions. Power is only one example. I haven't mentioned it before, but doing things like surfing the web in time-phase has to be handled carefully, and though I don't have a cell phone; using one in anything other than normal time is just weird. You get the chipmunk effect on a call when in slow-motion; and if you think some calls last forever; try listening to someone speaking in normal time while you've sped up to hyper-speed.

Mom assigned lots of archive homework for me, but I'm not doing any of that tonight. After getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in, I came straight up to bed; and have only been doing my basic nightly computing. If the weather holds as forecast tomorrow, Tim's party is going to include camping overnight; so we'll likely be up really late if that's on – or just after-midnight kind of late if we end up indoors. One way or the other, I think this will be one of the best birthday parties of the summer, and need to be ready for the fun, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Tim!

The happy birthday kiss that Rowen overcame her ultra-shy problem to share with him just a little while ago certainly has her very happy as we sit here in our tent after saying goodnight to Michael and Tim. We'll get to that part of the story soon, but let's back up to the beginning of the day and go from there.

Michael came over for Tai Chi, but then he was off and running to the Inn so he could work the breakfast and lunch shifts before getting the rest of the day off for Tim's party. I needed to work on my part time job today, and though Rowen had worked at the store yesterday morning while I was busy helping Michael; she spent another morning there while I hid in the office after breakfast and put four solid hours in on my family business work. Lunch with Mom, Alicia, Ethan, and Ehlana was quick and easy; and then I met up with Rowen and the computer store so that we could go over to Tim's house together.

His party didn't start until five, but there was work to be done to get everything ready for it; and Rowen and I had volunteered our services. We started out with setting up tents; including the one that I'd brought along for Rowen and I to share. Tim's parents had borrowed others and had two of their own; so that kept us busy for nearly an hour. Michael was finished at the Inn and came over to join the work crew by the time we were finishing up with the tents; and we all moved on to setting up tables, chairs, and a volleyball 'court' – the only planned game other than the video gaming that went on in the family room after dinner and the mini volleyball tournament that followed the meal.

When that work was done, Tracey had us take a break so that Michael, Rowen, and I could go home; get ready for the party; and return with the gear we'd need for the camping part of the party. Rowen and I stopped in at her house to get her overnight bag and pick out clothes; but then she came over to my house so we could take turns hitting the showers there and then get ready for the party together. Using a little Magi power to help with that was an option, but we didn't do too much of that. Michael and Tim probably wouldn't have a clue if we looked like we'd spent hours getting ready when we'd only had a half hour or so, but Tracey would know we couldn't do things like major hair styling during that little break.

What we did do was worth the reaction we got from both boys when we met up again at Tim's house. Michael had been ready before we were, so he'd gone on ahead; and he was already helping out with the dinner preparations. Rowen and I put our camping gear in our tent; and then joined in to help again until we were relieved of duty shortly before the rest of the party guests started to arrive.

Let's start the party re-cap with the ex-girlfriend news. That won't take long, because Nora and Vanessa didn't come. They were invited, as all of our classmates were; but Nora apparently rather bluntly turned Tim down, and Vanessa stuck with her best friend. I am sorry that they're still upset with us, but I'm not going to lie to you – their absence today made it a lot easier for Rowen and I to have fun at the party.

All of the kids, tweens, and teens were in the back yard by a quarter-past five, and Martin led the crew of me working or supervising the cooking on the grills, but most of the adults didn't join the party until shortly before we sat down to eat at six. The first big change with that compared to nearly every other 'friends' birthday parties was that Rowen and I sat with Michael and Tim at the head table. That would have earned more notice if Rowen had sat next to Tim instead of me, but because she didn't; our change in social status was chalked up to me dating Michael.

It's a good thing that kiss wasn't witnessed, Rowen – not that you would have kissed him tonight if you hadn't gotten to be alone with him for a few minutes.

You're welcome, and thanks right back; since Michael and I appreciated the good night kiss time that you and Tim had been giving us at the time! ;^)

Don't you just love moments like that when everyone wins?

Okay, back to the party report before I get totally distracted. The menu for our second birthday party meal in less than a week wasn't a lot different, but the buffet table tonight did include a couple of Tim's favorite family recipe side dishes. Tracey told us that a pot of baked beans had been considered, but skipped when the overnight camping was a go. I'm sure that at least some tent mates are thankful for that decision right about now! I'm sure that Michael was used to it for his best friend's parties, but Rowen and I really loved getting to be in the middle of the birthday action today. We had Tim's parents, aunt, and uncle at the table with us; and it was nearly as much fun talking with Tracey and Sarah as it was to share the meal and watch Tim open his gifts.

I won't get into the birthday gift list, but Tim did love the gifts that Michael, Rowen, and I gave him. We didn't have a problem with Tim taking his time unwrapping his gifts or trying to save wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows; and that must be a known fact with most of his family and friends, because there were more gift bags than wrapped presents. That's the main reason why we managed to eat dinner; have him open his gifts; do the cake and ice cream thing; and have the yard part of the clean-up finished in less than an hour and a half.

The volleyball matches started then, and there were kids, teens, and adults involved in that while non-players sat in lawn chairs and enjoyed the spectacle. Here are some random thoughts from that blast of fun. Lee and Kyle can jump pretty good for really, really big guys, but the trick to beating them at volleyball is making them try to dig the ball down low. On the other hand, Sarah is lower to the ground, and while she'll never be a great spiker; her ground game is awesome! Carolyn is just plain good at every sport she plays; and volleyball is no exception. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did okay; but we're still a bit on the short side to keep up with the older teens and most of the adults. At least we had some of those better players on our team for the one match that we did win.

The non-camper party guests started heading home by nine, and most of the guys moved the party indoors for a while so they could play video games in the family room. A few couples disappeared to go for walks or find somewhere to hide and probably make out as it got dark outside; but Rowen and I were with the group of girls that went inside to hang out in the family room too.

Watching video games when you're not playing isn't all that exciting to me, and the guys can get fairly annoying as they goof around in groups; but we still had fun chatting with the other girls and the guys can be very entertaining when they're not trying to gross each other out. It wasn't a surprise that the guys wanted to try out Tim's new video games, but Rowen and I had a plan for dealing with that – a digital copy of the Star Trek – Into Darkness movie that had come out yesterday.

Okay, it's a sci-fi, space action flick; but half of the guys, including Michael, are second or third generation trekkies; and cuddling with our boyfriends while we watched the movie made most of the girls happy. Rowen and Tim weren't cuddling too, but they did end up sitting beside each other on one of the sofas while Michael and I sat on the floor in front of them. One thing that I did learn tonight is that I need to do a bit of Star Trek and Star Wars reading. I know the basics for both franchises; but the guys were talking specific star dates and all sorts of trivia that went way beyond how many movies and television series there had been; or who the best captains and main characters were – or are with the new movies.

It was time to take turns using the washrooms and heading out to our tents once the movie was over; and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were the last to take turns doing that after the rest of our friends were outside and we'd finished straightening up the family room. That's also when Rowen and Tim disappeared and left Michael and I alone for our goodnight kisses – and Rowen took the big step of kissing Tim for the first time.

Yes, it's their second kiss; but he kissed her the first time. Rowen assured me that the fireworks went off again this time; and it was obvious when we met up with them again that Tim wasn't grinning just because of the jokes he directed at Michael and me about having enough time to say goodnight to each other. We went outside then, and while nobody had climbed into sleeping bags and gone to sleep yet; everyone else had gotten changed by then, and had gathered in small groups in a few of the tents.

We did a lengthy round of visits to those tents before Michael and I shared another little kiss goodnight that was mostly just to appease the guys who were razzing Michael about it. Rowen and I got changed, climbed into our sleeping bags, and I fired up my computer to start my usual nightly computing while she led off the girl chat with the birthday kiss news flash. It was heading toward one-thirty by then, and the noise level around the 'camp' was dropping fast; but Rowen was fired up for obvious reasons, and I kept working until starting this journal update when she started running out of steam.

It's past two-thirty now, and if anyone else is still awake; they're not making any noise loud enough to be heard over the sounds of a few snoring boys. I'm supposed to be awake again at dawn for Tai Chi with Michael; so it's past-time to wrap this up and crash for a few hours.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Congratulations to the Taylor and Spencer families! Natalie Taylor gave birth to her first child, Ricky, today; they're both doing great; and both families are very excited about the new addition to their ranks. It was also a special day for Uncle Mark because Ricky is the first baby he's delivered in Witch Falls.

My day wasn't new addition to the family kind of great, but even without much sleep; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I managed to have a pretty good day. For Michael and I, that started with Tai Chi in Tim's back yard. It isn't the first time that Michael has had friends around to witness our morning workouts; but it was different today compared to being at home with Mom, Dad, and the twins. That quiet start to the morning ended abruptly when the official wake-up calls came for anyone still sleeping; and it was a crazy-fun rush of action for the next couple of hours. We needed to get ready for the day; have breakfast; pack bags; and tear down the tents before Tim's mother drove Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I out to the Ridge River Ranch for our riding lesson.

We only have one riding lesson left to go after today, and it's especially fun right now because we're working on the most advanced riding techniques that we'll be learning this year. That includes getting to let our horses run a bit more often, and while we're not doing anything even remotely as difficult as the jumping that advanced riders do; we have done some little jumps – so we could hop things like deadfalls if we ever needed to do that some day.

Rowen's Mom picked us up from the ranch when we were finished our lesson and trail ride; and swung around to Tim's house so that Rowen, Michael, and I could load our gear into her minivan before riding our bikes back to my house and meeting her there. Tim came with us; and we all stayed to have lunch with Mom, Alicia, Ethan, and Ehlana after unloading the minivan. There was a kid swim before lunch too that was mostly so that four of us could wash off the trail dust before eating. Michael had to eat and run so he could get changed and over to the Inn to at least help with the post-lunch rush clean-up; but Tim stayed and played with us until he needed to go over to the park for Kyle's football practice.

Ethan wanted to go over and watch the football action, but we did a few things around home first before hooking up the trailer and riding over to the park. We were still there with lots of time to spare before the scrimmage game, and Kyle made Ethan happy by again using him as extra weight in one of the suicide drills. They'd added extra elements to those drills now, so it was even more fun for Ethan as Kyle would put him on his shoulders while doing squats or jumps; and one of the other guys helped Ethan to sit on Kyle's back when it was time for the push-ups.

Okay, carrying a toddler around like that isn't as impressive as the stories about Lee's lunch break farm equipment bench presses; but we had fun watching that part of their training, and Kyle probably could have done those drills carrying one of his teammates without slowing down much.

Michael joined the practice in time for the scrimmage game, so we sat on the bleachers and watched them play for a while before Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the playground so they could run around and have fun there until Michael and Tim were finished playing football. We went home for another swim after that, and then Michael needed to get back to the Inn again. I expected Tim to leave then too, but he instead invited Rowen and I to ride the trail with him for a while; so we went and did that for the hour or so that Rowen and I had before we needed to be home again to have an early, baseball practice night easy-dinner.

The Leopards only have one game left to play, and since we'll be up against Palmer's Panthers again; Coach Sarah and Carolyn were pulling out all the stops to get our team ready for the championship match. None of us want to lose that game – especially when that would mean losing all three of our games to the Panthers; but we haven't figured out how to beat them yet this year. My own game play wasn't as good as it should have been tonight, but I am running on about three and a half hours of sleep; and it had already been a long, busy day by then.

Rowen and I went for a swim after practice, but then she went home and I was in for the night so that Mom could do another Magi lesson with me. She wasn't disappointed or surprised that I didn't have my archive homework done yet from our last lesson; but that doesn't happen very often. She'd already done her lesson with Ethan and Ehlana by then, so they played on their iPads while we worked through a shielding lesson. Yes, I can do wards and shields on my own now, but that's just basic protection. There is a lot more that Magi Masters can do with shields – and I still have years and probably decades of study to go before I've covered everything.

The good news about Mom's orders to have a study night at home is that I'm going to be able to get some extra sleep tonight. After my lesson, we did the full bath and bedtime routine with the twins that included a story and chat with Dad; and then I came up to my room to do some Jacuzzi and computer study multi-tasking. Since my archive homework included time-phasing; I even combined that studying with practicing the lesson. That's how I managed to have a long soak in the tub, take my time with drying and styling my hair, and get two hours of archive reading finished in just minutes of 'real' time.

I am feeling those extra hours of work now, though, along with everything else I did today; and I'm ready to crash and get a decent night's sleep, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, August 23, 2013

After getting to play for a lot of the last two days, it was time to do some more work. For me, that meant helping out with getting ready for the holiday weekend, and the end-of-season camping adventure that we were hosting on Saturday night while the parents were at the annual party at Sheldon's.

It wasn't all work and no play, but let's get the work part of the recap out of the way first. Though we're not going to have any holiday weekend guests staying with us, Mom, Aunt Leanne, Aunt Grace, and Aunt Deborah are working together to coordinate the pre-cooking for the meals we'll collectively need to provide – plus our contributions to the food booths for the party in the park on Sunday. Mom started the cooking adventure in our kitchen as soon as Alicia came over this morning, and I basically worked as a gopher and odd-jobs assistant. My work included everything from helping out with laundry to running errands for Mom; and we both managed to do a bit of work on our computers during the short lulls in the action.

Rowen worked at the computer store all morning, and then came here in time to have lunch with us. She helped out too after that until we took Ethan and Ehlana over to the park to meet up with Michael and Tim – or at least to hang out there while they joined in for another football practice during Michael's afternoon break. Michael wasn't getting his usual Friday afternoon and evening off this week, but that was because he was going to have that time off on Saturday instead for his baseball game; and for the barbeque and camping adventure here.

The official High School football training camp starts on Monday, so Kyle had the guys work really hard today; and that didn't leave Michael and Tim much time to spend with Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and me before Michael needed to get back to the Inn. We'd been at the playground for a while by the time they were set free, and we went back to my house for a swim. Michael only had fifteen minutes left to do that with us; and then he was off and running again. Tim stayed for the rest of our water play time and the snack break after that before leaving too; though if he didn't have other plans for the rest of the day I think he would have liked to stay – especially while Rowen was in her swimsuit.

Rowen and I stayed in our swimsuits for the rest of the afternoon and evening; though we put shorts and tops on when we weren't either swimming or drying off from a swim. There were several water play time breaks, and we mixed them in with the cooking and cleaning work that we joined in to help with from the time that Tim went home until the dinner and a cooking night fun wrapped up at nine o'clock. Dinner was at our house, but the pre-cooking work was being done at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house too; and we were able to keep ovens busy in four kitchens as we managed to get everything on the collective pre-cooked meal to-do list finished tonight.

Dad got home from Crystal Springs about an hour after we'd finished having dinner, but the only work he was allowed to do was to carry pans or casserole dishes to and from other houses to either be cooked or brought back to be frozen until needed next weekend. Ethan and Ehlana were happy to keep him entertained when he wasn't busy, and though Rowen and I didn't spend as much time with him as they did; he went for the last swim with all four of us once the last clean-up round was nearly finished.

Rowen went home after that, and I helped out with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed and tucked in once the rest of the dinner and a cooking night crew had left too. Mom and Dad didn't look like they needed to have any company after that, so I came up to my room then, and have kept busy while not thinking about what my parents are doing now that they're alone after being apart for five days. Mandy and I have been cuddling in bed, and I've been doing some more archive studying. That kept me busy for a while, but my usual nightly computing was lighter than usual. There wasn't much email traffic, and nothing that needed to be handled for the family business.

We're going to have a late night tomorrow, and a lot of fun, but I also have a major chore list to get through in the morning too; so it's time to wrap this up and call it a night.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

My day started out and ended quietly enough, but it was pretty much non-stop action for everything in-between.

Tai Chi was the fun quiet morning fun, and sitting outside of our tents and talking with Michael, Tim, and Rowen for more than an hour was a really great way to end the day – along with some cuddling for Michael and me; a midnight swim; and some goodnight kisses. I'm definitely okay with our best friends making excuses for giving us the alone time for those kisses, but when they've also now used those opportunities to share their own kisses for a third time; they're not doing it just for us anymore. This time, it was Tim kissing Rowen in the Pantry. I have no idea how they ended up in there; since they didn't return to our tents with anything except a pair of big smiles; but it'd be a good place to go if they didn't want to be interrupted by anyone heading inside for bathroom breaks.

Let's get to the rest of the report; and we'll get back to that part of the story in a bit. Michael was only over at our house for Tai Chi, and then he was off again to grab a shower and get ready to help out with the breakfast and lunch crowds at the Inn. We had a light breakfast before getting started on the yard and house work; and I spent the morning mowing the lawn and doing the rest of my usual chores. There isn't anything exciting to report from that work, but I did like getting to spend some of that time working with Dad and talking about what we'd each been doing since seeing each other on Monday night.

We had a cold salads and subs lunch, and then Rowen came over to help me with setting up tents and getting our own gear rounded up. Other kids and teens stopped in to help with the camp set-up; and that was still going on when Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park to watch Michael and Tim play their last regular season game against the Sheriffs. Both teams still had a shot at making the championship game – or to possibly end up at the bottom of their division if they lost.

The Wranglers were the 'away' team, so they batted first; and got the game off to a great start – for them – with two quick runs before the Sheriffs' players kicked up their game and made some good defensive plays. I won't suggest that my good luck kiss for Michael or our little cheerleading squad made much of a difference; but Michael did score one of those first runs. He and Tim both played really well, and those first two runs ended up being very important because the Sheriffs never managed to close the gap on that early lead. That was frustrating for their players at first, and then just demoralizing as they started running out of time without managing to score many runs. With a seven-to-four lead going into the top of the last inning, the Sheriffs managed to hold the Wranglers to just one more run; but then the game ended when the Wranglers only allowed one hit in the Sheriffs' half of the inning on their way to getting three quick outs to end the game with a convincing eight-to-four win.

Michael and Tim took some razzing for getting hugs and kisses from their cheerleaders after the game, but none of us minded the jokes; and Rowen was very happy that Ehlana and I gave her a perfect excuse to give Tim – and Michael – a hug and kiss too. They had to hang out with their team for the usual post-game celebration, and Rowen and I needed to get the twins home and help out with the work for the barbeque dinner; so that hugs and kisses moment didn't last long before we were all off and running again.

Even with a comparatively short, low-score game we only got home in time to help with the last half-hour or so of the pre-dinner work; and most of our guests were already there too. The work, meal, and clean-up mostly just felt like a mad rush of action before most of us headed over to the park for the Fix-it Uppers game against the Big Shots. For the work side of that, Rowen and I mostly hauled food or empty containers and dirty dishes back and forth from the kitchen to the buffet table; and helped with the dishwashing after we ate. We had Michael, Tim, and some other teens with us to help with kid control during dinner; and sat on the dock or by the river while the younger kids spent as much time playing as they did eating.

Amazingly enough, the Fix-it Uppers weren't out of the running for the Championship game, but if you're reading this in the distant future and thinking that the twenty-one to nineteen final score meant a close game; it really wasn't. The Big Shots built up a big lead in the first few innings; and then coasted the rest of the way so they didn't completely embarrass our team. If they hadn't done that; our Coach probably would have asked to have the mercy rule invoked. The good news is that once the game was all but over anyway; the players, cheerleaders, and spectators all just relaxed and had fun. I don't think that Mom, Dad, or really anyone else on our team minded the fact that they won't have to deal with another practice or the championship game anyway. I wouldn't have been cheering with – or against – Miranda this year either, so I'm okay with not having to spend two or three hours doing that a week from Sunday too.

Scoring forty runs took a while, so the post-game action didn't take long; and the kids, tweens, and teens who were camping at our house came back with Mom, Dad, and some adult volunteers who were helping the hired 'babysitters' to get everything set up for the rest of the night – including the campfire. Alicia and Erin had organized and hired the babysitting crew; and that included their boyfriends, Doug Warren and Kyle Landry; along with Caleb Palmer, Erica Bassett, Carolyn Landry, and Jeff Morris. Wasn't it just yesterday that those last four teens were in need of supervision while hanging out with Chris and Martin and goofing around all the time? Now they're the responsible ones!

Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I were part of the gang that decided to go for a swim while the campfire was being set up; and we took Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends in with us with a little help from some of our friends. That made for a bit of a damp start to the campfire for those of us who didn't get changed; but the fire dried us off quickly enough. The campfire music and stories time was a blast, but before I get to that; there was something very important that happened with Patrick and Michael that I want to write about first.

We were among the last kids to sit down at the campfire because we'd needed to get toddlers dried, changed, and do bathroom breaks with them first. One of the other guys was taking a first turn at playing guitar by then, so Michael was able to cuddle with me – and when Patrick saw that; he got up and stomped off toward the river and out of sight into the darkness. Michael waved Scott off when he was about to get up and follow his friend; and went to find Patrick himself instead. They were gone for nearly twenty minutes, but when Michael returned, he had Patrick with him; and it was obvious to me that something had changed with Patrick – and between them.

It wasn't until Rowen and Tim gave us the alone time later that Michael gave me the condensed version of the talk they'd had; and I'll shorten it down a bit more here. Basically, Michael told Patrick that he completely understood why Patrick loves me – because he loves me too. They talked about other things like Michael's 'other' girlfriends, but it sounds like it was a new perspective for Patrick about Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne that made the biggest impact. Michael pointed out to him that both my aunt and uncle dated other people both when they were growing up in Witch Falls and while they were living away from home and going to school or working; and that Patrick couldn't expect that to be any different for him and Cassie than it was for them. The only part of their chat that Patrick didn't like was when Michael reminded him that he really did love me a lot and hoped to keep me; but he also conceded that we're twelve, and it's a bit early to plan on happily-ever-afters when we've only been dating for a couple of months. The bottom line is that Michael managed to help Patrick out a lot with his crush on me; and I really love that he was able to do that for him.

I loved the campfire cuddle time too, and playing with Ethan, Ehlana, and all of our friends. Alicia and Erin needed to remind the guys to tone the scary stories down until the younger kids started going to bed for the night, but other than that; the entertainment was toddler-friendly and the younger kids happily kept feeding toasted marshmallows and hotdogs to their storytellers and musicians. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I all helped out when Alicia ordered all of the younger kids to bed at eleven o'clock – or those who hadn't already fallen asleep.

Rowen and I are using one of our big tents tonight instead of the usual dome tent because we have five girls with us – Ehlana, Naomi, Lindsay Faulkner, and Jessica and Sophia Bassett. Michael and Tim have Ethan, Aiden, and Ryan Bassett; so Alicia had Caleb and Erica help us with doing the bedtime routine with our eight kids. That made it a lot easier to get them all tucked into their sleeping bags; and we were even able to go back to the campfire for an hour when Alicia and Erin offered to stay close to our tents and keep an ear out for the kids if they woke up and needed anything.

This is probably a good place to write about some of the teen-rated action and the minor tweeird moments. First up has to be Jenny and Joel. They only have a week left until he heads home; and they're a bit scary. Michael and I know from Rebecca that Jenny has no intention of trying to keep things going with Joel after he goes home; and it seems like they're both trying to get all of the fun out of their time together as they can before it's over.

They seemed to be achieving that goal and then some from what we saw; and I don't want to know about what we didn't see tonight. Rebecca went through the motions of putting her gear into the same tent as Jenny, but moved it sometime after the adults left; and already had other sleeping arrangements set up with some of the other girls.

Jenny and Joel weren't the only couple in the same tent; but most of the teens were actually being pretty good tonight. That extra hour that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I got to spend around the campfire was a blast; and I don't think that dating Michael was the only reason why we felt more a part of the teen action than I ever have before now; though it does help that Michael and Tim are accepted as junior members of the football fanatic teens that Kyle leads.

As I write this, the campfire is over, and most of the kids and teens are sleeping. After returning to our tents, Michael and Tim sat outside of our tent and talked with Rowen and me for an hour or so; we went for a swim; and then spent a little more time together after Rowen and Tim gave Michael and me that alone time while finding a nice, quiet pantry so they could share their own goodnight kiss. We've already covered Michael's chat with Patrick re-cap; and we still managed to take advantage of that alone time to enjoy our own goodnight hugs and kisses before Rowen and Tim came back.

That last bit of chat time ended when we were alerted to the need for certain kids to go inside for bathroom breaks; and that ended up requiring two trips to the house by the time all of the kids who woke up during the process were taken care of and tucked into their sleeping bags again. After splitting up with Michael and Tim, Rowen and I have been having a fun, quiet little girl chat while I've been doing my usual nightly computing. The highlight of that chat for her was obviously that third major kiss with Tim. We were both too wound up to sleep then, so I put some music on quietly enough not to wake the other girls; and we're just getting to the point now that we're ready to try to get some rest.

Before I put my computer away, though, there are a few notes to make from my email inbox. Violet and Dillon are in their residential halls tonight; and are finding the change both exciting and weird. Violet sent pictures of their dorm rooms and new roommates; and they were both really busy with everything they needed to get done today – and the campus events that were scheduled for the freshman class. The city life culture shock is a bigger deal for Dillon than Violet; but that's one of the reasons they left early – so they could have a few days to get used to the city and get familiar with the campus. Having their own car apparently is a big deal – a fact that I'll keep in mind for when I decide where to go to college; though I don't plan on getting one for my sixteenth birthday; since that would be a waste for what little bits of driving any teens do in Witch Falls.

Stephanie had an update for me out of New York too, but the only news is that all is well; and she and Jake are having a lot of fun. Being at separate schools is tough, but their schedules do work out so that they can see each other nearly every day; and they'll be together as much as they possibly can on the weekends. Last, but not least, was Chrissy's college report. I'd better start making that 'Christina'. She's using her full name with her new college friends, and I've heard from other sources that she wants to leave the nickname behind now that she's a collegian. She and Josiah are really enjoying their college experience so far; and they're both getting noticed by their professors already – though that isn't easy when there are so many students in every class. They're also spending as much time together as they can; and there are apparently guys and girls in their respective dorms and classes who are terribly disappointed that they're not single and available. There haven't been any specific stories about that sort of thing from Violet or Stephanie; but I'm sure they'll all be dealing with that too – especially Jake; though I'm definitely biased about that! :^)

Okay, I guess there isn't anything else that needs to be added to this update; Rowen's starting to drift off; and there's always the possibility that I'll get one more toddler wake-up call during the few hours we have left until sunrise, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

This morning started out quietly enough with Tai Chi by the river for Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and me while Mom and Dad slept in – relatively speaking. Then we had about two and a half hours of near-chaos as we needed to feed all of the campers; have everyone take turns getting ready for church; and keep all of the younger kids under control and entertained before making the exodus to the church.

I should've gone to sleep way earlier!

Thinking about that breakfast action is scary, so I'm only going to mention that it really is astonishing how much food a large group of teenage and tween boys can go through – even for an early morning meal. Some of them were probably regretting those food games by later today – especially the guy that I won't embarrass by naming who ate six Olde Bakery bran muffins on a dare. They're not affectionately known around town as 'movement muffins' for nothing.

Don't ponder that for too long. ;^)

Moving on, so to speak; the big stories at church were the meet and greet with Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah Burroughs; and Ricky Taylor's introduction to the congregation by his proud parents and families. The church service wasn't much longer than normal, but the visits after church took a while – though I left when Michael needed to so that I could walk with him to the Inn.

We had work to do after getting home, and while Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Leanne put lunch together for us; Tim, Rowen, and I helped Dad and Uncle Adam with tearing down tents and getting camping gear ready for pick-up. There were other teens stopping in to help us with that; but it still took nearly an hour to clear the campsite; and then another hour to have lunch and do the clean-up from that while the Moms and pregnant women were sent off for naps or breaks.

Tim stayed with us for lunch, but he moved on to other plans with his family while Rowen and I took charge of Ethan and Ehlana for the afternoon so that Mom and Dad could work in the office. We went for a bike ride with the trailer first; played at the park; did an ice cream run to the Emporium that was timed to meet up with Michael; and then we went for a swim with him back at home and played in the back yard until he needed to go back to the Inn again for the buffet shift.

Rowen went over to the computer store when Michael left because she had family plans tonight too; so Ethan, Ehlana, and I got to have some quiet time in the lounge where we had a little telepathic chat that was mostly about next steps in our future plans ahead of our next meeting tomorrow night. I may or may not be at that meeting, depending on what Michael and I will be doing for his day off; but Ethan and Ehlana can handle our end of things if I'm not there; and the three of us aren't all that involved in the things that will be happening this Fall.

Mom and Dad went with a leftovers and easy-dinner meal tonight, and then we had a quiet evening at home that included some Magi lessons; a little play time; and plans for all of us to go to bed early after having such a late night and early, busy start to the morning. I even had my Jacuzzi time while Ethan and Ehlana were having their baths; and would have been in bed first too if I hadn't gone down to their rooms for the bedtime story, hugs, and kisses.

I didn't do any archive work tonight, and just covered the basics for the nightly computer checks. A lot more happened today that I didn't go into detail about, but I'm really tired; and it's time to crash and get some serious down time, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, August 26, 2013

I want to make it clear that I am not dating Michael because his father is a chef – but that is a really great bonus; and we had two meals at his house today.

Tai Chi by the river is still my favorite part of the morning, but I could get used to trying out Jacob's day-off breakfast experiments very easily. It sure beats standard work and school day morning food at my house – and probably nearly every other house in town too. While Jacob loves the cooking, there is an ulterior motive – having his kids ready for a busy house and yard work morning.

I volunteered to be on that yard work crew again; mostly because they were getting all of the work done ahead of the holiday weekend; and so that Michael wouldn't be stuck doing that all day when the only place he really wanted to be was watching the first day of football training camp at the school. Using our lawn tractor again helped a lot; and this week I helped Rebecca with the gardening while Michael helped his Dad with some other chores. We worked straight through until one o'clock; and then Michael and I split up for a while so that we could each get something to eat and take the showers that we were both in need of by then.

He went on ahead to the school without me, and when I was ready; I biked over to the computer store to collect Rowen on my way to the school. We had drinks and a little visit with Owen and Patricia; and then biked to the school. Michael was sitting with Tim and a bunch of kids, tweens, and teens in the bleachers. With all of the gear Tim had with him; we didn't need to get confirmation from him to know that he'd been there most of the day. Patrick and Scott were there too; and it was nice to see Patrick talking animatedly with Michael for the first time all summer – even if they were just talking football.

There was a reason why I had taken my time getting to the school, and I wasn't the only girl who was purposefully getting to the football field near the end of the afternoon training session. Tim was happy to give us a detailed monologue of the action we'd missed since early this morning, though, so we didn't miss anything important. While I hadn't been interested in spending the day watching guys play football there was a lot going on around the school that being there did have me paying attention to.

While Mr. Robinson was there to coach the football team, all of the other teachers were back to school today too – a fact that I knew but didn't think about at all before then. I saw Uncle Nick once when he waved at us from his classroom window – and that really started to make back-to-school feel real because that's going to be our home room too; and Uncle Nick is going to be our main teacher this year! That won't quite be the same as it would have been for Jenny if her Mom had taught her; but it will be both strange and fun. I should probably practice calling him Mr. Ayres instead of Uncle Nick a bit before next week so I don't get into trouble. I'm not giving up family hugs, though, so my classmates can just get used to them.

Getting back to the football action, Coach Robinson had been teaching his players some basic offensive and defensive formations and plays when Rowen and I joined the spectators, but he'd almost been finished that; and then had the guys move on to the conditioning drills that took exhaustion to a whole new level for most of the guys. Kyle was the one exception; but they'd likely need both of our town doctors to come over if Coach Robinson tried to push everyone on the team as hard as Kyle could work.

Maybe I should have brought Ethan and Ehlana along so Kyle could use Ethan in the drills again.

The practice was wrapping up by the time Michael and Tim needed to be thinking about food and their final baseball practice. Michael had invited us to his house for dinner, so we rode around by Tim's house to drop off the bag and cooler he'd taken with him to the school; and then gone on to Michael's house. We had time to go for a quick swim that Rebecca joined us for; and then we had a really great little meal at the patio table on the back porch. Dad's pretty good on a grill, but Jacob is a master; and even Tim notices the difference – which is actually quite a compliment for Jacob.

The two boys were sent off to their practice after they'd eaten, but Rowen and I stayed to help out with the clean-up before going to my house and taking Ethan and Ehlana to the park with us for some playground time while the Wranglers worked hard to get ready for their Championship game on Saturday. Since I hadn't spent much time with Ethan and Ehlana today, that was a nice little blast of fun, and when Michael and Tim were set free again; we all went swimming back at my house before Mom and Dad took custody of Ethan and Ehlana again.

They had already started their family business meeting by then, but I'll get to that in a minute. Tim, Rowen, and I went back to Michael's house again with him after our swim. Tim and Rowen played video games while Michael did a guitar lesson with me. I haven't had much time for music lately, but now that we're just a week away from going back to school; I'd better at least dust off my saxophone and practice a bit – especially since Michael, Rowen, and I did get those early invitations to join the school band this year.

Anyway, the guitar lesson was fun, and then Michael and I joined in on the video gaming action – though Rowen and I were happy to let the boys take as many extra turns as we could get away with. It was time to tone it down when Jacob and Miranda were ready to call it a night; so we went for another swim and then decided to take a walk around the park. It can get dark even on the main trail when you're in the woods there; and you can get lost on the biking trails at night – if you really want to do that. Conveniently for us, though, we only got lost in pairs tonight; and Rowen assured me later that Michael and I weren't the only couple playing hide and kiss while we were temporarily on our own.

Michael and Tim both want to be at the school tomorrow for the start of training camp day two, so we headed home by eleven o'clock. Rowen and I left them on Michael's front porch after she and Tim gave Michael and me a minute for our goodbye hug and kiss; and then we had a little chat on my front porch so I could get those pertinent park in the dark details before she continued on to her house and I went inside.

Mom and Dad were working in the office while Dad caught up on the work he didn't get done while they'd been having their family business and future plans meeting; so I grabbed a drink and joined them there. Mom decided to combine a short Magi lesson with the meeting update that they took turns giving me; and we ended up talking together until Dad was finished his work at a bit after midnight and we all went up to bed.

There weren't any surprises for me from the meeting. The lab is just slightly ahead of schedule right now after having some extended good weather; and that's going to work out great for the construction start for the first of the three apartment buildings that are planned for the new section of town. The news for the college kids we're keeping an eye on was reviewed; though there isn't much for us to do with that until next spring and summer. We will be offering some of those college kids summer jobs at the lab, though, and that's going to be very cool for those lucky young men and women.

On the real estate front, Aunt Leanne and Claire are actually going to do a Saturday morning open house for a couple of model homes they'll be using to sell new homes and townhomes; though there aren't going to be more than two houses that are the same – or even mirror images – in the entire new section of town. Even the townhomes will have significant differences between each unit and groups of units. While Aunt Leanne is handling most of that part of our future plans, she is getting ready for some time off with the baby; and Mom and Dad will be keeping an eye on that part of the business for her this fall and winter.

We have some financial involvement with the mortgages that will be needed for those new homes; but that's strictly through providing extra capital for our community bank; since they don't have the deposit base to handle all of the new business that will be coming their way over the next ten or fifteen years. Sharon Palmer is taking care of all of that, and while I'm thinking about her; she's doing a really awesome job with all of her family business responsibilities. The financial and insurance business side of our portfolio is really taking off since she joined the team.

Finally, the travel and charity work that is the reason for everything else we do is continuing to grow both here at home and around the world. While Grandma and Grandpa have been staying close to home because of Aunt Leanne and her baby; there have been other trips going on this summer; and more planned for the fall, winter, and spring. Grandma Eleanor and Grandpa Grant are happily continuing their globe-trotting archive visits; and have switched their focus almost entirely from just checking out each location to getting each archive ready to be moved here. They'll need help with that huge job; and will start taking assistants along – and training them – during their trip this fall. Now that we have a new Pastor in town, Pastors Lewis and Martha have signed up for a winter charity trip; and will be going on it with some of their friends in January.

I should've gone to bed earlier and gotten started on the work I wanted to do tonight, but I wasn't all that tired when I started anyway – though I'm getting there fast now. The archive studying helped with that, but then I followed that up with an hour of family business work before getting around to the rest of my usual nightly computing. There isn't anything to report from the studying or work; but I did have a nice long email update from Violet about how the first day of classes went for her and Dillon today.

They both have some advantages that their fellow freshmen don't, but Violet thinks that Dillon has a distinct advantage at college because our school does a lot more than most to prepare our teens for post-secondary education. She's known about those differences since getting close to Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie; but seeing her friends doing so much self-learning and group studying is different than needing to do that – while trying to work with new acquaintances who might or might not be at the same academic level as she is; or wants to be.

That part of their college adventure will be as tough for Dillon; but then he's probably the smartest guy in the lecture hall for all of his subjects; so he'll probably get more study group invitations than he'll want or need. Mostly, I'm glad that Violet and Dillon are having fun; enjoying their first academic challenges; and getting off to a relatively problem-free start to their freshman year.

Hopefully I'll be able to say that for my Grade Eight year!

That is all I have for tonight, though, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Michael and Tim were at the school all morning to watch the football training camp, so after coming over for Tai Chi with us; Michael went home to grab a shower, get ready for a play day, and take breakfast to go before meeting up with Tim at the school. Rowen and I weren't in any hurry to join them there, so we did our own thing this morning except for one visit to the school that included dropping off a pair of Emporium ice cream treats for them.

We both took our time having breakfast and doing some chores around our houses, so it was heading toward nine-thirty by the time Rowen came over. After doing a bike tour of the usual construction sites, we went for a little trail ride at the park before doing the ice cream break with Michael and Tim. The four of us decided to take Ethan and Ehlana for a picnic lunch and canoe ride; so Rowen and I went home next so we could get everything ready for our little river adventure.

Ethan and Ehlana had been excited about that; and while we didn't try to paddle to the whirlpool and back, we did have a fun few hours together that included play time at the park, a picnic at the falls, another Emporium ice cream visit, two swims, and about an hour of actual canoeing both up and down river from our house. The second swim came after we'd gotten home and put the gear away; and then Tim and Rowen made up a pair of feeble excuses for why they couldn't hang out with Michael and me for the rest of Michael's day off before biking over to the shop and computer store to check in with their parents.

We love hanging out with our best friends, and it's still a bit strange to actually have alone time; but Michael and I do need to make some time for just us – or let our friends set up nights like this when we don't. Michael stayed for dinner; and we helped Mom with the work while Ethan and Ehlana gave her the afternoon update. We were able to sit down and eat as soon as Dad got home from work; and then Michael and I sent the parents to go have a little play time with Ethan and Ehlana while we cleaned up.

Mom and Dad ended up going for a walk that included a little visit at the Bassett's house so Ethan and Ehlana could play for a while with Sophia; so Michael and I had time to get the work done and walk over to his house to get his saxophone before meeting up with them on their way home. Ethan and Ehlana joined Michael and me in my room for our music practice. We were both a bit rusty; but I think we sounded pretty good by the time we moved on to a guitar lesson. We played music for about an hour and a half, and Ethan and Ehlana alternately sang along in their best 'real toddler' imitation; played my keyboard; or played on the floor with Mandy and some toys.

Michael and I helped Mom with their bedtime routine after that, and in addition to the usual bedtime snack and story; Michael ended up spending nearly twenty minutes just sitting and talking with Ethan while tucking him in for the night. That gave Ehlana and me time for a little girl chat too; and then Michael and I came up to the lounge to watch a movie. After watching the latest Star Trek movie at Tim's birthday party, we decided to start my trekkie immersion by watching the movie series from the beginning.

I'm a big fan of cuddle time with Michael, so I'm okay with the fact that it'll probably take us years to watch all of the movies and the episodes from all of the series.

You may be wondering if Mom and Dad checked up on us, and the answer to that would be yes and no. Since we were in future space mode tonight, let's just say that Mom would sense a disturbance in the force if Michael and I get too affectionate. Yes, that works both ways; but we can also turn it off; though that's not exactly accurate. Doing that works for me with Mom and Dad, but I'm twelve; and don't seriously expect Mom to do the same for at least a few more years.

Would you if that kind of talent was available to you with your kids?

After watching Captain Kirk and crew save the day, universe, or whatever; we went for a bedtime swim. It's too bad that we can't do that year-round, or even for much longer this year; because we really love playing in the river a lot too. We swam for a half hour, and then Michael walked home through the back yards after we shared a long goodnight kiss while sitting on one of the benches by the river and having a not-really-talking, last bedtime chat.

My night wasn't over, so I came straight up to my room and got ready for bed before sitting in the window alcove and working on my computer. That was more than two hours ago; and the mix of studying and work was almost the same as it was last night. I'm also just as tired, and don't have anything newsworthy to add from my studies, work, or nightly computer checks; so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The top fun today was probably the afternoon appointments Rowen and I had with Liz at the salon, with my Magi lesson with Mom; afternoon break time with Michael; and some trail riding at the park earning honorable mention.

I should mention the great weather too, since I haven't done that lately; and we really are getting a beautiful, hot end to our summer holidays. Hopefully that comment won't jinx us for the holiday weekend; but it really is nice to have the weather cooperate with all of our outdoor play plans.

Hot, sunny, and warm is nice for Tai Chi by the river too; and I like starting my day sharing riverside kisses with Michael as much as the moonlight, goodnight variety.

The Tai Chi was fun, and Michael stayed to have breakfast with us, but then he needed to do some chores around the house before going to the Inn; and I kept busy helping Mom until Alicia came over. I spent the rest of the morning working in the office; and then Rowen came over to have lunch with us before we went to the salon for our annual back-to-school hair appointments. Neither of us went with anything more radical than trimming our bangs and evening up the length; but we had a lot of fun catching up on the latest news around the salon; hearing all of Liz's latest pregnancy stories; and letting her style our hair with braids and curls before we needed to meet up with Michael and Tim at the school while Michael was on his afternoon break.

They were impressed with Liz's efforts; though that didn't really distract them from the football action they were following avidly now that our first game of the season was just two days away – and with the bonus of being at home too! Did that sound excited enough to you? ;^)

Rowen and I were able to talk them into going for a swim before Michael needed to be back at the Inn; and we took Ethan and Ehlana with us for that micro blast of fun. Tim went back to the spot he'd apparently staked out for the week on the school bleachers when Michael left for the Inn; and that's when Rowen and I went for our trail ride. One good thing about football season is that there are a lot less guys out on the trail; and Rowen and I could really let loose on the jumps with nobody around to watch us.

No, we did not use Magi power; but I'd seriously love to try that sometime!

Moving along, Rowen went on to the computer store after going for another swim with me when we'd had enough fun on the trails; and it was a Mom-ordered study night for me; so I didn't see any of my friends tonight. I helped make dinner; we ate as soon as Dad got home; and then he went to work in the office while Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me. I came up to my room when Mom and Dad were ready to do the bedtime routine with the twins; and combined my archive studying with some quality Jacuzzi time. I didn't have any work to do tonight; so all I had left to get done after climbing into bed with Mandy was my usual nightly computer checks. That didn't take long, because there were only two emails to read and answer, and now that I've pretty much finished with this update; I'm ready to get an early start to my nightly nap.

We have our last riding lesson of the summer in the morning, and a big baseball practice tomorrow evening to get ready for the championship game on Saturday; so that extra rest is going to come in handy.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

I'm going to keep this short, because it's late; and I'm tired.

Michael was here for Tai Chi and breakfast again today before we went over to the computer store to get a ride out to the ranch with Rowen and Tim. Patricia had the outbound trip this week; and we ended up getting a ride home with Lee Landry on his way back from a repair call; since he was out near the ranch anyway.

We did the post-ride swim with Ethan and Ehlana before Michael went home to get ready for work at the Inn. Tim and Rowen both stayed for lunch; and we had a little picnic with Ethan and Ehlana on the dock; but then Tim went to the school to watch more of the football training camp. Rowen and I had a fairly lazy afternoon that included a little play time with the twins in the back yard; a visit to the school while Michael was on his break; and a couple of swims. Michael and Tim went for one of those afternoon swims with us – again just before Michael needed to get back to the Inn; but Tim went straight back to the school when Michael needed to leave to catch the tail end of the practice.

Rowen stayed for dinner too, and we ate on our own so that we could get to the park extra-early for our practice. I'm not sure if that was good or bad, because Carolyn was there with a couple of her friends too; and was happy to have us join them for some bonus fielding drills. Since we only had the teams that were in championship games practicing this week, Coach Sarah and Carolyn were able to have an extended practice; so we worked for a bit more than two hours – not including the early drills – before they set us free with admonishments to get extra rest and be ready for the game on Saturday.

That's easier said than done for me. Rowen and I went for a swim after getting home, and then Mom did a Magi lesson with both of us while Rowen waited for her parents to finish up at the computer store. They've been busy with the back-to-school rush this week, and though I hadn't worried about it one way or the other; Mom did get my school computer updated with everything I'd need for Grade Eight this year.

We had a lot of fun with the lesson, and then we went for a bedtime swim with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana when Michael stopped in after getting home from the Inn. Rowen went home after the water play time, but Michael stayed to help with the bedtime snack and story for the twins; and he and I tucked them in for the night before taking drinks and going to sit by the river for a while and have a wind-down chat. That wasn't the end of my night, because after Michael went home; I needed to get to work. Mom and Dad had suggested that it might be easier for me if I did as much of my weekend yard work tomorrow instead of on Saturday so that I wouldn't have all of those extra chores along with everything else that we have planned. That actually works for me, but it meant that I needed to get the family business work done tonight instead of tomorrow; and I wanted to get my archive homework out of the way before the weekend too. I'll be getting back to my usual school year workload on Monday or Tuesday night; and I don't need to have a back-log before adding new language studies and daily archive research to the mix.

That's why I'm writing this at nearly three o'clock in the morning, but the computer work is done now, and once I get the yard work out of the way; it should be mostly fun and games for the rest of the weekend!

If I don't need to sleep through half of it.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Go, Raiders, Go! Go, Raiders, Go!

I should begin by mentioning that there is a big difference between going to a football game with your boyfriend and watching a game with your family. Rowen and Tim were with us, and we had a really great time together; so the big first win was just a fun added bonus.

Since I'm there anyway, let's just keep going with the football report. This definitely felt like a date night to me. Rowen and I got dressed up and took extra time doing our hair; though we did pick clothes that were appropriate for a hot summer evening of sports-watching on moderately-crowded bleachers. The holiday weekend had a big effect on that, but then there were more visiting kids and teens that were catching the game for something to do than there will be on a normal game night.

Michael had to help out at the Inn until shortly before the game started, so Rowen and I met him there; and Tim had gone on ahead to save seats for all of us. While he didn't have time to grab a shower or anything, Michael had brought fresh clothes and cleaned up as much as he could before leaving the Inn. He got razzed a bit by the guys in the kitchen for being picked up by two girls; but nobody there actually has any doubt about who his girlfriend is now; and he just played along with them.

We didn't have time to pick up drinks or anything by the time we got to the school, but Tim had already taken care of that for us too. Though he and Rowen were in 'just hanging out with our best friends' mode all night, if Tim had tried to tell us that he hadn't dressed to impress Rowen; I'd be sure he was lying – not that we actually asked him.

He looked good, and Rowen was impressed.

There was actually a football game going on too, but before I get to that; let's talk cheerleaders. Erin Green is Head Cheerleader this year; though that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that her boyfriend is Captain of the football team – there just aren't very many cheerleaders; and we only have two seniors on the squad this year. That wasn't news for me; but it was news for nearly everyone at the game to find out that Jenny – and Tammy Morris – were the freshman cheerleader picks this year. Jenny was really fired up, and looked great in her new uniform.

That was good and bad, because while she was impressing Joel, she was getting some attention from quite a few other guys too – and Joel definitely didn't like that at all – especially when the younger guys on both teams were watching her or coming up to talk with her. Jenny loved all of that attention, and was oblivious to the jealous side of her boyfriend's reaction to her first time in the cheerleader spotlight.

Small school cheerleading squads can't do the really cool tricks you see with the big competition teams; but they do work the sidelines with little cheers and dances that keep the spectators entertained during breaks in the action on the field; and the squads from both teams took turns doing short dance routines to music during half time. That mini-battle between the squads was a friendly competition too; and nothing like you see in the movies either.

I can't say that about the football game – both teams were definitely serious; and Hillcrest had a bit of a grudge going on against us after we won our playoff game against them last season. Kyle and our defense won that close match-up; while their offense had kept them in the game. Our offense is playing better – at least according to Michael and Tim – but Hillcrest was not ready to keep up with us tonight.

I should probably amend that to suggest that they weren't ready to keep up with Kyle; since they were fairly competitive against the rest of our players. The bad news was that Kyle is very serious about finishing his high school football career with a championship; and was playing as if this was the big game. The Hillcrest quarterback wasn't the only guy on their team who was very, very jumpy by the end of the game.

I'd say that was justified for him after being sacked five times and hit by Kyle on nearly half of their total offensive plays. Kyle also had a hand in seven defensive take-aways; including four fumbles, two interceptions, and one lateral break-up. Kyle scored three defensive touchdowns; and our offense put points on the board for each of the other four take-aways. Our defense only gave up one touchdown and two field goals; while we put forty-four points on the board for a very convincing win.

I'm going to back up and cover the action from the rest of the day before getting to the post-game news; but I wanted to mention that being a Magi Master at an event like that causes a bit of a problem with sensory overload. That can be fun – like when I told Michael and Tim about something one of the Hillcrest players was doing to give away what kind of plays they were about to run; and Tim passed that on to Kyle between the first and second quarters. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of things I see, hear, and sense that fall into the 'way too much information' category. Let's not get into the details of the strange and weird that happens at a high school football game – especially since what happens in our little town is mild compared to big cities – but if I'm going to be going to a lot of these games with Michael from now on; I'd better learn to find something to do that will divert me from processing all of that information like I was doing tonight.

With that off my chest, let's rewind to this morning. Tai Chi by the river was a fun start to the day, but then Michael headed over to the Inn to help out with a busy holiday weekend Friday breakfast crowd. I went with a quick cereal and juice meal, and was out moving the lawn before Dad left for work. Since we're not going to have a house full of guests this weekend, Mom didn't really have much extra work to do today; but she and Alicia did take the twins with them and did all of the holiday weekend supply shopping this morning while I was busy working in the yard.

Rowen was working at the computer store, mostly helping out with the holiday weekend displays while her Dad was busy with a bunch of last-minute computer updates ahead of the first day of school on Tuesday. It's been another hot day, and lots of people were happy to be inside and staying cool; but I was glad to be outside and enjoying every bit of warm I can get as we head into fall. I also love being able to hop into the river for a swim too; since that probably won't be an option for much longer once we get into the cooler nights that we've managed to dodge over the past couple of weeks.

I went for one quick swim once I'd finished cutting the lawn, and then moved on to the gardening. Ethan and Ehlana 'helped' me with that for a while when Mom and Alicia were busy unloading the minivan; putting everything away; and making lunch. When it was nearly time to stop and eat, I went for a clean-up swim with the twins first; and then we had another picnic lunch on the dock while Mom and Alicia sat on one of the benches to eat while helping to give me the shopping report and latest grapevine news.

There was still more work that I wanted to get done after lunch, so I got back to that, and Rowen gave me a hand when she came over; which is why my chores were pretty much done by the time Michael came over to hang out with us during his afternoon break. The football team had some training today ahead of the game; but only a light morning workout to go along with some classroom time to go over their game plan. That's why we didn't spend an hour or two at the school this afternoon, but went for two swims and a bike ride instead. Tim joined us for the ride and second swim; but then he headed out again when Michael went back to the Inn.

There was a family barbeque going on at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's tonight; but Rowen and I ate at my house before getting ready for the football game. I've covered enough of the football game part of this report; so let's move on to the post-game action. First up was the victory celebration on the field. Hanging out with Tim put Michael, Rowen, and me on the inside of that because the entire Landry family was very close to the football team and program – as they have been for decades. That was fun, and though the Hillcrest players and coaches were really disappointed, and a bit shell-shocked; the interaction with them – and their fans – was mostly good-natured and entertaining too.

I wanted to check in with my visiting cousins before they'd be in bed for the night, so Michael and I went to do that while Rowen and Tim stayed and hung out with some of the other teens and tweens before meeting up with us again for a swim at my house. Doing that visit ended up being fairly easy, because the main family action was still going on at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden were there with their parents, aunt, and uncle; and Kara and Eddie were there with their parents too. Nicole, Robyn, and their parents and grandparents hadn't made it home yet; but they hadn't escaped the city early like everyone else had. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were there still too, and so were all available grandparents.

I loved having a little visit with my cousins, but Michael and I hadn't planned on staying long – especially since it was an all-hands-on-deck weekend at the Inn; and I wouldn't be seeing Michael very much on Saturday or Monday. The only problem I had with escaping was when Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara all wanted to do a sleepover with me. The Moms and Aunts helped me out with that by negotiating a sleepover at our house for Saturday night instead. Problem solved; and I expected at least one sleepover night anyway.

Mom and Dad used our departure as an early out for them too; so Michael and I helped to get Ethan, Ehlana, and a few bags and boxes full of empty dishes, leftovers, and the rest of the gear they'd taken along for the barbeque and swimming. After doing that, Michael ran home to change into a swimsuit. He was back, and we were already swimming by the time Tim and Rowen joined us. There was a reason why they were both smiling and later than we'd expected; but I didn't get the details about that until Rowen and I had a little computer chat once we were both in bed for the night.

Once we were together again, we had fun playing in the water for about a half hour before getting dried off; throwing shorts and shirts on; and going for a long walk. We went down to the falls first, but it was fairly busy there, so after staying long enough to talk with some of our friends; we wandered over to the park to wander around on the trails there instead. There were some teens hanging out there too, but they were mostly hanging out around the playground, pavilion, and along the river. There wasn't anyone else around the bike trails at the far end of the park; and that was exactly the kind of isolation we were looking for – both so we could all talk together, and for a little couples-only time that Tim and Rowen weren't doing just for us anymore. They won't admit that publicly; but the smiles are all the evidence I need – even without picking up any empathic signals.

We were all home again by a bit after midnight, with Tim being the last to get to his house after walking Rowen home first. Michael and I did our goodnight kisses on his front porch; and I was on my front porch by the time Rowen was standing on hers; watching Tim walking toward Witch Falls Road and oblivious to my wave; or anything else going on around us. I needed to deal with a few things before coming up to my room; including taking care of the wet towels that we'd left out on the back porch. I was still changed and in bed by twelve-thirty; and had that little chat with Rowen while doing my usual nightly computing.

She and Tim were late because she'd gone with him around to his house while he got changed into a swimsuit; had talked with his parents for a while; and then they'd moved on to her house so she could get changed too. That explained most of the delay, but the smiles were because they'd managed to sneak a kiss in the kitchen when getting cold drinks to go – a scary, thrilling moment for Rowen with her parents nearby in the living room; and her brother upstairs. They didn't get caught, though if Patricia saw them smiling like they were when they caught up with us; Patricia would have had some suspicions.

Rowen is as tired as I am, so we didn't chat for long; and since that's the last bit of news for today; I'm ready to put my computer away and get some sleep – we do have our big game coming up in just about eleven hours. Hopefully we'll be able to have a really great start to the last day of August with another baseball championship!

That thought, and some happy memories with Michael to take with me into dreamland, is just what I need for a happy sleep; so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Congratulations, Heather and Adam Green!

They won't know why they should – and will – be celebrating yet; but Mom and I bumped into Heather today; and there is going to be a new addition to the Green family next spring.

We – Landry's Leopards – won our division Championship today too; but new babies deserve top billing in my updates. Before I end up mixing the events of the day around; let's just start from the beginning.

Tai Chi by the river was a nice, quiet way to begin the day, and I liked having Michael with us for breakfast before he needed to go home again and get started on his to-do list. While I'd finished most of my chores, there was still other work to do around the house and yard; and I helped Mom and Dad with all of that until it was time for me to grab a shower, meet up with Rowen, and get to the park for our team warm-ups ahead of our big game.

Palmer's Panthers were the home team, so they had that advantage; but there wasn't any doubt as to which team had the best cheerleading squad – thanks to my aunts, sister, and cousins. Aunt Leanne wasn't doing much jumping around in the heat, but Aunt Grace had some help with junior cheerleader support; and even Rowen's Mom joined in for a while when she stopped in to catch the last half of the game while taking a late lunch so she could do that before getting back to the busy store.

Other than having a pair of very fired up leaders, there isn't anything special to report from the warm-ups. The action on the field warmed up fast; and my hit helped Carolyn with half of the two RBI's she earned for our team with her first-pitch double – though those were the only runs we scored in the top of the first. We were happy with that until the Panthers scored three in their half of the inning; and then we knew that they'd come to play to win too. We took the lead back in the second; held it until the bottom of the fourth; and earned it back to keep in the top of the sixth after tying the Panthers in the fifth, before they took the lead again in their half of that inning. Our two-run lead didn't look all that safe when the Panthers started their last at-bat; but Rowen caught a pop fly for the first out; we gave up two base hits; and then I helped turn a double play on a bouncing line drive that shocked all of us a bit with how suddenly that play ended the game. Final score: seventeen to fifteen!

Rowen and I did and didn't have time to celebrate our championship game with. We did the team meet-and-greet with the Panthers; and I spent some time consoling our disappointed friends – and getting razzed a bit about being too responsible for their loss. We stayed for the on-field celebration with our team, and had time to thank our cheerleaders and families; but then we grabbed drinks and snacks from Mom's dwindling supply and hurried over to the other ball diamond in time for the start of the Wranglers-Ranchers game. We didn't have a cheerleading squad with us because my sister and cousins had had enough of baseball and hot for a while by then; but Rowen and I did our best to motivate Michael and Tim – starting with good luck hugs and kisses before the game.

Yes, Rowen was in on those hugs and kisses; though she only went with kisses on the cheek for both boys after following my lead. She and Tim both teased Michael and me about why Michael's good luck kiss from me was so much more personal than the kiss I'd given to Tim; but then we'd also earned some whistles and teasing from the players on both teams and a handful of spectators too. I can live with all of that because Michael and Tim were happy to have us there; and they were definitely fired up and ready to play too. Missing our own team celebration was worth that; and the Wranglers and Ranchers played a pretty good game too.

Our cheerleading was a bit muted at first as Rowen and I rested up a bit after our game, but we were still up and cheering for the Wranglers with every big play. They were the home team, so being able to take that break was an option for us during a fairly quiet first inning. The Ranchers only managed to score one run in the top of the inning; and the Wranglers could only manage to match them during their first at-bat. I don't know if having Rebecca join Rowen and me for a while helped our team or not; but they were ahead five-to-three by the end of the third inning when Rebecca went back to the Inn to help with the dinner rush.

Rowen and I were on our own until the top of the fifth inning; when Dad dropped Ehlana and Ethan off with us so they could catch the end of the game while he and Mom went to help out with the pre-dinner work for the family barbeque. The Wranglers had added three more runs in the fourth; and were temporarily ahead by three runs until the Ranchers pulled to within one run during their half of the fifth. Having Ehlana run over and give him a big hug and kiss when the Wranglers were getting ready for their turn at bat definitely helped Michael get fired up again – proven by the double he belted deep into right field when it was his turn at bat – earning an RBI; and then scoring from third on a base hit after being advanced by a sacrifice out. The Wranglers scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth; and the game ended when the Ranchers could only manage one more run in the top of the sixth. Final score: eleven-to-eight for the Wranglers.

In addition to Michael's contributions to the team score in the bottom of the fifth, he had a total of three hits; and played some role in four of the runs scored. He also was in on the defensive plays for five of the outs they earned against the Ranchers. Tim's game stats were fairly similar, though he was in on one more earned run; and one less defensive out.

Rowen and I waited with our junior cheerleaders while Michael and Tim did the usual post-game, on-field celebration; and then we were able to spend a few minutes with them before they needed to go with their team; and we needed to get to the family barbeque. That was a too-short little blast of fun; but I still loved getting to share even that little bit of time with Michael before we'd be apart for the rest of the day.

We were the last members of the family to get to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for dinner; partly because we made stops at my house and Rowen's on our way there. Dinner was basically ready by then, but she and I hopped into the river to cool off and get rid of the worst of the baseball dust and dirt first while the parents and grandparents were getting the younger kids rounded up and ready to eat too. They were using Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's back yard too; and cooking had been going on at both houses; so it felt like the dinner action was spread out tonight while groups of people moved between the two houses and around the back yards.

Rowen and I were put at a table with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, Nicole, Ehlana, and Naomi. The Seagers were on the guest list with the other members of the Ayres' family; and Liz was not working late after a busy morning and afternoon at the salon with Vicky. Liz was really happy today because she's basically done with full-time work at the salon for a while now except for helping out with the holiday sales on Monday that will be more about selling products than styling hair – though there will be a bit of that too.

Patrick and Scott were there too, and sat at a 'guys' table with Ethan, Jayden, Eddie, and some other guys. Rowen's parents weren't able to join the party until a bit after seven; but Aunt Leanne kept food hot for them; and they ate while the clean-up crew was working after dinner and the grandparents were busy with kid control. Since Rowen and I had escaped all of the afternoon work, we were willingly drafted to help with that work; and spent nearly an hour doing everything from washing and drying dishes to putting tables and chairs away.

Before I get on with the report on the evening entertainment and campfire; this is probably a good spot for a family update.

Let's start with babies and pregnant women. Robyn Johnson is now six months old; and she's really growing fast! Her cousin, Leah, is just a bit more than two months behind her, and that's a lot at their ages; but they still spent a lot of time together – and with their parents and grandparents. I'm sure that closeness in age will be as cool for them as it is for Ethan and Jayden. Aunt Leanne and Liz had fun talking babies tonight, and while Liz may be due first; Aunt Leanne is only half-joking about wishing that she could move her due date up a month too.

We can't have that – it would totally mess up all of the early birthday present jokes if my cousin gets here too early! (The nine months ago kind of early birthday present.)

I can appreciate that the hot weather hasn't been as much fun for any of my favorite pregnant women lately, and that's why Aunt Leanne and Liz spent most of the post-dinner evening indoors; relaxing in the living room; and being waited on hand and foot – literally, if you include the foot massages.

Moving on to the rest of the family news; Rob and Trish hadn't come this weekend; but we got the latest updates for them – and most of the news from the McEwan family too; though I get a lot of that from Christina with her email updates. Rob and Trish are happily plugging away in the junior ranks for their respective employers; and enjoying the married life. Tory and Kyle have started their Masters Degree year at college, and will be busy with that – and getting ready for their wedding next June. Michelle is in her third year at college; has definitely picked teaching as a career; and there may be a serious guy in her life now. There isn't any new news for Christina; but the Johnson family girls are quite interested in her blossoming romance with home-town boy Josiah Palmer.

For the younger kids, Kaitlyn and Kara were probably the most excited about school because they're both starting Grade One this year. Jaimie will be in Grade Three; and while they're not here this weekend, I know that Martin is as fired up about starting high school this year as Rebecca and Jenny are; Dawn and Jillian are ready for Grade Seven; and Chris is more interested in driving cars than starting Grade Eleven now that he's counting down the weeks until he'll be sixteen, and hopefully will pass the test so he can drive on his own. There will not be a brand new car in the driveway for his birthday; but rumor has it that the Rice family may be adopting a used car this fall for the boys to use that will be somewhat better than the bumper cars Uncle Rick keeps joking about getting for them.

There was the usual adult news too, but let's just skip all of that boring and get back to the fun parts of the report. Rowen and I went for another swim after the clean-up was finished; and we had lots of kid company for that. We had a bit of time after that to run around and play until the campfire started; and then I was ready to settle down and enjoy the stories, music, and toasted munchies for a while. Some cuddle time with Michael would have been nice too; but he hadn't planned on trying to add some late-night campfire action to his day after getting done at the Inn; and his parents and sister didn't come over either.

We weren't having a late night with that anyway; mostly because Rowen and I were among the oldest kids at the campfire. Mom and Dad started getting ready to go home by shortly before eleven; and Rowen and I helped to get Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Jayden, Kara, and Nicole ready to come home with us for their sleepover. That included getting overnight bags packed and doing goodnight hugs and kisses with the adults; but we managed to be home before eleven-thirty. Mom and Dad took care of Ethan, Jayden, Ehlana, and Nicole from there while Rowen and I had custody of the older girls. It took until after midnight to get them changed; take turns in the bathrooms; and have them settled onto the sectional sofa with pillows and blankets. I put a movie on to watch; but Kaitlyn was sleeping by twelve-thirty; Jaimie and Kara weren't far behind her; and Rowen and I were able to move into my room and climb into bed with Mandy by one o'clock.

After all of the work, baseball games, and play time; we're tired too, but needed some girl chat time while I got started on my nightly computing. Rowen mostly wanted to talk about what we're going to do tomorrow afternoon and evening – especially in relation to whether we'll get to spend much time with Michael and Tim. Doing that while juggling family plans for all four of us may not work out very well; but I do hope we can find some time to play together – and go to the dance together tomorrow night too.

Hopefully that will all work out for us, and make for as great a start to September as today has been for an end to August. That is all I have for tonight, and we really do need to get some sleep so we'll be ready for another big family play day; so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

September 2013

Sunday, September 1, 2013

We had some rain roll into the area while we were sleeping, and it was still raining when it was time for Tai Chi; so we exercised indoors. Michael came over for that, but then needed to get home again to have breakfast with his parents and sister; and help out with the work they were doing to get ready for the party at the park.

I needed to help out with that work here too, but Rowen and I also were kept busy taking care of Ethan, Ehlana, and my cousins too – getting them fed and dressed for a play day at the park. The church service was at ten o'clock today; and the 'game-time' decision to go ahead with the service in the park was made when the rain pretty much ended by eight o'clock. The ground was a bit wet still, but that worked out better for everyone who was also working around the park to get everything set up for the food and game booths – and take care of some last-minute grooming of the baseball diamonds.

That made for a crazy few hours of nearly non-stop action; ending with the start of the church service after Rowen and I had been the herdmasters getting the younger kids to the park while Mom and Dad drove the truckload of food and supplies there and dealt with that before joining us during the music the teens were leading to warm-up the congregation ahead of the service.

Pastor John is officially employed now, and though the teens did most of the work today; he delivered the short message that was included instead of a full sermon on holiday weekends; and led two of the prayers. I get to read and hear about all kinds of charity work through our family business; but it's going to be cool to hear all of the stories Pastor John and Stacey have from their years of mission work as we get to know them better. We should invite them to a dinner and a movie night sometime soon too; since Rebekkah will be growing up with Leah – and with Aunt Leanne's baby.

Michael had already been at the park by the time we got there; and he was busy helping his parents; but sat with me during the service. The next hour and a half was a blast of energized music and fun; and sharing the music part of that with Michael is even better now. The one difference that I really noticed today, though, was the absence of the graduated high school seniors; and the addition of the new Grade Nine students – including Rebecca and Jenny. Neither of them is really into performing music, but they seemed to be having fun with the skits they were involved with; and they joined in for the worship songs that were performed by the entire teen troupe.

It was nearly eleven-thirty when the service ended, and Michael stayed with us while we got everything organized for lunch. Rowen was juggling family time too, so she had lunch with her parents, brother, and their families; while Michael and I were having lunch with mine and dinner with his family mostly because my Mom and Dad were scheduled to help at a food booth during dinner.

We had Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara with us to help with our food booth assignment at lunch; and we were all loaded down with trays of fries and drinks to distribute while other groups of parents, grandparents, and kids had been busy with getting other food options – like burgers, hot dogs, and a selection of different home-cooked foods and salads. The younger guys, including Ethan, wanted to hang out with Michael while we ate; and I had most of the younger girls with me. Having a cheerleading competition with Miranda would have been fun, but I liked having the day off this year too. We had our noon meal at the ball diamond, but since our team wasn't playing; we picked a spot well down the line into the deep outfield. Most of us didn't feel the need to watch the entire game either, and Michael and I left to meet up with Rowen and Tim after we finished eating. The Gas Guzzlers eventually won the co-ed championship over the Big Shots by a score of nineteen to sixteen, and Michael's Uncle and Aunt were happy that one of the teams they'd sponsored this season had earned a win; but we didn't even catch that bit of news until dinnertime.

Just as a quick aside, those championship awards usually end up being prominently displayed at the sponsor businesses; and there's more to that side of the competition than I really pay any attention to at all. I have noticed that some business owners take the whole thing more seriously than others; and it isn't surprising to me at all that Miranda and her brothers are among the most competitive – as are the Landrys and Sheldons.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I spent the afternoon together, and had some time to hang out on our own; but we spent more time with our families in a series of cameo play visits. We got involved in a little co-ed football scrimmage with Tim's family; followed that up with a river swim with mine; moved on to some game booth action with Michael's parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins; and we were drafted for a volleyball game by Rowen's parents. We had time for one swim on our own – though that was relatively speaking when there were lots of people cooling off in the river all afternoon and evening.

Grandma and Grandpa would have taken Ethan and Ehlana for dinner while Mom and Dad were busy, but they wanted to come with Michael and me instead; so we took custody of them when Mom and Dad went to work their shift at one of the charity food booths. Since the Stone family was hanging out with the Bassetts, they had Sophia to play with while we ate; and Michael and I had Jessica and Ryan with us most of the time too. We had some teen support for that, and Michael and I had as much fun with Rebecca, Erica Bassett, and Caleb Palmer as we all did with the younger kids. Between getting the food, eating, and then helping with the park clean-up; Michael and I spent two hours with his family; and that pretty much took us through to the start of the dance.

Rowen and Tim had been with their own families again during dinner, but they were together when they came by to collect Michael and me on their way to the dance. I'm sure that they just happened to bump into each other along the way; since they couldn't possibly have gone looking for each other first. ;^)

I liked going to dances before dating Michael, but I'm learning to love them a lot now. The payback for my youthful pranks on Violet and Dillon is still going on, but Michael and I had fun when Ethan and Ehlana cut in on us a couple of times; and we had some dances with other members of our families – including his parents and mine. I don't know about him, but dancing with both of our fathers was way too wedding-like for my comfort even if it was fun too.

Rowen and Tim still aren't 'a couple', but they sure resembled one during the slow dances they shared. I wasn't sure whether Tim was even going to ask her to dance at first, but that changed about a minute after she was asked to dance by a cute boy who was showing way too much interest in my best friend for Tim's liking. Rowen was very happy to dance with him after that; and the four of us were together for most of the up-tempo songs.

For once, I can report that there was minimal personal tweeird going on tonight. Vanessa and Nora were keeping an eye us tonight, and Nora was particularly interested whenever Tim and Rowen were dancing together; but they were also getting some attention from a total of five guys; and seemed to be enjoying themselves most of the time. Maybe there's hope for peace and harmony in the Grade Eight classroom this year after all!

There was other teen action going on worth reporting, though. This is Joel's last night in town, and according to Rebecca; he and Jenny had disappeared a few times today – including an early departure from the dance. I was only in close proximity to them once, and while they were both acting like they were handling the impending separation; I know that Joel was totally faking the cool. Jenny's outlook and emotions regarding boys and dating continue to be worlds-apart from my own perceptions, but I wasn't surprised to pick up no sense at all of loss or pain from her – there was really only a desire to have one last night of fun with Joel mixed in with excitement and anticipation for the imminent start of her high school adventures.

Rebecca was getting a fair bit of attention from the boys tonight; including from locals, visiting family, and teen tourists. I won't comment on why so many teenage boys think that small town girls would be interested in one-night flings on the last holiday weekend of the summer; but I have to wonder if word has gotten around about Josiah and Christina this summer; inspiring – or emboldening – some of the teen cousins. That could work both ways, I suppose, but I didn't see any of the home-town teens making any moves on any 'outsiders' – just the responses to the flirting and invitations to dance or go for walks. Getting back to Rebecca's specific case, she danced with a few different boys, but she only did that once with each of them; and she spent the rest of the time hanging out with some of her friends and family – including some visits with us.

The cute award of the night goes to Naomi for 'asking' Ethan to dance with her. They both needed to play normal toddlers in public, so the dancing wasn't very good; but Naomi earned bonus comedy points for refusing to give up her dance partner when Aunt Leanne tried to cut in. I really love getting to watch my little brother, sister, and their friends grow up together; and I'm sure that will be nearly as much fun with my cousins.

While I didn't feel the need to escape the park and dance early this year, Ethan and Ehlana are still young; and Mom and Dad were ready to start packing up and heading home before the dance was over – at about the same time that Aunt Leanne had hit her fun limit for the day. Michael and I joined in to help out with the work; rounding up my cousins; and getting everyone and everything to our respective homes. Rowen and Tim had stayed at the dance, but it was nearly over by the time we had Ethan and Ehlana in bed; so Michael and I opted for a bedtime swim and riverside chat instead of trying to meet up with them for what little time we had left before Michael needed to be home and getting some sleep ahead of what was sure to be a crazy-busy day at the Inn with breakfast and dinner buffets basically running one after the next all day.

Mom and Dad had done the goodnight hugs and kisses with us before we went outside and they went to bed, so all was quiet at my house as we quietly played in the water for a while and then cuddled on one of the benches and wound down from the busy, fun day. We admired the stars; talked a bit about the action at the park and a fair bit about going back to school on Tuesday. We're both excited about that, and though we didn't get much time to spend with our friends today – other than Rowen and Tim – I was reminded that we'll get to see our 'country kid' friends every weekday again. WE always have good intentions about doing stuff together during the summer; but then life gets in the way and we run out of time before actually doing much of anything except birthday parties.

Michael went home at eleven-thirty – earlier than we'd have liked; but later than he should have when an early wake-up call was in his near future. I came up to my room; took care of my still-wet hair so it wouldn't be a total disaster by morning; got ready for bed; and then cuddled with Mandy and my computer so I could get started on my nightly email, news, entertainment, and sports checks. While I was working on that and dealing with some family business project requests, Rowen checked in with me and we had a little virtual chat. She and Tim had split up after the dance to help their own families with gathering their day-camp gear and getting everything home; but he had apparently also managed to steal a goodnight kiss moment with her too not long before the end of the dance. That, and the dancing with him, had made her a very happy camper; so we've been talking right through to right now.

I'm finished my work, and it's heading toward one o'clock; so we both need to shut down and get some sleep. While we don't have any weekend guests here tonight, there is still the morning shopping adventure to rest up for; and I'll probably go over to Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark's house after breakfast to help out with the packing to go home work there so we'll have more time for those big Labor Day sales. We're going to the noon buffet at the Inn so that our aunts, uncles, and cousins can be on the road home in good time; so it's sure to be non-stop action pretty much from the time we wake up until the family and tourist exodus begins.

A nap may be an option after that, but then I'm also seriously thinking about helping out at the Inn for a while too so that I can spend some time with Michael – and with Miranda on her birthday; so that might not happen.

Rowen just agreed with me about getting some sleep, and has signed off; so it's time for me to wrap this up and call it a night too. While I'm thinking about signing off, it's the first day of September; we're about to start a new school year; and I should come up with a new journal ending line. Since I'm starting the new school year with a boyfriend; let's go with something I'm sure he'd find entertaining. Since he is such a big fan of the movies; it works for me.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Happy Birthday, Miranda!

I wish Miranda could have had the day off to actually celebrate her birthday, but that wasn't an option when they were getting about a normal fall week or two worth of business in one day at the Inn. The only break she was able to get on her special day was a get-out-of-clean-up card for the work after the last buffet of the day was wrapping up – at about eight o'clock; and after a fourteen-hour shift.

Compared to that, my day was all fun and games – though I was at the Inn a lot this afternoon and evening too; and I stayed until the work was done and everyone was able to go home.

Michael went to the Inn with his parents and sister this morning; so it felt a bit strange not having him with us for Tai Chi by the river. We went with a light workout today, and followed that up with a quick and easy breakfast that was really just a snack to hold us over to the noon buffet. After eating and getting ready for the day, I took Ethan and Ehlana with me to Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house so we could spend some time with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden while they were getting ready to head home. Their SUV was loaded by the time we were to meet up with everyone shortly after the stores opened for the last big shopping day before Thanksgiving.

While our cousins drove over to Witch Falls Road, Ethan, Ehlana, and I walked; and we collected Rowen at the computer store on our way to the designated spot in front of Palmer's where our family was meeting before splitting up again into mostly guy or girl shopping groups. Rowen and I were with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and some of the Moms and Grandmothers. Ehlana was with the younger girls and babies; and the rest of the adult girls. It felt strange to not have Violet and Dawn with us too; but the shopping and girl time was still just as much fun as always. Our available time seemed way too short too; and it was time to meet at the Inn for the buffet lunch long before we were ready to stop playing dress-up.

Mom and Dad had brought the minivan with them so we'd have someplace to put our purchases without needing to make a trip home before lunch, and that worked out great for me; since I didn't end up going home until mid-afternoon anyway. The buffet was as awesome as always, and I loved that last hour and a half blast of fun with my family and friends. It was as busy at the Inn as I'd ever seen it, and even Miranda looked like she was feeling the stress; so after eating and going outside to say goodbye to the Proctor and Johnson families that were leaving; I went back into the Inn and joined the work crew in the kitchen.

Nearly everyone may have been feeling the stress, but I loved working with Michael, Rebecca, and the rest of the teens; and I was able to help raise the fun level – even if half of that was because there were lots of opportunities for teasing Michael and me. I hadn't actually been helping out for very long when Michael had his first afternoon break about fifteen minutes after the second buffet sitting started. We went for a swim at my house so we could do that with Ethan and Ehlana; and then we had a little visit with Mom and Dad in the office until we needed to get back to the Inn to help with the main part of the second buffet clean-up and set-up for the third round.

It's non-stop action in the kitchen even when there are small lulls in the dining room as the flow of food and drinks moves from first drinks and trips to the buffet tables to desserts and after-dinner beverages. Michael and I worked through the third buffet and into the start of the fourth and final dinner round; and then we had another break so that we could go for another swim and then get something to eat before getting back to work in time for the big, end-of-day clean-up.

Miranda was sent home with plans to have a nice long soak in the bathtub; but Jacob stayed until the dining room and kitchen were cleaned to his satisfaction; and everything was set-up and ready to go for the breakfast rush in the morning that was likely to be busier than usual because of first day of school celebrations by kid-free parents. Before I move on, I haven't written anything about the cameo birthday moments that Miranda was able to have scattered here and there around all of the work. There were gifts for her to open at least a dozen times throughout the day – including the presents that Michael and I had picked up for her while in Crystal Springs. Her parents, brothers, and their families all stopped in for visits and to drop off gifts too; and there was a fun little phone call with Jake and Stephanie that included opening the gift they'd sent for her and that Jacob had held until they could make that long-distance connection during a lull in the action.

It was after ten o'clock by the time I got home, but there was a little stop at Michael's house on the way home for a short visit with his parents and sister – and a goodnight kiss on the front porch – before I was ready to say goodbye to Michael until morning. Mom and Dad were still in the office when I got back, but Dad was just finishing up a couple of little jobs after they'd taken a break to do a lesson with Ethan and Ehlana and followed that up with a full bath and bedtime routine. I gave them the condensed report from the Inn, and then Mom came up to my room with me to help me with getting ready for my first day on Grade Eight.

That mostly involved a little mother-daughter chat while we picked out what I was going to wear. Since I was starting that later than I should have; I used a little Magi power to get my bags packed with the usual gear. My saxophone got a quick, Magi-powered polish too; and I had everything ready by the time Dad stopped in to say goodnight and take Mom to bed. Let's leave that thought right there and move along.

After a lot of hot hours at the Inn – and not the kind of hot that I'm not thinking about right now in relation to my parents – I seriously needed some Jacuzzi time; so I've been doing my nightly computing while in the tub; and kicked everything into a time-phase so I still have a chance at getting a decent amount of sleep.

I really didn't want the mental picture of hot, parents, and that kind of action in relation to time-phase applications; but it happened anyway, and now I'm seriously wishing that not thinking about soft, cuddly bunnies still worked on me.

That's certainly not the kind of thought I want to wrap up this journal entry with either, so let's discuss the week ahead before calling it a night. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, but I also need to get back to my usual nightly archive and language studies. I'm going to spend the rest of this year learning a few of the Sino-Tibetan Chinese languages; and I definitely need to find a way to kick up my archive work a few notches too; though I'm starting to feel the pressure of juggling everything more all of the time – especially now that I really want to hang out with Michael a lot too on top of everything else I have on the go.

I don't know when band will be starting yet, but we'll have that to do too; game night at the Inn begins again on Thursday; and dinner and a movie night should be back to normal soon too. Rowen and I are going to need to change our work-play schedule; but we'll wait to find out about things like band practice first before making any decisions on that. The good news for here will be that the computer store business will slow down a fair bit after this week until Thanksgiving; and the store won't be open on Sundays either.

We should have some comparatively quiet weekends coming up for the rest of September, but that's a good thing; since I may need more weekend time to do my family business work and 'real' studies if everyday life during the work week gets too busy. I can't run for weeks at a time on just a few hours of sleep a night; and we've already established the downside risks of using time-phasing too often can have on a Magi Master tween. I'm really not in such a big hurry to grow up that I want to do it years faster than normal. I'm writing that while in a time-phased soak in my Jacuzzi and nightly computing multi-tasking session.

How ironic!

That flow of thoughts does suggest that it's time to finish this – and my bath – and get ready for bed. I have no idea whether I'm about to start a best-year-eve-so-far of school tomorrow or not, but I do have a pretty good feeling about it; and that's usually a really good sign.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Happy 1st kid-freedom day of the school year to all of the lucky parents!

With twins at home, Mom isn't in that group of celebrants, and with Alicia back at school too; she actually has more work to do now instead of less.

We've had beautiful weather for our first day back in classes; but it started out fairly cool this morning – the first real break in the heat and humidity in a while. Tai Chi by the river was a bit chilly; while feeling just a little more special because it was the first school-day workout that Michael and I did together. Though his parents were already at the Inn; Michael didn't stay with us for breakfast because he still had things to get done before meeting up with Rowen and me to walk to school.

Mom had picked up Olde Bakery muffins, bagels, and croissants to have this morning instead of doing a big breakfast; and made up a fresh fruit salad to go with that while I was grabbing a shower and getting dressed up and ready for school. Ehlana came upstairs and talked with me while I did my hair through until I was ready to carry my bags and saxophone downstairs. Our breakfast chat was mostly about school and work. Dad teased me about not slacking off now that I had a boyfriend to distract me because he really liked posting all of my perfect report cards on the wall in his law office. He just wishes that he could post the unofficial report cards for Ethan and Ehlana too. They'll be starting their Grade Twelve studies this week, but Mom hasn't decided on a schedule yet; and they are going to be too busy with post-holiday weekend work and errands to start that today.

Yes, I've been there; but it still feels strange that they're High School seniors while I'm in Grade Eight. I wouldn't change any of that even though Mom and I aren't hiding anymore – even though it isn't always fun playing 'normal' tween.

Let's move along to the school part of the report. Rowen, Michael, and Rebecca all met up with me here. I was on the front porch by then doing the goodbye hugs and kisses with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. The twins had bonus hugs and kisses for my friends; Dad took a couple of pictures with his phone to send around to friends and family; and Michael and I were teased a bit when we needed a minute to figure out how to juggle our bags and saxophone cases so that we could hold hands too.

This is a good spot to mention back-to-school fashion thoughts; and the first one I had while walking to school was that Rebecca was going to be the hottest girl in the Grade Nine class; and she can do that without wearing tiny little dresses, low-cut tops, or micro shorts. Michael was appropriately happy with how I looked today, but Rebecca's his sister; so it probably never occurred to him that she's still far enough ahead of Rowen and me on the development curve to be extremely noticeable to anyone who is paying attention. There were lots of guys and girls paying attention to Rebecca too; and the move up to high school student meant that she was getting new attention from older high school boys who wouldn't even consider girls in Grade Seven or Eight as potential girlfriend material.

For our year, I'll modestly suggest that Rowen and I managed to make an impression – or at least we were able to impress the boys we wanted to get dressed up for today. Except for a handful of rebels without a cause who were making various, irrelevant social statements; every kid and teen was dressed up or at least in new school clothes today. I seriously doubt that Michael and Tim helped each other pick out clothes; but I think that they won the guy side of the fashion contest for our class; and they both look really great in casual-dress khakis and collarless dress shirts. I'm going to give Nora and Vanessa the edge for the girls; mostly because they managed to pull off looking really good in clothes that I'd never even dream of wearing.

Since we're back to school on a Tuesday, we started out with the Day Two schedule; though our classes were shortened so that we could have a longer home room period and deal with things like locker assignments and locks. I may be one of only a few kids in our class who will think that our Day Two classes are the best since we'll also have English, Science, and Geography; but we get to start the morning with Music and will have Computer class right after lunch, so I'm going to love that.

Having Uncle Nick – Mr. Ayres – for our teacher may be stranger than I expected. Sure, he's one of our youngest teachers, and very handsome; but I've definitely never looked at him the way some of the girls in our class are watching him with big eyes and dreamy smiles. The guys are being normal tweens and playing it cool; but I think that Uncle Nick is off to a good start with most of them too. Tim razzed me about never being able to get away with anything this year with my Uncle teaching us; and then he teased me about never doing anything that Uncle Nick could take home to Mom and Dad anyway.

When we finally got to start our classes and head for the music room; Michael, Rowen, and I found out that band practices were going to start next Tuesday after school. That'll work out great for Michael; since it's one of his days off anyway. Tim wasn't particularly interested in joining the band, but I think he did wish that he could be hanging out with us even if he isn't into playing music as much as we are. Mrs. Robinson gave us a quick review of the Grade Eight course outline; and then we got to spend the rest of the time playing some new music. Getting to do that with my boyfriend sitting next to me put a whole new spin on the fun for both of us; and that was enough to keep me smiling through English and Science classes.

Lunchtime was fun too; though there was some tweeird too that started when Michael and Tim led Rowen and me to the 'couples club' table. The fun came from sitting next to Michael and holding his hand a lot; being readily accepted into the group even though there were some of our friends looking surprised – especially when Rowen sat with Tim across the table from Michael and me; and talking with friends like Sally and Joshua after not seeing them much all summer. That break was shortened too, and then it was on to Computers, Health, and Geography classes for the afternoon.

There were some first day back relationship issues going on today, and the only one I'll specifically mention here is between one of my classmates, Allen, and his girlfriend, Molly. She's in Grade Nine with Rebecca and Jenny; and she's quickly realizing that it's tough having a younger boyfriend when making the move up to high school. From what I sensed today; I'll guess that Allen will be joining the Grade Eight singles group very soon. That leads nicely into the more general topic of available tweens and teens in our class.

Though they are single too, I'm going to exclude Tim and Rowen; since they're only interested in each other right now even if they're not openly acknowledging that yet. Not including them – or Allen – we have seven singles. While dating older boys or girls isn't completely out of the question, it also isn't all that common for the Grade Eight-Nine gap; so the dating pool is a third or more smaller than usual. That's probably why the games have already begun today. There are more girls than guys; and nobody wants to be left standing alone when the music stops. Only having two guys and five girls in that group of seven makes that micro singles scene even stranger.

I hadn't really thought about that in context with what's been going on with Vanessa and Nora over the past few months, but since Rowen and I had been the only girls in our class who had never dated before; the prospect of having no dating options for the next year or more. Yes, Tim is technically a third single guy, but Nora won't be getting back together with him; I doubt that Vanessa would consider dating her best friend's ex; and that leaves him with a fairly limited dating pool too – with Rowen being best in class by a lot in my humble opinion.

The point I'm getting at, though, is that there is going to be at least one or two girls trading places with Rowen and me in the odd-girl-out singles club. The big difference will be in the fact that our membership was voluntary. Dating in big, city schools has challenges too, but even an inter-school relationship in small towns is long-distance and tough to work out except for older teens who can drive. With that in mind, I really hope Vanessa and Nora find new boyfriends soon; or I'm likely going to be on their verbal hit list for a while.

None of that action really affected my day, and with the shortened class times; it seemed like a very short afternoon. We had the usual blast of first-day homework assignments, and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did that work together; but we needed to do extra after-school visits first before doing that at my house. Michael and Tim checked in at the auto shop while Rowen and I stopped to see her parents at the computer store. Miranda and Jacob were home by then; though they'd worked half of their day off at the Inn; and the rest of it doing chores around the house with no kid support. We all stopped in to see them, and Rebecca and Jenny were there already; so we got to hear about their first day of high school too before moving on.

I was snacked-out by then, but Michael and Tim were happy to help Ethan and Ehlana out with some Olde Bakery treats while we did one last daily recap. All of that running around and chat time meant that we didn't start our homework until it was already past four-thirty. Getting to study with Michael and Tim was great, but Rowen and I did have to trade that off against doing our homework as quickly as we're able to do it. By the time we finished our assignments, we didn't have any play time left before needing to split up for dinner; but we did make plans to get together and go to the park after having our meals.

Mom and Dad had Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam over for dinner; and my school report was only part of the entertainment. They weren't having another future plans meeting; but Mom and Aunt Leanne did start putting together their school and work week schedules – at least through until Aunt Leanne will be off with her new baby. Mom does have meetings coming up this week with Miranda, Aunt Grace, Sharon Palmer, and Nancy Emerson; but she's tentatively hoping to make Tuesdays her work and charity meetings day so that she can put the twins in KidZone full days every Tuesday for that; and on Fridays so she can do her shopping and errands.

Every time I start thinking that I'm too busy; I'll try to remember that Mom has to run our family business; keep a cover job going; take care of three kids; do her own ongoing studying and training; teach Grade Twelve high school to twins; and keep up with Magi lessons for a dozen or more students.

I'm thinking that right now because it's going on three o'clock in the morning; and it's been a really long day. My schedule is going to need some work too if I want to figure out how to juggle everything without either using time-phasing regularly or going with two or three hours of sleep a day. Both of those options aren't very good.

I was on the after-dinner clean-up crew tonight, so Rowen stopped in to get me on her way to Michael's house. Tim was already there when we brought Ethan and Ehlana along and joined them. We started our play time at the park with some football action. That was hardly my personal preference, but there was a scrimmage game already in progress; and Michael and Tim were quite happy to be drafted. Ethan wanted to watch them play for a while, so we joined the group of kid and teen spectators. Michael made sure that Ethan got to have a special football moment for one of the plays, and after a half hour or so; Rowen and I were able to move on to the playground with Ethan and Ehlana until Michael and Tim were finished playing with their friends.

That didn't actually leave us much time to hang out together. We needed to have the twins home by eight; Michael, Tim, and Rowen all needed to be home by nine on most school nights; and we had Ethan and Ehlana hanging out with us in the lounge until Mom came to get them from us at eight-thirty. That last twenty minutes went by way too fast, and the short little goodnight hug and kiss Michael and I were able to share after Rowen and Tim started walking toward her house wasn't all that I'd hoped it would be; but Michael needed to get home too – and I had a lot of work waiting for me when I went back inside.

First up was the bedtime story with Ethan and Ehlana. After doing that and helping to tuck them in for the night; Mom did a long Magi lesson with me and gave me the full, normal archive homework to go along with the lesson. So much for having my Magi teacher take it easy on me for the first day back to school! I seriously needed to get to work after that, so the goodnight hugs and kisses with Mom and Dad were short too; and then I came up to my room and got to work.

Since then, I've spent two hours in the archives; another hour on the family business; and multi-tasked my first lessons in the Sino-Tibetan language of Wu. It's more accurate to say that Wu is a dialect family, and while I've known Chinese since I was a toddler; the variations in some dialect families are sometimes so wide that even communicating between the different languages isn't possible. That makes it a bit like learning a whole bunch of new languages; but I do have some advantages that make doing that easier for me.

It is still a lot of work, and that's one of the reasons I stayed up late to get a good start on the new language group I'll be studying for the next few months. I won't bore you with the details about languages that you'll likely never need to know anything about; and I'm ready to get some sleep anyway so I can be ready for our first Day One schedule classes. Michael will be back to work tomorrow, but we're still going to work out a way to do most of our studying together; so we will get to spend some time together before he's busy helping out in the kitchen or after he's finished there for the night. I'll guess that the parents will take the homework first position on that choice. Hopefully Michael won't get razzed too much on the days that we have to do our goodnight kisses at the Inn before I go home!

That sounds like a perfect thought to head off to sleep with; so I'm going to wrap this up and get started on that nap.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Our Day Two schedule is definitely going to be my favorite, but there aren't going to be any classes that I don't have fun in this year – thanks mostly to having Michael and Tim sitting with Rowen and me in all of the classes where that's an option.

I like getting to start the Day One schedule with Spanish and end it with Phys-Ed; but Tim isn't the only person in my class who thinks that first period is way too early to be studying in a different language. Tim entertained us with his pre-class grousing; trying to convince us that he could barely converse in English before noon. Spanish really isn't his thing, but I think that Rowen and I can help him improve his Spanish – and his marks in the class – this year.

Art is the favorite morning class for most of my friends; and it's sandwiched between Spanish and Social Studies. Phys-Ed tops that list for the afternoon; but we have to get through Math and History first. There were more than a few times today when I'm sure that Uncle Nick felt as strange as I did while teaching his lessons. I haven't had that problem since Brent Palmer taught our Grade Five class, and I can tell from the look in Uncle Nick's eyes and the smiles he shares with me that he finds the 'normal' Grade Eight student act that I need to put on at school just as amusing as Brent did. One thing that is different this time is that Uncle Nick doesn't know who all of the Magi kids are; while Brent probably knows all of them through being a member of the Magi council.

There isn't any tween or teen news worth reporting today, and though some fashionistas were still dressing to impress; most of us were happy to return to normal school day comfort clothing choices. That didn't mean we weren't still wearing new clothes – we just weren't dressed up. I like wearing dresses as much as the next girl, but it's a bit tough to toss a football around with the guys at lunchtime if you're in a dress and good shoes.

Rowen and I both played some football at lunchtime today, and I don't really care that we got teased by some of the guys and girls for doing that. If we're going to be stuck with a lot of football over the next few months, I'm not going to sit and be a good little spectator day-after-day when playing with Michael is an option. The guys did mostly shut up after I dropped a twenty-yard pass into Tim's hands while he was at a full run. Rowen caught a couple of short passes from me too; and then caught the defense off-guard the first time with a quick hook-and-ladder to Michael, and gained fifteen yards the second time by happily following Tim's blocks until he led her safely out of bounds.

That play time, and an outdoors Phys-Ed class were the fun highlights of the day at school, and though we didn't get to have any play time after school; we did have an entertaining study session at the Inn. Tim would have rather stayed at the school and watch the team football practice – or go to the park to play football with the usual gang there – but he had Mom orders to get his homework done first; and he's figuring out that studying with Michael, Rowen, and me is helping him finish his assignments faster so that he can get on with the play time. From what we heard through the gossip network last year, his previous study sessions with girls weren't nearly as successful – though his definition of success for that is likely very different than mine.

Miranda helped to make our study session entertaining; and snack time at the Inn is always a bonus; but once we'd finished our assignments, it was time for Michael to help out in the kitchen while Rowen and I moved on to our part-time jobs and Tim went to the park to play football. I'm sure the only reason he walked with Rowen and me as far as the auto shop was because he wanted to drop his computer bag off with his parents before going on to the park – not!

I'm putting in another really late night, and I don't have much more to report from the rest of the afternoon and evening; so let's switch to condensed mode.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana gave me their news from today while I worked in the office on the family business. For the twins, that meant telling me about their first Grade Twelve lessons. Mom didn't do a lot of work with them because she had a long meeting with Miranda and a shorter one with Aunt Grace; but they were able to study while Miranda was working with Mom even if they had to play normal toddlers while Aunt Grace was with them. Though it's one of their days off, Miranda has agreed to have her monthly meeting with Mom on Tuesdays at least for the next few months – and longer if it works out for both of them.

Aunt Grace's meetings with Mom aren't about the construction or business operations of the lab – she deals with that work through Uncle Adam. They're in the early stages of developing the computer systems that Mom will be building for the lab. While they really do need to have everything that Mom is going to create for them; the real reason for Mom's involvement is still ultimately to give Ethan and Ehlana an excuse to be at the lab. They can hardly wait for that; and they'll be able to be there well ahead of the official opening next September because they'll be able to be there once the building is completed enough for Mom to start working on the computer infrastructure.

Speaking of that, Emerson Computers will be getting a lot of new business for that next year too; and Rowen's parents are going to be very busy next spring and summer. There's a lot of new business for quite a few of the businesses in town for everything from construction to lighting and supplies; but if you're interested in those details; they're available in the lab project archives. I am glad that we're helping to make things better for everyone in town and in the Ridge River area.

So much for switching to condensed mode, but I'm going to give that another try.

Dinner with Mom, Dad, and the twins was fun; but since Dad and I didn't have to cook, we got to take care of the clean-up while Mom did a Magi lesson with the twins. It was my turn for a lesson after that; and then I helped out with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night. I needed some Jacuzzi time after that, but did all of my archive homework and some of my language studies while soaking in the tub. I took a break from the work while doing my hair, and then sat in the window alcove to finish my language studies and a bit more family business work that came up in response to some email I sent out when working in the office before dinner.

My nightly computer checks were last, and most of my email traffic was continuing back-to-school conversations and updates from my cousins and collegian friends. Though I got a slightly earlier start to my work tonight compared to yesterday, it's still after two-thirty now; and I'm again ready to crash for a few hours – so I'll save the family news update for another day. With game night at the Inn tomorrow, I'm going to have yet another late start to my work and studies; so I'll either need to get used to only having three or four hours of sleep a night, or come up with a better plan for getting everything done.

While I sleep on that...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

I was a bit fired up for the first game night at the Inn of the school year, and I should have held back more than I did; but it was really great winning the junior championship with Michael too. Tim and Rowen came in third, so we weren't too far outside the norm; and not having as many teens to compete against as usual made a difference.

It was strange to be there without Jake, Stephanie, or Dillon; and that has a lot to do with why there were less teens. There were hardly any high school seniors at the Inn tonight; while Jake and Stephanie would normally have about half of their classmates hanging out with them on a normal game night. Rebecca and Jenny didn't have as many friends with them tonight either; and I wonder if the switch to high school has made some of them too cool to play games with their parents and family. We'll see how that goes – the lighter crowd tonight could just be because people were busy with the first week back to school.

It was a good gaming night for the Proctor family, because Mom and Dad won the senior championship. There were fewer adults playing than usual too, but they may have won by virtue of being one of the least-distracted teams. Aunt Leanne spent a lot of the evening in baby-talk mode; Grandma and Grandpa were talking travel with their friends; Aunt Deborah and some of the other new moms were discussing babies, maternity leave, going back to work, and daycare; and the teachers were all trading first week back to school stories with their friends and family.

That comment about Aunt Deborah just brought to my attention the fact that I haven't mentioned in my journal updates that she's started back to work at the clinic this week. I must be putting in too many hours – and getting too tied up in my own little world. She's working part-time while easing Leah into a combination of daycare and family babysitting; and she and Uncle Nick also didn't want to make it too big of a shock for Leah with both parents suddenly away from her all day after they'd both been home with her for most of the summer. Aunt Leanne and Aunt Liz will be part of that family babysitting plan when they feel up to having Leah with them while they're home with their new babies.

Getting back to game night, I mentioned that Tim and Rowen were the third-place team tonight, and while I'd expected to be Michael's partner; I hadn't been sure if Rowen would be playing with Tim or Rebecca tonight. Jenny came to hang out with Rebecca, and with fewer junior players tonight; Rowen and Tim had pretty much had few other choices. They didn't actually have a problem being paired up, and we all had fun; but I'm not sure whether Tim would have played with one of the other guys instead if that had been an option. Rowen would have been in full shy mode and wouldn't have asked him with so many people around. Placing third was pretty good, though, so I hope that'll be enough to convince Tim to keep Rowen as his game night partner from now on – unless we feel the need for an occasional guys-against-the-girls competition.

I started this update with the game night at the Inn because it was my favorite part of the day; but let's back up and run through the rest of the action for the day.

Michael came over for Tai Chi and breakfast this morning before going home again while we both got ready for school. Our second music class was even more fun than the first one; and I really, really love getting to start the day with music – and share that time with Michael. That reminds me that Michael and I need to get back to my guitar lessons; though I have no idea when we're supposed to fit that into our schedules. The rest of our classes were full-immersion lessons with normal homework assignments plus some first major project announcements. Rowen and I have always loved working together on our homework and projects, and I hope that adding Michael and Tim into the mix will make that even better – though we won't be able to work at Magi speed while they're around.

We breezed through English and Science classes this morning, and there was another lunchtime football scrimmage that Rowen and I again joined in for. The guys aren't razzing us as much – or at least they aren't bugging us about the audacity of girls trying to play football. Most of the other girls think we're slightly nuts to play, but Sally and Gretchen looked interested in joining us; and we might see them give it a try too sometime soon.

It was back to work after lunch, though nearly every kid and teen in our school loves computers; so getting to play on our computers for the first afternoon class wasn't exactly work for any of us. Health class can get tweeird thanks mostly to the guys, but the topic today didn't really give them all that much comedic material to work with. Geography is the toughest class of the afternoon for some of my classmates; but since memorization is a big part of that subject, and I've long-since memorized pretty much everything to do with the subject; my biggest problem is playing 'normal' Grade Eight student.

Our after-school study session was at the Inn again today, and the only change with that from yesterday was that I decided to stay with Michael and help out in the kitchen after we were finished our homework. Tim went on to play football at the park again, while Rowen ended up going to the computer store to put in a bit of extra work while I was busy – though I know she'd been tempted to go and watch Tim play football. They'll both be getting into having late dinners with their families now that the summer business is finished. Landry's will still have extra farm equipment work to do for another couple of months, but they won't have the extended showroom hours that Tim's mother and aunt share – and that make for odd meal times. Rowen's parents will be cutting back their weekday store hours starting this coming Monday.

Helping out in the kitchen isn't really too crazy on a normal weeknight. At the Inn, it's kinda like doing a really big family dinner – except with a bigger menu and individual orders. With Jake and Stephanie away, Miranda had two other teens working with a Thursday night crew that didn't really change much from year-to-year; but it still felt like we were just hanging out around the kitchen while our extended family helped out with getting the meal ready. When there's a dining room full of customers, like at the Sunday buffets, it definitely doesn't feel quite that homey with everyone working as hard as they can.

Miranda seemed to especially like having me there tonight, and I'm going to keep coming back for more of the fun, hugs, and kisses. The fun included dinner for two for Michael and me when we had our little break to eat that came complete with a candle that Miranda dropped off in the center of the table as a joke on her way through the kitchen to drop off some orders and pick up others. We didn't really need the romantic nudge, and though there weren't any witnesses; I'm sure that all of the girls – including Miranda and Rebecca – suspected that Michael and I shared a few candlelight kisses while we were on our break.

They'd be right about those suspicions! :^)

The after-dinner clean-up was comparatively easy too. Michael and I helped with all of that, but Rebecca stopped to eat late, and then helped to get the dining room cleared and ready for game night. I've already covered my highlights from the games; and Michael and I walked home with my family while Jacob and Miranda had other helpers doing the final clean-up in the dining room. That early departure was entirely so I could have a few minutes to say goodnight to Michael on his front porch in a mostly non-verbal way without Miranda having the urge to whistle at us from inside the house. Of course that didn't save us from Aunt Leanne; but we're just going to get used to that since we have no chance at all to change that particular little force of nature.

Okay, technically I could; but Mom would never let me, and we love Aunt Leanne quite a lot just the way she is anyway.

I'm okay with taking those thoughts of goodnight kisses into dreamland with me, but let's finish this report before I get side-tracked. After getting home, I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine. That included a bath tonight because they're going to be at KidZone tomorrow. That took the better part of an hour, and then Mom did a Magi lesson with me in the office while Dad continued to do his homework. After that, a busy school day, and helping out in a hot kitchen; I was ready for some Jacuzzi time next, and since I was already getting another late start to my bedtime studies and work; I needed to multi-task that with my archive homework. Even with doing that, I'm now on my third late night in a row; and my average bedtime will be right around three o'clock – if I wrap this up soon.

Before I do that, though, let's do a quick college and cousins news update. Violet and Dillon are enjoying their classes and making new friends; but are already finding it tough to study with all of the distractions on campus and in their dorms. For Jake and Stephanie, it's getting to spend time together during the week that's becoming a problem as they each make new friends and get involved with study groups and on-campus activities at their respective colleges. They may need to skip seeing each other some days; and that will be a big change since they've rarely not seen each other daily since beginning to date. I really like the idea of following that dating model with Michael! Christina and Josiah seem to be having the least trouble getting used to college life, but that might be because they have a lot of common freshman courses; so they get to spend a lot of time together.

For the teen cousins, it sounds like Grade Nine is going well enough for Martin and Jonathan; though my sources for those reports are from Dawn and Christina. Martin had the big advantage of having Chris and his Grade Eleven buddies there to help him out; while Jonathan has a few of Christina's younger friends who are now seniors at his school looking out for him. The downside for him is that those friends are all girls, but then that's also the upside; since they're beautiful, older girls. (One of her friends sent a picture that Christina passed along to me.) I'll guess that's earned Jonathan some attention with both the freshman guys and girls. Going back to school isn't a big deal for Chris, but then as I've mentioned before; he's more interested in his impending driving freedom.

While I'm thinking about them, while Chris and Martin both love football, Chris hasn't tried to play for their school team; and I doubt that Martin will. They're both decent athletes, but big-school football is a lot different than at our school; and they literally can't compete against the big guys. Chris has played some other team sports, but isn't a hard-core jock by any stretch of the imagination. I guess we'll see what extra-curricular activities Martin will get into now; but I won't be surprised if he follows closely in his big brother's footsteps.

Dawn and Jillian are popular, and being near the top of the middle-school food chain should help them to have a good year for Grade Seven. Their first-week stories make me glad that I'm in a small-town school. They already have things to deal with that just don't happen here in any grade. The few Magi that grow up somewhere other than Witch Falls – like Violet and Christina – must have a really tough time holding back in some of those kid and teen situations.

Maybe that's one more reason why I'm exactly where I should be. I'd likely get into regular trouble trying to stop bullying, harassment, and everything else that goes on at big schools.

Finally, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara are all having fun at school, and Kaitlyn and Kara are both making new friends fast. I guess that Jaimie is too, and I've been the new kid in the class a few times, but since I've been the only new student in my grade the entire time Michael, Rowen, and the rest of our classmates have been going to school; they can't really relate to the new kid phenomena that is the norm at city schools. I do really like hearing that Jaimie is one of the kids who tries to help the new kids in her class feel welcome and fit in.

Wrapping up the nightly computing recap, I didn't get my archive studying done until after my bath, and then I still had my language studies and some family business work to do before getting to my usual news, sports, and entertainment checks and this journal update. It's closer to three-thirty than three; and I seriously need to get what sleep I can before dawn. We have a dinner and a movie night tomorrow, and Rowen and I are doing a sleepover here; so I definitely don't want to be too tired for that – especially since I plan on inviting Tim to join us – for the dinner and a movie; not the sleepover.

You know you were thinking that – I know, because having Michael and Tim stay overnight too crossed my mind too. I'm not sure whether I want that thought following me into my dreams or not; but one way or the other, it is past-time to turn my computer off and get started on my little nap.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Congratulations, Heather and Adam – you're now officially having a baby!

That was the big story around town today; though there was a quieter, related news tip from Aunt Leanne when she advised us that Heather and Adam were talking to her about buying one of the new homes now that they were going to need more room for two kids and would need to move anyway. They'll be keeping that quiet for a while; but Aunt Leanne is sure she'll have a deal worked out with them before she's off with her own new baby – though they're not looking to move until next spring.

That news reached the kids at school by lunchtime, so Rowen and I stopped in at the garden center to congratulate Heather; but she was busy and we basically stayed long enough for a couple of hugs and a thirty second chat before moving on. Before I get to the rest of the after-school action; let's cover the rest of the events from earlier today.

Tai Chi was chilly this morning, but we still exercised by the river. Michael went home for breakfast today, and then he and Rebecca met up with Rowen and me for the walk to school. The first Friday of the school year is always a Day One schedule so that we start out with two lesson days for each class. I may like starting the day with music more, but I have fun in Spanish class too. After today, I think it's time to just report any school news, since I expect to have fun in every class from now on with Michael, Rowen, and Tim.

There isn't much of that kind of news to report today. The guys were mostly in football mode. Our team has an important school rivalry and division away game tonight, and after the big win last week; hopes are higher than ever for our chances of doing really well this season. Kyle may want a championship for his senior year more than anything; but he's also smart enough not to run around making guarantees or anything like that. While he doesn't actually need it, his ultimate goal for this year is earning a football scholarship from his father's college. That isn't an easy task when you're not playing in the elite football divisions; but Lee does have some pull with his former alma mater; and I'm sure there will be scouts keeping an eye on Kyle this year.

Since football was already the topic of choice while we ate lunch, I wasn't surprised when another scrimmage game broke out; or that Michael and Tim wanted to play. There were too many guys wanting to play today, so Rowen and I opted to sit that game out; watch the action from the bleachers; and talk with some of the other girls. That wasn't as much fun as playing with Michael and Tim would have been, but it worked out okay not to have that extra exercise when we were sent on a nice long cross country run in Phys-Ed class. Michael and Tim had to let up a little bit so that Rowen and I could keep up with them; but we were still a good couple of minutes ahead of the next closest runners – and well-ahead of the stragglers who had been more interested in some non-running play time while away from the school.

Though we'd hit the showers at the end of class, that run was the main reason why we went for a swim after meeting up at my house once we'd each checked in with parents; dropped bags off at home; and Rowen and I had done that visit to the garden center – and packed an overnight bag for her while at her house. We took Ethan and Ehlana with us for that, and then had a snack break with them before hopping on our bikes and heading over to the park. Michael and Tim were drafted for some more football, so Rowen and I went riding on the trails; and let them meet up with us there once they'd had yet another football fix.

Michael and Tim weren't the only extra guests for dinner and a movie night, but Mom and Dad had other volunteers for the cooking crew; so we had time for another swim with Ethan and Ehlana after getting back from our trail ride. Rowen, Ehlana, and I had time to play with our hair after that so we'd be appropriately beautiful for our dinner company while Michael and Tim mostly talked football with Dad and the other guys around the grills. All of our guests were here by the time we joined the party again, and one of my favorite parts of the evening was getting to spend some time getting to know Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah Burroughs.

Their invitation had been Aunt Grace's idea, since they were the only other 'new' family in town. She sure hit it off right away with Stacey – as did Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah. Rebekkah is as adorable as Leah, and while the two babies aren't quite ready to play together; they did spend quite a bit of time watching each other and smiling a lot.

I don't know if it would be possible to track this, but I've wondered a few times whether Magi babies and toddlers can sometimes sense each other – even if they don't know what it is they're feeling. The stronger Magi have been able to learn how to sense other Magi easily enough, and now that we know that it can be done; it is possible that part of the reason I was able to make that discovery was simply because the built-in ability was there all along and just needed to be understood and explored. Check out our Magi Project archive – by the time you read this; the answer to that question might just be there!

Getting back to the main story, we were in the dining room for the meal so we could sit together; and not have the extra work dealing with getting extra tables and chairs out and put away again. Michael and I sat across the table from Rowen and Tim; and we had Ethan and Ehlana as toddler buffers to the closest adults with Ethan between Michael and Grandpa; and Ehlana between me and Aunt Leanne. It's a good thing that the boys were able to talk football before dinner, because Michael and Tim likely didn't find much of the dinner conversation particularly interesting – and some of it included too much information for them.

Yes, there was a Pastor in the room, but that didn't keep the women in my family from including some blunt chat about late-term pregnancy and baby-related issues – and Stacey had no problem discussing those topics with them. I'm sure that you won't be surprised to find out that Michael and Tim tried their best to pretend that they didn't hear anything to do with breasts, breast-feeding, and how to deal with pain and soreness. The blushing gave them away, though, and that was mild compared to when the new and expecting moms talked about the actual delivery process – or the 'initiation ceremony' as Aunt Leanne put it.

Tim was also surprised to see that Mom and Dad had served alcohol with dinner with our new Pastor here, though I guess it was the fact that Pastor John and Stacey each had a glass of wine with dinner too. That led to my favorite comedy moment of the evening; and that came from Pastor John. He noticed Tim's glances and surprise; and spent a minute entertaining all of us by reminding Tim that Jesus' first miracle was to change water into wine – "just to keep the party going" at the wedding in Cana. I'd heard that for the first time in a Mark Lowry comedy routine; but it's still just as funny – maybe a bit funnier – to hear it from our own Pastor.

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to here the latest from our first week at school, so we took turns talking to them about that, but Michael and I were also kept busy with Ethan and Ehlana. They had to play normal toddlers around the extra guests – including Michael and Tim – and that always makes for a bit more work with them; along with the bonus entertainment.

Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I were drafted for the clean-up crew, so we were busy with that after dinner, and then we came up to the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana for the rest of the evening. We had some parents go with us; though that was really only because Stacey had wanted to see my room after hearing about it earlier. When she saw the musical instruments, Stacey wanted to hear us play; so while Michael and Rowen played my saxophone and her flute, Ehlana and I played my keyboard for her. Stacey will gradually be taking over the Sunday school, kid, and teen programs at church; and she advised us to expect to be drafted in the future to help out with music – though Michael has already played guitar for the younger kids quite a few times once he was good enough to accompany the kids' choir or different classes.

The plans for the movie part of the night were changed because of how many guests we had tonight, and while I would have liked to spend that time with my favorite adults, it was nice for them to get to watch a 'grown-up' movie while we watched a toddler-friendly flick in the lounge. Not having to sit on the floor or on dining room chairs was more comfortable; and cuddling with Michael and Ethan was a great added bonus. Rowen and Tim weren't exactly officially cuddling with each other, but they were cuddling with Ehlana; and she maneuvered them around to the point where they were so close together that Tim could have just put an arm around Rowen and cuddle with both girls.

After watching that first movie with Ethan and Ehlana we took a break that included a post-movie visit with most of our guests before they started heading home for the night. Grandma and Grandpa took care of getting the twins into bed before they left too, so after doing a round of goodnight hugs and kisses; Michael and Tim came back upstairs with Rowen and me so we could play video games for a while before they both needed to be home. My gaming library isn't all that extensive, but more than half of my games were bought with Chris and Martin in mind; and I've picked up a few games since then that I know are teen guy favorites here; so Michael and Tim haven't gotten bored yet – and they can always bring their own games along once they do get to that point.

Michael and I got to have more cuddle time together, so it didn't matter to me if we played video games or watched another movie; but it still seemed that it was time for them to go home long before I was ready to say goodnight to Michael. Ehlana wasn't the only girl passively playing matchmaker tonight; and Rowen was very happy when Michael and I left them alone in the lounge to 'straighten up' while we took our glasses and snack bowls down to the kitchen to wash them up.

Their goodnight kiss must have been really good because they both forgot all about the work part of why they'd stayed in the lounge. I'm not complaining about that in comparison to the goodnight hugs and kisses Michael and I shared in the kitchen; but we got our work done too. We'd had time for that, since there was no way we were going back upstairs to check in on Rowen and Tim or round them up; and we got to have the bonus front porch goodnight kiss when Rowen and I went outside to see Michael and Tim on their way home. They may not be ready for public displays of boyfriend-girlfriend affection for different reasons; but I think that Rowen could get over the shy if Tim would just get around to helping her out with that.

Don't worry about that Rowen – he just needs more time. Two months ago he was still pretty much completely deaf, dumb, and blind to you; and there isn't a girl in the world who would be surprised to find out that boys get over being dumb much slower than the other two.

Moving along, Rowen and I had to straighten up the lounge after we came back up to my room, and then we got ready for bed and climbed in with Mandy and our computers to have a little chat while I did my usual nightly computing. She also watched some Mark Lowry comedy clips on YouTube after I'd mentioned that connection to Pastor John's water-to-wine comments; so we had a few laughs too. After three really late nights, I'm ready to get at least a little extra sleep; though that's relative, since it's quickly heading toward one o'clock already.

Before I wrap this up, though, I should mention that our team won their road game tonight against rivals Maple Valley in a bit of a blow-out. We piled up fifty-one points while Kyle and the defense only gave up two field goals and had four defensive scores. Yes, our offense had touchdowns too, but Kyle gives them the huge advantage of playing with a short field for most of the game. If not for that, our offense is fairly evenly matched to the players on most of the other teams – and not as good as some. Next up: a home game against Meadowvale – the first half of a two-game home stand.

I guess that I'll be missing dinner and a movie night for the next two weeks! Maybe Mom and Dad will bring Ethan and Ehlana to one of the games so we can still hang out with them too.

Other than work tomorrow, we don't really have anything booked for this weekend; but we're all ready for a break anyway after a summer of nearly non-stop action. Rowen and I are still winding down now, but I'm just about tired enough to sleep; there isn't anything else to report for tonight; and it's time to put my computer down and get a bit more serious about that extra couple of hours of sleep tonight.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Let's start with the teen news that's hot off the town grapevine. Jenny has a new love interest as of last night. That news came to me through Michael, from Rebecca; and Jenny has apparently decided that Garth Green, the only Grade Nine student to make the football team, should have a cheerleader girlfriend. That decision might have something to do with the fact that Garth's big sister, Erin, is head cheerleader and dating the captain of the football team; but then Garth has hit a growth spurt too, so maybe she's just finally getting around to noticing him for the first time in a boyfriend-potential sort of way.

Compared to that, my day was pretty boring; though I'm okay with that. Rowen slept in while I was exercising by the river, but she and Michael were both happy to get in on the country breakfast that Mom and Dad put together for us before Michael went home and Rowen headed over to the computer store. I needed that extra energy because Dad and I spent the next four hours doing our chores before stopping for a late lunch at one-thirty. Nothing exciting to report there – just a lot of hot, sometimes dirty work.

Rowen had already eaten by then, but she came over in time to hop in the river with me before I ate; and she played with Ethan and Ehlana since they'd eaten earlier while Dad and I had pushed through to get the work done. Michael came over when he was on his afternoon break from the Inn; and we went for another swim – this time with Ethan and Ehlana too – before hopping on our bikes and going for a ride. Tim was busy, so he wasn't able to go with us as we first toured the construction sites and then did some trail riding at the park.

We wrapped up Michael's afternoon break with a snack and drinks back at my house, and then Rowen and I played with Ethan and Ehlana for a while after he went back to the Inn until she needed to meet up with her parents and get ready for the plans they had for dinner and the evening. I had a couple of quiet hours after she left while helping Mom to make dinner for five; help Ethan and Ehlana entertain our parents while we ate; and then join the clean-up crew of three before we all went for a walk to the park for some playground action.

One good thing about the summer holidays being over is that business at the Inn drops off dramatically. I'm sure there are lots of business owners who wouldn't like that; but it is normal for towns like Witch Falls that have a lot of seasonal tourism in the region. What I like about business being slower at the Inn is that Michael gets the opportunities to get out of work early more often; and tonight he was able to meet up with us at the park in time to catch the end of our playground time.

Ethan and Ehlana loved that, and getting to go for a bedtime swim with us after we got home. Michael and I left them with Mom and Dad after that while we had some music play time both on our saxophones and having a guitar lesson. We took a break for the goodnight hugs and kisses when it was time to tuck Ethan and Ehlana in for the night, and then we came back up to my room to do about half of our homework before ending our evening with some quality cuddle time on the sofa while we sort-of-didn't-really-watch something on television.

We should definitely plan for more Saturday evening Michael and me only nights!

He went home at eleven after we shared a fairly entertaining front porch kiss. Note to me: pay more attention to who else might be out on their front porches enjoying the cool night air before bedtime. Then again, I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on that kiss or the fun we had because of the whistles and hushed teasing.

I wasn't going to do any major work or studying tonight, but after getting changed and into bed with Mandy; I decided to get a head start on my language studies schedule for next week so that I might be able to cut back a bit on the late nights. An hour of extra work now won't make a huge difference, but it will help a bit; and I'll still be sleeping by one o'clock tonight. There isn't any email news to report, but it is Saturday night; and I didn't actually expect my college cousins and friends to be spending their evening writing long update emails to me. I'm sure that whatever they are doing instead is more exciting than anything going on in Witch Falls tonight; but I wouldn't trade the campus party scene for a quiet night at home with Michael even if most other teens and tweens might think that's weird.

Since there isn't anything else to report, and I really do want to get some sleep now; I'm going to put my computer away, snuggle with Mandy, and call it a night.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

We've had a beautiful day, though some rain moved into the area around dinnertime. With as much nice weather as we've had for the past few weeks, you won't hear me complaining about a bit of rain here and there – especially when we're having a quiet night at home anyway.

My day started out great with Tai Chi and then got even better with breakfast at Michael's house with his parents and sister. It's a really good thing that I have a hyper-metabolism – you really need to have one if you're going to be fed by the Stone family on a regular basis.

The front porch kiss teasing last night was mild compared to having Mom, Dad, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and the twins meet up with us in front of Michael's house – especially when they found out what Jacob had cooked for breakfast. Aunt Leanne has a great sense of humor, but it's very inconsistent to have spent so much time and effort with her matchmaking for Michael and me only to joke about not waiting long enough for the perfect younger man – one with an amazing chef for a father.

That gave the adults in our group a starting point for an entertaining conversation as we walked to the church while Rebecca, Michael, and I walked with Ethan and Ehlana and talked about anything else. The only real news from church was that Pastor John led his first full service today; and Stacey started moving into her new roles with the Sunday school, kid, and teen programs by starting to visit each of the Sunday school classes. She didn't make it to our class today, but she did visit the nursery and see Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends.

While we hadn't had any specific plans for the afternoon, some of the parents decided to celebrate the return of day off Sundays with a picnic at the park. Michael had to help out at the Inn, so he wasn't able to come; but Rowen's family; all of my family; and quite a few of our friends all signed up for the impromptu pot-luck event. I walked to the Inn with Michael; went home to get changed after that; and then Rowen and I were sent on ahead to the park with Patrick, Scott, Ethan, and Ehlana while the parents threw the picnic together before following us there. We rode our bikes over, and took the twins in their trailer so that we could go for a ride after lunch. Patrick and Scott went to hit the trails right away while Rowen and I played with Ethan and Ehlana at the playground. Naomi and Aiden were dropped off with us when Philip and Liz got to the park. Hannah and Nathan were working at the bakery; but had sent Aiden to hang out with Ethan while keeping Hailey with them.

We hadn't heard that Tim was coming to the picnic too, but he was there with his parents; and came over to the playground to help us out with entertaining the younger kids while his father helped out on the grills and his mother joined the girls setting up a large buffet table in the pavilion. Lunch wasn't holiday weekend in the park kind of action, but it was busy; and we all had a lot of fun. While Rowen and I had been on kid control duty before we ate; that job was given to the grandparents and others after lunch while we were drafted to help with cleaning up and loading leftovers, picnic supplies, and coolers back into cars and trucks before we could go back to playing.

All of that was done by the time Michael joined us for his afternoon break, and he was just in time for a football scrimmage game. Rowen and I have had fun playing football at school with the guys, but playing on a team with Michael and Tim against three out of four of our fathers was a total blast. We were the only girls on the 'kids' team, but our Moms decided to surprise us by playing on the 'parents' team. Tim's mother played too, and while the name of the game was fun; we were actually pretty evenly matched teams. We lost the game, but only because some of the guys on our team kept underestimating my mother. I tried to warn them that she's a mathematical genius and can apply that ability to throwing a football; but they wouldn't listen and got burned for some big plays. The fact that Michael and Tim were faster than all of the men was the only reason it wasn't a blow-out – the 'old' guys started running out of steam at about twenty yards. That's the same reason why we were able to score some points too – they couldn't catch us if we made it that far without getting touched down.

We didn't play a long game because some of us still wanted to have time for a bike ride and swim before Michael needed to get back to the Inn, and though I really like to win; it was fun watching the parents celebrate after edging us by a touchdown. Dad hooked the trailer up to his bike so that I could ride some of the bike trails with Michael, Rowen, and Tim while he and Mom stayed on the main park pathway. We didn't have a lot of time for that because Ethan and Ehlana also wanted to do the construction sites tour; and then we weren't left with much time for the swim before Michael needed to go.

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had brought Dad's truck home from the park, but we still needed to unload it; and Rowen and I helped with that after Michael left while Mom was busy getting Ethan and Ehlana dried off and changed. Once that was done, Rowen and I went over to her house to finish our homework before dinnertime; and then I was home again for the night before the rain started.

We had an easy-dinner meal, and I helped Mom with the clean-up while Dad went to work in the office and Ethan and Ehlana stayed in there with him and played on their iPads. Mom did a Magi lesson with us after that, but then I was set free to get an early start on my school night studies and work. I combined the first part of that with some Jacuzzi time; took a break for the bedtime story and snack with Mom, Dad, and the twins; and then climbed into bed with Mandy to get back to the rest of my work.

I've put in some extra time on that again tonight, but thanks to the early start; it's only coming up on one-thirty, and I can handle five hours or so of sleep better than three or four. Six or seven hours of down time would be better, but that's probably not going to happen regularly anymore; and I can get by with less. For those of you who are thinking that isn't good for me when I'm only twelve, or that I don't really need to work this hard; don't worry. There are reasons why I need to do all of this; and mostly it's because I have a lot to learn if I'm going to be ready for my future. Sometimes I wish that work could wait for a few more years, but that isn't an option either. Going to sleep right now is, though, so I'm going to shut down my computer; cuddle with Mandy; and get to that.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Thank-you Ethan and Ehlana! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

They're responsible for getting the parental and council approval to let Michael and me 'know' about each other; and we're going to be allowed to do everything that Rowen and I get to do together – including taking lessons!

I don't care in the slightest that my adorable brother and sister have been holding out on me and keeping secrets. The most important little piece of information that they had and I didn't was that Michael knew about us too – he was the first kid to sense Mom's shielding when she was pregnant with Ethan and Ehlana. He didn't really have to make much of a leap to decide that Miranda wasn't giving him all of the information about why Mom needed to shield the babies; and he was sure that all four of us were Magi Masters.

Michael and I were given the big news tonight by our Moms after we all had dinner together at our house; and our fathers were sent off to play with Rebecca, Ethan, and Ehlana on the pretense that we were going to be given the list of school year dating rules. We were given those for show too, but it wasn't as if we really needed them. While I'm thinking about that, Aunt Leanne apparently offered to help with those rules; but Dad was against that idea for some reason. I definitely need to get more details about Aunt Leanne's teen dating stories!

One thing that isn't as much fun is that Michael and Rowen aren't allowed to know about each other too. I get that the council is taking this one step at a time; but that's going to make things weird for us sometimes – well, mostly for me; since they won't know that I can use my Magi gifts with each of them. I have some other orders from the council too that Michael doesn't have because he doesn't need them. While I'll already be joining the band starting tomorrow, I'm supposed to get more involved with other 'normal' activities much more than I have so far at school and church; and do more things with non-Magi kids. Parts of that news were delivered to me later without Michael; and I can't really disagree that I need to do everything the council has suggested. Mom and Miranda are going to be nudging me along with that; so I expect some changes in my near-future lifestyle.

I'd say the trade-off is worth it and then some!

We didn't have much time to actually do anything Magi-related during that little meeting, but Mom and I got to learn about Michael's talents; and he's right at the top of the Magi power range. Since we could actually use our power, and I can get a more accurate reading of that when I 'push' my senses; Michael is probably one of the strongest Magi in Witch Falls. I wonder if that had some affect on the connection I felt with him that first day we met. Too bad I can't teach him how to sense other Magi – he might be even better at it than Uncle Adam – though I guess we can test that theory in another five years after he's eighteen.

After that little meeting, Mom and Miranda went to meet up with everyone else at the park, but Michael and I stayed and had a music practice to get ready for class in the morning and our first band practice after school. We practiced for a half hour, and spent a few minutes celebrating the Magi news in a non-verbal sort of way. I don't mean telepathically either, because our families were back home by then; and we weren't thinking along those lines at the time anyway. :^)

This is probably a good point to back up at and cover the rest of the daily report; and there was some other news from around town. The physically biggest update would be the construction project progress at the lab. The steel beam framing is basically done now, and the roof – except for the greenhouse atrium – will be on by the end of this week. The project is still ahead of schedule for having the building completely closed in by Thanksgiving. That's working out great for other projects, with the next biggest being the first apartment building. The construction started on it today; and the plan is to have it up and closed in by winter too so the construction crews can work on the apartments all winter.

Compared to all of that, the rest of our day was uneventful, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are starting to get a routine together. Monday and Tuesday mornings are going to be Tai Chi and breakfast at our own houses for Michael and me; and then we meet up with Rowen for the walk to school. Rebecca's walked with us every day so far, but heads off to hang out with Jenny and the rest of their high school friends once we get there. I guess we're sort of into another year of separation until we hit high school too; but this isn't as bad as it was when Rebecca and Jenny crossed over – at least with Rebecca and me. Jenny's doing her own thing right now; and that doesn't include hanging out with 'kids'.

On nice weather days, I'll guess that there will be football games at noon after we eat; and Rowen and I will play too when there aren't too many guys vying for spots on the teams. I guess Rowen and I won't be hiding in the music room at least for a while this year; so there's something else that should make the members of the Magi council happy.

After school homework on Monday is going to be at my house; but we weren't there for long today because we didn't have much work to do; and Tim was motivated to get done so we could go to the park and he and Michael could play football. We didn't take Ethan and Ehlana along this time so that Rowen and I could bike the trails while the guys played football with their buddies; but we did get back home again in time to take them swimming before Rowen and Tim needed to go home. They had fun teasing us a bit about having family dinners after finding out that Mom and Dad had invited the Stone family over tonight, but they can just keep on teasing us because I really love getting to spend more time with his family. Jacob was supposed to get a night off from cooking, but couldn't resist contributing one special side dish that went perfectly with the chicken entree that Mom cooked up along with the usual taters and veggies. Dessert was actually of the home-made variety because Mom wanted to use up some apples and made an apple crisp in a large casserole dish. We get so spoiled with the Olde Bakery sometimes that I almost forget just how good Mom is at making desserts from the unending recipes available to us in the archives.

The top dinner topics tonight were college kids, work, and school; with a little family business nudging mixed in while we talked about the Inn. That was mostly discussing possibilities for when Jake and Stephanie get home from college, and thanks in part to Miranda's job with the family business; dreams for a bigger and better Inn to leave to their kids is an option that Jacob and Miranda are seriously considering. Those dreams aren't exactly central to our own family's future plans; but it is very important for Michael's family – and a lot of other people in town.

Other than the post-dinner clean-up, I've covered the highlights of the evening up until the bedtime snack and story for Ethan and Ehlana. The twins bribed Miranda for that story in exchange for bakery treats, but it was the hugs and kisses that actually worked on her; since bakery treats are available every day at the Inn anyway. Dad is pretty good at bedtime stories, but nobody is better than Miranda; and she kept all of us entertained with her little tale of local folklore. Ethan and Ehlana needed to have baths after that so they'd be ready for a KidZone play day, so Mom and Dad took them upstairs to do that while Jacob, Miranda, and Rebecca went home; and Michael and I went for a little walk before doing the goodnight hug and kiss on his front porch when it was time to split up for the night.

We didn't want to break any of our new dating rules on the first nigh!

I was home in time to help tuck Ethan and Ehlana in for the night, and then I came up to my room while Mom and Dad went to do a little work in the office. After getting changed, I sat in the window alcove with my computer and got to work on my language studies first. My biggest problem with my current language group is finding online chat buddies to practice the specific dialects with. Books can be an issue too, but I can always practice translating if needed; while I really need to hear real, live people to learn the nuances of a dialect; and multi-lingual chat buddies are best.

Searching for new online friends slowed my lessons down a bit tonight, but I multi-tasked some archive studying while doing that. Mom didn't do a lesson with me tonight – other than what little bit we did with Michael and Miranda – but there's always more studying I can do in the archives; and I do know where our lessons in each talent are going so it's easy enough to work ahead. There was some family business work to take care of too; so I've put in nearly four hours tonight including the nightly computer checks and this journal update.

I've had enough fun for now, and need to try to get some sleep even though I'm still really fired up about Michael and I getting to use our Magi powers together – if we manage to get a little alone time now and then to actually do that. Our first telepathic chat with Mandy, for instance, should be a remember-forever moment!

This will definitely make the next few months as interesting as it was for Rowen and me - especially after we were able to use our talents behind my shields and wards.

Okay, it won't be quite the same with my boyfriend, but let's save those thoughts for my dreams and call it a night!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tuesday is going to be my favorite school day thanks to getting to start with music class and end with band practice.

The good morning kisses and Tai Chi with Michael was pretty good too; and so was the study and play time with Tim and Rowen after band practice and dinner. My perception of everything today was affected by the big news for Michael and me yesterday, but we both managed to tone down the happy enough to keep from having our friends wonder why we were so fired up today.

While Michael has been playing music a lot longer than Rowen or I have, he hasn't played in groups any more than we all have in music class; and being the only Grade Eight students with the other members all in high school was both exciting and strange. Sure, we know all of the teens, and there were other new members of the band from the Grade Nine class; but we still felt a bit out of place. One thing that was very different for Michael and me than it was for Rowen was our place in the band. There is only one other flutist in the band, so Rowen is playing second part while Michael and I are third and fourth saxophone.

There are a few things about our band that I'd like to note here just for the sake of recording my first impressions. The first of those is that there weren't as many senior students as I expected. It's a small band, but there's must be an issue with attrition that I hadn't been aware of before now. Michael thinks it's because our band doesn't do many performances a year and it just gets boring after a while to just practice music all of the time. I haven't felt that way about my own music so far, but that might be at least partly from spending most of my life trying to stay out of the public spotlight.

While we only have a few members from the Grade Twelve class to lead us; we still have a fairly talented group of musicians. I don't know if that's unusual for a small school or not – maybe we all just have more time on our hands for practicing with fewer teen distractions. I'm going to take some time to study our band as a group to see if there's a connection between the talent level and the Magi, Latent, and Normal students. I know there could be a lot of other factors involved, but we are seeing some indications that there is a connection between the upper levels of each range and creativity. When I've done that, I'll write up my report in the Magi Project archive.

There were a few other non-music things going on today, but other than another football-infused lunch break; there wasn't anything else newsworthy happening at school. Our after-school study session had to wait until after band practice, and we did that at the computer store. Tim had gone to play football at the park while Michael, Rowen, and I were at band practice, and he was a bit late getting to the store; so we had time to get our computers set up, have a snack, and give Rowen's parents the condensed school report before getting started on our assignments.

Band and homework isn't going to leave any time for playing or riding bikes on Michael's second day off of the week; but that just gave us some incentive to get together again after splitting up to have dinner at our own houses. We won't get to hang out together in the evenings for long on school nights, and we'll need to be indoors once it starts getting dark early and colder; but tonight we were able to ride bikes for an hour or so before playing video games with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge until it was time for them to get ready for bed and for Michael, Tim, and Rowen to go home.

The biking included a tour of the construction sites and some trail riding at the park. It was cool seeing the first stages of work on the apartment building, and it's hard to believe that the lab construction was at that stage such a short time ago when we're really just a couple of months away from being finished most of the work that will be visible from the outside until next spring. It also looks as though the last houses that are going to be built this year are being started this week so that the construction crews will have just enough work to keep them busy all winter without starting more projects than they can handle – or building homes we don't yet need.

I was happy to have that bit of play time with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge after we got home since we hadn't spent much time together today; and Michael and Tim didn't really mind playing racing games instead of their usual sci-fi and fantasy action choices. We didn't have time to add in a guitar lesson for me tonight, but I guess we had enough music action for one day anyway. The goodnight kiss with Michael was nice; but we definitely didn't have enough couples-only time.

Have I mentioned before that we need to work on that? It's funny that the Magi council didn't suggest that as one of the conditions for Michael and I being allowed to use our Magi power together. Maybe they did, but our Moms skipped telling us about it! Okay, probably not, since they're all parents too; but that would have been funny.

After seeing my friends out, I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed, and then she did a long lesson with me while Dad finished up his work in the office. That added up to another late start to my bedtime computing and studies; but I'm putting a two o'clock time limit on myself for this week to see if I can handle that much work on about four and a half hours of sleep a day. Staying up until three or later last week was survivable, but not something I can handle long-term.

We're at that two o'clock limit now, so it's time to call it a night. The next couple of days should be comparatively quiet; though I'll still be busy with school, work, and everything else. Since none of that will include any Michael and me alone time; I'll have to settle for seeing him that way in my dreams.

I should get right to that, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Today is the twelfth anniversary of 9/11, and though it still makes the national news; there wasn't anything special happening at school today. We did discuss it in history class this afternoon; but it wasn't our primary lesson or area of study.

After a couple of big days, I don't really have a lot to write about for this update. There wasn't anything particularly newsworthy going on at school. The guys are getting fired up about the football game on Friday, and we played at lunchtime again, but we're all getting settled into our routines now; and there isn't really any tween or teen drama going on in my immediate vicinity right now.

Our after-school study session today was in the conference room at Landry's Automotive; and Tim will probably be hosting our little study group on Wednesdays. It worked out for all of us – Rowen just needed to walk across the road to go to her part-time job once we'd finished our homework; Michael was close to the Inn; and after I walked with him there and stopped in to see Miranda and Jacob, I went on home to work in the office until dinnertime. Tim wanted to go on to the park for some more football action, but his mother vetoed that and gave him some chores to do instead.

He's blaming the rest of us for being too responsible and putting bad ideas in his Mom's head; but helping his parents out around the office and shop isn't anything new – he just got to have a bit of a reprieve that's over now.

I've had a fairly standard school work night since getting home. My family business jobs were pretty much all about Christmas today except for one of the handful of major projects that are ongoing and need some regular oversight from me on an ongoing basis. Mom allowed me to work through until dinner was ready, and I had Ehlana and Ethan with me for about half of that time while they worked on their homework from their Grade Twelve lessons today and we had a nice little telepathic chat.

Since Mom cooked dinner, Dad and I were the clean-up crew while she did a Magi lesson with Ethan and Ehlana. It was my turn after that, and Mom had me working on phase-shift transmutations tonight. That's still one of my favorites, and it's amazing just how much there is to learn about it. Tonight we worked with phase-shifting active electronic devices and dealing with the electrical, magnetic, and signal issues that affect things like cell phones or computers in a phase shift.

I'll bet Verizon never tried that for their 'can you hear me now' commercials!

Of course we used an old cell phone for that just in case I accidentally fried it on my first attempts; but everything went smoothly; and I haven't had any major goof-ups with my lessons in a long time anyway. That said; I seriously doubt that Mom will be ready to have me try that little trick with one of our 'work' computers anytime soon. Teaching me how to fix a messed up computer would not be quite as easy as fixing melted plastic or cracked glass.

The best thing about doing our lessons early is that I can get an early start to my 'real' studies and bedtime computing. I was in bed with Mandy just a few minutes after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night; I put in nearly four hours of work; and I'll still be sleeping by one-ish. That sounds really great right now, and I don't have anything else to report anyway; so let's just wrap this up so I can get the extra sleep tonight that I'll likely lose because of game night tomorrow.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Thursday is definitely going to be one of my nights at the Inn. Michael and I did our homework with Tim and Rowen after school; I stayed to help out in the kitchen and have dinner with him; and then we were reunited with our best friends for game night.

We've had a bit of rain off and on today, but that didn't get in the way of Tai Chi, and Michael stayed for breakfast before going home to get ready for school. Starting the school day with music really is great, and while we're excited to be in the school band already; Michael and I prefer the more challenging first and second saxophone parts we get to play in our class over the much simpler parts we're being given to play in band practice.

The rest of our classes rolled along without anything to report except that the girls in our class spent a lot of time talking about Karla's birthday party tomorrow night while the boys were still stuck in football mode. Rowen and I weren't really in on the girl chat because we weren't invited to Karla's party. Michael and Tim weren't invited either, and that was fine with them because they didn't want to miss the football game anyway. Karla is currently spending a lot of time with the other single girls in our class; and I'll take a not-so-wild guess that Vanessa and Nora had something to do with nudging the four of us into being excluded from the party guest list – though Rowen and I haven't been to any of Karla's birthday parties since I moved here anyway for various reasons. (Small party, couples only, etc.)

We had a bit of extra homework to do tonight because this is a Day Two schedule Friday week; so we don't have the extra day to get our assignments done – and quizzes and tests are now an option for our teachers too. We were getting some afternoon showers, so Tim wasn't in any hurry to go play football or anything, but Michael and I needed to help out with getting ready for the dinner rush; so we didn't take any longer getting our work done than needed.

I teased Rowen about leaving with Tim after we were done studying and coming back with him when they got to the Inn for game night; but the second half of that really was just coincidence that they arrived at the same time with their families – though she wouldn't have had a problem with it if they had spent those couple of hours together. Unfortunately, she's still too shy on her own to do something radical like invite him for dinner with her family; and Tim's still trying to figure out how he feels about Rowen and what to do about it. At the rate they're going, I'll predict that they'll be friends with benefits for a while longer before working things out.

They'll be junior game night champions for at least a week too. Michael and I dropped out of the top five tonight, possibly because we had Ethan and Ehlana distracting us more than they helped; but we had so much fun together we didn't care. The junior competition was still a bit lighter than usual, but we had a few more kids and teens stop by for something to do while it was too wet to play outside anyway.

Mom and Dad had taken a chance on the weather and walked to the Inn, and we were getting a sprinkling of rain for the walk home; but we didn't really get very wet. This week, we stayed to help out with the post-gaming clean-up and then we walked home with Michael and his family. That was a bit too much company for fireworks-worthy goodnight kisses, but Michael and I will survive; and we'll try to make up for that on the weekend.

The rest of my evening has been a blur of action. I helped Mom with the full bath and bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; we did a Magi lesson after that; and I hopped into my Jacuzzi and got to work on my computer after that. Putting in four hours of work after I come up to my room is a lot tougher to do when you don't get started until after eleven o'clock, and I've already needed to blow my plan to stop working by two o'clock. If I didn't have some Magi-powered options; I'd be drinking a lot of caffeine-rich beverages tomorrow just to stay awake.

It's going to be three-thirty by the time I get to sleep if I hurry this up and put my computer away for the night. I've had longer afternoon naps than the sleep time I have left tonight; but I'll deal with that, and keep trying to find a better way to juggle everything I have on the go. For right now, though, sleep is at the top of the to-do list, so I'm (virtually) outta here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Happy 13th birthday, Karla!

I wouldn't have tried to worry her, but Tim and some of the other guys had no problem teasing Karla about having her thirteenth birthday on Friday the Thirteenth, in 2013 – in a place like Witch Falls.

What could possibly be ominous about that? ;^)

It's a good thing that the joint gift we'd picked up for Karla was really nice, or she might have gotten annoyed with Tim after a while. Tim wasn't the only teen or kid having fun with the Friday the Thirteenth in Witch Falls theme today, but nothing particularly scary happened today – except to the Meadowvale team at the game tonight. Kyle Landry happened to them; but I'll get to that in a bit.

First up was Tai Chi by the river, and I'm working on teaching my trio of martial arts students a competition form that builds on the short forms they've been learning so far. Nothing has really changed since Monday with our morning exercise, but we all find it amusing that we're all in on the normal toddler act that Ethan and Ehlana need to maintain – and that Michael has been putting on his own act to a certain extent so that it doesn't look like he's learning faster than he should. We'll talk about it with Mom and Dad, but once we need to move our workouts indoors for the winter, we won't need to do that; and Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana may be able to do a lot more in public by spring just because the twins will be going on three and have nearly a year of lessons behind them by then.

Michael went home for breakfast today, and while I like spending the time with him, the excuse for an extra good morning kiss when we meet up again to walk to school with Rowen and Rebecca is a nice trade-off. I have most of the joint gifts we bought for our friends at my house, so I had it with me; but gave it to Michael and Tim and let them decide how to surprise Karla with it. They gave it to her this afternoon during computer class – at exactly 13:13 – though it took some of our classmates a few moments to catch on to the reason for that timing.

That was one of the most entertaining few minutes of the school day, but the fun really got started once we were set free for the day after last class. Tim was thinking about playing football again at the park, but Michael, Rowen, and I managed to talk him into biking the trails again instead since we'd be having a full-immersion football night anyway. Dinner was at my house tonight, so after spending an hour or so on the trails we went for a swim with Ethan and Ehlana before sitting out on the back porch for a hamburgers, fries, and cold salads meal. I was surprised to find out that dinner and a movie night wasn't on, but it was really only cancelled because I wasn't the only person in the family with other plans tonight; and Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah both let Mom know earlier that they wanted to skip it because they were out of steam after a busy week. Aunt Leanne is seriously ready to have her baby anytime now even though she still has about a month to go. By the time you reads these journals, Aunt Leanne, I'll guess that you'll believe the wait was worth it.

We split up after helping with the clean-up long enough to grab showers and get ready for the game; and I had Mom, Dad, and the twins with me when Michael met up with us outside and we took a side trip to Rowen's to collect her on our way to the school. That really was a game-time decision that Mom had left up to Dad; since he has work to get done this weekend before heading to Crystal Springs on Monday. He decided to get Ethan to a game on what might end up being the best weather we'll have for a home game this season – not too hot, and not too cold or rainy. Having my family with us made a big difference from the first home game; and this definitely did not feel like a date night. We all had a lot of fun, and Ethan and Ehlana helped to entertain everyone around them as we watched the game.

I wouldn't rank the game very high on any list for best games ever, though our team played great. The problem was that Meadowvale couldn't do anything to stop Kyle Landry tonight; and he didn't allow them to really even get close enough for a reasonable shot at a field goal let alone pose a touchdown threat. Coach Robinson slowed our team down after our third touchdown to keep from totally embarrassing the Meadowvale players; and we started kicking field goals instead. Even with defensive turnovers, our guys would run out of bounds or down the ball instead of trying to get to the end-zone. Okay, that would mostly all be on Kyle too, and it's not as if the Meadowvale players never made good plays; but if we hadn't held back, the score would have been way more lopsided that forty-nine to zero.

That change in game plan sure made our kicker happy – he earned twenty-five points on seven field goals and four extra points; and was the first player to outscore Kyle in a game for our team in quite a while. Holding back on the offense while keeping an air-tight defense isn't as easy as it may sound, but our guys pulled it off; and managed to do it without being so obvious that the Meadowvale players and fans would have a reason to be mad at us. Division rivalries are tough enough without adding grudges to the mix.

The post-game celebration kept us busy for a while, but we didn't hang around for all of it; and Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me so that we could wrap up our night watching a movie in the lounge. We needed to do the bedtime snack and story time with Ethan and Ehlana first, but once they were tucked in for the night, we came up to the lounge while Mom and Dad decided to do some work in the office.

By then I was glad that Michael and Tim didn't mind watching a movie instead of playing video games. It's a lot easier to cuddle with Michael when you don't have all of the body motion that goes along with playing video games. Rowen and I didn't try to push our luck by suggesting a chick flick, but I don't really mind watching martial arts action movies – especially when it's the cuddling part of the ritual that I'm really interested in.

Lights out, movie on, and sectional sofas are helping Rowen and Tim get more comfortable too – at least when it's just Michael and me with them. The boys were at opposite corners of the sofa, and I tried to do my little part by tossing a pillow at Rowen for a hint while I was stretching out across Michael and our half of the sofa with my head resting on the arm of the sofa while Michael wrapped his arms around my shoulders and waist. Dropping the pillow in Tim's lap and then stretching out too was another big-little step for Rowen, but none of us made a big deal of it; and they seemed to get comfortable soon enough. Tim didn't wrap his arms around Rowen at first, but as we all got into the movie; I noticed three times where he rested his hand on her waist or hip for a while without seeming to notice for a while. He stroked her hair sometimes too, and definitely had his arm around her waist for nearly ten minutes during a particularly action-packed scene near the end of the movie.

They didn't share any kisses while we were together, but Michael and I put the same clean-up plan in action this week that we used last time; and while Rowen and I didn't get to have any girl-chat time tonight, I know they spent more time kissing than cleaning while Michael and I were in the kitchen washing glasses and snack bowls. I can't say that Michael and I didn't take advantage of the alone time too – especially since Dad came into the kitchen for drink refills and caught us sharing a kiss. He teased us about that, but he'll eventually figure out that I heard and sensed him coming toward us, and the reason I didn't break off that kiss is because he and Michael both need to get used to that sort of thing happening – just as I had to get used to Mom and Dad when they first started dating.

We were finished washing up in the kitchen before Rowen and Tim reappeared, so Michael and I went into the office to talk with Mom and Dad while we waited. They may have lost track of time for a few minutes, but Rowen and Tim joined us with enough time left that they could still get home before midnight. I went out to the front porch with them to say goodnight, and stayed out there long enough to watch Michael and Rowen get to their homes before going inside again. I don't think that Tim was even consciously paying attention to the fact that he automatically walked Rowen home before continuing on to his place; but they didn't even hold hands while in public, and there wasn't a goodnight kiss either. They are making progress, though, so that's probably just a matter of time before they're ready for front porch goodnight kisses.

It's not as if Michael and I were setting off any fireworks on my front porch tonight while we had friends with us – and probably at least a couple of other witnesses in neighboring homes. We'll try to do better tomorrow night!

For now, I'm ready to get some sleep; so it's time to switch to condensed mode. I stopped in for another little visit with Mom and Dad, but they were just about ready to go to bed too; so we were soon all on our way up to our rooms. I got changed; climbed into bed with Mandy; and started working on my computer. The nightly checks didn't take long, but I did some work in the archives for more than an hour before getting started on this update. That included a bit of studying along with some new work on the Magi Project archive; but all of that work was really just something to do while I wound down from a busy day. Instead of repeating any of that work here, if you're interested in our Magi Project; just cross-reference the date and read all about my latest research and hypotheses there.

I'm fully wound down now, and that's all the news for today; so it's time for Mandy, my computer, and me to go to sleep. One of us has another big clean-up day to rest up for; along with whatever Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I end up doing for fun tomorrow too.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

This report is coming to you from Grandma and Grandpa's house; where Ethan, Ehlana, and I are spending the night while Mom and Dad are on a 'date night in' with bonus kid-free night. Trust me, they're having fun; and some of us don't need any more information than that.

Without those kinds of stories, this report is going to be on the boring side, but if you're looking for that kind of entertainment; try Aunt Leanne's journal. :^)

For me, the highlights of the day were Tai Chi; hanging out with Michael and Rowen this afternoon; and the last handful of hours with Grandma and Grandpa. Dad and I managed to have a little fun while doing the yard work; but I wouldn't put mowing the lawn or any of the rest of the chores very high on the overall fun list for any day. We basically worked from after breakfast until a bit after one o'clock. Since we ended up having a late lunch, Rowen had biked over to get me for our afternoon play time already; so I scarfed down a quick sandwich and some cold veggies before we hit the road in search of small town fun and adventure. We stopped by the Inn to get Michael when it was time for his afternoon break, and the three of us went for a construction site tour before going to the park for some trail riding.

We wrapped up Michael's break time with a snack break back at home that Ethan and Ehlana joined us for, and after Michael went back to the Inn, Rowen helped me to get everything packed up that the twins and I would need for our sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She walked there with us too when it was time to go, and then hung out with me until it was nearly dinnertime and she needed to collect her parents at the computer store and take them home for the night.

It's possible that every kid in my class, including Michael and Rowen, think that it's weird for me to like having sleepovers at my grandparents' house now that I'm almost a teen; but I really do love the few chances we actually get to do that when they're not travelling or we're each busy with other things. I missed out on all of that for the first nine years or so of my life; and I'm not going to ever take sharing moments like this with the people I love for granted.

The top fun event of the night was playing games for an hour or so after Michael came over once he was set free from the Inn; and the bedtime story and snack that followed our play time. This was the first time that Michael and I were hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa at their house for more than a passing-by visit; and Grandpa needed to tease us about everything from holding hands to it being all but over for us except for the wedding now that we were at the spending time with the grandparents stage of our relationship. I know we're only twelve, but Michael and I didn't really have a problem with that suggestion.

Just don't book the wedding quite yet, please!

Michael didn't stay late tonight, and not just because Grandpa teased us about not being able to stay up late anymore now that he needed all of his wits about him to keep up with the new, young Pastor's sermons; but we did sit in the living room for a little cuddle time after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night before he went home. Despite our interest in having some quality alone time, we've managed to have another week go by without any improvement in that area of our lives. I'd say we'll work on it next week, but Dad's going to be away and I'll be helping Mom more with the twins; so that probably isn't going to happen.

And I used to wonder why Mom and Dad had dating issues! ;^)

Anyway, it really was time to go to bed after Michael left; but I've been working on my computer for a while since then. I've mostly been working on my language studies, but didn't want to stay up past midnight; so I finished that up about twenty minutes ago so I could get through my nightly computer checks and this update in time to hit that 'be-asleep-by' target. That's all the news for today, and I still have about ten minutes to get to sleep, so that's it for tonight.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

We're going to be up early to see Dad off on his way to Crystal Springs, and it's already going on two-thirty; so this is going to be an extremely condensed update.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I were on our own for Tai Chi this morning; Grandma and Grandpa cooked up a full country breakfast for us; and then we spent the rest of the morning at church. We all had lunch back at our home, and then I was busy with an afternoon study session in the lounge with Michael, Rowen, and Tim. When it was time for Michael to get back to work, I went to play at the Inn with him through to the start of the late buffet. Most of my family came to the Inn for that, and Miranda let Michael have dinner with us; though he ate fairly quickly and then got back to work again instead of staying with us until we were ready to go home.

That's why I needed to stop into the kitchen again to say goodnight to him – and to Jacob and Rebecca. It's also why we had yet another night with no opportunities for fireworks-worthy goodnight kisses.

We seriously need to work on that somewhere other than in my dreams.

There's another good reason to speed this up! I went home with Mom, Dad, and the twins. We did the bedtime thing with Ethan and Ehlana; Mom did a Magi lesson with me while Dad packed for his trip; and I've been working on my computer since then – first while in the Jacuzzi; and since then in bed with Mandy. I've covered a fully study session for language and archives; did a bit of family business work; and don't have anything new to report from my email news network. That's it, that's all, so until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, September 16, 2013

I was so not ready to wake up early this morning, but wouldn't have missed the little blast of fun we had before Dad left this morning for anything – or the cuddle time with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana after he had gone.

That second little nap helped a bit, and then it was time for Tai Chi. It was raining lightly, so we exercised indoors. Michael came over for that, and he liked getting to learn and do more today while we were out of public sight as much as Ethan and Ehlana did. Mom and I started teaching them all of the postures for one of the long form workouts; and that second hit of entertainment was enough to get me fully fired up for the day.

Michael went home for breakfast, but was back again in time to have a little chat with Ethan and Ehlana while he waited for me to finish getting ready for school. I'll try not to make him wait for me too often, but I am a girl; so he should probably just get used to it happening sometimes. Rowen came over just as I was getting downstairs, so we only stayed long enough for her to get some toddler hugs and kisses; and then we walked to school as quickly as we could while staying as dry as possible under our umbrellas.

The top Grade Eight news story today is about Nora and Brock. They apparently hooked up at Karla's birthday party on Friday, and are already well on their way to being a couple. Nora seemed particularly pleased to be moving on before Tim had, though if she was expecting him to be jealous or upset about that; he didn't show any signs of being either after hearing the news and seeing Nora and Brock spending most of their free time together today.

They still sat with the 'singles' group at lunchtime, and I noticed that Vanessa sat with Allen; but there wasn't any news about them, so she was probably just trying to avoid looking like a third wheel while hanging out with her best friend. Then again, Allen had been dating an 'older woman' before becoming a victim of the great divide between Grade Eight and Nine; so she may be looking at him as the best single guy available right now. Her biggest obstacle for that might be how long it will take before Allen gets over being dumped by Molly. Hopefully, for his sake, that'll be a long time; but I won't hold my breath on that. I'd just hate to see Allen get his heart broken twice in a row, and he would definitely just be a 'Mr. Right Now' for Vanessa – especially since they aren't even remotely a match.

Other than that news, our school day was pretty much the same as the weather – a bit dull and boring. My personal fun level picked up after school. Michael, Tim, and Rowen all came home with me; we did the snack and story time with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we did our homework in the lounge before spending the rest of our play time having fun with my brother and sister. That play time included a bit of music and some video gaming until Rowen and Tim needed to go home and Michael and I headed over to his house for dinner.

I hadn't wanted to leave Mom on her own with Ethan and Ehlana after she'd already been taking care of them by herself all day; but she ordered me to accept the invitation – not that it was all that tough to get me to agree to having dinner with Michael and his family. The food was awesome; I loved getting to spend some time with Miranda, Jacob, and Rebecca; and Michael and I had fun with another guitar lesson after we'd helped with the kitchen clean-up. I have to take it easy with my guitar playing whenever Michael and I aren't alone, but he's teaching me some contemporary country songs that we both like – and that we can sing along to as we play. Miranda thinks we should start a band, so she must think we sound good; but that isn't going to happen if for no other reason than that we're both too busy to even think about adding band practices and performances to the mix.

We made time for a little cuddling in the living room before I needed to be home at nine o'clock; but we weren't alone for that, and I'm still wishing we could find some more Michael-and-me-only time. That was at least a quiet little break before I was back into the action again. I helped Mom get Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night; she followed that up with a long Magi lesson for me; and then I came up to my room and got started on my bedtime studies and computing by shortly before eleven. It's almost two o'clock now, and though I could do more work; I'm beat and have had enough fun for today. Mom's going to spend the night in Crystal Springs tomorrow, and I'm going to be staying with Rowen; so I'd better wrap this up and get what sleep I can so I'll be ready for that; band practice tomorrow; and anything else that comes up. I'd better shoot for some Michael and me dreams too, since there won't be any alone time for us tomorrow night; and he'll be back to work at the Inn again on Wednesday.

I wonder what our parents would say if I suggested that we get a room at the hotel and go for an overnight stay too the next time Mom goes to spend some time with Dad in Crystal Springs? Yeah, probably not going to happen. I can dream, though, and plan to get to that right now, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Mom and Dad are probably having more fun tonight than I have; though the parts of their sleepover in the city that Aunt Leanne will want to hear all about will not be kid-rated; and too much information for Ethan, Ehlana, and me for sure.

While I'm thinking about that, though, I wonder if I'd handle that as easily as Ethan and Ehlana do if Mom had been involved with any guys when I was their age. They have essentially the same connection with her that I do; so we all sense the same things. That doesn't change much with distance; and our connections aren't blocked by wards or shields. Some of you reading this may think that's really weird, but that connection came in fairly handy for Mom and Dad that day when Corwyn Hathorne tried to crash their plane. Getting back to the point of my thoughts here, I don't know what that might have been like had things been different when I was a toddler; but at least I was mostly ready to deal with it by the time we moved here.

Now we'll get to find out if Mom's ready to deal with my teen romance years! ;^)

That wasn't anything for her to worry about today – our good morning kiss was pretty much all of the romance Michael and I got to share today. From the time we finished up with Tai Chi by the river until it was time to go to school, I was kept busy with the full morning routine plus giving Mom extra help with Ethan and Ehlana so she could also get ready for her trip before dropping the twins off at KidZone and then leaving their overnight bags with Aunt Leanne before heading out of town.

Starting the school day with music class is still awesome, and though there weren't any romantic opportunities for us; Michael and I did have fun all day. Even playing football at lunchtime was fun; and today we had Sally decide to play too; mostly so she could do something with Joshua instead of sitting on the bleachers while he had fun. There isn't anything to report from our afternoon classes, or for band practice; though that was as much fun as music class had been this morning.

Our study session was at the computer store again, and Tim met Michael, Rowen, and me there after playing yet some more football while we were busy with the band. Patricia invited all of us to have a pizza and wings dinner at their house, and when we were finished our work; she sent us over to the grocery store to pick up the frozen pizzas, wings, and a few other things with orders to start cooking the food once we got home. We didn't quite have everything ready to go by the time they got home from the store with Patrick and Scott; but the first wave of food was nearly ready to come out of the oven; the table was set; and the salad and side dishes were ready to go.

I hadn't been surprised to find out that Patrick needed to have his best friend stay overnight too, and that ended up making for a very strange night for Rowen and me. While the two younger boys needed to walk the fine line between trying to be cool around Michael and Tim while also attempting to annoy Rowen and me with their best gags and pranks, Tim has been the expert in that sort of thing for our grade; and he ended up helping them with 'best practices' tips and egging them on every time he laughed at their antics.

Don't worry too much, Rowen – this was just a temporary regression for Tim. He should be back to normal by tomorrow morning – or at least what's normal for teenage boys these days.

I'll skip the dinnertime goofiness details, though that was even occasionally entertaining when it wasn't a total gross-out. Rowen's Mom did and didn't save us by basically throwing the boys out of the house once they'd finished eating, and they happily left for the park to play football while Patricia, Rowen, and I cleaned up. Owen had been kicked outside with the rest of the boys, but he was home again with a minor football injury by the time we were finishing the work in the kitchen. It seemed like a good time for Rowen and me to leave when Patricia started joking about kissing him better; and we walked over to the park to catch the tail end of yet another football scrimmage that broke up when it started getting dark.

Michael and Tim came home with us, though we made a quick detour to say goodnight to Ethan and Ehlana at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house on our way back. Rowen and I should have stayed there, since that would have been more fun than watching Michael and Tim spend the rest of their time with us playing video games with Patrick and Scott. I didn't even get to cuddle with Michael while they did that because they weren't gaming in the living room because Rowen's parents were watching television in there.

Patrick and Scott are the reason why our good morning kiss was the best Michael and I could manage today too. They snuck out the back door when Rowen and I went outside to say goodnight to Michael and Tim; and made sure that there was zero opportunity for more than a peck of a kiss and a hug. Michael and Tim played along, and even let Patrick and Scott 'chase them off' with Patrick's helicopter. Getting that for his birthday seemed like a good idea at the time; but not so much tonight.

At least that last blast of action pretty much ended the worst of gags and pranks for the night. There were a few minor moments from the time we went inside again until Rowen and I had finished getting ready for bed and gone into hiding in her room; but Patrick and Scott seemed to mostly be pranked out by then - or just didn't find it as much fun without the audience. Rowen and I tried to help ourselves out by turning the lights out in her room and using two sets of earbuds to listen to music while I worked on my computer and Rowen mostly surfed YouTube. Our girl chat included me lamenting about the lack of boyfriend alone time; and Rowen wished that Tim would get around to being her boyfriend so she could have a problem like mine.

Staying with Rowen hasn't kept me from doing all of my work and studying tonight. She fell asleep a couple of hours ago, and I was able to kick it up a notch or three; though I didn't use any Magi power to help out with that. I've ended up working a bit later than I should have, but can still be sleeping by two-thirty if I put my computer away now. Time for another night of dreaming about what isn't happening in real life for Michael and me. It's hard to believe that I didn't want to be thinking or dreaming about things like that just a few short months ago! Dad probably wishes I was still at that stage – though I seriously doubt he's thinking about that tonight.

We really don't want to go there, so I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Michael met me outside for Tai Chi; and we ended up doing that on our own in Rowen's back yard when we didn't see any signs of life next door at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. I found out later that Ethan and Ehlana let them sleep in because they sensed that Aunt Leanne was especially tired when they all went to bed last night.

That was a quiet, fun start to the day, but then Michael went home to get ready for school while the quiet ended for Rowen and me about a minute after Patrick and Scott launched into their morning gags and pranks routine. They were on a roll with that through until we got to school and they needed to go hang out with their buddies. Rowen had hit her little brother and sidekick limit by then; and is seriously considering never having another sleepover at her house ever. She'll get over that as she has every other time she's said that; but I did like the idea of moving the sleepovers at her house over to a room at the Inn. I just seriously doubt that the parents will go for that – even if Michael could swing a family discount for us.

Wednesday always seem to be longer than other days for a lot of people; and I guess it was for me too today because there wasn't much going on at school to break up the classwork. Having a dull, cloudy day that turned decidedly wet tonight didn't exactly cheer anyone up either; so I was ready to escape by the time we were set free after Phys-Ed class ended this afternoon. Our homework session was at Landry's again, and that was a fun break; but then we all moved on to our part-time jobs once we finished our assignments.

I went to work in the office after getting home, and Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana joined me there so that we could catch up on what we'd all been doing since Mom had left for Crystal Springs yesterday. Her lunchtime recap with Aunt Leanne was probably way more graphic than ours, and we were all okay with that. My brother, sister, and I do not need to know some of the details of those five-star parental sleepovers. We did enjoy hearing about how Angela, Terry, and Valerie are doing; and the best news for us is that we're going to the Malloy's house a week from Saturday to help Valerie celebrate her first birthday. I can hardly wait to see them again!

The rest of our night was busy but quiet. I worked in the office until we stopped for a slightly late dinner; Mom and I did the clean-up together; and then we did a round of Magi lessons. I helped to teach one to Ethan and Ehlana, and then Mom did one with me while the twins did a bit of their Grade Twelve homework. We did a bedtime phone chat and story time with Dad, and then dunked Ethan and Ehlana in the tub before putting them to bed for the night. It was time for Mom and I to spend some quality time with our Jacuzzis after that; and I started my language studies while in the tub before moving on to my archive work once I was in bed with Mandy.

I still managed to put four hours of work in tonight even though it's only going on a quarter after one. Working a bit longer was an option, but I'll be having a late night tomorrow and decided not to do that. I'll use that extra down time to dream about what isn't happening with Michael and me in real life instead.

Listen to me going there yet again – and we girls think that boys have a one-track mind!

Our parents might be happy to hear that there is absolutely nothing going on in that department with us right now, and having some make-out time with Michael really isn't the only thing on my mind; but it could be if we don't get around to having some couples-only time soon.

I'd better not think about that too much more right now; put my computer away; and get some sleep.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Congratulations Liz, Philip, Naomi, and everyone in the Seager and Ayres families!

Eli Seager arrived at two-oh-five this afternoon, about eleven hours after he gave his mother the early morning wake-up call to let her know he was just about ready to be born. He was eight pounds, four ounces; is very healthy; and looks like his daddy.

That news – at least that Liz had gone into labor – reached us before Tai Chi this morning; so Michael passed that nugget on to his mother and sister between the time he went home and met up with me again for the walk to school. Aunt Leanne sent regular updates to Mom because she went to the clinic with Uncle Adam when he got the call at three o'clock; and stayed until Aunt Deborah came in for her shift after doing the morning feeding with Leah.

Michael, Rowen, and I weren't the only kids with that grapevine story by the time we got to school. Some of the kids and teens heard about it through their own family connections while others heard about it through the teachers – and Mr. Seager's absence today. In a school as small as ours; substitute teachers are noticed by the students. Thanks to having Mr. Ayres as our teacher, I was able to get regular progress updates through Nurse-Aunt Deborah; so we also knew that Eli had been born by the time we started our last class of the afternoon.

I don't often think about the fact that Liz is Uncle Nick's sister, or that Aunt Deborah was helping to deliver her nephew today. Some people may have been surprised that Uncle Nick worked all day, but I'm sure that was easier on him than sitting in the waiting room all day doing nothing. He was the first kid out of the classroom after Geography class, though; and his timing getting to the clinic was probably pretty good by the time Eli was cleaned up and presentable.

Though I would have liked to go and meet Eli then too, I knew it would be too busy at the clinic with the Ayres and Seager clans there along with the rest of the regular patients. The good news is that the appointments don't need to be juggled around much anymore now that we have two doctors. The biggest issue Uncle Adam likely has right now is with days like today when he has to deal with Magi births around a non-Magi best friend and fellow doctor. Mom's worked on that problem with him and Aunt Deborah; but I haven't seen them in action yet.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I went to the Inn for our after-school study session. It was raining by then; but I didn't go outside again until after game night was over. We got our assignments out of the way and had a little chat and snack break before Tim and Rowen left so that Michael and I could get to work in the kitchen. We had extra diners tonight because the proud Seagers and Ayres grandparents brought their combined clans and some friends over for a quick dinner before most of them returned to the clinic again. That made for a busy night in the kitchen, and Rebecca, Michael, and I pretty much worked straight through until game night started.

Eli's arrival and the rainy weather combined for a low turnout for game night. Miranda was okay with that because she had Mom for her partner this week; and they fairly handily won the senior championship this week. Michael and I didn't win the junior championship; and neither did Tim and Rowen because Caleb Palmer and Erica Bassett took the title this week. The fact that the four of us spent as much time playing with Ethan and Ehlana as we did playing the games might have had something to do with why our teams were closer to the bottom than the top – even when there wasn't a lot of competition.

Mom had driven over with Ethan and Ehlana, so we didn't have to walk home in the rain; and Miranda sent leftover game night snacks with us to drop off at the clinic on our way home. Michael came with us to help with that delivery; and we ended up staying there for nearly a half-hour because Liz had been up and nursing Eli. We got to see them; Mom, Ehlana, and I each held Eli for a minute; and Naomi decided that she needed to have a sleepover with Ehlana instead of her grandparents – a decision that worked for all of the tired-out adults in the building.

Uncle Mark was taking the first half or more of the night shift, and Uncle Adam had already gone to bed after only getting a few hours of sleep last night. Liz was probably disappointed, but Uncle Adam couldn't do a full healing with her all at once because Uncle Mark would be checking up on her during the night; but I'm sure that he did as much as he could. Mom had a private chat with Liz while everyone else was busy with the snacks; and that gave her a chance to make sure that Liz and Eli were both doing fine too.

We dropped Michael off at his house on the way home, so that didn't give us much of an opportunity for a goodnight hug and kiss – especially with Ethan and Ehlana giggling at us from their car seats. That needed to be a quick stop because Grandma and Grandpa Ayres followed us home with Naomi so that we didn't need to move her car seat into our minivan in the rain. Having three toddlers to get ready for bed kept Mom and I busy for a while before they were tucked in for the night; and then we did a Magi lesson in my room before Mom went to bed and I got started on my studies.

That was hours of work ago now, and it's after three o'clock. I should've wrapped up an hour ago, because we have another long day ahead of us that's going to start with helping Mom with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi again. We have another home football game that Rowen and I will be going to with Michael and Tim; and hopefully we'll get to have a little cuddle time and a movie after that – though I'm looking forward to seeing Dad after he's home again too.

For right now, though, I'm beat and need to crash for a few hours; so that's all I've got for tonight.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Rowen is sitting here grinning at me after I asked her where I should start with this update; so let's write about the fact that she and Tim had more couples-alone time than Michael and I did – and they're not even unofficially a couple yet.

Go ahead and laugh, Rowen, but you're seeing more action than I am; so maybe you shouldn't rush into the boyfriend-girlfriend thing in case you mess that up!

That happened because Michael and I left Tim and Rowen alone in the lounge when it was time to clean up before the boys went home after our post-football movie and cuddle time. They got to be alone, but Michael and I had Mom and Dad with us in the kitchen while they were cleaning up from their own cuddle time in the living room after their dinner and a movie guests had gone home for the night. I liked getting to spend that extra little bit of time with Mom and Dad, but everything else we have going on in our lives is continually getting in the way of what should be one of the best parts of being a couple.

Let's not get bogged down with thinking about what didn't or isn't happening for Michael and me and move along.

Tai Chi this morning was extra fun because Naomi joined in to try and exercise with Ethan and Ehlana. She and Michael don't know about each other, so we ended up just letting the three younger kids play while Mom, Michael, and I worked through the latest competition form that Michael was learning. He stayed for breakfast and helped to get Ethan ready for the day before going home to get ready for school; and I helped Mom with Ehlana and Naomi before grabbing a shower and getting dressed while Mom and Michael cooked up a batch of pancakes.

Rowen and I met up with Michael and Rebecca at their house before walking to school together. The rain was ending by then; and the forecast was decent for the rest of the day. We were on the Day One schedule today, and I'm still the only kid in our class to be even remotely excited about starting the day out with Spanish. Tim always leads the jokes about that, and reminds us every time that he can barely manage to think in English before noon let alone try to understand another language.

Philip – Mr. Seager – was off again today, and Eli was a top story around the school today; though football was still number one – at least according to nearly every guy. Mr. Ayres was teaching us today; and I got teased for sharing several extra hugs with him. He's an uncle again; would have liked to be spending the day with his family; and needed the extra hugs so I just ignored Tim and the other guys and girls who felt the need to make fun of me.

It's just really too bad that hugging the boys doesn't scare them off anymore like it did when I first moved here.

Okay, that's not all bad, but then Michael and I aren't getting many quality hugging opportunities right now anyway. How did we get back on that topic again? Let's move along again.

There was football again at lunchtime, though Rowen and I didn't play today, and one good thing about our Day One schedule is that we end the day with Phys-Ed. Michael and Tim wanted to play more football after school, so Rowen and I sent them on ahead to do that while we checked in with her parents at the computer store; stopped at her house to pack an overnight bag so she could stay at my house tonight; and did a quick after-school snack break with Mom and the twins while exchanging the usual daily reports. We took Ethan and Ehlana with us when we went to the park; and played with them until dinnertime so that Mom could get some other work done while we were out. We watched the football action for a while too, and Ethan got to have his football moment with Michael; but we spent most of the time at the playground.

Mom had other help with getting dinner ready, and we ate early enough so that Rowen and I could get ready for the football game before leaving to meet up with Michael and Tim again. We had a smaller-than-usual group for dinner and a movie night because Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah were busy with the other half of their family tonight, but we still had fun during dinner; and Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace spent some quality time teasing me about Friday night football game dates and being too busy to hang out with them anymore.

I'd say that we all have a problem with being too busy; and that isn't going to change anytime soon – especially for Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam once they have taking care of their new baby added to the list.

While they had fun teasing me during dinner, babies were the main conversation topic – especially now that Aunt Leanne is now counting down in weeks instead of months. Eli's arrival has her getting even more excited; and she really wishes that it was more like days or hours left instead of weeks. She and the baby are both doing great, and though we couldn't talk about it tonight; he's going to be the most successful graduate of the developing Magi pre-natal training program so far. I haven't gotten involved in that except as an occasional observer; and Mom's being careful because she wants to study the effects of having multiple influences on babies before allowing too many people to get involved in each child's training.

One good thing about having a 'date' to get to after dinner is that it got Rowen and I out of the post-dinner clean-up so that we could go up to my room and get ready to go out. We met up with Michael at the Inn, and then caught up with Tim at the school. He had already found spots for us in the bleachers; so Rowen went to sit with him while Michael and I got in line at the concessions booth to buy drinks and snacks for all of us.

I'll get to the football game report in a minute, but before I do that; there was some news from the ranks of our fellow Grade Eight students. Nora and Brock came to the game together and definitely looked like there were there on a date. Vanessa and Allen were there too, though they just as obviously weren't there as a couple – even though Vanessa looked like she was leaning that way.

Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch since I wasn't close enough to them to be able to pick up anything empathically from them; but I have seen some of the signs before – when she was trying to use them on Michael.

I'm including that news flash in my update primarily because Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were all very happy to see Nora and Vanessa moving on – even though I can also assure you that the current objects of their affection won't be any more of a match for either of them than Tim and Michael were. You're reading this in the future; so you know that's true. Here in our now, though, it was mostly nice to enjoy our night at the game without any tween drama; glares; or whispered nastiness.

We should do the football report now, though Rowen and I still haven't really gotten all that interested in the games – we're just there to spend time with Michael and Tim. Our Raiders won thirty-five to seven over Ridgeway. We played them in the first round of the playoffs last season, and Kyle must have made an impression because their quarterback was still afraid of getting hit again – and spent most of the game today trying to avoid being sacked by Kyle. The only touchdown they were able to earn was on a big running play – and that guy had been motivated to run his fastest too with Kyle trying to chase him down. It's a good thing that Kyle even takes it easy on his opponents, or Uncle Adam and Uncle Mark would have both been needed tonight. As it was, there were a lot of very sore Ridgeway players by the end of the game. Kyle also scored two defensive touchdowns and managed to sack the Ridgeway quarterback twice despite the guy's best efforts to run away from Kyle all night.

The post-game celebration takes a while at home games – as long as the weather is nice – but we didn't stay long so that I could get home and have a little visit with Dad before we moved on to watching our movie in the lounge. The movie part of dinner and a movie night was wrapping up when we got home; so our timing was pretty good for spending some time with Dad while Ethan and Ehlana were being put to bed for the night and the post-movie clean-up was being done in the kitchen. That wasn't enough time to hear all about Dad's week in the city; but I mostly just needed extra hugs and kisses after a week without them.

When Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of Mom and Dad's guests started to leave, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I went upstairs to get started on our movie while we still had time to do that before the boys needed to be home. The good news is that they didn't insist on an action or space movie tonight; while the bad would be that they wanted to start watching Halloween movies. I haven't watched it yet, but one of the new shows getting a lot of buzz at school is Sleepy Hollow; so I wasn't surprised when Michael and Tim decided that the Sleepy Hollow movie would be a good place to start their annual Halloween movie-watching season. Spending an hour and a half or so watching Johnny Depp wasn't too much of a burden for Rowen and me; and we did have the added bonus of some cuddle time with Michael and Tim – though it took a little while before Rowen and Tim got around to actually cuddling together instead of just sitting really close together.

While I probably wouldn't have picked that movie to watch tonight, I do like most Tim Burton flicks; and they're certainly more intelligent than a lot of films in those genres. Now that I think about it, Tim may have suggested Sleepy Hollow on purpose – Rowen's shyness around him wasn't stronger than her need to have his arms around her during the scariest moments of the movie.

It seems like just last year that boys our age were the scariest thing in the world for us! Okay, Rowen, I thought they were scary, and you were crossing over already; but you know what I mean. The good news right now for you is that the boys are going to want to watch scary movies from now until Halloween; so you'll have lots of chances to be scared enough to cuddle with Tim. We'll have to save the fun Halloween movies for other times – though Michael wouldn't mind watching some of our favorite comedies and musicals.

I already covered all you need to know about the tail end of our movie night; and there isn't anything newsworthy to report from our time on the front porch saying a last goodnight to Michael and Tim. We watched the boys walk over to Michael's house, but went inside when they ended up sitting on the front porch steps to talk for a few minutes before Tim needed to get home. Mom and Dad were ready to go up to bed by the time we got inside; so we all went up the back stairs and did another round of goodnight hugs on the second floor before Rowen and I came the rest of the way up to my room from there.

We've been listening to YouTube videos and talking since then while I did a light version of my nightly computing; but I'm not doing a full study session so that Rowen and I can both get a decent night of sleep. So far, we don't have any plans for tomorrow other than our usual Saturday work; but Dad's going to try to get his homework done tomorrow; so we'll probably just have a play afternoon at the park and a quiet night at home. I guess that hanging out with Michael and Tim again tomorrow night will depend on how busy it is at the Inn; and whether Michael can leave after the main rush or not.

I guess that's it for now, and Rowen's already giving me the hint by packing up her computer; so I'll do the same. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

WARNING! If you are a parent and want to stay in denial about your tweens and teens; do not read this journal entry!

That said, you are an adult if you have access to my journals; and probably didn't turn the digital pages to the next update. Since I have drawn you in with that little hook; I'll get right to the 'good stuff'.

Michael and I finally got around to having some alone time tonight, and once Ethan and Ehlana had gone to bed and Mom and Dad were busy in the office; our evening got very interesting. Michael might say shocking in a brilliant sort of way. The fun really started when I put up my wards and shields so that we could talk telepathically while we half-watched a fairly terrible alien invasion movie. Yes, some minor making out was involved.

I seriously doubt that anyone needs a second guess about what's on the mind of a thirteen-year old boy(okay, twelve until next weekend); but Michael certainly didn't expect me to be able to pick up those feelings from him without overtly using my empathy. He was blushing and speechless when I offered to play a bit of show and tell with him.

If you're shocked by that, try to remember that I'm a fairly unique twelve-year old; and my perspective on things like nudity is colored by an advanced education. Not being particularly shy helps too. ;^)

While Michael was shocked, he wasn't even slightly against the idea; and we both learned a lot tonight. For me, that learning was mostly along the lines of knowing is not the same as experiencing. I tried to convince Michael that seeing me in my underwear was no different than seeing me in a bikini like he did regularly all summer; but I didn't really even believe me. His first tentative, exploring touches were thrilling for both of us; and this is one night that I'm very grateful for my photographic memory!

We were using our Magi powers for more than telepathy, and turning on our empathy helped us to discover what turned each of us on physically. That was more than a little weird at first, and it didn't save us from inexperienced fumbling; but it did help to keep us from repeating miss-steps. We had a few fairly comedic moments too, but that just helped to make for even better memories.

Even though this won't be read by anyone until years from now, I don't want to embarrass Michael; and won't write about anything more specific than I already have. My main motivation for writing about this in my journal is because there isn't very much written in the archives about teen romance between Magi; so I think it's important to start somewhere. Hopefully this won't dissuade the Magi Council from allowing other Magi teens to know about each other too, but it isn't as if we're the first young couple to see each other naked. Yes, being able to use our empathy did affect the 'when' that first happened, but the 'will happen' was inevitable.

It was also really, really hot!

Did I write that out loud? :^)

Since I'm not going to get into the details of our clothing-optional play time, let's just say that we happily fumbled and experimented our way through helping each other get undressed; we played for a little while; and then got dressed again before ending our night with a little more cuddle time. Some of you may be wondering by now whether either of us had been worried about parental interruption. That would be a 'yes' for Michael and a 'no' for me. Mom knew that there was more than hugging and kissing going on in the lounge, and we had a little mother-daughter chat in my room before she went to bed; but she trusts me and would have run interference if Dad had wanted to check in on us at an inconvenient moment.

This might be a good time to reiterate that our connection isn't mind-reading, and we have some control over it. So far, Mom really isn't finding having that link with me too uncomfortable since Michael and I started dating; and we'll figure this out just as we did when she and Dad got together.

Now that we've covered the highlight of my day, let's back up to the beginning and cover the rest of the news.

Let's see – there was Tai Chi by the river with Michael; he stayed for breakfast; he wasn't here while Dad and I did the yard work; and he played with Rowen and me while on his afternoon break. I'm sure there is a good reason why I'm thinking about everything in that particular context. After hanging out with Michael, Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana for a little visit with Naomi; though that really just gave us an excuse to see Eli again.

Don't get scared about that combination of topics, Dad. I love babies, but don't plan on having one of my own anytime soon. Of course, by the time you're able to read this; that will be obvious.

Rowen hung out with me until dinnertime, and didn't bother trying to make any excuses for why she didn't want to get together again this evening; so I should thank her for helping to make the Michael and me alone time possible. Dad was trying to get most of his weekend homework done today, so we had a quick and easy meal; and I helped Mom with the clean-up while he went back to work in the office. It was a fairly quiet night at the Inn, so Michael was set free early; and Mom did a little Magi lesson and play time with us – and with Ethan and Ehlana. That might even have topped the fun list on most other days; but was only second or third today for obvious reasons.

We had time after our Magi lesson to play music in my room for a while, and then we did the bedtime story and snack in the office with Dad before Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. I've already covered the important parts of the rest of my evening through until Michael needed to go home; other than to mention that we ended our night by setting off some fireworks on the front porch for a while before I was ready to let him leave. Mom and Dad assured me that they didn't hear a thing from the office, but I have no idea how that's possible.

Dad was ready to pack up by then, so while he did that; Mom came up to my room with me for that little chat. I'm sure that was nothing like normal mother-daughter talks about tween sexuality. Mom didn't want the details, though she teased me by suggesting that Aunt Leanne might. She was more interested in the effects our play time had on us from a Magi perspective. I honestly hadn't been paying much attention to that at the time; so I'm glad that Mom advised me to pay more attention. I wasn't in any danger of losing control of my wards and shields, but there was more going on than just telepathy and empathy; and more pressure was being applied against them than I'd realized.

I don't want to make that sound like we only had a dull, technical discussion because there were hugs and kisses; and Mom did want to make sure that I was okay first too. There will be time for me to analyze everything that happened between Michael and me tonight, and that will probably lead to some new additions for our Magi Project archive; but for now I'd just like to enjoy the happy feelings while I keep hitting the replay button on the memory loop.

Doing that has made it harder – um, more difficult – to concentrate on my nightly computing since Mom left and I snuggled in bed with Mandy. Maybe I should have taken a cold shower first! I wasn't ready to sleep right away, and though my mind has been wandering a lot more often than usual; I managed to get some language and archive studying done too. There wasn't much going on with email except for a bit of family business work that I took care of too; but I didn't expect to hear from my college cousins and friends tonight anyway. I should get email from Violet, Stephanie, and Christina tomorrow; since Sunday night seems to be one of the times they all use for sending out family and friends updates.

It's getting late, and I need to at least try to get some sleep. We don't have any specific plans for tomorrow, but Mom and Dad are going to be available to play with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; so whatever we end up doing should be fun. That thought doesn't fit at all with the mental picture that just flashed through my mind about what Michael and I could be doing during his afternoon break tomorrow; but it sounds like a perfect place to start mixing memories with dreams tonight. I think I'll get started on that right now!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

I wasn't the only one thinking about last night when Michael and I shared our good morning hug and kiss before Tai Chi this morning; and I'm just as sure that our smiles were affected by those thoughts and memories too. It's a good thing that I had those memories too because there wasn't any alone time for Michael and me today. We spent lots of time together today, but had lots of people around us too except for a few minutes here and there while we were working at the Inn during the buffets.

We exercised with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad did their own workout; and then Michael went home for breakfast while I stayed to help Mom and Dad with making breakfast and getting Ehlana ready for church. The Seagers and Ayres had the spotlight at church today; and Eli was the little star. I didn't even try to get a turn holding him today, but that won't be a problem in the future – my brother and sister are best friends with Eli's big sister; so we'll be able to come up with lots of excuses to spend time with them.

That's the only news from church except that a 'bring-what-you-have' barbeque lunch was set up for family and friends at our house; so after walking with Michael to the Inn I needed to hurry home to get changed and help out with the work. We were busy for about an hour before the tables were set up and the food was ready; and then it was mostly play time while we ate through until I went to help out at the Inn. Rowen and I supervised the kids while we had a lunch picnic on the dock or sitting along the riverbank; and then we were sent over to the park to play with them while the adults took care of a quick and easy clean-up.

Mom and Dad were among the adults that came over to the park to play once they were done the work; and the park was a popular place to be this afternoon. Dad was one of the guys drafted for the 'old guys' football team when a pick-up game was put together; and Patrick and Scott got to join Tim and some of the older boys to play against the men's team. Ethan got to have quite a few football moments, and he 'played' for both teams – first with Dad and Uncle Adam; and later with Michael when he joined the game during his afternoon break from the Inn.

Michael and I got to have some play time during his break too, though with Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, Tim, and a bunch of other kids and parents hanging around the playground with us; it wasn't anything like our play time last night. That's probably a good thing, since while I'm not shy; I don't plan on making any public displays of nudity ever.

Call me old-fashioned, but it's just the way I am.

We had fun at the Inn too, though I spent more time working with Rebecca tonight while Michael spent most of the time helping out on the cleaning crew because they were a bit short-handed tonight. That was also why we stopped to eat shortly after the second buffet started so that he could be back and helping out again once the dirty dishes started rolling in after the diners had finished the first round of trips to the buffet tables. I stayed until Miranda sent Michael and Rebecca home for the night; though Michael grabbed his computer bag from his house and came home with me so we could blast through the homework we hadn't gotten done yet this weekend. We did that in the lounge, but Ethan and Ehlana came upstairs with us so we could all have a telepathic chat while we worked. They had fun helping us with our homework too, though it didn't really take long to get our work finished; thanks to a little Magi-powered assistance.

Michael headed home when Mom was ready to put Ethan and Ehlana into the tub after a park play day, so we did our goodnight hug and kisses on my front porch – cutting them short when Miranda started whistling at us as she and Jacob turned the corner onto Riverview on their way home from closing the Inn. That gave us an excuse for one last goodnight kiss just because Miranda would find it funny, and she did laugh a few times between then and when she put an arm around Michael and they all waved goodnight to me before going inside for the night.

I helped Mom with the rest of bath time after that, and Dad joined us for the snack and story time before we tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night. Mom did a short Magi lesson with me after that, and then we all went to bed. That let me get a comparatively early start on my nightly computing and studies; though I multi-tasked the first part of that with some quality Jacuzzi time too after my own park play time and the work at the Inn. As expected, I had extra email too, and while it was fun hearing about the latest college action; there really isn't anything new to report from Violet, Stephanie, Christina, or Isabelle this week. They're all pretty much settled into routines now; having fun; and doing pretty well in all of their courses.

My language studies are coming along slowly with the batch of dialects I'm learning right now, but I sped through my archive homework; and only had a bit of family business work that needed to be done by Monday. Since I was running ahead of schedule, I did a full check of Hathorne Industries too. There's still no sign of anything we need to be immediately worried about, but they're still doing a lot of really bad things around the world that I wish we could do more about to stop them. Gwyneth's public displays of brilliance continue to get attention; and she's continuing to follow a learning track that's similar to those of other child prodigies. The only thing we can't find out through the Hathorne systems is how her Magi training and development is coming along. Gawain will be able to teach her some things; but she'll be at an even bigger disadvantage than Mom was when it comes to learning the abilities of a Magi Master.

Of course, that might be a good thing; but could also be more dangerous if she learns to do things without having control over her talents. There aren't any archive records about that kind of thing with Dark Magi, but there are cases of untrained Magi of the Light who weren't able to be trained for one reason or another; and most of those cases involved some very bad experiences. I don't want to imagine what could happen with an out-of-control Dark Magi Master.

That isn't a great tone to end this update on; so let's do a quick check on the week ahead.

The main action will be on the weekend with Valerie's first birthday party in Crystal Springs on Saturday and Michael's thirteenth birthday here on Sunday. We haven't made any plans for after school on Michael's days off tomorrow and Tuesday, but he and I should shoot for some more alone time before we get back into the work part of our week. Our football team is playing away games for the next three weeks, and while Rowen and I don't plan on going to any of those games; Tim wants to go to all of them; and may drag Michael along with him. That third game is on the Fall Festival weekend, so Tim may change his mind about that; and if I can actually swing some more alone time for Michael and me I have a strong feeling that he'll pick that time with me over football with Tim.

If not, I'll just take my clothes off again and convince him – Michael – that he's making the wrong decision. ;^)

That's a much more entertaining way to wrap this up, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Let's begin with some social news from school that definitely leaned toward the weird today.

Nora and Brock have officially joined the Grade Eight couples club, and while they're still not yet a couple; Vanessa and Allen paired up so they could hang out with the rest of us too. That's not really any different than Rowen and Tim hanging out with Michael and me; but it sure feels different. Rowen and I have never been part of the couples club before when Vanessa and Nora were, so that was part of the weird; while just hanging out together not really that many weeks after we'd been on Nora's and Vanessa's hit list seemed very odd – especially since they were mostly trying to ignore our presence while still participating in some of the same conversations we were having with our collective friends. It's very obvious that Nora is still very happy about 'beating' Tim to the next relationship; and just as obvious that Vanessa really wants to have Allen join the club with her. I'll take the under on whether she'll have him caught by the fall festival.

In other news, while I haven't mentioned anything other than high school football in my journal so far this season, Monday is a big football day for the guys; and Michael and I are having a fair bit of fun with my ability to keep ahead of all of the guys when it comes to the weekend results and Monday morning quarterbacking of college and professional matches. Michael should have gotten special commendation for not even suggesting that we watch football on Saturday night; but then again I guess you could say that he did – not that either of us were thinking about football at the time! ;^)

We played some football at lunchtime too; and Rowen, Gretchen, Sally, and I were all out of the field this time too instead of sitting on the bleachers. The boys may not let us play tomorrow; but that's only because our team won fairly easily. That did have a lot to do with having Michael, Tim, Joshua, and Elliott on our team too; but the guys on the other team were complaining about us being a distraction – not about our football skills. I'm sure that helps them deal with the fact that they weren't able to catch up with Rowen or me even once; and it's not our fault if they spent more time girl-watching instead of keeping an eye on where the football was going.

There wasn't much else going on at school today other than one little pop quiz; so it seemed comparatively quiet. I brought Michael, Tim, and Rowen home with me for our after school study session, and then we took Ethan and Ehlana with us to the park for some more football and playground action. I know the guys really want to play football whenever they can on Michael's days off – especially when the weather is cooperating; but I have no intention of sitting on the bleachers and watching them once it gets colder. We took bikes and the trailer with us to the park, and left early enough so that we could do a construction site tour when it was time for all of us to get home for dinner at our respective houses. The new apartment building is already taking shape; and I'm always impressed with the progress at the lab between one visit and the next.

Michael came home with me long enough to help with Ethan, Ehlana, and the bikes and trailer; but then he went home for dinner while Mom and Dad just had their own kids to feed tonight. I'd missed out on the cooking, but took care of the clean-up on my own while I waited for Michael, Rowen, and Tim to all come over again so we could have a music practice to get ready for class and band tomorrow; and play some video games in the lounge after that.

Ethan and Ehlana came upstairs with us for the music time; and they both sat on my piano bench and happily plunked away at it while the rest of us were practicing our band music. While Tim isn't in the band, he played along with us; usually just picking away at the melody of each song while Michael, Rowen, and I played our assigned parts. That doesn't really sound all that great when Michael and I just have basic harmonies for most of our music; but then we also have some long breaks where we can take turns playing along with the melody too. If Tim keeps working with us, he could get an invitation to the band too; though I'm not sure if he'd want to join or not since he really wants to play football during high school.

Mom let the twins stay with us long enough so that they could have a little video gaming fun with Michael and Tim; but then she took them downstairs when she was ready to put them into the bathtub for their usual Monday night clean-up. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I played on until it was time to do the bedtime story and snack with the twins; and then we went downstairs to do that with them – and Mom and Dad – in the office. Tim still hasn't spent much time in the office yet, so he's still really impressed with the set-up there; and wants to convince his parents that they really need a home office like ours too. I'll take a wild guess that if they did remodel their office that he'd move in and have his X-Box hooked up to the big screen monitor. I'd suggest that he should just ask Santa for a bigger television for his room, but then he's probably asking for the new X-Box One this year – the same as most other boys his age are likely doing this year too – Michael included.

We're still more than a month away from Halloween, so let's not get on a Christmas kick quite yet; but Rowen and I will have an easy time this year picking out gifts for boys this year – if enough of those new game systems are available. Maybe I'll take a look around my companies and see if I can help out with that potential little problem – I do have a few toy stores in my investment portfolio.

Moving along, Michael, Tim, and Rowen went home when Ethan and Ehlana were taken up to bed, and Tim walked Rowen home while Michael and I spent a couple of minutes saying goodnight on my front porch in a mostly non-verbal sort of way. Michael was on his way home too by the time Tim and Rowen split up in front of her house; and Rowen and I both stayed outside and watched our boys until they were either home or out of sight. We exchanged grins and waves before going inside too; and then I went straight to work on my Magi lesson with Mom.

By the time I was finished that and had chatted with Mom and Dad for a little while until Dad was finished his work for the night it was heading toward eleven o'clock. After coming up to my room, I got changed; climbed into bed with Mandy; and got started on my archive homework. I spent an hour or so on that; another hour and a half on my language studies; and have been doing my nightly computing and a bit of family business work since then. It's heading toward two-thirty, and past-time for me to get to sleep. That's all the news I have for today anyway; so until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Yes, I think that Tuesdays are going to be my favorite weekday for this school year – especially when Michael and I get to have dinner and spend the evening together.

It's getting much cooler in the mornings now, but we're still going out to the river for Tai Chi and just dressing a bit more warmly. Ethan and Ehlana like being outdoors for that as much as the rest of us do, but then they'd also like to exercise in the house so that they can practice their Tai Chi the way they can instead of playing the public 'normal toddler' role.

Michael went home to have breakfast with his parents and sister, and I was kept busy with the usual KidZone day morning routine right up until he and Rowen met up with me here when it was time to get to school. Tim met us there, and I got to take the heat for being late even though we still had time to drop things off at our lockers before going to home room; and I hadn't been running behind for any of the reasons Tim kept suggesting.

We had a pretty good day at school, though there really isn't anything newsworthy to report from our classes; and no major gossip worth repeating here. Band practice was fun, and so was our study session after that at the computer store. Tim was late for that because he was playing football at the park, and didn't quite get all of his work done before Michael and I needed to leave for dinner at his house.

When I stopped in to drop off my computer bag at home, I found out that Ehlana had brought Naomi home with her from KidZone for a sleepover; mostly because her best friend wanted a night off from all of the middle of the night wake-up calls Eli was giving his parents and big sister since getting home from the clinic. The novelty of a baby in the house is definitely wearing off for her; and I suspect that there will be more sleepovers for her at our house over the next few months when she needs a break.

Jacob wasn't experimenting with anything tonight, but his dinners are still the best in town; and I really love getting to share those meals with Michael and his family. Now that Rebecca's in Grade Nine, we're not doing much together right now; but she's still my second-best girlfriend in Witch Falls; and we have fun whenever we can hang out together without the great scholastic and social divide getting in our way like it does when we're at school. Hopefully that'll change again once Michael and I start high school too – at least for a few years.

Listen to me writing about Michael and me years in the future! Is that the gourmet dinners talking; or could it be that I know something? ;^)

Since he gets to do a lot of cleaning at the Inn, doing the dishes after dinner isn't Michael's favorite job; but I think it's a small price to pay for the awesome food and try to make it fun for both of us too. We followed that up with an hour or so of music that was split between a guitar lesson and playing the band and music class music we're learning on our saxophones. That left us with a half hour or so to cuddle on a sofa in the living room while we talked with Miranda, Jacob, and Rebecca; and then it was time for me to get home so I could do the bedtime story and snack with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi.

It's after two again and I'm getting tired fast; so let's wrap this up in condensed version mode. The story and snack was in the office with Dad; Mom and I did a little girl chat time with Ehlana and Naomi after Ethan was tucked into bed and kissed goodnight by four girls; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with me in my room before she went to get Dad and take him to bed for the night. I've been doing all of my usual school night studying and work since then, and don't have anything important to report from my archive or language studies; or from family business work or email news. We're back to a couple of after-school work nights; so I really do need to rest up for that – and to help out with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi in the morning; so that's it for tonight.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The only real news for today is that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had our after-school study session at Tim's house today instead of in the conference room at Landry's automotive; mostly because that room was in use tonight. It seemed a bit strange to be there unsupervised; but we managed to stay out of trouble and get our assignments done.

I'm sure that nothing happened between Rowen and Tim after Michael and I left – she only stayed to help clean up for a few minutes while Michael needed to hurry to the Inn and I went along so I could walk with him.

You're welcome, Rowen!

The rest of my day was pretty much standard for a Wednesday; except we had an extra toddler with us for Tai Chi, and Michael stayed to help out with breakfast – and getting Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi ready for the day. I don't have anything newsworthy to report from school, and while I've done a lot of work and studying since getting home; there isn't really anything particularly new to report with the family business or my language and archives studies.

Being home all evening and not seeing Michael after leaving him at the Inn didn't end up in an early start to my usual bedtime computing and studies; so I've managed to keep busy until after two o'clock again tonight. These late nights are going to catch up with me eventually, but with a busy weekend ahead; I don't expect there will be any chances to turn in early anytime over the next week or so – unless I get too worn out and have no choice but to skip some work for a night.

I didn't need to do that tonight, but I am ready to crash and nap for a while; so that's all I have for this update.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

It was boys against the girls for game night at the Inn; and that was Miranda's excuse for having Mom as her partner again this week while Dad teamed up with Jacob for the night. I don't know if she'll come up with something else for next week, but that plan did earn Miranda a repeat senior championship; and everyone had fun with the forced partner switch-ups.

Rowen and I didn't win the junior championship, but neither did Michael and Tim; and we did end up two places ahead of the boys. It would have been great to report that Jacob and Dad had won the senior championship just to mess up Miranda's grand scheme, but they were having more fun playing with Ethan and Ehlana than with the games; and pretty much ended up near the bottom of the standings where Jacob's teams usually placed each week regardless of who he was partnering with. He'd win for most fun team a lot of weeks, though!

My day up until we went to the Inn after school was fairly uneventful. It was a standard school day morning at home and nothing particularly exciting happened while we were at school. Rowen and Tim did their homework with Michael and me at the Inn before moving on when we needed to help out in the kitchen; and Michael, Rebecca, and I had a lot of fun together while mostly helping out with the prep line and some dishwashing. The three of us had our dinner break together too; and Rebecca and I helped out with setting up the games while the dining room was cleaned up and the last few dinner guests finished their desserts and after-dinner drinks.

While I'm thinking about working at the Inn, I haven't yet mentioned in my journal that Jenny isn't spending much time at the Inn right now – just as she wasn't working with Rebecca as often while dating Joel during the summer. Being a cheerleader is part of that, and so is wanting to spend time with her new boyfriend; but she still stops in to chat with Rebecca now and then too. Hopefully the extra time I'm spending there now will help Rebecca a little while she's missing that extra time with her best friend.

Moving along, after game night, Michael walked home with me – and with nearly all of the gamers heading home in the same direction as us. When the goodnight kisses teasing started this time, I took Michael's hand and led him into his house so we could take care of that without an audience. Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace were waiting to tease me some more at my house, but those private goodnight kisses were worth it.

Once they'd had their fun with me, my aunts let their husbands take them home; and I started helping Mom with Ethan and Ehlana's baths while Dad got to work in the office. We multi-tasked that with a Magi lesson that worked on water element manipulation; and then we did the bedtime snack and story with Dad in the office before getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night.

Mom did my lesson after that, and then I did some multi-tasking too. I got my language studies out of the way while soaking in my Jacuzzi, and then took a break from the work while doing my hair. It was almost twelve-thirty by the time I climbed into bed with Mandy and got started on my archive assignments; and that was nearly two and a half hours ago. The archive studying was followed by some work on our Magi Project archive; and then I got into some family business work after checking my email and receiving some project updates.

It's almost three o'clock, and I'm seriously ready for the nap I still have time for; so that's all for tonight, folks.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, September 27, 2013

A Day Two schedule Friday and dinner and a movie night are a pretty good combination for a good start to the weekend!

Tai Chi was fun, and I got to keep Michael with us for breakfast before he hurried home to get ready for school. We hadn't practiced our music last night, but that didn't really hurt us at all for music class; and all of that helped to keep me happy all day as we worked through the rest of our classes. That included writing tests in English this morning and Geography during last class; but I don't exactly need to get stressed about any of my tests.

The big change from our normal Friday happened after school. Since we're going to be away tomorrow, I needed to mow the lawn today. Tim was going with his Uncle Lee to our team's football game in Three Rivers, but Michael and Rowen both decided to help me with the work; so I let Rowen use the riding mower while I did the trimming with the push mower and Michael brought their riding mower over and used it. Doing the cuts around the trees, gardens, and along the riverbank doesn't really take all that long; so I gave the gardens a quick once-over too while Michael and Rowen finished cutting the grass. We all hopped into the river after that to cool off – which didn't take long now that the river is really cooling down a lot each night. We certainly didn't want to stay in the water for long; and Ethan and Ehlana weren't interested in going in with us today. Michael had changed into his swimsuit after taking his lawnmower home, and needed to go back again to get cleaned up and changed for the dinner and a movie part of our night. That gave Rowen and I time to do our hair; and she'd just shopped in my room for both the swimsuit and clothes to wear for the rest of the evening.

Mom had cooking help from Grandma and Grandpa while I'd been busy, and we only had them – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne – with us for dinner this week. It's Uncle Nick's birthday on Monday, so he and Aunt Deborah took Leah on a road trip to visit her family; though they'll be back on Sunday. From what I heard tonight, there's probably a kid-free five-star hotel sleepover in Uncle Nick's future too; but that's apparently a surprise that he won't find out about until tomorrow sometime.

Grandpa took care of most of the grilling tonight, and he cooked up chicken and shish-kabobs while Mom and Grandma whipped up a broccoli casserole and scalloped potatoes. Add in the bakery desserts that Mom had picked up today while Ethan and Ehlana had been at KidZone; and we were all very happy campers by the time we waddled into the living room to watch Spooky Buddies after finishing the kitchen clean-up.

Not having the whole gang with us tonight worked out great for the movie; since we didn't need to bring in extra chairs and have anyone feeling uncomfortable by the end of the show – or split up and do a different movie in the lounge like we have been doing lately. I like the kid-time too; but don't want to completely miss out on movie nights with my favorite grown-ups either.

Speaking of uncomfortable, though, I think Rowen was feeling a bit out of place when we first sat down to watch the movie; and then Ethan helped out with that by happily hopping into her lap and getting Aunt Leanne teasing him about getting in trouble with Tim for trying to move in on Rowen while he was out of town. It's a bit weird that he and Ehlana need to play normal toddlers when Michael and Rowen are both with us even though they each know the truth about my brother and sister, but in this case; it was funny to listen to Ethan essentially explain to everyone that he and Rowen are both single, he loves her, and isn't worried about Tim.

Having a cuddle buddy for that movie worked out fine for Rowen, but she quickly opted to go home after that instead of staying to watch a second movie in the lounge with Michael and me – even after Ethan offered to stay up late with her. Mom vetoed that offer anyway, and Michael and I were okay with having some alone time before he had to go home for the night. We did stay downstairs long enough to help with the clean-up; see the rest of our guests on their way home; and then get Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night on our way up to the lounge before settling in to watch another Halloween movie and spend some quality time making out for an hour and a half or so.

I don't want to turn my journal into a literary voyeur's paradise, but I certainly hope that making out with my boyfriend will be a very important part of my life for the foreseeable future; and I'm sure that Michael and I are both spending a fair bit of our time thinking about it in between those opportunities. Without getting too graphic, it wasn't quite as hot tonight as it was last weekend, though partial nudity was involved; we had fun; and were very happy campers by the time Michael needed to go home.

After seeing Michael out and sharing a few more kisses on the front porch, I had a little visit with Mom and Dad in the office before we all came upstairs to our rooms. We need to be up early to hit the road for Crystal Springs, so I put a one o'clock time limit on my work tonight. We're almost there now, and I don't have anything exciting to report from my studies or work; so it's time to shut down and get some sleep so I'll be ready for a busy travel and play day. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Happy 1st Birthday, Valerie!

Before I get started on the news of the day, Michael and Tim reminded me tonight that our team had a football game last night; and I didn't write about it last night.

They won – yeah!

Did that sound excited enough to you? Okay, for those of you who desperately need more details; they won what Tim admitted was a fairly ugly game against Three Rivers. There isn't any point in going into the details about why our opponent last night was being particularly offensive in a non-football or sportsmanlike way – the sixty-eight to seventeen score speaks to that fairly effectively. So did Kyle's eight defensive take-aways; six quarterback sacks; and his four touchdowns that were just over half of the fifty-two points our team scored on his turnovers. Our offense only added one other touchdown and three field goals that weren't helped by defensive turnovers; but then they didn't exactly need the extra points anyway. Tim was fired up about the game, and how well his cousin played; but I'm glad that I missed it.

Now that my football team duty is taken care of; let's move on to the good stuff from today.

We woke up to light rain falling, so Tai Chi was indoors today; but I was just glad to get to spend a bit of time with Michael before we left for Crystal Springs. The Malloy's weren't expecting us until lunchtime, but Mom had decided to get the shopping she wanted to do finished before the party instead of trying to do it on the way home after it was over. That worked for me because I wanted to spend time with Michael, Tim, and Rowen tonight after Michael was done at the Inn; and Rowen's staying for a sleepover so that we can both go over to Michael's house in the morning for his birthday breakfast.

That meant we were busy getting ready for the day, having breakfast, and getting the minivan loaded for the trip from the time Michael went home until we were on the road heading east at eight-thirty; but then I was able to relax and watch a movie with Ethan and Ehlana while we drove to the city. I blasted through my homework then too; but that didn't take long with a little Magi power assistance. We stopped at Wal-Mart first to pick up some bulk supplies before making a stop at the Mall; and though I'd already picked up Michael's birthday presents, I found a couple of little things to give him along with the main gifts.

This trip gave me a chance to get some other gifts for upcoming birthdays and other events too, but since I hadn't actually expected to be in the city again until next month – or maybe even not until November – I was really just getting ahead of schedule on that – I was already covered for just about everything through mid-October anyway. We didn't do a lot of clothes shopping, but even Dad picked up a couple of things before it was time to load up again and drive over to the Malloy's house.

I love our home, and old houses in general; but newer homes often have much more interesting designs; and Terry and Angela's place is very modern and interesting. It was still raining off and on by the time we got there, so I didn't spend much time outdoors; but even with a big guest list for the party; it wasn't even remotely crowded for us except when we all sat down to eat and were all in one room at the same time. Ethan, Ehlana, and I spent most of the afternoon playing with Valerie, some of her cousins, and a few other little kids who were there with some of Terry's and Angela's friends.

Valerie doesn't have a bedroom suite; but she does have a large, separate play room that had been an extra guest bedroom before she was born – and already was well-stocked with toys, games, and books. She also has a wall-mounted television that's high enough to be reasonably kid-proof, and while I'm sure she loves watching movies on it already; I'll take a wild guess that the gaming system attached to it is more for her Daddy's benefit than hers right now. A couple of the older boys played games on that for a while, but the younger kids mostly played with the toys and games.

The party wasn't really any different from other first birthday celebrations except that Angela and Terry hang out with a different circle of friends than Mom and Dad do at home. Dad loved that, since half of those friends were lawyers and judges; so he fit right in – and knew most of them from his work in Crystal Springs. Mom didn't find all the legal talk particularly interesting, but she did have fun with Terry and his engineering buddies.

If that surprises you, it shouldn't. The really good engineers are just math geeks on steroids; and Mom was able to run circles around them when it comes to throwing numbers around.

While I'm thinking about the guys at the party, they spent a lot of their afternoon watching college football. Though I was in the play room with the younger kids most of the time, Dad couldn't resist showing off my football knowledge skills to Terry and the other guys once while I was taking a break from the toddler action. That was entertaining, and Dad still likes getting to brag about his straight-A+ student daughter – even though he can't talk about just how extraordinary all of his kids are.

I can't really say that much of the adult conversations were all that interesting to me since I'm not all that interested in either law or engineering. The play time with Valerie was fun, though, and she was particularly entertaining during dinner; while having her birthday cake; and when she opened her gifts and found the boxes, ribbons, and bows more fun than most of the gifts. I was at the other end of the table during most of that action, and that was okay with me; since anyone too close to Valerie ended up wearing bits of chocolate cake when she unintentionally started a minor food fight with one of her little cousins that was only kept under control thanks to quick action by attentive parents.

Ethan and Ehlana had to play 'normal' toddler all afternoon, and while they still have fun playing with young kids; they were ready for some more stimulating conversation by the time we headed home again. We were on the road by six o'clock; and back in Witch Falls by shortly before eight. I used Mom's phone to check in with Rowen, and she came over right away. We unloaded the van first and I had time to get my own purchases put away before Michael and Tim joined us.

Michael didn't get out of work at the Inn early, but it wasn't all that busy either; so they didn't need him to stay right through until they closed tonight. Tim was staying at Michael's tonight and they didn't need to be home again until midnight; so we didn't need to rush the start of our movie. We had a visit with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; helped with getting my brother and sister tucked in for the night; and then came up to the lounge to watch another Halloween flick.

Rowen is quite happy to have the scary movie excuse to encourage Tim to cuddle with her, so we may have to come up with a new plan for that after Halloween; but she hopes they'll officially be a couple before then anyway and won't have that problem. Michael and I enjoyed the cuddle time too; though it didn't seem nearly long enough before he and Tim needed to head home. I'm pretty sure that Rowen and Tim had more alone time action than Michael and I did; but it was my fault that the boys were a few minutes late getting home. I doubt that Miranda will mind; since I only wanted to make sure that the official start to Michael's first birthday with me as his girlfriend was memorable – and we definitely set off a few midnight fireworks on the back porch while Rowen and Tim waited for us on the front porch steps.

Yeah, I know Tim didn't kiss you goodnight out there, Rowen; but you guys more than made up for that while not cleaning up the lounge when Michael and I were washing our glasses and snack bowls.

Mom and Dad had already been in bed by then, so Rowen and I came straight up to my room and got ready for bed. I'd done as much of my nightly computing as I could on the trip home from Valerie's party, so all I've done since climbing into bed with Rowen and Mandy was my email checks; including sending email for family business work I'd completed offline. Rowen and I need to be up early to get appropriately beautiful and dressed up for Michael's birthday breakfast and church, and we've already kept our girl chat going past one o'clock; so I'm going to wrap this up, put my computer away, and hit the lights so we can get what rest we can. I want to be ready to help Michael have a best-ever-so-far birthday!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Michael!

He isn't trying to start a trend or anything, but we were both really happy to spend most of the day together with our best friends instead of having a big party that his parents didn't have time to throw on a Sunday anyway.

Michael and I skipped Tai Chi this morning, but Rowen and I were still busy from the time we woke up and took turns having showers until we walked over to his house with about fifteen minutes to spare before we were supposed to sit down for breakfast. The birthday hugs and kisses this morning weren't as fiery as they were at midnight; but we had company with us this time. We didn't really have all that long to actually eat breakfast; get Michael to open his gifts; and have a short conference call with Jake and Stephanie before we needed to clean up and go to church.

Jacob wasn't experimenting today, but the food was as awesome as always, and Michael does have really great favorites; though Jacob cooked up a few extra options too. The chat with Jake and Stephanie was the most entertaining part of the morning, and while I'm sure that they'd have liked to be having breakfast with us instead of whatever their choices were going to be today in their respective dining halls; but it sounded like they expected to have more fun there for the rest of the day than they'd have had working at the Inn today – even with the studying they were going to be doing all afternoon with some of their college friends.

Michael's birthday fun continued after his breakfast party; starting with getting a gift from Ethan and Ehlana when they stopped in with Mom and Dad so they could walk with us to church. I don't know if Aunt Leanne or Uncle Adam mad the decision, but they drove to church today; and I don't think that Aunt Leanne will be doing any more long walks at least until after the baby is born. They'd already gone into the sanctuary by the time we got there, so I stopped by to share some hugs and kisses with them – and with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Grace before going to sit with Michael and his family.

Since Michael wasn't having a big party today, he was given a couple of gifts during Sunday school; and our friends helped to keep the birthday fun going for him while we were at church. We're in a bit of a lull for extra activities right now; and that won't pick up again until we start getting ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. While that means that we don't have anything extra to do to help with kid and teen-led special services, our lessons are interesting; and becoming more challenging now that we're getting old enough to deal with more serious theological and social issues.

Sometimes I miss the stickers we got for memorizing bible verses and making the crafts every week; but I wouldn't trade going back to those days if that meant giving up things that I do like about being older now – like having a boyfriend! ;^)

After church, Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me and we had lunch with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana before Michael and I took off; went over to his place; and spent the afternoon playing together in a clothing-optional sort of way until we needed to be at the Inn for dinner.

Oh wait – that was just something I dreamed about last night! We did have lunch at my house and go to dinner at the Inn, though. When you eventually read this, Aunt Leanne, let me know whether your first thought was 'that's my girl' or not.

I'm sure that Michael and I would have both enjoyed that dream if it had been our reality today; but we had fun playing with our friends instead. We went biking on the trails; played a little football; picked up afternoon snacks at the Emporium and ate them while sitting by the falls; and the boys played some video games in the lounge while Rowen and I got ready to go out to dinner. After seeing us once we were dressed up again, they suddenly felt the urge to go ahead of us and stop in at Michael's house so they could change back into the clothes they'd worn to church. Rowen and I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana until we were all ready to leave; and then we picked them up on the way to the Inn.

Miranda and Jacob were too busy to stop and have dinner with Michael, but pretty much the entire Bassett clan was there to celebrate Michael's birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Bassett were acting as semi-official hosts for the dinner, and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I sat at the table with them – and with Erica and Caleb. Erica and I had Jessica with us a lot too; though she was at the table next to ours with her parents, brother, Aunt, and Uncle when they could get her to sit down and eat. Sophia had dinner with Ethan, Ehlana, and my parents at the next table over, and while Naomi and Aiden are their best friends; Sophia is next-closest to them among all of the kids their age.

Since Caleb is on the football team and Erica is one of the cheerleaders I wasn't surprised that football was at the top of the conversation list during dinner. While Kyle Landry and our defense gets most of the glory on our team, Caleb is our primary running back; and does what he can while working with an admittedly weaker offensive line. He helps out with special teams defense and kick returns too; but he's also smart enough not to get himself killed trying for extra yards. Since he has to practice against Kyle four days a week, that's definitely a smart way for him to play the game!

Tim had already given Michael, Rowen, and I the game recap from Friday, but we got to hear most of it again. Fortunately for Rowen and me, Erica had some non-football stories to chat about too, with my favorite being about Jenny and Garth Green. Okay, that was partly related to football, but only because Garth apparently needs to learn not to be distracted by his new cheerleader girlfriend while on the field; and Jenny needs to learn not to distract the boys – unless she's doing that to the players on the other team. I'm not sure if giving that idea to Jenny is a good idea. I can picture her taking that challenge to heart in a big way; and our team doesn't exactly need that kind of help to win games.

We really had fun during dinner, and I really like Michael's grandparents a lot. They're a handful of years younger than my grandparents, and have a slightly different relationship with their grandchildren than Ethan, Ehlana, and I have with ours; but they love their family a lot, and are very proud of them. Erica and Caleb sat with us because Erica is closest in age to Michael, and while I'm writing about their grandparents; I want to mention a couple of things that I sensed tonight while with them.

I know the Magi Council is very concerned about relationships between Magi and non-Magi – particularly with kids and teens – but I'm not sure that their worthy goals are always pursued or personally desired. Hopefully this won't offend anyone in the future, but I got a very strong impression that Michael's grandparents were particularly happy about Erica and Caleb being together – and they were both excited and pleased that Michael and I are dating.

Maybe I should check in with Ethan and Ehlana to find out exactly how much they told the council while getting them to agree to let Michael and I know about each other. I was so happy about the news at the time that I didn't really question the how they made it happen all that closely.

Anyway, my point here is that even council members have a natural desire to see their Magi children and grandchildren matched up with other Magi. The Bassett family is actually a nice little microcosm of our town. Edward and Rosemary had two Magi and one latent child. Their kids ended up with one Magi relationship, one pairing of non-Magi, and one mixed couple. They have eight grandchildren, of which five are Magi and three are latents. Of the four grandchildren who are currently in relationships, we've already established that two of them have Magi partners while the other two are in mixed, Magi-Latent relationships.

None of that will be news to future readers of my journal, but I point it out to show that even in a family that is successfully diverse; there is still a bias toward wanting Magi couples. That's perfectly natural, and may often be subconscious, but when you look at that in context to a family like the Bassetts; that factor alone doesn't affect the outcome of those relationships – particularly when it comes to the children. In this case, two out of five of the Magi grandchildren are in the family with two non-Magi parents. That certainly supports the theory that perfect matches have more to do with that than whether one or both parents are Magi too.

I'll write more about that and some other things that I've been working on related to that in our Magi Project archive later this week; so if you're interested in more of that, just cross-reference the date and check out the rest of my work on this there.

Getting back to Michael's birthday adventures, while Jacob and Miranda couldn't stop to have dinner with him, Rebecca did take a quick break to grab some food and sit with us shortly before their parents brought out a large birthday cake and had everyone in the dining room sing the birthday song to him. There were a few more gifts for Michael to open then too from his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; and he did that while the cake was being passed around until every slice was gone. There are rarely leftovers from birthday cakes at the Inn on a buffet night!

You may be wondering about what Michael wished for when he blew out the candles. He didn't tell me, but I was able to sense it; and have every intention of making that wish come true for him.

No, I'm not going to tell you what he's wishing for most this year; but I can tell you that his wish from last year worked out for him, so he's a big believer in them now!

When we were ready to leave the Inn after finishing dessert, Michael and I did a quick visit to the kitchen for some goodbye hugs, kisses, and thanks; and then we went back to my house with Tim and Rowen. Ethan and Ehlana joined us for some video game action until it was time for them to go to bed, and then we joined them for the bedtime snack and story with Mom and Dad before Tim and Rowen made up a pair of non-excuses to head out and leave Michael and me with about an hour of alone time before he needed to get home. School night curfews aren't always fun, but we made the best of the time we had; and didn't even bother to turn the television on and pretend to watch something.

No, we didn't make Michael's wish come true tonight; but I am fairly sure that he went home thinking that this has been his best birthday ever so far.

Mom and Dad were working in the office when Michael left, so I had a little visit with them before coming up to my room again and getting ready for bed. Mandy was ready to sleep by then, but I've had a lot of work to get done tonight – more than usual thanks to some extra business-related emails. I had the usual weekly updates from my college cousins and friends too, but it's nearly three-thirty in the morning now; and none of my work, studies, or personal correspondence included anything particularly worth reporting in my journal – though that could just be my current perspective. If I reconsider that assessment sometime tomorrow, I'll add that to my next update.

For now, I just want to crash for the few hours I have left until it'll be time for morning Tai Chi, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, September 30, 2013

Happy 26th Birthday, Uncle Nick!

Three birthdays and parties in three days – I'm getting tired out!

Actually, I'm exhausted; have decided to skip most of my usual nightly studies and computing; and plan on being asleep by eleven o'clock tonight. September can end and October can start without me this year.

That plan is going to require a condensed version of the report for today; so here we go.

Tai Chi; breakfast, the rest of the morning routine, and school was pretty much standard for a Monday. Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me for our after-school studying. We watched Ethan and Ehlana while we did that so Mom could go over to the Ayres' house and help Uncle Nick's mother with the birthday dinner plans. The six of us went over to the park after our homework was done and Michael, Tim, and Ethan played some football until Michael and I needed to get the twins cleaned up and join Mom and Dad at the party.

That was fun, but a standard birthday party for grown-ups; and Michael and I were assigned kid control and took care of all of the toddlers and babies. No wonder I'm exhausted after doing that on about three hours of sleep!

It's a school and work night, so the party didn't go late, and then I helped Mom with the bath and bedtime routine for my brother and sister after walking Michael home and spending a few quality minutes on our goodnight hugs and kisses. Mom did a Magi lesson with me after that, but kept it short when I obviously wasn't quite up to snuff to do anything too advanced tonight.

That's about it. I came up to my room after saying goodnight to Mom and Dad; got ready for bed; and have dealt with a couple of family business jobs that couldn't be left until tomorrow night. Next up: seven and a half hours or so of down time. That should bring me back up to full power again, but until I'm there; I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

October 2013

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

After three birthday celebrations in three days, I was ready for a break; though we'll be back in party mode again starting a few hours from now for Mom and Dad's third anniversary. It's a good thing that I was able to recharge last night, since I'm back to working late again; and it'll be after three by the time I get to sleep tonight.

You may be thinking that the anniversary fun has already started, and you'd be right about that; but let's not think about that right now – I'm not involved, and don't need to know the details!

We've had a very nice start to October, and other than having some cool nights; it sure doesn't feel much like Fall yet. I'm okay with that, and will take Tai Chi by the river for as long as we can keep doing that. We'll be moving that morning show indoors for the winter soon enough. I started working on teaching Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana another new form today – though I guess that new is relative; since most of the Tai Chi forms are centuries-old.

Michael went home for breakfast, and then he and Rebecca met up with Rowen and me for the walk to school. It was another fairly quiet news day at school, and while we had fun; there isn't really anything to write about tonight. Michael, Rowen, and I had fun at band practice too; though the most challenging thing about our practices for Michael and me is going to be keeping from goofing off during the often-lengthy breaks we have in our music.

Our study session after band practice was at the computer store again, and Tim met us there after playing football at the park while we were busy. That doesn't leave me with any time to help Mom out before dinner, and I just made it home in time to sit down and eat after Rowen and I spent a little extra time helping Tim with one of the assignments he was having trouble with. Ethan and Ehlana took care of most of the dinner conversation tonight with their KidZone recap and baby brother stories that Naomi had told them. Mom, Dad, and I did our daily work and school updates; but that didn't take long; and I did most of my report while doing most of the kitchen clean-up after dinner so that Mom and Dad could just relax with drinks and take a break before Dad needed to get started on his homework in the office.

Michael, Tim, and Rowen came over after dinner, and we took Ethan and Ehlana upstairs with us for some play time in my room and the lounge. Tim and Rowen played video games with my brother and sister while Michael did a guitar lesson with me, and then Michael and Tim continued the gaming while Rowen and I mostly watched and I cuddled with Michael and Ehlana. Mom came to get Ethan and Ehlana at a bit before nine o'clock, and Michael and I went along to help her with getting them ready for bed while Rowen and Tim kept themselves entertained until joining us in the office for the bedtime snack and story.

When Mom and Dad both went upstairs to tuck the twins in for the night, Michael, Tim, and Rowen headed home; and I went outside to see them off. I knew from the smiles that Rowen and Tim had taken care of their goodnight kisses while on their own in the lounge, and I'll guess that they had more fun with that than Michael and I did with our front porch moment after our best friends left and Tim walked Rowen home. While we didn't set off any fireworks tonight, we did have a pretty good day and evening together; so I've been a happy camper tonight while working and studying.

Mom and Dad were back in the office by the time I went inside again, so Mom did her Magi lesson with me there before sending me up to bed at a little after ten o'clock. I'm sure that having me get an early start on my bedtime computing had absolutely nothing to do with why my parents were both smiling when I left them; but once again, we're not going to go there tonight. I hopped into my Jacuzzi after getting up to my room, and took a break while soaking in the tub instead of multi-tasking and doing some studying too.

I've still done the full workload since climbing into bed with Mandy, though, and that's why I'm still awake and doing this as the clock is just striking three. I could have been done a bit sooner, but with another busy day ahead tomorrow, I needed to get some family business work done that couldn't be put off until Thursday. I'm not sure how much work time I'll have after school tomorrow, since that'll depend on how much help Mom will need with Ethan and Ehlana while she gets ready for dinner and an evening out with Dad and some friends. Ethan, Ehlana, and I will be going to that dinner, but then we'll be spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa again.

With all of that going on, I'd better wrap this up and get started on the nap I'll have time for before needing to be up and running again in about three and a half hours.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Can you believe it's been three years already? I've now spent nearly a quarter of my life in Witch Falls. Give it another five or ten years, and people might even start forgetting that Mom and I are imports!

Ethan, Ehlana, and I let Mom and Dad sleep in this morning, and went outside for Tai Chi with Michael without them. Michael stayed and helped me with making breakfast; and we let Ethan and Ehlana do the wake-up call while we were busy cooking up eggs and bacon to go with the bakery treats Mom had picked up. We had coffee and juice ready to go too by the time my parents, brother, and sister joined us; and we sat down to eat right away.

The traditional gift for third anniversaries is leather, and while that may work okay for adults; Ethan, Ehlana, Michael, and I opted for the modern gift option of crystal instead. For Ethan and Ehlana, that meant a little family of crystal figurines; while Michael and I had gone with a crystal wind chime for the back porch and a crystal ball just because we live in Witch Falls and Mom and Dad didn't have one.

We weren't the only ones thinking about crystals and magic for anniversary gifts because Aunt Leanne gave Mom and Dad a set of magic love crystals. She apparently had the traditional leather gift covered too, but she gave that gift directly to Mom; and I heard enough to be sure that I didn't need to know exactly what that gift was. If you're currently getting mental pictures involving either or both of my parents and leather, cut it out – you're scaring the kids.

Adding in the extra work this morning for cooking and cleaning up, Michael and I both had to hurry to get cleaned up and dressed for school once we were finished in the kitchen. He went home to do that, and I cheated a bit to make enough time for most of that part of my usual morning routine. The morning action had me fired up all day, and we had fun at school. Our study session after that was in the conference room at Landry's; and then I needed to get home and take care of Ethan and Ehlana while Mom spent some quality time with her Jacuzzi and got appropriately beautiful for the anniversary dinner party at the Inn and her night out with Dad and their friends.

I was able to do some work in the office while Ethan and Ehlana worked on their homework, and then I helped them to get ready for dinner before leaving them to play on my keyboard and in the lounge while I freshened up a bit and got dressed up a bit too. Rowen's parents were on that guest list, and were coming too to hang out with me; so she came over to wait with me while they were getting ready to go out after closing the store a bit early. Patrick was staying with Scott for the night, so he wasn't at the Inn with us; and Rowen was doing a sleepover with her grandparents after dinner too so that her parents could stay out late without getting a babysitter on a school night.

I would have liked to have Michael with us for dinner, but our party made for a busy night in the kitchen; and he couldn't really be spared for more than a little visit with me while we had cake and ice cream for dessert. We managed to have a few cameo moments that were pretty good, though, including a goodnight kiss or three in the back room behind the kitchen when it was time for me to go home with Grandma, Grandpa, and the twins. He likely got teased by the other guys after I left, but if that few moments of alone time was as much of a highlight of the evening for him as it was for me; he won't mind all of the razzing.

The dinner and fun time with their friends was probably a bigger deal for Mom and Dad than it was for me; but then Rowen and I had a fairly quiet meal with the twins by comparison. While Mom and Dad had exchanged their gifts this morning, and had gotten our gifts at breakfast; they still had some little gifts to open at dinnertime too from the rest of our family and some of their friends. That included some gag gifts that were fun, and Ethan and Ehlana happily played normal toddler to the max while helping Mom and Dad with opening those gifts and keeping everyone entertained.

We were the last diners at the Inn when it was time to leave, and while it was a busy night for Miranda and her servers; the teens were very happy with the tips that were left for them when Mom and Dad settled their fairly significant bill. Ethan, Ehlana, and I only did a quick round of hugs and kisses with our parents, aunts, uncles, and their friends before going home with Grandma and Grandpa; and then we walked to their house after grabbing our overnight bags out of the minivan.

There really isn't much else to write about tonight – at least fur the action at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I'm sure we'll hear a lot about the party at Sheldon's, and I'll be okay without knowing any of the post-party, kid-free night details for Mom, Dad, or any of the other parents taking advantage of a night off from their children. It could be funny if there are any babies born next June, but that really isn't all that likely; unless there are some surprises in our collective future that haven't been revealed to Ethan, Ehlana, and me yet.

Grandma and Grandpa did a Magi lesson and play time with us after getting home; our bedtime snack and story took a while; and after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in, I went to bed too and got to work on my nightly computing, studies, and work. I expected to run out of steam sooner, but it's 'only' coming up on a quarter to two; and I'm just getting to the point where I'm ready to sleep. There isn't anything specifically newsworthy from my studies and work tonight, and though I've skipped over some minor anniversary fun; everything will likely get covered somewhere between our collective personal journals. For now, I'm ready to pack up and call it a night, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Miranda's game night supremacy came to an end tonight when she couldn't manage to keep Mom on her team this week.

That opening for my journal update tonight says a lot about how exciting my day has been for a non-event to make the top of the list.

I'm really tired, and my thoughts are a bit fuzzy right now, but as I think about that; there really isn't anything all that earth-shaking to write about tonight. Our school day was mostly uneventful, with the only news story getting some extra attention in our class being Sally's birthday party on Saturday. Tim, Rowen, and I went to the Inn with Michael for our after-school study session; and I stayed to work with Michael and Rebecca in the kitchen after that. We had fun with all of that, but everything I'm doing on Thursdays now is definitely starting to feel like a normal routine.

Staying motivated to do my nightly studies and computing wasn't easy, but I'm not going to be able to get much done this weekend; so I didn't want to leave anything undone for the next few days. Between helping out at the Inn, game night, and the usual Thursday night action around home after we got back from the Inn it was nearly eleven-thirty before I even got started on my studies and work. That's why it's going on three-thirty – and explains why I'm exhausted too.

That, and the fact that I really don't have anything else particularly interesting to report, is reason enough to keep this update short; so that's it for tonight, and I'm so ready for some quality nap time.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Michael and Tim were away at our football game against Blossom Creek tonight; so it felt a bit strange for Rowen and I to be without them after school and during our dinner and a movie night. I didn't even get to see Michael again since kissing him goodbye after last class; though we just finished having a little computer chat that started shortly after he got home and checked to see if I was online.

Our team won that game, and it sounds like it was one of the best of the season so far – at least if you're a fan of defensive match-ups. The Blossom Creek players are probably disappointed tonight, but holding our team to just twenty-seven points – about half of our average during the first five games – says a lot about how well they played even if their offense could only manage three field goals.

I'm glad that Michael and Tim had fun tonight, but Rowen and I didn't mind missing the game – or all of that travel time and waiting around before and after the game. We got to play with Ethan and Ehlana after school instead; and the dinner and a movie night at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's was a lot of fun too. I'll get to that part of the update soon, but let's back up to the beginning of the day along with a few notes that I skipped last night and should have mentioned.

Hopefully Grandma and Grandpa don't read my journal entry from yesterday and wonder how I could have completely skipped over the awesome breakfast that they put on for us; or Tai Chi with Ethan and Ehlana in their back yard that had drawn a small group of neighbor spectators by the time we were finished. I must have been more tired than I thought to have left that out, but I'll admit that I didn't need to include some of the details I overheard yesterday about what was going on elsewhere with some of my favorite grown-ups while the kids were away – including at our house. I'm glad that Mom and Dad enjoyed their anniversary fun; but I could have lived without all of those jokes and comments involving them and leather.

Thank God their next anniversary will be gifts of fruit, flowers, or appliances!

Moving along and trying to bury those thoughts and memories where I can't easily find them; I was really happy to have Michael with us again for Tai Chi this morning – and starting the day sharing hugs and kisses with him was really great too. This time he went home after we finished exercising and got ready for school first before coming back to have breakfast with us; and that worked out better for both of us so we might do that more often from now on instead of eating first and then trying to get ready after the kitchen clean-up.

We even managed to be outside and to Rowen's house by the time she was ready to go; though Rebecca had gone on ahead without us since she'd mostly had the house to herself except for while Michael was there between Tai Chi and breakfast. It was a Day One schedule Friday, so most of my classmates weren't all that fired up about starting the day with Spanish; but I was fired up again despite the lack of sleep last night.

I haven't mentioned this in my journal yet this week, but the federal government shutdown this week has given our teachers an opportunity to add some current event color to our lessons in math, social studies, and history. From my perspective, the only lesson everyone is learning from that political idiocy is that our government is bi-partisan and completely united in proving to the world just how childish and stupid groups of adults can be.

While I'm there anyway, let's take a second to talk about the insanity that is math in Washington D.C. for a minute. I realize that I'm just your average twelve-year old Grade Eight student with a part-time job managing a twenty-five or thirty billion dollar investment portfolio; but even I can't manage to accept the fantasy balance sheets for our federal government. Uncle Nick certainly wasn't towing any kind of party line while having us analyze the federal budget and attempt to 'solve' the crisis for our president, senators, and congresspersons.

I'm not going to bore you with the details of that, and Uncle Nick had fun teasing us about unintended consequences of our various solutions; but I can safely say that the kids in my class are collectively smarter than everyone on Capitol Hill – or more likely; we're just way more honest. Since this is our year for the school trip to Washington, we'll be following current events there regularly between now and next May; and learning all about the history of our government. The council probably wouldn't approve it, but I'm sure that some stories about the federal government since our country was founded that are in the archives would be fascinating to the Magi kids – and disbelieved by everyone else.

Getting back to the current news, the guys were talking football all day while the girls in our class were mostly interested in more important issues – like what they were going to wear to Sally's party tomorrow night or who they'd be going to the party with. Sally's going with another barn party and dance, and while most of the other girls are thinking in terms of looking 'hot'; I checked the weather forecast, so Rowen and I will be dressed for comfort and warmth. That may not wow the boys at all, but sweaters can be great for cuddling; and it is going to be a lot cooler tomorrow night.

Rowen and I also played some football at lunchtime with Michael, Tim, and the rest of the usual gang. We mostly did that because we weren't going to be hanging out with them tonight; though we had fun too and our team won that little game. The afternoon classes didn't drag along like they sometimes do on a Friday, and our Phys-Ed class literally sped by while we were sent off on a cross-country run that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were back at school from a full five minutes before the next-closest runners. That wasn't because we're so incredibly fast – it was due to the efforts of our classmates to enjoy the time away from the school and make it more of a nature walk than a run.

That was okay with me – Rowen and I were already finished our showers and dressed again by the time the last group of girls made it to the locker room. We had a little extra time with Michael and Tim before they went to meet up with Tim's Uncle Lee for the trip to Blossom Creek. The team players, coach, assistants, and the cheerleaders take a bus for away games, but there are always at least a handful of cars and trucks going along too for the team supporters. Tim probably would have preferred to be on the bus with the guys, but Michael was okay with the more comfortable ride in Lee's big, king cab truck.

After saying goodbye to the boys, Rowen and I stopped in at the computer store to check in with her parents before going on to my house. We decided to get our homework out of the way first instead of leaving it for later in the weekend; so Ethan and Ehlana came up to the lounge with us and kept us entertained while we blasted through that bit of work with a little Magi power help. Once we were finished our work, we took my brother and sister to the park to play while Mom was busy throwing together her contributions for the dinner at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's.

There was a football game in progress at the park, but Ethan wasn't interested in going to play when Michael wasn't there; so we went to the playground for a while and then walked the main path around the park before heading home again in time to help Mom and Dad with carrying food over to our dinner and a movie night destination. It isn't a problem right now because we can walk there through Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's back yard, but it will be a pain having to go all the way around the block to get to Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house during the winter and spring – or to visit the Seagers or Drapers.

Grandma, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Grace were all in the kitchen when we got there; though Aunt Leanne was sitting down and banned from helping with any of the work. Grandpa was outside working the grill, so Dad went to join him there while waiting for the other guys to arrive. Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah were the only extra guests tonight, and they arrived shortly after we got there; while Uncle Adam, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Deborah were last after having to deal with a few walk-in patients before closing the clinic.

I'm sure that nobody will be surprised to read that babies were the top conversation topic of the night, and Aunt Leanne spent a lot of time asking for tips on how to speed up the process so that she could go into labor and be done with the whole pregnancy stage. That led to a side-trip chat about the fall festival next weekend; and I hope they were all kidding about having Aunt Leanne go on all of the rides to help her along if her baby hasn't arrived before then.

Though we overheard a lot of the adult conversation while having dinner, Rowen and I were mostly busy with Ethan, Ehlana, Leah, and Rebekkah until we joined the kitchen clean-up crew after finishing dessert. Grandpa played with Ethan and Ehlana in the back yard while we were busy with that and Aunt Deborah and Stacey were busy taking care of Leah and Rebekkah. When it was time to start the movie, we ended up sitting on the floor with the twins; and the kid-rated Halloween movie theme continued with 'My Friends Tigger and Pooh – The Hundred Acre Wood Haunt'.

I'm sure our friends would laugh at us getting stuck watching a show like that, but Rowen and I didn't mind; half the adults in the room hadn't even seen it before; and I'd be happy to have them offer suggestions that would be appropriate – especially when we had our Pastor and his family with us.

Moving on, I actually don't have much else to write about tonight. Mom and Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, and me home after the movie; and we dropped Rowen off at her house on the way past. I helped out with getting my brother and sister into bed for the night, and then Mom did a Magi lesson with me while Dad did some work in the office before we all headed for bed too. I've been working on my computer since getting changed and snuggling in bed with Mandy. Michael and I had our chat; I've done a bit of studying and family business work; and now I'm ready to get some sleep so I can be fully charged for a work and play day tomorrow.

There's some rain in the forecast overnight too that could possibly continue into the morning; but I hope that won't get in the way of the yard work. We definitely want to be ahead of the game so that we can take the entire weekend off for the fall festival – especially if we have a new cousin in the family by then!

For now, though, that's it; so I'm shutting down and getting some sleep!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Sally!

I wish the weather had been nicer for her – and for doing yard work – but we've been fortunate to have so much nice weather so far since going back to school; and I can't really complain about one cool, rainy day. The rain stopped in time for Sally's party too; so we were really only dealing with a cool evening and wet ground around the barn and house.

Let's get the work report out of the way first before moving on to the fun parts of the day.

It was raining when we got up for Tai Chi, so we exercised indoors, and Michael stayed for breakfast before going home to get started on his own Saturday morning chores. The rain kept me from mowing the lawn, but Dad and I still worked in the storage barn and around the yard from after breakfast through until I stopped to go have a shower and get ready for the party. Those chores included cleaning the barn; getting most of the canoes stored for the winter; gardening and raking whenever it wasn't raining or only sprinkling lightly; and a bunch of smaller jobs – like giving the generator a tune-up and making sure it was ready in case we needed it for any fall or winter storms.

Yes, nearly all of the jobs were dirty, and if we weren't wet from the rain we were damp with sweat and grime. It's a good thing that I clean up pretty well, or Michael wouldn't have liked taking me to Sally's party!

We'd only stopped for a short morning break and lunch, so I was seriously ready to get on with the fun by the time I went up to my room to grab a hot shower and get ready for the party – and my sleepover plans at Rowen's house. Since I needed to take my overnight bag there anyway, I went over to Rowen's house once I was ready to go; walking there even though Dad had the driving duties out to the Reynolds' farm this time. I did that mostly so he didn't have to wait for us, and it also gave Rowen and I a chance to add a few finishing touches before we were ready to dazzle the boys.

Dad picked us up first, and then stopped to get Michael and Tim at their houses. He used the truck so that he didn't need to take the car seats out of the minivan. There's more than a little of his father and sister in him, though he doesn't let that out to play all that often; so it was mostly fun when he teased Michael and I about sitting so close together while on the front seat of the truck with him. While that was entertaining, I should have gotten Rowen and Tim to sit in the front seat instead so that they'd have been forced to sit close together instead of at opposite sides of the back seat like they ended up doing for the trip to Sally's place. The good news is that Rowen and Tim got to sit close together on the ride back to town after the party; while the bad is that Rowen was too shy to do anything about that opportunity with Tim's mother sitting right there next to her.

I especially love Sally's birthday parties because she was the first kid in my class to invite me to one of her parties after I moved to Witch Falls; but they're also great because her parents and family make sure that her parties are a blast of fun too. Except for Sally's boyfriend, Joshua, we were the first group of 'friends' to get to the farm; and Sally was happy to have us there so that she and Joshua weren't stuck hanging out with all of the adults, her older brothers, or older and younger cousins. We didn't actually end up helping them completely escape from that because Joshua and Tim ended up spending a fair bit of time before dinner with Sally's older brothers and one of her cousins who are all on the football team.

Michael was dragged into those sports conversations too, but Rowen and I did what we could to entertain Sally; and we left the boys for a while to wander around the farm; and then keep her company while she was busy with welcoming the rest of her guests as they arrived in pairs or small groups. While Sally was having another barn dance, it was a bit different this year because she hadn't invited many older friends this time. I think that was mostly because of the great divide between us and our Grade Nine friends; though her older brothers and cousins did hang out with us this time – even though we're still too young to have any status at all in the high school social standings.

There were some other changes from last year too, with my personal favorites being Michael and me together; and Vanessa and Allen coming to the party as a couple. Part two of that makes the top of my list because Vanessa finally seems to be over being mad at me; and she actually even talked to me a couple of times tonight. Nora, on the other hand, is still having some issues when it comes to Tim. She's happy to be dating Brock, and puts a special effort into being very affectionate with her new boyfriend anytime she thinks Tim might be looking or is nearby; but she's annoyed that he isn't jealous and completely lost without her. Though Tim hasn't started dating anyone else, and he and Rowen still haven't publicly done anything to suggest that they're on the way to being a couple, they did only dance with each other tonight; and Nora did not look happy anytime she saw them out on the dance floor – even while she and Brock were glued together during all of the slow songs.

Compared to last year, Rowen found it quite easy to put up with the occasional glares from Nora, and while she wished that she was a lot less shy and for Tim to take those next steps in their relationship; she was very happy that she was the only girl he wanted to dance with tonight.

I didn't intend to skip straight to the dance, so let's back up a bit. We had an hour or so to socialize before dinner, and while Michael and Tim were busy talking football, Rowen and I spent more time with Sally and most of the other girls instead of doing that with them and pretending to be interested. Dinner was standard barbeque and side dishes fare, and while there were some tables set up in the barn; most of the kids and teens sat on bales of hay while we ate. Sally opened her gifts between dinner and dessert; and then the boys entertained us for a while with amazing feats of cake and ice cream consumption.

While we were not specifically asked to help with any of the dinner or dessert clean-up; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I all joined in to help – along with about half of our classmates and most of the older teens. We got razzed about that by our 'cooler' friends later, and Tim was happy to blame it on me; but I didn't have a problem with getting teased or taking the blame – especially since I did mostly badger Tim into helping too.

I don't know if any parent-kid negotiations were involved, but becoming a teen earned Sally an extra hour of party time; and the dance didn't start wrapping up until shortly before midnight. That gave us lots of time to play, chat, dance, and have fun with our friends; and Sally was certainly a happy camper all night. Some of us had more fun that others, and though Aunt Leanne will be disappointed again; Michael and I were not one of the couples that disappeared in search of hayloft adventures. Michael and I are never going to be into making out in public, and while we may get the chance to find out why haylofts are so much fun for couples; that isn't going to happen when there is a barn full of kids, teens, and adults around us.

While I'm thinking about that, thanks for not offering to chaperone the party tonight like you suggested to us last year, Aunt Leanne. You might have still wanted to try making out in a hayloft with Uncle Adam; but I'm having a hard time picturing you climbing up and down the ladders to do that in your current condition. That would have made a really great story if you had done that and then gone into labor and delivered your baby there!

Getting back to the party report, while Michael and I didn't play around in the hayloft, we did go for a couple of walks that included a few hugs and kisses. Rowen and Tim didn't have any moments like that, though I'm sure that they both would have liked to get some alone time. I'll see whether I can arrange that tomorrow; though Rowen and I may only end up seeing Michael and Tim for a couple of hours in the afternoon during Michael's break from the Inn. While we stayed until shortly before midnight, we were also the first of Sally's friends to head home because Tim's mother was among the first group of parents to arrive at the farm; and she didn't need to track us down or wait for lengthy goodbye hugs and kisses.

Michael and I earned some more teasing when I hopped out of the SUV and told Tim's mother that she didn't need to wait for me before going on to drop Rowen off at her house. She did continue on to Rowen's house, but then she stayed and talked with Rowen until Michael and I were finished with our goodnight kisses on his front porch and I started jogging over to catch up with them.

Though Rowen didn't get to do any goodnight kisses with Tim, he made the mistake of asking me where his goodnight kiss was just before he and his Mom left; so I stepped up onto the running board, leaned in through the window, and gave him a quick little kiss on the lips.

Okay, so maybe he didn't think that was a 'mistake', and he wasn't even remotely embarrassed about it; but his mother and Rowen thought it was funny. I'm sure that we'll all find out tomorrow morning how Michael feels about his best friend asking for goodnight kisses from his girlfriend, but if he's worried about the fact that I did kiss Tim; I'll explain the difference between those types of kisses to him in a clear, concise, and non-verbal sort of way.

Rowen's mother woke up and had a little visit with us in Rowen's room while we got ready for bed, and though Patrick had Scott staying overnight with him, they'd already fallen asleep; so we didn't have to deal with any bedtime pranks or gags from them tonight. Once we were changed, in bed, and on our own again; I started doing my usual nightly computing while Rowen mostly surfed YouTube for some songs we'd liked at the dance tonight.

She also entertained both of us with some speculation about what she'd have done with Tim tonight if she wasn't such a big chicken (her words, not mine); and we mixed in some planning to make some alone time for them – and for Michael and me.

It's past one-thirty now, and we really need to get some sleep; so I'm going to wrap this up, put my computer away, and hopefully spend some time dreaming about Michael and me in an alone-time kind of way. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

It was chilly this morning, but Michael and I still exercised in Rowen's back yard; though Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana stayed indoors for their Tai Chi instead of going out by the river.

That was a fun start to our day, even with the attempted interruptions from Patrick and Scott. They more than made up for missing out on bugging Rowen and me last night with their antics this morning; but we mostly just played along with them and kept Owen and Patricia entertained before, during, and after breakfast.

Their goofing around did have one bonus for us – they were so busy playing that they forgot to get ready for church until the last minute. Rowen and I were able to escape while they rushed around trying to do that; and we walked to church with Patricia, my family, and the Stones while Owen dealt with getting Patrick and Scott to church on time.

Michael, Rowen, and I sat with my family today until Sunday school started, and the only news I have from church is that Aunt Leanne was not very comfortable today; and I may have overheard a whispered, slight change to the Lord's prayer that sounded a lot like 'deliver us this baby'; but I didn't say a word about it to Aunt Leanne or anyone else. Mom and Uncle Adam are helping her as much as they can, but Aunt Leanne isn't even joking much anymore; so you know that she's getting worn down as she nears the end of her pregnancy.

While I'm thinking about pregnant women, I didn't mention it earlier, but Adam and Heather Green bought the model home next door to the Draper's house that Aunt Leanne and Claire have been using for sales tours. They won't be moving in until the end of next March, and that's partly because Aunt Leanne gave them a deal so that she could continue to use it as the main showcase house through the winter. That worked for Adam and Heather, since they really don't need to move until closer to when their second baby is due early in May.

The church service went long today, so Michael needed to hurry over to the Inn; and I walked there with him on the way home. Since I hadn't been able to mow the lawn on Saturday, I got changed right away and started working on that while Mom and Dad made lunch. Mom had me stop work long enough to eat, but then I got back at it so I could get finished before Michael would be off for his afternoon break.

Rowen and I had already finished our homework, but Michael and Tim hadn't; and so we had a study session in the lounge. Tim kept getting distracted by the NFL football games he was flipping channels to keep up with; but we hadn't had all that much assigned to us for the weekend, and he wasn't all that far behind Michael in getting his work done.

I'd had time for a micro shower between the lawn cutting and studying, but Rowen helped me with a little hair play so that I was ready to go when Michael needed to head back to the Inn. We hadn't had any major family plans for tonight, so I decided to help out with the buffets and spend some time playing with Michael and Rebecca. Miranda really loves having me there too, though we don't really get to spend much time together while she's so busy keeping everything going in the dining room.

We actually had a fairly quiet night at the Inn. Jacob had expected that because of the fall festival next weekend, but even though we could have left early; Michael and I stayed until they closed the Inn for the night. I went home with him, and we did a short guitar lesson before doing a bedtime snack and visit with his parents and Rebecca. I needed to get home after that, so Michael and I did our goodnight hugs and kisses on his front porch, and then I went home in time to have a little chat with Ethan and Ehlana while they were being tucked in for the night. Mom did a Magi lesson with me after that, and then I came up to my room to get ready for bed and started on my school night studies and computing.

The friends and family college news this weekend was mostly either about getting ready for mid-terms or busy study weekends with major projects and workloads. I wouldn't say that any of my favorite college freshmen are worried about their first mid-terms; but they are all working hard to be ready for them. Violet joked about having me dress up early for Halloween and write a couple of the exams in her least-favorite subjects; but I'm sure she'll do just fine writing them without any help from me.

Between the work at the Inn, stop at Michael's house, and my Magi lesson tonight I didn't get started on my bedtime work until after eleven-thirty. I should have done a bit more tonight than I have, but started hitting the wall at two o'clock. I had some family business to finish up first before starting on this update, so it's closer to two-thirty than two now; and I've seriously had enough fun for today.

Starting tomorrow, there will only be one thing at the top of every kid and teen chat list – the Ridge River Fall Festival. The rides should start rolling in on Tuesday and Wednesday; and we'll somehow need to fit in visits to the park to check out that action along with everything else we have on the go.

The fall festival will need to move down to number two on my list if Aunt Leanne has her baby between now and then, though it won't be quite as much fun at the festival if Aunt Leanne isn't able to play with us there this year. Since this may end up being a very busy week, though, I really do need to wrap this up and get what sleep I can, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, October 7, 2013

It was clear and sunny this morning when we were getting ready for Tai Chi, but cold enough that we decided to exercise indoors today. As usual, that worked for Ethan and Ehlana; and we worked through a more difficult competition form while they could practice without any witnesses around other that Mom, Dad, Michael, and me.

The rest of the morning was a fairly standard start to a Monday, and after splitting up to have breakfast and get ready for school; I met up with Michael, Rebecca, and Rowen for the walk to school. Football and Sally's party were the top news stories this morning, and though there wasn't much doubt about it by the end of the night on Saturday; Vanessa and Allen were officially a couple now – and spending most of their time with Nora and Brock.

The fall festival had earned top chat billing by lunchtime, and the funniest moment of the school day for me was when Tim started talking with Michael and some of the other guys about going to the next football game on Friday and was advised that even his best friend was picking the fall festival and teen dance over football this week. That may actually be a tough choice for Tim, but I noticed that he needed to glance over at Rowen even more often than usual for the rest of the afternoon while considering those choices.

Talking about the fall festival didn't keep the guys from another lunchtime football scrimmage, but Rowen and I stayed on the sidelines today; mostly because I was wearing a sweater that I really didn't want to risk getting grass stains or dirt on. It was a fairly quiet afternoon, and we wrapped up the day with another cross-country run in Phys-Ed class; mostly because we won't be doing that again until after the midway rides have moved on again by next Monday or Tuesday.

Our after school study session was at my house as usual for Monday nights now, but we added in a pizza and wings dinner and a play evening with Ethan and Ehlana. They were with us for the study session too, though they mostly just ran around and played while we did our homework; and then we took them to the park for some football and playground action. Michael and Tim really wanted to do that because the football field at the park was going to be off-limits for the rest of the week; and they couldn't use the field at the school while the team was practicing every day after classes. Hopefully Tim will survive, but lunchtime football is still an option for the guys; so all is not lost!

Ethan had some football moments too, and so did Ehlana when Rowen and I needed to join in for a while after some of the guys needed to head home early. I'd changed before leaving so I'd be ready to keep up with my brother and sister at the playground, and that ended up being a good decision; since Ehlana and I both collected a fair bit of dirt on us between the football and playground action.

Michael and Tim had been all for a pizza and wings dinner, and while they were on their best behavior while we ate; I'm always amazed at how much teenage boys can eat – and that comment is coming from a girl with a hyper-metabolism and fairly healthy appetite. Dad hasn't spent all that much time watching football so far this season, but he does keep up with his favorite teams and what's going on around the NFL and college leagues; so he had fun talking sports with Michael and Tim for a change instead of work, kids, and babies like he and Mom usually do with the other adults when we have company over for a meal. I'm glad they were entertained by all of that, but won't bore you with the details here – if you really want to know about the 2013 football season from whenever it is in my future that you're reading this; go look it up on ESPN or Wikipedia or something.

We didn't have to help out with cooking dinner tonight, but it was a teen and tween-only clean-up crew working in the kitchen after we'd finished demolishing an Olde Bakery pie for dessert. That didn't take very long, and then we collected Ethan and Ehlana from the office and came up to my room and the lounge to play for a couple of hours. That included some music time; video gaming; and sitting on the floor racing cars and playing with dolls and action figures until Mom was ready to put Ethan and Ehlana in the tub for their baths.

That's when Rowen and Tim got to have some alone time – while Michael and I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana. I haven't gotten the details yet, but there is no way that they were smiling like that from just sitting around playing video games while we were gone. I wonder how much longer they'll be able to have moments like that before they won't be able to admit how they feel about each other in public – no matter how shy Rowen is – or how dense Tim is when it comes to figuring out how he feels about her.

It's actually funny that they saw more of that kind of action than Michael and I did tonight, but I did promise to help Rowen out with that; so I'm not complaining. They joined us in the office for Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story and snack with Dad; and then it was time for Michael, Rowen, and Tim to all head home when Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana up to bed. Michael and I spent a few minutes saying goodnight to each other on the front porch after Tim started walking home with Rowen; but Michael was on his way over to his house by the time Rowen reached her place and Tim continued on home from there.

The rest of my night has been pretty normal – a Magi lesson with Mom; followed by my usual bedtime studies, work, and nightly computer checks. It's after two o'clock again, but I'm trying to do some extra work now in case I miss a day or two with a new addition to the family; and because I won't get much done from Thursday night through until at least Sunday or Monday night. That's all I have for today, and I'm ready to crash for a few hours, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

It isn't the circus, but the arrival of the carnival rides for the fall festival is the closest thing kids and teens get to that feeling in our little town; and the first trucks started rolling into town today.

Michael, Rowen, and I didn't get to watch much of the action at the park after school today because of band practice; but we did make a quick trip there with Tim after studying at the computer store on our way home for dinner. Tim told us about everything that we'd missed, which wasn't really all that much. The rides will really start taking shape tomorrow and Thursday as the rest of the rides and work crews get to town – and the carnival operator hires extra locals to help out with that work. Tim wishes he could do that, but still has another three years before he'll be old enough – no matter how much he knows about mechanics.

Starting out with that skipped over most of the day, but I don't really have anything particularly interesting to write about from the school part of my day. We were back out by the river for Tai Chi this morning, so that was fun; but then Michael went home for breakfast with his parents and sister, and the rest of the day through until after band practice was fun but uneventful.

Music class and band practice at each end of the school day is still really great, but Tuesday nights at Michael's house tops the fun list for both of us. Jacob tried out a new chicken dish on us that was amazing, and worth being on the three-teen post-dinner clean-up crew to experience. Michael and I went for another walk to the park after that, but the work had already ended for the day by then; and there wasn't anything to see – other than the few guys and girls working for the carnival who were hanging around the bunk trailers.

Michael taught me a guitar lesson after we got home again, and then we had a little alone time in his room that included some minor making out before we went downstairs again to watch some television with his parents and Rebecca until I needed to go home for the night. I haven't decided whether it feels stranger to have moments like that at Michael's house or mine, though that's an easy answer for him; but Miranda wins the parental reaction – and comedy awards – for how she handles our new relationship. I love Miranda, and even though Michael gets embarrassed and blushes when she teases us about things like why we spend so much time practicing the rests in the music at the end of our lessons; I just have fun with it and enjoy the entertainment.

I can also very easily picture scenes like that with Aunt Leanne and her kids in another twelve to fifteen years; but I should probably wait awhile before warning my future cousins. The scary scenario will be if they're as hyper and fired up as their Mommy.

Oh wait – Miranda and I sort of resemble that; don't we? No wonder we're having so much fun!

The dinner, music, alone time with Michael, and fun with his family all added up to keep me in a very good mood since coming home. I was there in time for Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story and snack; with the stories being an exchange of daily updates from all of us while we munched on Olde Bakery cookies and sipped our drinks. Dad is trying to get as much of his work done to be ready for his week in the city each night so that he has some extra time to spend with us at the fall festival – and with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam if their baby arrives this week; so he kept working while we had our little chat. He kept working when Mom and I tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night, and while Mom did my Magi lesson; was still immersed in researching some contract law for one of his cases when I came up to my room to get ready for bed and start my usual studies and nightly computing.

I'm continuing to purposefully keep from commenting much on the continuing, childish drama going on in Washington right now, but should mention that we're very proactive about dealing with things like that for our family business; and our companies are mostly only mildly inconvenienced by anything the government is doing – or not doing. It would be fun to be able to report that the government shutdowns are causing issues for Hathorne Industries, but I did a check on that tonight, and they're just taking advantage of every opportunity they can come up with to exploit the situation. There are lots of people today who think they're brilliant for taking advantage of crises for their own gains or agenda, but I can assure you that Dark Magi have been doing that for Millennia; and are experts at the tactics.

That's not much fun to think about, and we can't do much about anything the Hathornes are doing right now; so let's move along and wrap this up.

My language studies continue comparatively slowly right now, but I am making progress, and the diversity of the dialects I'm learning right now will help me a lot with learning other languages more quickly in the future. Uncle Adam had some new research in our Magi Project archive that I read over and commented on, and I spent over an hour on the archive homework from my lesson tonight before starting my family business work and computer checks.

It's almost three o'clock now, and I'm beat; but it was worth another late night to get all of that work done; and unless Aunt Leanne has her baby tomorrow, one more late night should get me to where I want to be going into the weekend. Getting started on my nap is at the top of my to-do list now, though, so I am so out of here!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

It's late, I'm beat, and this is going to be an extremely condensed update.

Tai Chi was by the river despite it being a bit chilly this morning; Michael stayed for breakfast before going home to get ready for school; and it was a fairly standard, uneventful day of classes and noontime football. Our study session this afternoon was at Landry's, and though we all needed to get to our part-time jobs after that; we did a side-trip to the park first so that we could check out the carnival midway assembly action going on there.

The rest of my day included family business work in the office; dinner with the parents and sibs; some music and play time with Ethan and Ehlana; a Magi lesson with Mom; and my usual bedtime studies and work. I got a relatively early start to the bedtime computing, but worked late again anyway so that I don't have much left for tomorrow night – and I definitely won't have to worry about any major work or studies while playing at the fall festival this weekend.

We're all still in baby waiting mode for Aunt Leanne, but there were no signs of imminent arrival today. She's supposedly done work, but still stopped in at the office for a while today; and is doing work with Mom on the family business too. I doubt that her maternity leave will last very long before she's unofficially back to work – especially since she'll be able to keep her baby with her whether at the office or playing with Mom at our house.

I'd make a suggestion about trying to get Aunt Leanne to take it easy, but that would just sound wrong tonight coming from a girl who is just wrapping up another twenty-one hour school and work day. It's a good thing that self-healing is an option – I may need it in a few hours when I wake up from yet another short night of sleep.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

I'm going to be keeping this short for a second night in a row; but this time it's so I can get to sleep early – though I'm really tired again, and 'early' is relative to what my normal has been lately.

The only topics at school today were the fall festival and football, and nobody seemed particularly interested in concentrating on our actual classwork with a play day at the fall festival less than twenty-four hours away. I haven't been involved in any of the festival competitions or shows since moving here, but that's something I'm hearing more about this time – partly because quite a few band members are into the talent competitions; and a few of the 'farm kids' in our class are particularly excited about their festival entries this year.

I know that part of the festival is a big deal for a lot of people, but I honestly haven't really ever thought about entering the competitions and shows because Mom and I have avoided the risks involved with that kind of public attention. There isn't likely going to be a blue ribbon craft, giant vegetable, or apple pie in my future anyway; but I should make a point of getting involved in that part of the festival as more than a spectator in the future. The problem with that is trying to fit anything extra into my already-packed schedule.

Having the festival this weekend didn't keep our teachers from giving us homework today, though Uncle Nick – Mr. Ayres – did take it easy on us. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were at the Inn to study after school, and Miranda was glad that it didn't take us long to get our assignments done because they were having a busier-than-usual night at the Inn because so many people were in town and helping out at the park – and stopping in to get a quick meal instead of taking the time off to go home.

Michael and I would have liked to go with Rowen and Tim to the park when they left, but we still got to check out the action there during our dinner break – though we kept that time off short so we could get back to helping out in the kitchen. The extra business ended up delaying game night by about a half hour, but we also had less than half of the normal crowd – again because of the fall festival. That made getting through the game rotation quite a bit faster, and while the light competition might not have made a difference for Mom and Dad winning the senior championship; Michael and I probably wouldn't have won the juniors if most of the usual teen teams had been playing instead of busy helping out at the park tonight.

Rowen and Tim went for a side-trip to the park with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and me on the way home from the Inn; though we only wandered around there for a few minutes before leaving again. Tim walked Rowen home after leaving the rest of us in front of Michael's house. The four of us had fun with those goodnight kisses, but I wouldn't exactly classify those moments as romantic. Ethan and Ehlana giggled a lot; and kissing Michael while we were each holding one of the twins didn't set off any fireworks at all – though it was weirdly entertaining.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I went straight home from there, and I helped Mom with getting my brother and sister dunked in the tub and cleaned up before doing the bedtime snack and story with Dad in the office. I came up to my room for some Jacuzzi time after they were tucked in for the night, and did most of the work I needed to get done on my computer finished while in the tub. I've skipped most of my language and archive studies, and only dealt with a couple of family business issues that came up through my email. There isn't anything especially newsworthy to report from any of that computing, so I'm ready to wrap this up and get started on a reasonably normal night of sleep.

Watch out, Ridge River Fall Festival – I'm going to be at full power tomorrow and ready to play!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, October 11, 2013

I'm writing this report from the lunchroom at the clinic. Aunt Leanne went into labor tonight, and I've been here since shortly after the teen dance ended; mostly so I could take care of Ethan and Ehlana, and maintain the wards around the building, so that Mom and Dad could concentrate on Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and the baby. Ethan and Ehlana are having a nap on the sofa right now; so this seemed like a good time to write about what's been one of those best-ever sort of days – even though the best news of the day may have to wait for the next update.

We had another cool morning for Tai Chi by the river, but I was fully charged, fired up, and ready for a fun play day with my friends; and that was a great way to start the day. Mom decided to make a 'real' breakfast, so Michael went home to get ready first; and then came back again to have breakfast with us – and brought Rebecca with him after she accepted the invitation we'd sent along with him.

I'm going to take a side-trip while thinking about Rebecca, because she was on the receiving end of a matchmaking set-up today courtesy of her best friend, Jenny. That news was quickly a top story for the girls in my class because that set-up was with Marc's older brother, Jason. To be honest, I wouldn't have thought of Jason – or J.J. as his buddies call him – as boyfriend material for Rebecca; but since Jenny would think he was a perfect choice, I wasn't surprised either.

That isn't meant to imply anything about Jason other than that he definitely isn't a match for Rebecca. From Jenny's perspective, though, he's just turned fifteen, in Grade Ten, good-looking, and on the football team with her boyfriend, Garth. The fact that he's learning how to drive now, and a bit less than a year away from transportation independence is a bonus too – even if he can't drive by himself until then.

Rebecca and I had a chance to talk a bit about her day at the festival with Jason, Jenny, and Garth; and it sounds like they had fun. She's flattered that Jason is interested in her, and seems to be ready to give the dating game another try; but she is being careful too – she turned down the invitation to go to the football game and watch Jason play tonight. I'm sure that Jason will be happy to find out that even though she didn't want to go watch the game that Rebecca did take their first 'date' seriously enough that she didn't accept the offers from any other guys while at the teen dance with us tonight – though she did dance with Ethan once before he and Ehlana went home with Mom and Dad for the night; and was out on the dance floor with her friends – including Rowen and me – during a lot of the up-tempo songs.

That's really taken me off track, so let's back up to the start of the day again. After having breakfast, Michael and I cleaned up while Mom and Dad were getting ready for the day – and Rebecca helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for a KidZone day at the fall festival. Rowen met up with us just as we were finishing that work; and we headed over to the school together. We had the usual home room activities to deal with before the teachers got everyone organized and started sending groups of kids and teens over to the park.

This wasn't entirely a play day for us, since even the youngest kids had little 'assignments' that mostly involved learning about our local agriculture through the shows and displays in the pavilions. While most of our friends headed straight for the rides and games; Michael, Rowen, and I managed to convince Tim that we should get that work out of the way first so we didn't need to interrupt our fun later. We would have gone through all of the pavilions anyway, and it really didn't take all that long to get our little assignment finished – especially since the pavilions weren't crowded while we were there.

It was much warmer by the time we were ready to hit the rides too, so Rowen and I had more fun with that too; though it was spending the day with Michael and Tim that we loved most this year. Some favorite rides were back again, like the Fireball and Twin Flip; while about half of the rides were switched up and either new to the festival or returning favorites. Our favorites from the new rides were the Supershot and Vertigo.

As I've mentioned before, our school isn't the only one in the area that does a field trip to the festival, so there were lots of kids and teens here for the school day; and many of them came back for the evening with their families after being bussed back home at the end of the school day. Even with all of the extra people at the park, Friday is still the quietest day of the festival; and the line-ups weren't long for even the best rides. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I made one pass through the midway, and hit a few rides a second time on the way back through before stopping to have lunch and play some games.

Mom was one of the volunteers helping out with the KidZone field trip to the festival, and we got to spend some time with her, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden during our lunch and game break. We helped the four younger kids to win some prizes, and wrapped up our play time with them by going through the Haunted House walk and a Ghost Maze ride that was a re-worked funhouse ride that Mom wouldn't have been able to do with four toddlers by herself.

I should mention that Mom did have Liz as her volunteer buddy, but she went to take care of nursing Eli while we were there to help out for a while.

Aunt Leanne came to play at the park for a while too, and had Grandma and Grandpa keeping an eye on her; but we only had a little visit with them then. We did get to spend a bit more time together when we had dinner, but I'll get to that part of the story in a minute.

We spent most of the afternoon going on rides except for one break for snacks and drinks. We watched one of the shows in the main pavilion while doing that; and then had time for another blast through the midway before going back to school long enough to confirm that we survived the day and could be released from teacher custody. That's mostly done for the younger kids and the farm kids that needed to take their busses home; though I'm sure that most of the tween and teen farm kids just stayed in town with friends and went straight back to the park so they could keep playing.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I checked in with parents first before meeting up again at the park; and that gave us another couple of hours to play before Michael and I were to meet up with my family for dinner and a games and rides night. Tim and Rowen had other options, but decided to join us; mostly because their parents were busy at the computer store and both the shop and the display Landry's has at the festival for both their farm equipment and cars and trucks.

The Olde Bakery was open tonight too, so Aiden had stayed with Ethan and Ehlana; and Liz, Philip, Naomi, and Eli had dinner with us too; though they didn't stay with us when we went to play after that. While we didn't know just how close Aunt Leanne was to going into labor; Mom and I did know that she was down to a day or two at most; and she only managed to get through dinner and about an hour of game and ride time before needing to have Uncle Adam take her home again.

For the record, Aunt Leanne did not go on any extreme rides to try and induce labor – though I'm sure there will be jokes about that considering the timing of events tonight. She did sit in one of the carousel carriages while we were taking the younger kids on that ride; and went with Uncle Adam and Ehlana on the Ferris Wheel; but those were the only rides her doctor would let her attempt. She didn't argue about those orders even once tonight, and it's obvious now that she wasn't going along with all of that pampering just because she was tired.

Uncle Adam had taken her home an hour or so before the teen dance started, and Grandma and Grandpa went home with them; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I stayed with Mom and Dad until the dance started. They went with us to the main pavilion before going home too; and that's when Ethan got to have his dance with Rebecca – along with dances with me, Rowen, and Mom that were all during the first set of slow dances. The dances with Rowen and me were while he and Ehlana happily cut in on us after dancing with Mom and Dad; and Ehlana danced with Michael and Tim while Rowen and I were busy with Ethan.

I am never, ever going to live down cutting in on those dances with Violet and Dillon; but there will be payback some day for Ethan and Ehlana – no matter how cute they are when doing that to Michael and me.

We needed to take a little break for hugs and kisses when Mom and Dad were ready to take Ethan and Ehlana home. Aiden had been picked up by his father by then, so after saying goodnight to us; they were able to go straight home – and then on to the clinic after getting the call advising them that Aunt Leanne had gone into labor. I didn't find out about that until I got home after the dance because Mom decided that I didn't need to skip the rest of the teen dance when Aunt Leanne was just in the early stages of labor.

I feel a little guilty about having fun all night while Aunt Leanne has been having such a tough night; but there wasn't anything I could have done that Mom and Uncle Adam weren't already doing for her – and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I really did have a blast tonight. We danced to almost every song except for one break to go on some midway rides while cooling off; and then we left the dance early enough to go on a few favorite rides one last time before walking home.

Michael and I did our good night kisses on his front porch after Rowen and Tim continued on to her house, and we must have lost track of time while we were doing that; since Rowen was already inside her house and Tim was out of sight before I was ready to walk the rest of the way over to my house. Dad had come home from the clinic to meet me there and grab his computer so he could do some work while we were all at the clinic. I got changed, grabbed my computer and a few things to take along, and we put together a snacks and drinks care package before hopping in the minivan and driving over to the clinic.

It was nearly twelve-thirty by then, and while Mom and Uncle Adam didn't need my help with Aunt Leanne, they were happy to let me take over the wards then so they could concentrate on their patient. Aunt Deborah had been there too at first, but had gone home to take care of Leah and have a nap. Grandma and Grandpa were there, but Uncle Adam had sent his parents home to have a nap too with a promise to call them when Aunt Leanne was nearly ready to deliver their first grandchild.

I've been in for a couple of visits with Aunt Leanne, and talked with Grandma, Grandpa, and Dad in the waiting room; but there hasn't been much else going on; and my cousin is taking his time joining us out here in the real world. It's a good thing that I went to bed early last night, or it might have been a lot harder to keep wards up around the clinic for however long I'll need to keep doing that. As I mentioned, Ethan and Ehlana are napping right now, but they've been awake off and on tonight – mostly waking up when Aunt Leanne has a particularly strong contraction and they sense the stress from her and the baby.

When I haven't been busy with them or chatting with anyone; I've been mostly playing on my computer. Word is getting around the family, so I've had some online chats and email; and I'm up-to-date on my usual nightly computer checks. I'm glad that we stayed at the fair instead of going to the football game tonight like Tim wanted to do, and though it was a good game for out team; they won fifty-to-zero, so the Ayton players didn't exactly give them a competitive match. From what I read on the town intranet, our team only kicked field goals during the second half to keep the score from being even more ridiculous.

I've enjoyed the break from Friday night football while our team has been playing road games, but Rowen and I will be at the next two home games with Michael and Tim unless we get lucky and it rains both nights to give us an excuse to stay at home instead. While our team is undefeated so far, their last three games are all against division teams; and they'll need to win at least two of those matches – and maybe all three – to make it into the playoffs again this year. I know that anything can happen in football, but I wouldn't put any large bets against Kyle or our team this season – he wants this championship a lot; and is honestly so much better than the other players in our division that they probably feel like they're up against a top college player.

Well, if Kyle has it his way, he'll be a top college player next year.

Okay, how bored am I to write that much about football tonight? Let's move along.

News that is worth mentioning is that we already know that we will have incoming family. Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa should be here before noon, and while Dawn and Jillian are confirmed; we haven't heard whether Chris and Martin have chosen to come along for the fall festival action or opt for a parent-free night at home. Uncle Blaine and Aunt Alison are coming with the kids too; but I'm not sure how early they'll be leaving. I haven't heard whether the 'grandparents' are coming too; but expect that they probably will join the party. We're going to have some inbound Johnson and McEwan visitors too; but I haven't heard specifics on that yet – Grandma Christine is coordinating that; and she was already at home for her nap when I got here.

As for my fall festival plans, Rowen and I didn't have a lot booked anyway. Michael will be working his usual shifts at the Inn this weekend; so we'll only be hanging out with him and Tim during his afternoon breaks and after he's finished work Saturday night. I'm sure that we'll have family meals to juggle now too, and I'll be recruited to help with kid control; but it'll be fun having my cousins here for the festival – even if Mom and Dad will need a lot of help with the work too.

With Dawn and Jillian coming, I'll invite Rowen for a sleepover tomorrow night; and may end up with extra girls in the lounge if Jaimie and Kaitlyn want to join us – though they may be staying with their Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark instead of with us. While I'm thinking about the other doctor in town, Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace were here earlier too; but they went home to get some sleep in case Uncle Adam needs help later – or there are other emergencies that Uncle Mark will need to handle while Uncle Adam is busy.

That makes things easier for me because I don't have to deal with non-Magi while using my wards and shields. It will be harder to juggle all of that if Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace are here when my cousin is born; though Uncle Adam has needed to deal with that situation for other Magi births – like for Naomi, Aiden, and every Magi child with one or more non-Magi parents. At least I won't have an entire waiting room full of family to protect from the telepathic cries – though I'd probably just narrow my wards to around Aunt Leanne's room instead.

I guess there isn't anything else to report for now, so I'll wrap this up and find something else to do while we wait for the big moment. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Welcome to the family, Zachary Andrew Carrington; and congratulations, Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam!

Zack finally decided to join us at six-oh-nine this morning, and if his entrance into the world was any indication; he's going to be a very strong little Magi. That wasn't a surprise for some of us, but even with the research Uncle Adam and I have been doing; we don't yet know or understand all of the factors affecting the talent potential for Magi children – or why kids are born latent. We'll have to wait and see which specific talents Zack inherited from his parents; and the council is particularly interested about whether Uncle Adam's Healing gift will be passed on to his children.

If it is, they may want Aunt Leanne to have a lot of kids, but Zack was a very healthy eight pounds, ten ounces; the last couple of hours of the delivery were particularly tough on her; and she might have something to say about the idea of going through that every year or so for the next decade just so we can have more Magi Healers. She did appreciate having Mom and me there to help her out while Uncle Adam and Aunt Deborah were taking care of Zack; and we happily gave her a little Magi Healing gift. She was still exhausted after having almost no sleep except for a couple of naps in the last twenty-four hours or so; but the healing did at least make her comfortable, and she was able to sleep after she and Zack did a round of visits with our family and she nursed him for the first time.

That's about where my story for the day takes a break because Mom and Dad sent me home to get some sleep then; and Grandma and Grandpa came along with Ethan and Ehlana so that they could feed them and get a few things ready around the house for our incoming guests. I didn't stay awake long enough to have breakfast; and went straight to a three-hour long power nap that lasted until I heard the Rice family arrive at around eleven o'clock.

Mom and Dad had come home and done a power-nap too; though they only got to have a bit more than an hour of rest, and Mom gave them both a little Magi power boost to keep them going until they stopped for an afternoon nap with Ethan and Ehlana. Grandma and Grandpa had kept going until Grandpa Richard and Grandma Carrie arrived, and after having a visit and going to the clinic with them to see Aunt Leanne; they went home to get some rest too.

The Rice family visits to the clinic were done in two groups. I went along with the first group because Dawn and Jillian were much more excited about meeting Zack and seeing Aunt Leanne than Chris and Martin were – they actually went over to the fall festival first to go on some rides. That had been the only reason they'd decided to come, so I wasn't surprised by that; but they couldn't possibly believe that we bought those lines about making the sacrifice and doing that so the girls could see the baby first.

Rowen had checked in on me once while I was napping, so Dawn, Jillian, and I picked her up at the computer store on our way to the clinic; and she got to see Zack and Aunt Leanne too before we were set free to go and play at the fall festival. We took Ethan and Ehlana with us, and started our afternoon adventure with lunch and some gaming before hitting the midway rides. Cousin control and festival entertainment coordinator ended up being my main job for the rest of the day, and Rowen was there with me every step of the way. Michael joined us during his afternoon break, and again after he was finished the light dinner shift; so that especially helped with Ethan and Jayden.

While Ethan and Ehlana were picked up and taken home for afternoon naps, we traded them for Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara; had them with us for the rest of the afternoon; and added Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden again for the last couple of hours of the afternoon before we needed to be at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for dinner. Michael and Tim were both hanging out with us during Michael's afternoon break; though we occasionally needed to split up and take turns going on some of the rides that Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara couldn't do with the rest of us. The play time has really been fun, and we had the bonus advantage of not being drafted for the pre and post-dinner work crews; but we missed out on some things too – like Aunt Leanne's and Zack's homecoming.

We also missed out on a bunch of flowers and fruit baskets deliveries, but happily enjoyed the Olde Bakery desserts, casseroles, and other dishes that were dropped off by friends to help out with the major, short-notice, family meal. It's a good thing that Grandma and Grandma Christine called around and asked for help, because we had fifteen guests from our side of the family; twelve aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Johnson-McEwan clan; plus twenty local family members to feed.

Yes, that was quite a crowd; and Rowen and I were in charge of the 'kids' table; while Chris, Martin, and Jonathan 'helped out' again by taking their plates and eating in the game room on the third floor. Since we'd been advised that we would be spending the evening at the festival again – and out of Aunt Leanne's hair; there wasn't a problem with getting the younger kids to eat. I would have liked to spend a little more time with Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack tonight, but they had more company than they needed; and I'll get lots of chances to get to know my new cousin after the rest of our families go home again tomorrow.

Since we didn't have everyone in the Johnson family here this weekend, I should probably mention that the absences were all due to other obligations – including for Eddie; which is why he stayed with Melanie's parents instead of coming here with his Mom, Dad, sister, and grandparents. Rob and Trish came, and they joined in to help out with the younger kids for a while until parents were again available to take over; but Kevin and Elaine didn't try bringing Nicole and Robyn on such a long, short trip, and Nadine couldn't get away from a consulting project she's leading.

I don't really get to spend much time with Rob and Trish, since they're usually hanging out with the older teens and younger adults when they're here; so it was fun to spend an hour playing with them. We mostly went on the junior rides with the toddlers and did our best to win some prizes for all of the younger kids before the parents took over; and Rowen, Tim, Michael, and I only had Dawn and Jillian with us for the rest of the night.

It's a bit strange to be on the older side of the age gap with Dawn and Jillian that Rowen and I have been dealing with for Rebecca and Jenny, but they've hit the first major growth spurt this year; and it's cool to be able to go on all of the thrill rides with them. They enjoyed getting some attention from the local and visiting boys their age too; though they didn't pursue the opportunities.

The country dance was on tonight, and we stopped in to the main pavilion when it first started; mostly so we could check in with the parents, since Dawn and Jillian weren't all that interested in hanging out at the dance; and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had just been to the teen dance last night. We did get on the dance floor a couple of times, but Mom and Dad left early with Ethan and Ehlana so they could check in on Aunt Leanne and Zack before going home to bed; and we went back to the midway then and got back to our play time.

After getting to go on two summertime amusement park adventures the past two summers, the thrill in the thrill rides at our little festival wears off by the second night; though that wasn't a problem for Dawn and Jillian. I was pretty much gamed out tonight too; though some experiences were still exciting enough – like sharing kisses with Michael at the top of the Ferris wheel, and having his arm wrapped around me whenever that was an option on some of the rides. It was cooler tonight too compared to Friday night; so getting to cuddle while waiting in lines was nice too.

Most of us had a midnight curfew, so we needed to leave the park before the rides shut down and the dance ended. We walked over to Landry's auto and farm equipment display first and left Tim there with his father; and then Michael and I were left alone on his front porch while Rowen went back to my house with Dawn and Jillian. Our goodnight kiss took a while, and I was technically late for my midnight curfew, but Mom and Dad were asleep; and Mom knew where I was – at least on a subconscious level. I checked in on Ethan and Ehlana on my way up to bed, and while Ehlana woke up and wanted to talk for a minute after doing a bathroom break and having a few sips of water; Ethan didn't wake up at all when I pulled the covers around him again and kissed him goodnight.

Rowen, Dawn, and Jillian were all changed and ready for bed by the time I joined them in the lounge, and while they were putting a movie on; none of us expected to last through much of it before falling asleep. I'd only had a nap since Friday morning; Rowen had worked and had a busy day; and Dawn and Jillian had been up early to get ready for the long drive before getting to the fun part of their day. We did sit and have an entertaining girl chat that included teasing me about Michael; some suggestions for Rowen from Dawn and Jillian on what the girls in Woodvale would do to 'get their guy' when they were interested in a guy that was as dense as Tim obviously was. Rowen and I gave Dawn and Jillian a few background stories for those local guys who had been showing an interest in them 'just in case' they changed their minds about spending some time with them when we go back to the festival again on Sunday afternoon.

When Dawn and Jillian started dozing off, Rowen and I moved into my bedroom and snuggled in bed with Mandy while I got my computer out to do my usual nightly checks. I had some email waiting for me too, and needed to grab some pictures off of my camera to send to Violet, Christina, and Stephanie. The photos they wanted were of Zack and Aunt Leanne, but since I was at it anyway; I sent along a few pictures I'd taken at the park over the past two days too. I'm not a world-class photographer and just have a basic point-and-shoot digital camera; but the pictures were decent enough – and are easier than risking getting caught creating digital pictures from my memory. Mom can get away with saying that she used the phone on her camera when someone doesn't remember seeing anyone taking pictures, but since I don't have a phone; that doesn't work for me.

It's after one now, and the music I've had playing in the background is putting Rowen to sleep; so it's time to put my computer away and crash for a while before we need to get up and running again for one more busy-crazy day of fun, family, and festival adventures. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The biggest surprise for me today is that it's after two o'clock; and I'm still awake. Considering the fact that I was falling asleep about four hours ago while cuddling with Michael at his house when Miranda suggested that it was time for me to go home and get some sleep; I didn't expect to get much work done tonight. That changed, and I got my second wind after getting home; but I'll get to that part of the report in a bit.

First up, though, let's back up to the start of the day. I didn't mention it last night, but while Chris and Martin were home before Rowen and I went to sleep, they had invited Jonathan to stay with us; and then all three boys played video games in the living room until whatever time they crawled into bed. They weren't even sure when they finally got around to crashing; but I can confirm that it was not easy getting them going again in time to have breakfast and get ready for church. Fortunately, that was Uncle Rick's problem – Rowen and I were busy enough sharing bathroom time with Dawn and Jillian; and doing the rest of our usual Sunday morning routine.

For me, that included a chilly Tai Chi by the river, and I was reminded how much I missed getting to start the day with Michael yesterday while we were busy at the clinic – though getting to be there for Zack's birth was a better-than-fair trade-off. As I mentioned yesterday, we had the Rice family with us, so other than having four tween girls sharing one bathroom, and dealing with three tired and grouchy teen boys; it wasn't all that hard to do breakfast and the clean-up for fourteen. Most of us even managed to be on our way to church in time to walk there with Michael and his family.

We were at church early enough for a morning meet and greet with the rest of our family, and Michael, Rowen, and I were again recruited for kid control with my younger cousins, brother, and sister until we went to Sunday school. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Jayden, and their parents had spent the night with Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark, while Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy had stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. The Carringtons and Johnsons had been split up at three houses, including Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah's place; and Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack sat with that half of their family during the service.

Aunt Leanne had to put on a bit of an act today so that our healing gift wouldn't be too obvious; though she really was tired after their first night at home with Zack. I did think that she was the most beautiful brand-new Mom I've seen in Witch Falls since Mom gave birth to Ethan and Ehlana. Zack was certainly the star today with his family, friends, and neighbors – just as all newborns are here. He slept a lot; was mostly unimpressed with his celebrity status; and showed off his impressive lung capacity a couple of times when he was tired of being passed around and just wanted his Mommy.

I didn't even try to spend much time with Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack again today – they had enough stress in their lives without adding more, and though Ethan and Ehlana were around them more often than I was; they mostly played with Jayden and stayed out of the way too. The service today wasn't one of the extended sessions, but the meet and greet afterward took a while for our family; and I left to walk with Michael to the Inn before continuing home. That gave me time to get changed before everyone else got there, and then I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana so that they were ready for another play afternoon at the fall festival. We – the kids and teens – were all at the park shortly after the festival opened for the day at noon; and we started out by having lunch with some help from assorted parents and grandparents. There was another, smaller group with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne at their house, but Mom and Dad were the only Witch Falls members of the family there for lunch; and only because they were in charge of the food.

Rowen and I weren't really all that interested in going on more rides today, but we did a couple of rounds of the midway – the first with the younger kids; and the second with Michael, Tim, Dawn, and Jillian so that they could have another blast of fun on the thrill rides. We also caught two kid shows and part of the talent competition finale; and made a last run through some of the show pavilions that my cousins hadn't gotten to visit yesterday.

All of the kids and teens needed to be at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for an early dinner before almost all of our guests were heading home. I helped out with getting the younger kids there, but then Mom and Dad let me go and help out at the Inn since they were going to be having a very busy buffet – especially the last one with many of the festival volunteers doing the annual celebration dinner. It took me a while to get through my goodbye hugs and kisses, and then Rowen and I had a little chat on her front porch before I hurried on to the Inn; but I was still there in time to help out with getting the first wave of food ready and out for the early buffet.

While I missed out on the tail end of the family time, they were really having a fast meal and then running around to get packed up, the vehicles loaded, and on the road so they wouldn't be travelling too late on a school night; so I didn't really miss all that much. I don't expect to see them tomorrow, but Uncle Blaine and Grandpa Duncan are staying another night while Grandma Mercy went home with Aunt Alison and the kids. The guys are staying so that Uncle Blaine can take advantage of the trip to have some meetings with Aunt Grace and the construction company owners and managers. There haven't been any problems for his end of the jobs that couldn't be handled on conference calls or by phone and email; but the in-person touch does help keep everything running smoothly. I'm sure that Grandpa and Aunt Grace have been enjoying the extra time with their brothers too.

Both of the buffet sittings were full at the Inn, but the second was much rowdier with the festival volunteers all ready to celebrate the end of another successful festival. This year was particularly good because of the warm, mostly sunny weather; and what bit of rain we got this weekend came after the park was closed for the night. While we were really busy in the kitchen, I had a lot of fun working with Rebecca and Michael. Rebecca had time to tell me all about the time she'd spent with Jason Johnson, and while she mostly had fun; it wasn't exactly a perfect weekend. As I've already mentioned, she does like Jason, but she wasn't happy with Jenny when she made excuses to go off with Garth and leave Rebecca alone with Jason. He's trying to move along faster than she wants to go too; so that'll be a problem if he doesn't back off. If that wasn't enough for her, there was also a fairly awkward moment for her when she was trying to keep some distance between herself and Jason while in line for a ride last night only to have that scene complicated when Chris, Martin, and Jonathan got in line not far behind them.

The extremely weird part of that moment didn't even click for her until the two boys exchanged greetings that showed they obviously knew each other. Jonathan and Jason are distant cousins. I certainly hadn't thought about the fact that her first boyfriend and potentially her next one are related, but once she mentioned it; I could immediately recognize the similarities the two boys share. Rebecca hasn't figured out how she feels about that, but I'm sure that she won't let the cousin connection alone influence whether she gets more involved with Jason or not.

Rebecca, Michael, and I stayed at the Inn until the clean-up was getting close to being finished; and then Miranda sent us home. I went with Michael and Rebecca to their house, and while Rebecca went upstairs to have a hot bath; Michael and I cuddled on the sofa and didn't really watch the Sunday night football game until Miranda and Jacob got home. I'd like to say that we spent that alone time making out, but I really was ready to fall asleep; and we only shared a few soft, sweet kisses while I happily dozed along in half-consciousness. I came back to life when Michael's parents got back, but as our conversation drifted along; I started to doze again – and that's when Miranda sent me home.

Michael saw me off with another front porch goodnight kiss and hug; and then watched me walk home before going inside again. While I could have gone to sleep then, Mom and Dad were working in the office; and Mom wanted to do a Magi lesson with me before we all went to bed for the night. We did a Healing lesson; Dad finished getting what he needed to have done for his work in Crystal Springs on Monday; and then I went upstairs ahead of them while he packed his cases and Mom did a last bit of work in the kitchen.

The Magi lesson had woken me up, so I multi-tasked my studies with some Jacuzzi time; climbed into bed with Mandy by shortly before midnight; and continued with my studying and some family business work for another two hours before moving on to my nightly computer checks and this journal update. That isn't going to give me time for much rest before we'll be up again to see Dad off on his way to the city; but I need to work when I can – especially since Mom and I will be busier than usual this week with Dad away and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam needing help with Zack.

Whatever happens, I'm sure we're going to be in for a very interesting week – even if it might not seem to be exciting compared to the last three days. For now, though, I really do need to get some sleep, so I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, October 14, 2013

The fall festival is over for another year, but it was still the top chat topic at school today, and as usual; the girls mostly wanted to talk about who was there with whom. That put Rebecca and Jason in the spotlight, though he was happier about that than she was; and I know of at least one guy who was quite upset over the news that Rebecca might be off the market – and dating one of the popular football players.

No, I'm not naming him, even though he'll never read this. Thanks to my best friend, I have a special appreciation for the ultra-shy when they're in love and unable to express that to the person they're in love with.

Rebecca and Jason weren't the only teens being talked about today, and one couple made the list because of a break-up instead of a match made in the midway; but while Rowen and I heard all of the stories, we didn't participate in the gossip – though we were asked several times about Rebecca before being left alone when we wouldn't pass on anything interesting. The football game on Friday was re-hashed by Michael, Tim, and the usual guys in our class, but even that didn't happen until after the ride counts were compared and votes made on which were the best rides this year. Michael and Tim got razzed a fair bit about being stuck with a bunch of little kids and going on all of the kiddie rides with them, and while Michael thought it was funny; Tim was not amused to be co-winner of most ride counts for the carousel, bumble bees, bunny ride, and Toon Town ride. They didn't make top five for any of the thrill rides; but that's all that a few of the guys did all weekend.

I should back up now to the start of the day – the first one for Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me.

We were up early to have a visit with Dad while he had breakfast and got ready to leave for the city. He really wished that he didn't have to be there this week so he could be home for Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack; but it was just too much of a hassle to change everything on short notice; and the rest of us will make sure that Aunt Leanne has as much help as she needs – probably more than she wants. Once Dad was on his way, it was time for another cuddle and a nap before we needed to get up and moving again. It was chilly out again, but we still decided to exercise by the river; and Michael joined us there before we split up again until we were both ready to go to school. I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana, and they were going to have a busy morning because they needed to help Aunt Leanne after Uncle Adam went to work; and were going to do some shopping to re-stock the pantry, fridge, and freezer after wiping out most of the usual weekly groceries with the extra meals and weekend guests.

Ethan and Ehlana enjoyed the change from their usual Monday schedule, but they like their 'normal' home schooling too; and managed to get through their Grade Twelve lessons today anyway. All of the extra work does explain why Mom was ready to go to bed early tonight, even though she'll have more work to catch up on tomorrow for the family business. My school day wasn't as fun as shopping and spending time with new babies; but we've had a lot of fun since getting home after school.

Our study session was at my house, but we stopped in at Aunt Leanne's first because that's where Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana were; and I was taking my brother and sister home with us so that Mom was free to help Aunt Leanne without keeping up with twin toddlers too.

Before I continue with the story, let's take a little mental side trip and talk about boys for a minute. I've mentioned that my hugs and kisses no longer have the same effect on boys my age as they used to when I first moved here a handful of times in my journals; but we found out today that the words 'breast feeding' do cause a very similar reaction for thirteen-year old boys. I used the word 'similar' because there was one significant difference. While Aunt Leanne's comment immediately cleared the room; I could sense that Michael and Tim were also affected in, shall we say, 'other' ways by the mental pictures that came along with thinking about my Aunt Leanne nursing Zack.

In case you're wondering; no I wasn't mad at Michael for that. He's a normal, healthy thirteen-year old guy; my aunt is beautiful; and it would only be weird if he didn't have that kind of reaction.

Okay, I'm ready to move along from that line of thought now.

That entertaining moment was our cue to exit stage-right with Ethan and Ehlana; and we took them home and went up to the lounge to get started on our homework. With music class and band tomorrow, that studying included a music practice, and Ethan and Ehlana helped us out with that by plunking away at my keyboard with random disharmonics while we played our saxophones, trumpet, and flute.

The music practice took about as long as the rest of our homework tonight, so we didn't have a lot of time to play after that before Ethan, Ehlana, and I needed to be over at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's house again for dinner. We did have a short video game session, but then Michael and I took Ethan and Ehlana downstairs and washed our snacks and drinks dishes while Rowen and Tim didn't straighten up the lounge again. While Michael, Tim, and Rowen all needed to get to their homes for dinner too, they went over to the park to check out the continuing midway teardown while I took Ethan and Ehlana over to our aunt and uncle's house. Missing out on that wasn't a big deal for me, and getting to spend some time holding Zack instead was more than worth it.

Grandma and Grandpa were there for dinner too, and the food was ready when Uncle Adam got home from the clinic. That was a very quiet meal compared to the last couple of family gatherings, and I finally got to catch up on a lot of the action I'd missed out on over the weekend. I loved getting to spend that time with my grandparents, aunt, and uncle; but by the time we'd finished eating and cleaning up; Aunt Leanne was ready for a nap. Grandma and Grandpa were taking the evening shift, so Mom took Ethan, Ehlana, and me home then; and Michael came over to hang out with us for a couple of hours.

I'd like to report that we had a really great play evening together, but while we did have some fun too; Mom needed me to help out with the house work and laundry that hadn't gotten done yet from having a house full of guests; and Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana helped us out with all of that work. Using our Magi power to help with the cleaning was a big part of the fun; and Mom used the opportunity to do lessons with all four of her assistants.

Pop quiz; and second weird moment of the day: what would be stranger for you – having your boyfriend seeing your bras air-drying in the laundry room; or your mother's bras?

I really don't want to follow that train of thought either, so let's not go there.

Michael and I didn't get to have any quiet cuddle time, but we did have a few moments alone here and there while cleaning guest rooms; so Rowen and Tim weren't the only couple sharing kisses in my house today – excluding the handful of hours before Dad left for Crystal Springs this morning.

That's another reason why Mom's so tired tonight; but let's not go there either. With the direction my thoughts keep going, though, I'd better find some alone time for Michael and me soon!

Michael went home at nine-thirty, and while we still had laundry to do; the cleaning was done. Mom and I put Ethan and Ehlana in the tub after I got back inside from saying goodnight to Michael, and after having a bedtime phone chat and story time with Dad; we tucked them in for the night, and Mom went to bed while I came up to my room and got to work.

I started out with a piano and guitar music practice to help wind down a bit, and then sat in the window alcove and got to work on my computer. That was over three hours ago, and I've officially hit the wall; so it's time to pack up and get some sleep. Michael, Rowen, and I have band practice after school tomorrow, but then we'll be doing the study and babysitting thing at my house again instead of studying at the computer store. That'll probably be the daily routine – at least until Friday – though Aunt Leanne's birthday is on Wednesday too; so we'll have her birthday dinner party too.

There were extra emails from around the family tonight, and most of them were either weekend or new baby-related; but there wasn't any major news. Violet wants me to keep sending pictures, since she can't come home until she and Dillon are off on their fall break. Dawn and Jillian want to book rooms with us for the fall festival weekend next year, and that will sound like fun when I'm not exhausted; but it's a bit early to be thinking about that already anyway – though I do think that Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I should do more fun weekends together.

Right now, I'm to the point where I just want to be unconscious; so let's wrap this up so I can do that.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

I stayed up and did all of my work like a good little girl, but I'm out of steam; and this is going to be a micro-update.

Tai Chi was indoors due to rain; breakfast was at Michael's house for me; and then I had to run around to get ready for school on time and help Mom get Ethan and Ehlana ready for their day at KidZone. We had a good day at school; band practice was fun; and we repeated the homework and babysitting routine at my house again, with the only change from yesterday being that we picked Ethan and Ehlana up at KidZone instead of Aunt Leanne's house. Tim and Rowen headed out for the night when it was time for Michael and I to start cooking dinner for five; and we had it ready by the time Mom got home from helping Aunt Leanne once Uncle Adam could take over after getting hack from the clinic.

Michael stayed for the evening; we had a guitar lesson; Magi lesson with Mom; and helped to get Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night before he headed home and we again ended up without any quality alone time. I've been working on my computer since then, and though it isn't quite as late as normal for a school night; I still put three solid hours into my studies and work.

That covers the basics, and I'm done in more ways than one, so until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Happy Birthday, Aunt Leanne!

I know that your favorite gift this year arrived early, but the good news is that you didn't spend your special day delivering that particular present – since it isn't like someone else could do that for you no matter how much you joked about it last week.

Uncle Adam was in charge of the morning part of Aunt Leanne's birthday celebration, and while I'm sure that we don't need to write about all of the details here; it was funny when they told us that all three of them had breakfast in bed - though Uncle Adam didn't need to cook anything for Zack. While their new baby was Aunt Leanne's favorite gift, the family ring that her boys gave her was very nice too, and like the ring Dad gave Mom; it has diamonds that can be switched out for birthstones as their family grows.

While they were having the birthday breakfast in bed party, my morning was fairly quiet by comparison. Mom did a Tai Chi lesson with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and me; and we were indoors again so that we could do a more advanced lesson than we could have done by the river. Michael went home for breakfast, and there isn't anything exciting to report for the rest of my morning routine today. Now that all traces of the fall festival are gone from the park, kid and teen attention is turning to Halloween. Though we still have two weeks to the big day, the school Halloween dance is a week from Friday; so dates and costumes are top chat topics now. The football game on Friday is big news for the guys too, and Rowen and I can't escape that topic if we want to spend time with Michael and Tim; but they're getting excited about Halloween too. We're even tossing around ideas for doing matching costumes, and I've had fun teasing Tim with suggestions that I know he'd never go with – though, for example, Rowen and I both think that he'd be a very cute Care Bear!

While I'm on the costume subject, we did decide on what to do for Halloween while studying and babysitting after school; and we'll have Ethan and Ehlana with us too – just as Rowen and I have done for the past two Halloweens. Tim and Rowen are going to be Anakin Skywalker and Queen Padme Amidala, and while the significance of that choice may dawn on Tim eventually; Michael's grin was all the evidence I needed to know he understood, and I explained it to Rowen later when the boys weren't around.

Okay, for those of you who don't have photographic memories or have no knowledge of Star Wars trivia; Anakin and Padme are secretly husband and wife. That's why I thought that those characters were perfect for Tim and Rowen.

Michael and I are going to be Luke and Leia Skywalker, and though we talked about having Michael go as Han Solo instead; we decided to 'keep it in the family', since Luke and Leia are Anakin and Padme's kids. Yes, we also thought about doing that combination with Michael and me as the parents and Ethan and Ehlana as the twins; but Ethan and Ehlana wanted to be Ewoks. That's too cute; and I liked their choice better anyway.

That's enough Star Wars information for one day, so let's get back to the main news of the day.

We managed to get our homework done while talking Halloween costumes, and then Michael, Rowen, and Tim all needed to get to work; and I needed to take Ethan and Ehlana over to Aunt Leanne's so I could help Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Grace with making dinner. The guest list tonight was family-only so that Aunt Leanne wouldn't get any more exhausted than she already was keeping up with Zack day and night; but that still meant we had eighteen for dinner – sixteen to cook for, excluding Zack and Leah.

Aunt Leanne's birthday roast was very entertaining; though the women at the table spent as much time talking about babies as they spent telling stories about the birthday girl. Christine and Andrew are new to their grandparent roles; and they really liked having a few hours to spend with Zack without the family competition they had all weekend. They were happy to share him with Grandma, Grandpa, and Zack's Great-Grandma and Grandpa Johnson; and our two families are moving closer together with the new grandchild connection.

I was on the clean-up work crew too, but the Moms, Aunts, and Grandmothers were sent off to hang out with Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Leah while the 'younger' men worked too; and the grandfathers, Ethan, and Ehlana supervised. The party after that was more like a post-dinner social hour, and when it was time for Zack's next feeding; most of the guests headed home. Grandma and Grandpa Carrington were the exceptions, and they stayed while I went home to pack a bag; have a short Magi lesson; and help Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night before going back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house so that I could help out with Zack overnight and hopefully let Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam both get a bit more sleep than they've been able to get so far since last Friday.

Aunt Leanne and Zack were sleeping when I got back to the house, and Uncle Adam went to bed too after his parents went home; while I've been sitting in Zack's nursery; working on my computer while he's sleeping; and taking care of him when he's awake. He isn't on a schedule yet, but Aunt Leanne had already started pumping milk so she'd be able to skip the occasional feeding or have a bottle available if she was out somewhere; and I've managed to do two feedings without waking her or Uncle Adam.

Yes, I cheated a bit doing that by using wards and sound barriers, but Zack didn't mind; and we've had fun together while his parents have been catching up on their sleep.

I haven't really written anything about the Magi side of my cousin yet, and this is a good time for a first update on that. This wasn't the first time I've talked telepathically with Zack, since we did have a bit of contact when he was born; but it was the first time we've communicated for any length of time. Being able to do that with my cousin is another new step for the council; since they wouldn't have allowed that before with Magi cousins any more than they'd have allowed non-related Magi kids to know about each other. We're still taking that very slow with Zack, just as we've done with Leah; but he's doing very well so far. His pre-natal training has made a big difference too; and I think that Mom may be very close to having an optimized program that the council can consider teaching to other new, expecting Magi mothers.

While I can talk telepathically with Zack, and use other talents around him, there are some rules too; with the biggest being that we – Ethan, Ehlana, and I – do not attempt any form of link that might lead to a bonding. He's too young for that, and Mom wants to make sure that nothing gets in the way of a Magi baby's bonding with his own mother and father. I definitely agree with that, though I also think that we need to consider how to handle developing that kind of a Magi relationship for the Magi kids who have non-Magi parents.

Rowen, for instance, developed that bond over time with her grandmother, but until that happened; it must have been very strange for her to have all of those abilities with no way to express herself during the stretches of time between visits with her Grandma Nancy. We know from our Magi Project research that some Magi never get that bond at all; though Uncle Adam has approached that particular question very carefully.

Getting back to talking about Zack, while we're not doing anything that might encourage a Magi-level bonding; expressing our love is definitely okay, and he responds to the empathic vibes he senses from us. Zack also loves getting to talk telepathically with us, and while this was the first chance he and I had to do that; he's been able to talk with Ethan and Ehlana during the days when they've been here with Mom; and the extra interaction with other Magi is helping his development.

We both think that the cuddling is very nice too, and after the first feeding I did with him; I rocked him for nearly a half-hour after singing him to sleep before putting him back in his basinet.

It's going on three now; I have my studies and work done; and Zack won't likely wake up again for another hour and a half or two; so I'm going to put my computer away now and get a little sleep. I'll need to wake Aunt Leanne for that feeding; but she'll likely be uncomfortable by then and need to have Zack nurse anyway. I could go next door to the guest room I was going to use tonight, but the love seat that Aunt Leanne picked as part of the furniture for the nursery is comfortable; so I'm just going to curl up here to make sure I hear Zack when he wakes – and hopefully we'll be able to get Aunt Leanne to join us without waking Uncle Adam.

I'm going to need to make up for that lack of sleep soon, but this was worth losing the sleep for; and I'll just give myself a little Magi power boost in the morning so I can keep going all day tomorrow. For now, though, I'm going to nap while I can before getting to play with my adorable little cousin again during his next feeding.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

I've hit the wall tonight, so I'm skipping all of my usual bedtime studies; and only did my nightly computer checks and took care of a bit of family business work before starting on this update.

There isn't really a lot to write about tonight because we've had a fairly uneventful day around here – though my early morning was busy and entertaining enough.

That started with Zack giving me a wake-up call after I'd had all of about an hour and a half of sleep; and then he'd wanted to party for a while after Aunt Leanne had finished nursing him and she'd gone back to bed. I only ended up with about another half hour of nap time before it was time to get up again for Tai Chi; but getting to do that with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Michael was great; and then Michael stayed for breakfast before hurrying home to get ready for school.

Zack slept through most of that, but was awake in time to give Aunt Leanne a get-out-of-work card so that she could nurse him while Uncle Adam and I cleaned up from breakfast. By the time I was ready for school, I didn't have much time for goodbye cuddles and kisses with Zack before needing to walk next door and meet up with Rowen. We collected Michael and Rebecca on our way to school; and then we were on to a fairly standard day of classes that included one test this morning and some lunchtime football action.

Our studying after school was at my house again, and I was watching Ethan and Ehlana again too, but the main change to my Thursday routine was not helping out at the Inn. Instead of going there with Michael after we were finished our homework; I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some play time while Mom was busy with Aunt Leanne and Zack. Tim was at the park by then too, so we stopped in to let Ethan have some football fun before going on to the playground; but Rowen was working at the store again – mostly because she wouldn't be helping out there on the weekend.

Mom was home by the time Ethan, Ehlana, and I got back from the park, and it was just the four of us for dinner tonight. Two out of four of us were getting tired by then, and that's why we went with a Mac and cheese and hot dogs easy-dinner. That had the advantage of leaving us with enough time to do Ethan and Ehlana's Magi lesson before going to the Inn for game night; which helped to make the earlier-than-usual bedtime possible once we got back from the Inn again.

Game night was fun, and I loved getting to spend the time with Michael and our family and friends; but I wasn't exactly motivated tonight and we didn't place very high in the junior championship standings this week. Mom was teamed with Miranda as usual for Dad's weeks in the city, but they didn't win the senior championship tonight – though they did come in third. Since that didn't work out as planned for Miranda, I won't be surprised if there is another guys against the girls game night coming up soon so she'll have another chance at a championship win.

I'm fading fast, so let's wrap this up. I stayed to help with the clean-up, but Mom took Ethan and Ehlana home to start their bath time; so Michael and I kept the goodnight kisses on his front porch short before I hurried home in time to help her get my brother and sister dried off and ready for bed. We did a story time phone call with Dad from Ehlana's room; Mom did a short Magi lesson with me once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night; and then she hopped into her Jacuzzi for a soak when I came up to my room.

That's pretty much it for my day, and while I should be doing the studying too; I really need the down time more right now. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are taking the night off tomorrow and going to the football game; Rowen and I may do a sleepover at her house; and then we may all have major fall yard work days at our respective homes on Saturday if the weather co-operates. With all of that going on over the next couple of days, I really am going to need to recharge; so it's time to pack up my computer and get started on some quality down time.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Rowen and I still don't feel completely warm yet, and that's after being home for hours now; and we've been in bed now for quite a while too. We're also both wishing that the rain hadn't mostly stopped by game time; since we weren't able to use the weather as an excuse to skip going to the game with Michael and Tim.

I shouldn't complain for myself anyway, because I did at least have Michael to cuddle with while we watched the game; but Tim is still not attempting to make any public moves on Rowen yet; so she was even colder than I was – though we were both shivering by the end of the game. Before I get to the football game and the rest of our evening; let's back up and start from the beginning of the day.

It was cold this morning too, and we stayed indoors for Tai Chi. Mom had done a new lesson with Ethan and Ehlana yesterday morning; so she repeated it again today both for them and so that Michael could learn the new postures. That was fun for all of us, and though Michael didn't stay for breakfast; he did help Ethan to get ready for a KidZone day, and had a chat with all of us in the kitchen before heading home to eat and get ready for school. Since I was fully charged again, it didn't take me long to blast through my usual Friday morning routine; and I went over to Rowen's house with enough time to help her with a little hair play time before we needed to meet up with Michael and Rebecca.

The cold, wet weather wasn't a great mood-setter today, and I'm the only student in my class who doesn't mind starting our last school day of the week with Spanish class; so we weren't exactly the most cheerful bunch. Maybe this just felt like a tough day this week by comparison to the beautiful fall festival play day we got to enjoy last week. Whatever the reasons, though, this did end up being a down day for a lot of kids and teens. There was no football at lunchtime; most of the students stayed indoors; and just in case starting the morning with Spanish wasn't enough for some of my friends, we got to start the afternoon with a math test. In fact, the only class of the day that got anyone other than me fired up was Phys-Ed, and though we had to stay indoors for that too; playing volleyball was a fun way to end the afternoon before being set free for the weekend.

I had the night off from babysitting and helping Mom or Aunt Leanne today, but I stopped in at home to pack an overnight bag for Rowen's house; and she and I did a little visit with everyone at Aunt Leanne's on our way to her house while Michael and Tim were checking in with their parents too. We were taking the night off from homework too, and ended up hanging out at Tim's house until dinnertime. Nobody reading this in the future will be surprised to discover that video games were Tim's choice of entertainment for us; and Rowen and I mostly watched the action on the big-screen while Michael and Tim played their way through two of their favorite games and we all talked about our day; plans for the weekend; and Halloween.

While I'm thinking about Halloween, the school dance is next Friday night; boys can be very dense; and I'll pick up four tickets on Monday. One of these days, Tim better figure out that Rowen does make the distinction between the four of us going to the dance together because of our costume theme and being invited to go to the dance on a date. She is still – mostly – a happy camper, but come on, Tim; it's been two months since that first kiss at the amusement park and you really need to get a clue, dude!

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana were having dinner at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's, and while Michael and I were invited; we decided to have dinner at the Inn instead. We'd gone there thinking about just getting drinks and fries, but Miranda wouldn't let us get away with that; so we had a 'real' dinner before heading over to the school to meet up with Tim and Rowen for the game.

As I mentioned, the rain had pretty much ended by game time, but that still meant that everything was wet; and a cool day was turning into a cold night in a big hurry once the sun went down. While that didn't give Rowen and I enough of a reason not to be there, I was tempted to stay with Rebecca at the Inn after finding out that she'd picked helping out there instead of coming to watch the game – or Jason Johnson. Being able to do that might not last much longer if they officially start dating soon, but from what I picked up from her tonight; I'd say that Rebecca is hanging out with Jason more for Jenny than any other reason.

Moving on to the actual game report, while the field was wet, it's kept in great condition; and wasn't a muddy mess like some football fields can be. We played against division rivals, Varney; and both teams were prepared for the conditions – at least equipment-wise. The final score didn't really reflect it; but Varney played well tonight – they just couldn't punch in any touchdowns; and gave up big plays on just a handful of mistakes. Kyle was there to take advantage of every one of those errors; and he earned three defensive touchdowns to go along with six sacks and eight other tackles-for-a-loss plays.

The Varney quarterback also earned Kyle's respect tonight. He got hit a lot in addition to those sacks, but never personally coughed up the football; bounced up after every hit; and didn't stop playing his best all night – even after there was no chance of a comeback for his team. I liked that a lot too, and don't mind admitting that I was silently cheering for the guy to get a touchdown against our team after working so hard. That didn't happen, and he had to settle for six field goals – and better stats than our offense had tonight for everything he had control over. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his teammates from fumbles that were all turned into points by our defense or gave our offense short fields to work with all night. We started kicking field goals again this week by the fourth quarter; and still ended up winning fifty-nine-to-eighteen.

While the football action was good, Jenny found out that being a football cheerleader isn't always fun. Rowen and I had a little chat with her between the first and second quarters, and she wasn't enjoying the cold; doesn't like the cold-weather outfits they were wearing tonight; and she was really uncomfortable because her shoe choice hadn't been waterproof, so her feet were cold and soaked.

That's probably why some of the girls at school only try out for the basketball cheerleading squad – and why the football cheerleaders have had enough fun for the school year by the end of November.

Rowen and I offered to make a half-time run to Jenny's house for her, but she'd already taken care of getting a footwear change brought over so she'd be ready for the half-time routine. I'll guess she'll be prepared for that from now on – and that she'll never like being a cheerleader for the bad-weather games. She will still do it, though, if for no other reasons than the social status that goes with being a cheerleader and getting to hang out with the hunkiest guys – both on our team and from the other schools.

Let's get back to the update before taking that train of thought on to the next logical station.

While Michael and Tim are committed fans of our team and football in general, Michael knew that Rowen and I were freezing; and didn't really give Tim a choice when he suggested that we skip most of the post-game action and head over to Rowen's house right away. She'd invited them to come back with us earlier after getting parental approval at dinnertime; and her Mom was prepared for us with hot drinks and a couple of pizzas that Patrick and Scott helped Michael and Tim demolish.

The two younger boys made sure that there were no major cuddle opportunities for Rowen and Tim, and though I snuggled close to Michael while we were all in the living room together; he was busy playing video games most of the time, so he had his hands wrapped around a game controller instead of his arms around me. While that wasn't romantic at all, Michael and Tim did at least distract Patrick and Scott so they weren't pranking Rowen and me – though that reprieve lasted until about ten seconds after Michael and Tim went home at eleven-thirty.

Having an annoying audience meant that Rowen didn't get a goodnight kiss opportunity either; and I certainly don't have anything worth recording for posterity in that department tonight either. I don't know what Patrick and Scott are doing for Halloween costumes, but whatever they come up with won't be any scarier to Rowen and me than just being themselves when they're being total pains like they were for more than an hour after Rowen and I came up to her room.

They've been quiet for about a half hour now after getting an ultimatum from Owen; so Rowen and I have finally been able to chat in peace and wind down from a long day. We need to go to sleep soon too so that we'll be ready for the yard work we both have ahead of us starting first thing in the morning, so I'm going to wrap this up; though we're not quite ready to drop off yet. Still feeling chilled is part of the reason for that; and so is how we're each feeling about the lack of alone time with our respective, favorite boys. We're not likely going to be able to do anything about that for Rowen this weekend, but I'm seriously considering making some Michael and me time tomorrow night after he's finished at the Inn – even if I need to use a time-phase for that to happen!

That's a nice thought to end this update with, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Happy 16th Birthday, Chris!

I hope he's been enjoying his big day, though it probably isn't as exciting as Violet's sweet-sixteen was; and we know for sure that there wasn't a new car in the driveway. Chris also wasn't having a big family party, and while I'll get the details from Dawn sometime tomorrow; she was doing a sleepover at Jillian's so she didn't have to be home for Chris' party. Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa are probably wishing by now that they could have gone for a sleepover with their best friends by now too.

While spending the weekend in Woodvale would have been more fun than a major yard work day; I'm not all that disappointed that we didn't need to fit something like that into our schedule – that would have just meant piling up more work on top of what we already had after the fall festival weekend off. That brings me around to the only thing I've been thinking about since Michael went home a couple of hours ago; so let's go there next.

I am an idiot.

Okay, not really; but I feel like one right now. Michael and I finally got that alone time we've both wanted for what feels like ages now; we were all set up with snacks, drinks, and a scary Halloween movie; and then I promptly fell asleep before we got around to any quality make-out time at all. Stop laughing – it isn't funny! Mom and Dad thought it was hilarious, but that was mostly because they've been there and done that recently enough to relate. Michael assured me that he didn't mind just cuddling with me and watching the movie while I slept; but I guarantee we'd have both been happier if I'd managed to stay awake instead.

The frustration from that missed opportunity has a lot to do with why I'm still awake now, and while my end of the family business is benefitting from the re-directed energy; that isn't any consolation to me tonight. Let's move on from thinking about what didn't happen, though, and do the rest of the update.

Since it was cold out this morning, Michael didn't come over to Rowen's house for Tai Chi; so I was on my own for that today. Rowen and I managed to get through taking turns having showers and getting dressed for a yard work day before Patrick and Scott were given their wake-up call; though they still managed to find time to bug us while we had breakfast and cleaned the kitchen after we ate. I felt bad about leaving my best friend stuck with them all day; but I needed to get home and start helping Dad with the chores around our house.

I'd missed out on Dad's homecoming last night, so there were some bonus hugs and kisses this morning, and we had a little chat with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana after I first got home; but then it was time to get to work on our extensive to-do lists. The temperature had dropped to near-freezing, so I was dressed accordingly; but it didn't take long to heat up – especially when job-one for me was raking leaves. I wasn't alone for that, because Mom came out to work with me as soon as Alicia came over and could take care of Ethan and Ehlana while doing her usual Saturday jobs.

There are a lot of really great things about having a big yard, but dealing with everything related to fall clean-ups is not on that particular list.

We spent four very long, tough hours getting the leaves raked and bagged, and though I was only teasing Dad about getting him a new lawn tractor with some bells and whistles that would help out with things like cleaning up leaves for Father's Day next year; he didn't actually seem to be against the idea despite joking about how that might break several local man-laws. Maybe I'll seriously talk about that with Mom later – and we could even think about something like that for Christmas if we added a snow blower too. That might be a waste for the years when we don't get much snow, but a snow blower would have come in handy for some of the storms we've had since Mom and I moved here.

I don't want to think about cold and winter right now either, though that isn't because I'm chilled or anything. It wasn't a really warm day, but it was sunny; and we had a decent afternoon – warm enough to be comfortable without being too hot for the work we were doing. While there were other jobs that Mom and Dad had me help them with, my main afternoon job was cutting the lawn once the leaves were out of the way; and my last job – putting up the Halloween decorations – was a lot of fun. Ethan and Ehlana helped me with that; and we spent about an hour on that before it was getting dark and time to go inside and get cleaned up for dinner.

By then, I really needed a hot shower, so I did that next; cheated with a little time-phase so I could get my hair done before dinner was ready; and then enjoyed having a chance to talk with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana while we demolished a lasagna and the rest of the food Mom had cooked up for us. Dad had work to do in the office tonight, but he and I took care of the dinner clean-up; and he watched a Halloween show with the rest of us before going to hide in the office when Mom was ready to dunk Ethan and Ehlana in the tub.

I helped her with that, and we had my brother and sister in the pajamas by the time Michael came over after finishing up at the Inn for the night. He was happy to help out with the bedtime story while we munched on Olde Bakery treats and drank cups of hot chocolate or coffee; and then we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night while Mom and Dad stayed in the office to work.

We've already covered my badly-timed nap, so the only thing I haven't mentioned is that my wake-up call came when Mom and Dad stopped into the lounge to say goodnight to us. Mom would have been able to tell that I was sleeping before seeing us, so the timing for wrapping up their work in the office within fifteen minutes of when Michael was due to be home wasn't a coincidence. Since I may have inherited her talent for just falling asleep when we run out of steam; she may have suspected that Michael would be like Dad; and be willing to cuddle with me until I woke up.

I'd have been okay with that; though none of our parents are ready for that step in our relationship quite yet.

That's another nice thought to end this report with – and take into dreamland with me; so I'm going to put my computer away now and try to get some more rest. I'd suggest that I need to do that to be ready for the next time Michael and I get a chance for some quality alone time; but I have no idea when that'll happen – especially with everything we have going on between now and Halloween.

I'll just think happy thoughts and hope for the best.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

This has been a really busy day, while at the same time I don't have all that much to report.

Tai Chi was indoors, and more fun with Dad home again – especially after exercising by myself yesterday. I got ready for church first, but then went over to Michael's house to have breakfast there before meeting up with my family again for the walk to church. Michael was with me and my family today; and we got to hold Zack for a while before going to Sunday school. We're into a harvest theme for our lessons now; and that'll continue through until Thanksgiving before moving on to the usual Christmas action.

The service today was longer than last week, but the meet and greet after that was shorter; so I ended up getting home at nearly the same time as Mom, Dad, and the twins after walking with Michael to the Inn and stopping for a little visit. It was just the five of us for lunch, and then Dad was back in the office to work while I helped Mom with some chores and Ethan and Ehlana mostly played on their iPads and watched a couple of Halloween cartoons on television in the living room.

Michael, Tim, and Rowen all came over to do our homework during Michael's afternoon break; and Tim and Rowen stayed after he went back to the Inn so we could start working on our costumes. That 'work' included making a few online purchases; but we're making most of our costumes; and Mom started working on two Ewok suits this afternoon too.

Tim needed to leave by around five o'clock, but Rowen was able to stay until we all went to the Inn for the late buffet; and her parents and brother met up with us there. We mostly did the late buffet this time so that Dad could get his work done first; and so Aunt Leanne could nurse Zack before going to the Inn. Michael had worked through until the first wave of food was out for the second buffet, and then he joined us to eat before going to help out again in the kitchen after that. We were at a 'kids' table with Rowen, Patrick, Ethan, Ehlana, and Aiden Draper; and we again got to have Zack with us for a while too; though I was competing with grandparents, aunts, and uncles for baby time.

I was tempted to stay and help out in the kitchen when it was time to go, but ended up going to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana instead. Grandma and Grandpa came with us too, and we had a nice visit for an hour or so until Aunt Leanne and Zack were both ready to go to bed. Once we were home again, I helped Mom and Dad with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed; we did the bedtime story; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with me before she and Dad went to bed and I came up to my room to get started on my usual school-night studies and bedtime computing.

There isn't anything particularly newsworthy to write about from my studies or family business work tonight; but there was a lot of news from around the family out on the email network. From Woodvale, Dawn reported that Chris had a fun birthday weekend; though she was also happy to miss the party – especially since Chris and Martin both had 'dates' for the evening. Chris will be taking his driving exam on Monday, but Dawn doesn't expect that to have any effect on her life once he can drive on his own; and she doesn't expect that he'll be driving her anywhere.

My college email buddies all had mid-term exams and study stories for me, and though none of them had any personal problems with their exams; they did have front-row seats for some spectacular crash and burn moments with some of their new friends. The rest of the news was mostly about school, family plans, and some Johnson family visits that are being planned over the next month or so – with all of those trips so that Zack can meet the rest of his family.

While I'm on that topic, I didn't get this news from email, but Barb and Corey may be coming home for the Thanksgiving weekend to see Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack. Aunt Leanne's waiting for final confirmation on that, but expects that their friends will stay with them instead of with Barb's family. Now that Mom and I have a big family of our own, that seems very strange to me; though I wouldn't have really thought about it at all before we moved here. I haven't talked to them in a long time, so it should be interesting to see how they've changed since moving out west. Their reaction to Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark living here now should be entertaining too; but I don't think that they'll mind at all if they no longer make the social status grade with Barb and Corey.

I guess that's about it for the news. The top events this week are a future plans and family business meeting tomorrow night; Jenny's birthday on Thursday; the football game and school Halloween dance on Friday; and the Haunted Halloween walk on Saturday night. There's going to be a Halloween party at Sheldon's on Saturday too, but if I'm involved in that at all; it'll only be because I'm babysitting Ethan and Ehlana.

It's after two, and while I'm not in imminent danger of having any Michael-and-me alone time opportunities to fall asleep during; I have had enough fun for today. The good news is that I'll likely be dreaming about Michael soon; but how ironic is it that the only romantic 'action' I'll have this weekend has been while I'm sleeping when I wasn't able to stay awake for the one 'real' chance we had for some up close and personal play time?

Ironic or not, I'll settle for the dream – for now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Halloween and football were the top stories at school today; and we're into the Halloween-themed lessons and activities now too; but before I get started on that part of my journal report, I want to write about our future plans and family business meeting.

The first thing I want to mention is that we'd all like to include Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark in these meetings; but that isn't an option right now – even though that causes some minor problems dealing with our plans for the lab. That's not a huge issue now; but could be once the lab is up and running next September. For now, Uncle Adam will need to remain the g0-between us and Aunt Grace, and while Uncle Mark's advice would be nice to have; his main roles in our future plans won't really start until Uncle Adam starts splitting his time between the clinic and lab.

Our meeting tonight started with a lengthy construction report. The lab building will definitely be closed in by Thanksgiving; and then the interior work will begin in earnest. A lot of the major equipment has already been delivered, along with truckloads of everything from electrical wiring and cables to bathroom and lighting fixtures. With the weather cooling off so much now; the construction crews are definitely looking forward to working indoors soon.

The first apartment building is going up fast too, and that's going to be the other big project all winter. There are no new houses or townhomes being started anymore, and the crews working on them have more than enough work to keep them busy through the winter. All of the construction in the new section of town is going to be very important for us next year – especially since we'll need the extra apartments and homes for the new employees we're going to need for everything from the lab for new jobs in local businesses.

Getting those employees is going to be a team effort, and while we've been working on encouraging teens in choosing college and career paths; we'll be spending more time over the next year working family connections – particularly for family members that have moved away; but might be interested in returning now that there will be so many new opportunities. We also have the advantage of having a high percentage of college graduates here; and there is a lot of interest in the new opportunities for everything from our own projects to new businesses that we're not really involved with at all.

That's all really exciting, but I want to mention a few things about some issues we're dealing with that aren't cool; but are very necessary. There likely isn't a single kid or teen in town – or anywhere else – that thinks much about things like garbage, recycling, water, sewage, or any of the other similar details of modern life that we take for granted – except for grumbling about any related chores like putting the cans out at the road on garbage day. The new work we're doing here requires having someone deal with all of that; and we needed to talk about our plans in those areas tonight.

Among other things, we're going to need a new, larger water tower; a sewage treatment plant upgrade; and additions to our garbage and recycling services. Some of those needs are more immediate than others; but we now have a ten-year rough-draft plan for dealing with all of those issues. In addition to that, Ethan and Ehlana are going to help with their favorite pet project – building a wind and solar energy plant. I haven't been in on any of that so far, but they've found an old quarry site just a few miles north-east of town that Mom and Aunt Leanne are going to make an offer to buy; and they've researched pretty much everything we'd need to build and run the place – including finding someone here in Witch Falls who would be perfect to run the new company. For them, the fact that he's the father of one of their future classmates is a bonus that they really like a lot too.

We discussed what was going on now with other businesses around town as they all start getting ready for the growth we'll be going through in the coming years. The most immediate change is the new store for Witch Falls Electric and Lighting; and Aunt Leanne advised us that they'll be opening the new store in time for the Thanksgiving shopping weekend. Rowen's parents are going to take over the old store that's closing, but that won't be until January; and while they'll need to work on it for a while to get it ready for the data center they're going to open; Mom already has more than enough business lined up for their new servers for when they are ready to open for the new part of their computer business. There are going to be new stores opening next year that are still in the early planning stages, but the only involvement we'll have is when we can help out with things like financing or real estate and rentals.

The last major topic we discussed tonight was the archive, charity, and business travels for our growing group of volunteers. Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor continue to handle most of the archive work; and they'll have their hands full for the next four or five years getting all of the physical archives moved from their hiding places around the world to here. Rowen's grandmother is now getting help from other Magi to deal with the charity trips; and there will be several trips going on nearly every week next year. Winter travel is especially popular, and works best for some farmers and business owners while work is slower and taking trips for two or three weeks is much easier than it is during the busier months of the year. We'll eventually hit a limit for that with local volunteers, but we do have other programs through our charities; and we can develop more volunteer networks as we need them – even though they won't be able to accomplish some of the things our Magi volunteers can.

I guess that's about it for the meeting tonight, so let's move on to the report for the rest of the day.

There's no doubt that Fall has arrived in Witch Falls, and we were indoors for Tai Chi again this morning. It's easier than getting everyone bundled up to go outside; and while I'm happy to do lessons with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana; it's also nice when we can practice the more difficult forms together. Michael went home for breakfast today, and then he and Rebecca met up with Rowen and me for the walk to school.

We traded Rebecca for Tim within a minute of getting to the school, and then stepped into some minor teen weirdness. I should begin by mentioning that Michael isn't at all thrilled to see Rebecca hanging out with Jason; though he's been keeping his opinion to himself – especially since Marc Johnson is a classmate and friend. He also loves his sister, so when a couple of the guys started joking with Marc about how hot his older brother's new girlfriend is; Michael was not happy – and let the guys know it. That could have devolved into a minor mess, but Tim jumped in; backed up his best friend; and joked their collective way out of the awkward moment.

Michael still needed a little time to get over being annoyed with those guys, but we had a busy morning that included one test and a new project to work on; and he was back to normal by lunchtime. The guys played football after we'd eaten, but Rowen and I skipped the game and the girl chat on the bleachers. It was too cool out to sit around doing nothing, and we didn't want to play in the cold either, so after walking over to the field with Michael and Tim, we wished them luck; and then moved on without them. We went for a walk; played for a few minutes with Jessica Bassett and her friends; and had time for quick cups of hot chocolate before meeting up with Michael and Tim again shortly before we needed to be in Math class.

Starting the afternoon with a Math test was Halloween-scary for some of our classmates, but History class was fun, and Mr. Ayres kept us entertained with the best themed lesson of the day.

Just in case you had any doubts, Uncle Nick, Halloween nineteen thirty-eight is famous for the Orson Welles and Mercury Theatre radio broadcast of War of the Worlds that caused a national panic because listeners actually believed the world was under attack by Martians. The broadcast was on October thirtieth, not Halloween night, and once the panic was over; a lot of the people who had, for all intents and purposes, fooled themselves became angry and outraged over the incident. It was probably one of the best examples of the power of radio to influence and affect the lives of millions of people. Some very dark aspects of human nature were displayed too, and though I'm sure a lot of people would like to think that we're all too smart and sophisticated to have anything like that happen again; I wouldn't be so sure of that – just look at how many people get fooled by media practical jokes every April first.

My favorite this year was reading about how many people still got tricked by the dihydrogen monoxide prank. Even if you don't remember any basic chemistry, you'd think that a joke that's been going around for about twenty-five years wouldn't still fool so many people; and the reactions were almost identical to those back in 'thirty-eight. I'm sorry, but the police have better things to do than investigate whether to charge radio show hosts with a crime for informing their audience that they have water coming out of their taps.

We talked about that while doing our homework tonight – and while Michael, Rowen, and Tim searched for the answer to that question about Halloween nineteen thirty-eight; and Tim's thinking about trying the dihydrogen monoxide prank for next April Fool's Day – except to adapt it for pop and juice drinks instead. If anyone in our class can pull something like that off, it'll be Tim.

That went quite a bit off-topic; so let's get back to the update.

Our study session today was at my house. It didn't take long to get our homework done, and then Tim wanted to go to the park for some more football. Michael pretty much had to go along, but Rowen and I stayed home and had a music practice instead before she headed home and I started helping Mom with making dinner. I would have liked to spend more time with Michael, but that wouldn't have happened at the park anyway; and I didn't want to just sit and shiver on the bleachers while he and Tim played football with their buddies.

It was just the five of us for dinner tonight, and then Dad and I took care of the clean-up while Mom got everything ready for the meeting in the office. I've covered the highlights from that meeting, and after everyone went home for the night; I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and in bed before we moved on to my Magi lesson. It was heading toward eleven-thirty by the time I came up to my room to get ready for bed and start my nightly computing and studies; and that's why it's past two-thirty as I write this.

I don't have anything particularly interesting to report from my studies and family business work, and it was a quiet email night too; so I guess that's it for tonight. Michael and I are spending the evening at his house tomorrow, so I'd better get what sleep I can now – just in case we actually manage to have a bit of alone time. I wouldn't want to fall asleep on him twice in a row!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Alone time with Michael – check. Wide awake and not at all sleepy – check. All systems go – not exactly.

The way I'm feeling tonight is my own fault, because I knew that my period was going to start today; but that little tidbit of information didn't register in my dreams last night while I was thinking about what Michael and I could have been doing tonight with that alone time. It's not as if I have a lot of personal experience with periods and boyfriends, but I can tell you for sure that I wasn't feeling romantic tonight even while I was wishing that I did.

Michael handled the situation fairly well, though I'm not sure many other guys would have been as ready to deal with my direct, blunt honesty as smoothly. That's not to say that it still wasn't a bit weird, because it was; but Michael helped me to laugh about it, and we settled for some quality cuddle time instead. I'd like the chance to make that up to him soon, but the opportunity to do that isn't very likely until after Halloween now.

Let's not think about that, and move on with the report for today.

Tai Chi was indoors, and the regular weekday morning routine followed. We worked on Halloween-themed songs in music class; had another test before noon; the guys played football at lunchtime; and after a fairly uneventful batch of afternoon classes, we wrapped up the school day with more spooky music during band practice just to have fun. That was a nice change of pace, and though Michael, Rowen, and I are really like being in the band; we won't actually have any performances until after Thanksgiving. We were at the computer store for our homework session, though Tim was again a bit late after playing more football at the park; and he still had a bit of work left to get done later when Michael and I needed to go on to his house for dinner.

I think that Jacob likes our Tuesday night dinners as much as I do – or he at least seems to love an appreciative audience for his experimental gourmet meals. That isn't meant to suggest that there aren't other people in town who appreciate some of his more exotic creations; but trying new, very different foods is definitely not for everyone.

Dinnertime is always fun at Michael's house, and that's as much because of the entertainment as it is the food. Michael, Rebecca, and I took care of the clean-up, and then I went up to Michael's room with him for our guitar lesson – and that alone time didn't end up being what we'd both hoped it would be. We had time for a little visit in the living room with his parents and Rebecca before I needed to go home; and the rest of my night after that has been fairly normal too.

By the time I finished helping Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana to bed and we did a long Healing lesson; it was past eleven when I started my studies and work on my computer. My energy level was fairly low by then, but it wasn't until a bit after two that being tired won out over pent-up energy that needed to be directed somewhere other than where I wished it had been going. I wrapped up the work project I had been plugging away at for over an hour; and did one last email and news check before starting on this update. We have a couple of work days ahead of us next before getting started with the weekend fun; so I really need to wrap this up and get some sleep.

At least in my dreams I don't have to deal with real-life romantic inconveniences like periods!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I am not finding the fairly abrupt transition into Fall that much fun this year; and I didn't like waking up to a near-freezing temperature this morning. Day two of my period might be affecting my perceptions today too; but the weather isn't supposed to change much through the weekend; and I don't expect to feel differently about this on Friday night when we're trying to stay warm while watching another football game.

The temperature and physical inconveniences didn't really get in the way of having a good day. I seriously doubt that I'll ever have a really bad day that begins with good morning kisses with Michael and Tai Chi with my family. Michael stayed for breakfast; Ethan and Ehlana entertained us for a while; and then we split up to get ready for the day before heading to school with Rowen and Rebecca.

Mr. Ayres – and the rest of our teachers – must be trying to get testing out of the way this week so that they have a chance at seeing better results than they'd likely get next week when most of the kids and teens are more interested in Halloween. Of course that isn't quite as big of a deal for our grade, when one-seventh of the students score one hundred percent or higher on every test; so our class average is always pretty good. The seasonal theme for most of the tests may help too; though one comedian in our class who shall remain un-named will not get bonus points for answering "zero – there's no such thing as ghosts" for one of the quiz questions today.

It was still cold enough at lunchtime that I didn't need to try very hard to get Michael to join Rowen and me for a music practice after we'd eaten, and though Tim had picked football instead; they didn't end up playing for very long before deciding it was too cold. He ended up joining us for the last fifteen or twenty minutes of our practice; and that might help him out with the playing test tomorrow. He may not be into playing music as much as the rest of us are, but he could be pretty good at trumpet if he worked at it; and his best friend could help him a lot with learning more about music in general.

We studied in the conference room at Landry's after school, and then it was time to get to work after that. For me, that meant hiding in the office and working on the family business from the time I got home until dinner was ready. Ethan and Ehlana spent most of that time with me; and they entertained me with their daily report while working on their Grade Twelve homework. Their favorite parts of most weekdays right now are the visits with Aunt Leanne and Zack. Aunt Leanne has lots of help every day, but Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Grace are with her most often during the day to help out with the work; and just to make sure she gets regular breaks from the non-stop baby action.

Ethan and Ehlana were also excited about their Ewok costumes. Mom finished making them today; and they look absolutely adorable in them. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I have our costumes ready too; and we were able to finish them when we got together again after dinner. That took about an hour, and then we had a bit of video gaming time with Ethan and Ehlana. The gaming wrapped up when Mom collected Ethan and Ehlana to start getting them ready for bed; and Michael, Tim, and Rowen headed home then too. I walked them out, but it was cold again by then; and the goodnight kiss I shared with Michael was short and sweet because I was already shaking. I guess I'll need to throw a jacket or sweater on from now on if we don't want to be knocking our teeth together from the shivering – or start doing our goodnight kisses indoors between now and next spring.

Speaking of that; Rowen and Tim had one, short opportunity for some friends with benefits time, and though Rowen and I didn't get to talk about it yet; the smiles suggested that they had fun while Michael and I had gone on ahead of them with Mom and the twins.

My night from that point on hasn't been much different than last night. Mom, Dad, and I had some bedtime fun with Ethan and Ehlana; my Magi lesson followed that; and I started my bedtime computing and studies by around eleven o'clock. I started wrapping things up by twenty-to-two; and could end up with nearly an extra half-hour of down time if I hurry up and finish this update. I'll be at the Inn tomorrow night, and that'll mean another late study session if I want to have everything done for the week before getting into the weekend, Halloween fun.

That is at least one really good thing about the little nudges I've done to get Rowen and I on such a precise menstrual cycle – our periods should never get in the way of our weekends! While that isn't exactly an exciting or interesting way to wrap up a journal entry, I don't really have anything else to write about; so I guess that's it for today.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Happy 14th Birthday, Jenny!

I'm sure that she's had a good day, and was thrilled to have some of the older cheerleaders and their boyfriends at her party tonight. My only momentary involvement in celebrating her special day came when we gave her a gift this morning at school before she and Rebecca left with Garth and Jason. Rowen and I had Michael do the honors for that just because we knew it would be entertaining – and it really was. Garth teased him about giving presents to his girlfriend; Jenny kissed him; and we had a few laughs that felt almost like 'old' times for Rebecca, Jenny, Rowen, and me. Maybe we can have that kind of friendship back again when we hit high school next year. For today, though, the great academic divide closed in; and we returned to our normal place in the social hierarchy like good little kids.

The only other effect that Jenny's birthday had on my day was Rebecca's absence at the Inn for the dinner rush and game night. I have no idea why Jenny wouldn't want to have her birthday party at the Inn so her guests and 'cool' friends could be entertained while competing for the junior championship with us, but she didn't want to do that; so Rebecca was at her house for the night instead.

That wasn't a big deal for the work side of our evening, since it was a fairly quiet night at the Inn; but Miranda and Jacob were still happy to have me stay and help out with Michael; and we had even more fun than usual since we didn't need to rush around to keep up with the dinner orders. Game night was good too, but let's back up and do the rest of the report before getting to that part of the recap.

Other than that birthday gift moment with Jenny, the rest of the morning between waking up and then had been fairly normal. Michael came over for Tai Chi, and then we split up until it was time to head for school while we each got ready for the day and had breakfast. The music testing that we started the school day with didn't thrill everyone in our class, but Michael, Rowen, and I aced ours as usual; and Tim was happy with his better-than-usual mark too. I'd suggest that we could try having Rowen motivate his music ambitions with a little alone time in the music room; but that probably wouldn't get his mind onto honing his trumpet-playing skills. Rowen would be too nervous about getting caught anyway – even if she would also love the idea and wish she had the nerve to try it.

We had another test and a quiz to write today, so there was some stress for some of our friends; but I was having a much better day. To be blunt, that's mostly because I was pretty much done with the most unpleasant part for this round of my menstrual cycle; so even the cold fall weather was easier to take – though we didn't spend much time outdoors today. Michael and Tim went out at lunchtime to play some football, and Rowen and I watched the first few minutes of their scrimmage game before going for a walk and playing with some younger kids; but we went back inside and warmed up with cups of hot chocolate for the last fifteen or twenty minutes before we needed to get to our computer class.

Our after-school studying was at the Inn, but we didn't have much homework – mostly because we have a Day Two schedule Friday this week; so we'll get our weekend assignments for those classes tomorrow. That left Michael and I with lots of time to help in the kitchen after Rowen and Tim left; and we ended up with extra time to have our own meal too before joining in to help with the clean-up.

Jenny's party had a big effect on the junior championship competition; and we had less than half of the usual kids and teens – hardly any teens at all. That's the main reason why Michael and I won tonight – and Rowen and Tim were second – though having Ethan and Ehlana with us most of the evening could have given us some good luck too. They definitely helped out a lot with the fun level!

With the smaller-than-usual group of players, our play time at the Inn ended earlier than usual too; so Michael came home with us and he and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and ready for bed before meeting up with Mom and Dad in the office. Michael couldn't stay late, but since he was here with us; Mom substituted a Magi lesson with him, Ethan, Ehlana, and me for the usual story time. That was awesome, and while I really, really, really want to have more alone time with him; extra Magi lessons would be great too. We didn't have much alone time tonight, but I did spend some quality time saying goodnight to him in a non-verbal sort of way between the time we tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night and when he left for home – ten minutes or so later.

I still needed to do my regular Magi lesson with Mom after he left, and deal with a little teasing from her and Dad about why it took Michael and me so long to get the twins into their beds; so it was eleven-thirty before we all went upstairs, and I got changed and started on my last bedtime study and work session of the week.

Three hours and change later, and I'm pretty much cooked now; and need to get what sleep I can to be ready for a long, busy day of classes, football, and Halloween dance fun. I'm not at all enthusiastic about the football game, but this should be a best-ever-so-far school dance for me – and hopefully for Michael, Rowen, and Tim too. The answer to whether that ends up being true or not is just a digital page flip away for everyone reading this in my future or beyond, but it's still a half-day of action away for me; so I really need to get started on my nap now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Before I get started on the news from today, I need to begin this report by recording for posterity that I did not go to the Halloween dance tonight dressed as 'Jabba the Hutt' Princess Leia! Also for the record, yes, Michael would have loved it if I had done that; but it was never going to happen, and getting teased about it was fairly annoying by the end of the night.

Rowen and I were dressed up as the fighter versions of Padme Amidala and Leia Skywalker; just as Michael and Tim were dressed as teen versions of Jedi Knights Luke and Anakin Skywalker. They got teased about being 'father and son'; but had more fun with that than I did with the jokes about when I was going to change into my slinky little slave costume – and why I hadn't gone with the cinnamon bun hairstyle.

Okay, I'm done with that, so let's get on with the rest of the story.

The temperature briefly dropped below freezing this morning, but I was having warm and happy thoughts pretty much all day; starting with my good morning hugs and kisses with Michael before Tai Chi. He didn't stay for breakfast, but we were both ready early enough to meet up with Rowen at her house while Rebecca went on to school without us. Beginning our school day with playing spooky songs in music class kept the fun going for me; though most of the teens and tweens at school were fired up about the dance.

I don't have anything else that's particularly newsworthy from the rest of our day at school, but we had fun back at my house after being set free for the weekend. Okay, Tim probably wouldn't classify doing our homework as fun, but we have a busy weekend ahead; and it didn't really take that long to get most of that work out of the way for the weekend – except for one report that will need to wait until after we've been on the Haunted Halloween walk tomorrow night. Ethan and Ehlana came upstairs to the lounge with us; kept us entertained while we worked; and then happily played some video games with Michael and Tim while Rowen and I started getting ready for our football and dance night out.

Dinner and a movie was at our house this week, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I couldn't wait to eat until everyone was done work and could get here; so Mom had recruited Grandpa to grill up some burgers for us; added some cold salads and snacks; and we had our little meal at the table in the lounge too before we needed to clean up and go to the football game. Rowen and I took most of our costumes with us, and we needed to make a stop at Michael's house to get his things too before dropping all of that off at Tim's house – since his place was closest for retrieving them again once the game was over.

The football game was good, bad, and very, very chilly. We won by a score of fifty-five to twenty-seven, which was great; but the cold was definitely a factor, and both teams made a lot of mistakes tonight – or at least both offenses did. This week we played against another division rival, Brookbridge, and thanks to the mistakes our offense made; the game was fairly close until Kyle took the game in hand in the second half and practically carried our team on his shoulders to earn the win.

I know that it was cold, and the receivers in particular had problems hanging on to the football; but our offense seemed to switch back and forth between good and bad all night, and that could be a problem in the playoffs once we're up against some of the best teams. Kyle may not be able to save them every week – no matter how badly he wants to finish his high school football career with a championship – especially after getting so close last season.

Before changing the subject, while I'm not going to go into the details; the bad parts of the football action for our team included giving up two defensive touchdowns along with handing over great field position another half-dozen times – though Brookbridge could only manage two other touchdowns, and missed one of those extra-point tries. Fortunately for us, Brookbridge gave up four touchdowns to our defense, along with three more turnovers that led to one more touchdown and two field goals. Kyle made all of those mistakes happen; along with some fairly intense sacks and tackles that the Brookbridge players won't likely forget anytime soon.

There was a lot of action going on off the field with the teens, as usual, but the only things I want to mention involve Rebecca and Jenny. For Rebecca, that's simply to note that she chose helping out with getting the gym ready for the Halloween dance instead of freezing her butt off watching the game. I can assure you that Rowen and I wished we'd volunteered too by the time the game was over – no matter how much we also loved spending the time with Michael and Tim. I mostly wanted to mention that detail about Rebecca because we overheard some comments made by a group of 'girlfriends of the football players'; Rowen and I heard Rebecca taking some flack at the dance for not being out at the game to support her new 'boyfriend'; and because I'm proud of my friend for doing what she wanted and not really caring what anyone else thinks about it.

Jenny, on the other hand, continues to baffle and scare me. Okay, I'm not actually scared for her, but I continue to find her views on boys, boyfriends, and dating to be Halloween-scary. While she seems to be very happy with Garth Green, Jenny was also quite happily – if subtly – flirting with some Brookbridge players and other guys from their school while working the sidelines with the cheerleaders. I get that she loves the attention and popularity, but I must have a very deeply rooted need for monogamy; because the idea of ever flirting with any other boys while dating Michael is a total turn-off for me.

Yes, I'm sure he'll be happy to read that some day in our future; though he already knows that anyway.

Moving along, when the game was over, Michael, Rowen, and I went home with Tim, and we ended up getting into our costumes at his house. Don't go there – we had appropriate parental supervision; and Tracey took pictures of us once we were in our Jedi and fighter-princess costumes. That'll be even better when we have our two little Ewoks along next week; but I think we made a great-looking quartet tonight too.

I'd like to begin the Halloween dance report with a Grade Eight singles update. That won't take long, since we're down to just two – Karla and Marcie. (I'm not counting Rowen and Tim.) Lisa and Roger were 'officially' at the dance on a date, and while they've kept things nearly as quiet as Rowen and Tim; I'm sure we'll have another couple joining the club on Monday. Since Rowen and I have been the odd girls out until now, I can appreciate the position Karla and Marcie are in; but being single tonight didn't seem to be bothering them in the least. That might have something to do with having most of the Brookbridge players and quite a few of their teen fans at the dance too. They certainly weren't lacking for invitations to go dancing.

While I'm thinking about Lisa, I'm really glad that she's finally giving Roger a chance. The fact that Michael and I have been dating for about four months now may have a lot to do with that, but anyone reading this in the future will know why I'm happy for them tonight. Michael and I can both tell that Lisa is still a little crushed over him, but she doesn't seem to be mad at me anymore; and I'm hoping that we can be better friends again eventually.

Okay, let's talk about Halloween dances!

First up, I have to say that going to school dances with a boyfriend is way, way better than being single – no offense, Rowen. We had fun at the dances last year too, and yes, you were technically still single tonight; but you loved dancing with Tim as much as I loved being with Michael – even if you didn't share any kisses, hold hands, or cuddle together whenever we weren't out dancing. I'm glad that Rowen and Tim had as much fun tonight as we did, but if Tim doesn't figure out that Rowen needs him to make the first move to get over being so shy with him in public; Michael and I are going to be setting up an intervention for our best friends to help them out with that.

There are a few things that I haven't mentioned before about our dances, and though none of it will be news for anyone reading this in the not-to-distant future; these comments are meant more for far-future readers. I should think about that more often than I do – especially since I learn so much from the archive journals and research written by Magi millennia ago.

Our gymnasium looked great with the Halloween decorations, and I should probably volunteer now and then to help out with that work. It's amazing how the dance committee manages to get so much done in just a few hours after school! I don't want to forget the lighting and sound team either; since they manage to take what we have for concert and stage lighting and apply it to the themed dances. Yes, we have a very well-equipped school; but there's still a lot involved in moving the lighting around and setting up the sound system for a dance instead of a show, film, or presentation.

I also want to give a big thank-you to the Olde Bakery. Hannah and Nathan always come up with really great snacks for our dances, and while there are some perennial favorites; they also make something special and different for each dance too. That might even explain why we have so many teens from other schools come to our dances – word has probably gotten around over the years. The specialty snacks tonight were awesome cupcakes that looked like pumpkins – including having an orange-colored, creamy pastry filling inside. I'll have to get Hannah to show me the pans for them; since they must be really cool looking.

There is one thing that I didn't really consider when we chose our costumes that I probably should have – Rowen and I were going to the dance with two thirteen-year old boys dressed up as Jedi knights, complete with lightsabers. Add in a large, dark room, and friends egging them on; and even Michael couldn't resist some play time.

Okay, Rowen and I played too – even though Rowen didn't technically have 'the force' with her as Padme Amidala while Leia Skywalker does. That reminds me that I didn't mention that the teasing Michael and I got from our friends and other guys included pointing out that our 'brother and sister' characters shouldn't be kissing; holding hands; or cuddling together. As with the rest of the Leia jokes, that was funny up to a point; and then it just became annoying. I really hope the guys grow out of that kind of humor sooner than later – or at least get to the point where they realize that less can be more sometimes.

That 'less is more' thing doesn't apply to alone time for Michael and me, and though we'd both like more of those; this was a really special night that I'm going to remember forever. Yes, I'll remember everything I ever experience forever; but you know what I mean. Whether we were dancing close to favorite ballads; bopping around with groups of our friends during the up-tempo sets; sitting around and chatting; or having some lightsaber play time, this was definitely the best dance of my life so far. Because of the football game, we were given a slight extension on the usual end-time for school dances; and our parents had given us the extra time on our curfews too; so we were able to stay nearly until the dance ended at twelve-thirty before heading for our homes.

Michael, Rowen, and I needed to stop at Tim's house to get our bags, and that worked out for him and Rowen; because they were able to take a couple of moments for a goodnight kiss while Michael and I waited for Rowen outside while they were busy. We walked her home next; and then Michael came inside with me long enough to share a fairly serious goodnight kiss or five of our own before we went back outside so I could watch him walk over to his house and we could share that last exchange of waves and smiles that still sets off butterflies in my stomach every time.

Mom and Dad were sleeping by then, but Ehlana woke up and came downstairs to get a drink and have a chat with me while I tucked her back into bed on the way up to my room. That gave me a chance to get the dinner and a movie night update; and give Ehlana a condensed football and dance report. It sounds like they had fun around here tonight, and they even had some Halloween Olde Bakery treats to go along with the movie. I feel like I missed out on that, and especially getting to spend that time with Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack; but that's going to happen a lot from now on, so I'd better just get used to it.

We have another long day ahead tomorrow, but it's taken a while for me to wind down since climbing into bed with Mandy; so I've done a bit of extra language and archive studying. There isn't anything else to cover from today, and I'm pretty much ready to sleep now; so it's time to put my computer away and get started on my nap – and some happy dreams that will hopefully have Michael in a starring role. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

The Haunted Halloween Walk, football, fall clean-ups, and the Halloween party at Sheldon's Pub may be the top stories for everyone else in town tonight, but for Rowen and me; having a sleepover with Michael and Tim is at the number one spot on our list! Okay, we were all babysitting while Mom and Dad were at the pub party, and Michael and Tim are now in guest rooms on the second floor – directly below us – but we've had another really awesome day; and watching Halloween movies in the lounge tonight with Michael and Tim was at least as much fun as the Haunted Walk was earlier.

I should cover the news from the rest of the day too, but writing about another fall clean-up day around the yard and house doesn't interest me in the slightest right now. We had a standard start to our Saturday morning; and then we worked our butts off until stopping at a bit after four o'clock to hit the showers, get ready for our play evening, and have dinner. That'll do for the boring part of the update, so let's move on to the good stuff!

We had enough people with us tonight to fill an entire group for the walk; an early time slot because of the toddlers in our group; and Miranda as our guide, thanks in part to having Michael with us. There's more going on around the Haunted Halloween Walk every year, and the charity booths now fill up nearly every space on both sides of Witch Falls Road from Quarry Road to about half-way between Blossom Ave and Station Street. The games, treats, souvenirs, and food are all themed; and if there was a midway, it would practically be a one-night, spooky version of the fall festival.

Michael, Tim, and Rowen had met up with us at our house so that they could drop off overnight bags. The news of the babysitting 'job' and overnight stay had been announced to us by our parents earlier in the day, and while a kid-free night for a handful of Mom and Dad's friends was the reason we have five kid and teen guests tonight; I'm sure that most of our parents know that four of us really loved that surprise announcement. Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam met us here too, and while I would have loved to babysit Zack too; Grandma and Grandpa tag-teamed that job with Uncle Adam's parents tonight. They had the first shift while Christine and Andrew were busy with the Haunted Halloween Walk; and Zack's Grandma and Grandpa Carrington took over after Aunt Leanne nursed him between our play time and going to the party at the pub with Mom, Dad, and the rest of their friends.

Since I've been thinking about writing my journals for distant future readers, I'm going to take a minute to mention some of the details of the Haunted Walk. The Marianne Palmer story always has top billing for obvious reasons; but the other skits are part of our town heritage too – even though all of the details of those incidents are not included in the skits because the 'magic' history of Witch Falls has been intentionally hidden.

There are a total of four main skits and stories told during the walk. The first, acted out on Palmer Street between Witch Falls Road and the river, tells the story of the River Raiders bank robbery attempt of 1882. Miranda will always be my favorite guide for the walk; and she does a masterful job of setting her groups up for each scene. While parts of bank robbery story are fictional to cover up some of the things that happened that would have normally been impossible; the skit is very realistic, and you can't help but cheer for the 'townsfolk' when they repel the band of despicable thieves.

The Old Mill Murders of 1790 is the second story and stop along the walk. This dark little tale is toned down for family viewing, and while the murders did in fact actually happen; only the adult Magi in town know that those deaths were actually at the hands of a Dark Magi who had found our town after sensing a particularly strong Magi birth. Though it cost the lives of those men and women, the Dark Magi was eventually subdued and taken prisoner. The Magi back then kept him imprisoned, and constantly shielded from using his power on anyone until he caused his own death in a power overload while trying to escape from those shields around him.

Another Dark Magi confrontation happened in 1864, and is the basis for the Stagecoach Shoot-out skit that is the last stop on the walk before the Marianne Palmer grand finale. The story told on the walk is about a stagecoach that is chased into town by a group of outlaws; and how the townsfolk helped to save the passengers, mail, and money; drive off the outlaw gang; and mortally wound their leader. There was a stagecoach, and a gang of men chasing it on horseback; but they were all bad guys led by a Dark Magi who had stumbled across them somehow. The Magi records of that incident don't mention how he found them, so they either never found out how; or didn't write down that detail. In the real story, we know that the Dark Magi was fatally wounded – just as the outlaw leader was in the 'official' story. We also know that there were a significant number of non-Magi living in Witch Falls by then; and that shoot-out was very real too – even though Magi powers were being brought to bear too.

The Dark Magi died of his gunshot wound, and while there were differing reports about the incident; I tend to agree with one Magi who suggested that the Dark Magi may have been accidentally shot by one of his own men or a ricochet because he'd been shielding himself and some of his men from the bullets being shot at them from the men attempting to defend Witch Falls. For those of you who might be wondering why the Magi of the Light didn't heal him; remember that there were no Magi Masters left in Witch Falls after 1707, and since there was no record of an attempt being made to do that; there probably weren't any Magi there with the Healing gift at the time. Uncle Adam's gift, after all, was extremely rare among the Witch Falls Magi.

Returning to the present, I love the Haunted Halloween Walk, and this year was the best so far thanks to sharing it with Michael. I highly recommend going on the walk with someone you can cuddle with while sharing the spooky fun! Playing games after the walk; winning some prizes for Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and picking up some favorite Halloween treats was great too. We spent nearly two hours playing with our family and friends before heading home again. Mom and Dad were set free to get ready for their date while their babysitters took the four toddlers up to the lounge after stopping on the second floor to get them changed into their pajamas.

We were settled in on the sectional sofa and watching Garfield's Halloween Adventure by the time Mom and Dad stopped in for some goodnight hugs and kisses before heading out. Ethan, Ehlana, and their best friends had a specific bedtime that we dutifully let them stay up past like any really good babysitters do, but Naomi and the twins were happy to let us take them to bed and tuck them in after Aiden fell asleep and we'd finished watching the end of 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.'

That still left Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I with lots of time to watch two more movies while cuddling in the lounge before Mom and Dad got home again. As usual, it took Tim and Rowen and while to settle in for some quality cuddling, and they didn't share any kisses while Michael and I were in the room with them; but we gave them several alone time opportunities that Rowen assured me they took full advantage of while Michael and I went to check on the kids, go for washroom breaks, or make a trip to the kitchen or pantry to get something we didn't actually need since my cupboards and fridge in the lounge were fully stocked.

Rowen and I let the boys pick both movies, and we honestly didn't really care what we watched. It was the cuddles, kisses, and quiet chat time that we loved the most; so the entertainment was mostly just noise. Tim also needed to check college football scores a couple of times too, but at least he didn't make the mistake of choosing to do that any of the times while he and Rowen were alone.

Speaking of that, he and Michael have been pretty good about college football around Rowen and me so far. They keep up with it as much as any other football fanatics in town, and will probably get more into it once we get to the championship and bowl games; but Rowen thinks they might just be trying to ease us into that part of their lives. I don't think that Michael's worried that I'll be scared off, but I'm okay with less football whatever the motivation might be for not watching games all day and night on the weekends.

Dad had volunteered to be one of the designated drivers tonight – part of the service for the couples who were getting kid-free nights – so he and Mom didn't get home until one-thirty. They came upstairs to say goodnight to us and suggest that we head to bed too; but didn't stay to enforce the recommendation. Michael and I gave Rowen and Tim their last alone time opportunity then while we took the snack dishes and our glasses downstairs to wash them up – and take care of our own goodnight kisses.

Michael and Tim were in their rooms on the second floor by two o'clock; and Rowen and I were changed and tucked into bed with Mandy by a quarter-past after taking turns in the bathroom. We've needed some girl chat time that included some joking about sneaking down to the boys' rooms that neither of us would really do no matter how much we might each wish we could. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we'd never ever do that – we're just not ready for anything like that yet; and I seriously doubt any first attempt will happen on a night when there are four toddlers across the hall from Michael's and Tim's rooms and my parents are in the room next to my boyfriend's.

When you read this some day in the future, Dad, let me know whether you had Michael in that room on purpose. I have no intention of asking that question; since I'm very happy that we got to babysit tonight instead of having Alicia and Erin here; and I don't think that you're really worried about Michael and me at all – whether we're alone in the middle of an afternoon or sleeping in the same house in the middle of the night.

Getting to sleep may take a while longer, but that's about all I have for tonight – even though I feel like there should be so much more to write about to record all of these happy feelings for posterity. We're only going to have time for a lengthy nap at this point before needing to get up again, though; so it's past-time that we at least started making the attempt to sleep. Just helping Mom and Dad with getting four toddlers through breakfast and ready for church is going to make for a busy morning, and while we don't have anything specific planned for tomorrow; I don't want to be too tired to help out at the Inn during the buffets – or for any play time that Michael and I might manage to have during his afternoon break or after we're done at the Inn for the night.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

I've done all of my work tonight like a good little girl, but I'm totally exhausted too; so this is going to be one of those micro-updates.

Tai Chi, breakfast, and a wild morning getting ten people ready to go to church was an amazing blast of fun. I'm not booking the weddings or anything yet; but Rowen and I could get used to mornings with Tim and Michael very easily. Going on little side-trips like that won't make this a short report, so let's get this done so I can get some sleep.

The Thanksgiving and harvest theme continued at church, and while I wasn't directly involved in anything; the teen plans for the Thanksgiving weekend service were being worked on for the first time today. After walking to the Inn with Michael, I went home to meet up with Rowen and Tim so they could get their overnight bags before they moved on; and I met up with Mom and Dad to have lunch at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's with most of our family. Dad needed to hide in the office after that, so while he and Mom worked; I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some play time. Michael, Tim, and Rowen all spent at least a little time with us there, including some football action that the three boys got involved with, but I took Ethan and Ehlana home when Michael needed to get back to the Inn after his break was over; and Mom took over watching the twins while I got cleaned up and ready to help out at the Inn too.

That was a three-hour long blast of fun, entertainment, and work; and Michael and I followed that up with a bit of cuddle time at his house while Rebecca 'chaperoned' us until his parents were finished at the Inn and it was time for me to go home for the night. I was back in time to do the bedtime story and snack with Ethan and Ehlana; Mom did a Magi lesson with me after they were tucked in for the night; and I've been working on my computer since coming up to my room at a bit after ten o'clock. It's heading toward one-thirty, but as I mentioned; I've hit the wall and need to crash for a while, so until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, October 28, 2013

I expected to have a lull in the Halloween fun for the next couple of days, but that didn't really happen – either at school or here at home.

While we had something Halloween-related going on in every class today; Phys-Ed won unanimously for most entertaining part of the day. Zombie Dodge Ball takes the classic game to a whole new level, and is the only version of the game I've ever seen where the guys wanted to get hit so they could become one of the zombies – and mostly chase the girls around. Of course they had to do that in the 'slow zombie' mode, but playing the game in half of the gymnasium made it tough to dodge the ball and the zombies by the time we got to the end of the game.

If you're wondering who won, all you need to remember is that I really like to win; and have wicked-cool math skills. Rowen did pretty well too until Tim started munching on her 'brains'. Michael came in second place, and I felt a little twinge of regret for being the one to turn him into a zombie, but he'd never want me to hold back or let him win; and I think he only regretted not being able to play zombie longer.

Halloween was the top chat topic at school all day, but football was a close second for the guys. The last regular season game in on Friday, and though our team is in the playoffs regardless of what happens; everyone knows that Kyle doesn't want to lose the chance for an unbeaten season in the last game – especially since it could also make a difference for how long we'd get to be the home team during the post-season. Michael and Tim will be going to that game with Tim's father, uncle, and aunt; but Rowen and I are not going with them.

While we're not going to be doing football with them this Friday night, they came home with us after school; and we did our homework in the lounge before taking Ethan and Ehlana over to the park so the boys could play football; and we could all have some playground fun time after that. We only had about an hour before Michael and I needed to have Ethan and Ehlana home again because Mom and Dad had invited the Stone family over for dinner and a pumpkin-carving adventure.

Rowen and Tim only came back with us long enough to grab their computers and book bags before heading out again; and Michael and I pitched in to help Mom with making dinner and setting the dining room table while the twins supervised and entertained us. The fun level kicked up several notches when Jacob, Miranda, and Rebecca joined us shortly before Dad got home from the office. We really don't get to spend time with both of our families very often; and I know that Michael loved getting to spend a few hours together with everyone tonight as much as I did.

I also love getting to hang out with Rebecca when we can just have fun and be the good friends that we are without the social baggage that gets in the way too often – especially over the past few years. Ethan and Ehlana really love her a lot too; and Ehlana spent a lot of time with Rebecca tonight – sitting beside her at dinner; and having Rebecca help her with carving her pumpkin while Ethan had Michael helping him.

Mom doesn't even attempt to compete with Jacob with her cooking, but he makes sure that his side dish and appetizer contributions match up very nicely with her entrees when we do have these meals together; and we all get to enjoy the food. The conversation is always lively when we're all together too; and Miranda especially had fun telling us some favorite stories from the Haunted Halloween Walk – though Michael, Rebecca, and I had heard most of them on Sunday while we were at the Inn.

Pumpkin carving was the main event of the evening; and we did most of that at the kitchen table – though we scooped the pumpkin guts out of our jack-o-lanterns on the back porch before moving indoors to do the carving. Michael and I weren't part of that 'we', since our first post-dinner job was to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen with some help from our Moms while the Dads were in charge of the pumpkin preparations with help from Rebecca and the twins. We created six jack-o-lantern masterpieces in about an hour – three for each of our houses; with the one that Michael and I made together going home with him.

Dad needed to get some work done in the office after that, so the parents moved into the office for a chat and coffee time while he got started on his homework; and Rebecca, Michael, and I took Ethan and Ehlana up to my room for a little play time that included some music fun and a little video gaming action. While music isn't Rebecca's thing – or at least playing it isn't; she had fun playing my keyboard with Ethan and Ehlana while Michael and I practiced for music class and band. Michael and Ethan were up against Rebecca and Ehlana for the video game mini-competition, and though we promised not to ruin the guys' reputations by telling anyone who won, by the time anyone reads this; I don't think they'll mind the news getting out that the girls crushed them tonight at Dora the Explorer.

Yes, I'm sure that you would have done better playing Mario Kart, Lego Star Wars, or something else, guys; but it was girls' choice, so be glad that you weren't playing a Barbie game tonight!

We really had a great time tonight, and though Michael and I didn't have any alone time; we didn't really mind that one little downside to spending the evening with our families. The Stones went home when it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to go to bed, though they talked Miranda into doing their bedtime story in the office before letting her leave; so we had one last little blast of fun as we all got to enjoy a toddler-rated spooky story. Michael and I had a short-lived moment on the front porch that we weren't really alone for; and goodnight kisses are very tough to take seriously when the Mom of one of the participants is whistling at you and offering a running commentary as if she was calling the plays at a football game. I'm glad that she thinks our technique is pretty good 'for a couple of rookies'; but what little skill we may or may not have developed so far went out the window when we both started laughing.

I was back inside in time for the goodnight kisses with Ethan and Ehlana as they were tucked in. Mom did my Magi lesson after that while Dad finished his work; and then they went to bed while I came up to my room and got to work. I've managed to fill up another three hours with language studies, archive work, some family business projects, and a short music intermission playing my keyboard. With Halloween on Thursday, I expect to lose a work night; so I need to put in the extra time between now and Wednesday night to make up for that. I'm okay tonight, but don't be surprised if I end up making an exception and using a time-phase at least once so I don't end up with just a few hours of sleep every night. Three hours of nap time is about all I'm going to get tonight if I get started on that right now; so that's it, and I'm outta here for the night.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday, Aiden!

I haven't even seen Aiden today, but Michael and I sent a gift for him with Ethan and Ehlana; and Ethan is spending the night there while Ehlana is doing a sleepover at Naomi's house.

While my brother and sister have been in birthday party mode with their best friends; I've had a busy day too. Tai Chi first thing this morning was about the only real quiet time I had through until I climbed into bed with Mandy tonight and started my nightly computing and studies. It had started raining sometime during my nap last night, and that meant taking a little extra time to be ready for a very wet walk to school. Yes, getting a ride would have been an option, but I don't melt in the rain; and Mom and Dad both had enough on the go without adding more to their schedule – no matter how un-cool raincoats are for teens.

While we're on that subject, I should mention that even Michael is not immune to making the bad decision to play it cool instead of staying dry – though he did at least have an umbrella; and had his computer, bookbag, and saxophone case protected from the rain. I'll pick being dry and getting teased about being nerdy over spending half the morning cold and damp every time. Oh yeah, and they're called boots, guys. Learn to love them instead of being stuck wearing soaked trainers all day – especially since you're not the only one who doesn't appreciate that wet-sweaty-shoe smell in confined spaces.

Moving along, even with Halloween now just two days away, the rain dampened the mood around school a bit, and I don't really have much of particular interest to report; though we were kept busy during all of our classes. Nothing we did was quite as exciting as Zombie Dodge Ball was yesterday afternoon, but music class and band were fun; and so was the noon play time that Michael and I had with his cousin, Jessica, and a few of her friends after we'd all eaten our lunches. Tim and Rowen had stayed with the couples club for the rest of that break, but Michael and I had planned on another music practice and had gone to do that before being diverted – and drafted – by Jessica.

It was still raining when we were finished our band practice, though it wasn't coming down all that hard; and we didn't need to go full-nerd for the walk to the computer store – not that Michael and Tim would have done that anyway. We didn't have a lot of homework to do, and since Tim didn't have any football opportunities today; he'd already done about half of his while waiting for us and watching the football team practice in the rain from the safety and warmth of the cafeteria. That worked out for all of us, because Michael and I didn't have all that much time left between band practice and when we needed to be at his house for dinner.

Rebecca had invited Jason, so we had six for dinner; and I'm not quite sure how I feel about how everything went tonight. We had a lot of fun tonight, and nothing weird or bad happened at all; but I can't shake the sense that Jason doesn't feel the way I do about spending time with Rebecca's family. He loved the food – especially since Jacob had cooked up his personal favorite – and loved talking football with Jacob and Michael while we ate. Being on the clean-up crew didn't impress him at all, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised to find out that he never did dishes at home unless he was totally faking his lack of skill and basic kitchen knowledge. Michael didn't like getting razzed about being highly trained, but he laughed along with Jason jokes anyway. I'll take a wild guess that Jason won't be stopping by to help Rebecca at the Inn just to spend extra time with her anytime soon – or ever.

Michael and I went up to his room after we'd finished in the kitchen and spent more than an hour playing music. We had a guitar lesson first, and then played our saxophones for a while. We followed that up with a short, non-verbal sort of chat; and then went downstairs to hang out in the living room with his parents, Rebecca, and Jason. Miranda still teased us that we shouldn't save up all of the rests for the end of our music practices; but we mostly spent the rest of our evening talking sports again while half-watching television.

I haven't mentioned this before, but Miranda and Jacob are cuddlers – just as my parents are – so they always snuggle together when relaxing in the living room. The reason I bring that up is because Jason kept looking at them like they were aliens, and while I know that lots of parents don't do that, and my friends think that my parents are an exception because they're practically still newlyweds; I don't get why most kids and teens wouldn't look at that and hope they get to be so lucky when they're 'old and married with kids'.

I sure hope that I will be!

Jason certainly thought that I was an alien – or at least a Stepford kid – when I got ready to head home way earlier than his weekday curfew required, but my night wasn't over, and even if I could stay later; I don't like getting in the way of the early bedtimes that Jacob and Miranda need to have when they need to be up so early and get to the Inn. Michael may have gotten razzed about walking me out to the front porch after he went inside again too; but the goodnight kiss was worth it – at least from my perspective.

I ran home through the rain, and since Ethan and Ehlana were out for the night; I was able to do my Magi lesson with Mom right away. We did that in the office, and then Mom and Dad went up to bed when I came up to my room. Let's not think about what they've been doing since then with their two-thirds kid-free night – or before I got home – but I'm glad that they've had a good night too.

If you're currently thinking that I'm being inconsistent, considering my comments about cuddling parents; I'm not. Let's just say that my personal comfort line with this is that I don't want to see my parents – or Michael's – doing anything around us that we wouldn't want them seeing us doing. I don't need to know the intimate details either; but that doesn't mean I don't still want to have that kind of a relationship with my future husband – because I definitely do want that a lot. I'm fairly sure that happily ever after isn't supposed to mean 'or until you get old and have kids'.

Okay, that's enough of that – let's move along.

While my parents were, um, busy; I started out by having a soak in my Jacuzzi while multi-tasking my language studies. I had chats with Michael and Rowen too, but only via text messages – no matter how much Michael would have loved a video chat while I was in the tub. He was having a hard enough time dealing with just knowing that I was naked while sending text messages back and forth. Rowen thought that was hilarious, and I'm glad that the two chats were separate; since she needed to entertain me with a litany of jokes that almost all had at least something to do with a play on the words 'hard time'.

Those chats have a lot to do with why my thoughts keep drifting back to Michael and me – and the lack of play time for us. That isn't going to change over the next three days for sure; but I'm seriously thinking about kidnapping him for a few hours sometime this weekend – even if that's on his Sunday afternoon break. Now that's a fun thought to drift off to sleep with, and I don't have anything else so exciting to write about that I can't wrap this up and move on into some very happy dreams, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

My plans for an early bedtime didn't exactly work out today, but that's alright; because I traded that off for spending the night at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's while taking care of Zack for them.

While they have lots of willing volunteers to help them, I don't feel as if I'm doing enough; and I really haven't spent enough time with Zack. I know, he's only two and a half weeks old, but he'll be too cool for cuddling or hanging out with his girl cousins way too soon; so I need to enjoy moments like tonight while I can – even though Aunt Leanne is teasing me about putting her baby in imminent danger from cuddling with me.

I don't think you have to worry about Zack dating anytime in the immediate future, Aunt Leanne; so don't book the church for his wedding.

There isn't really much to write about from the rest of my day. The rain has continued pretty much all day with little breaks now and then; and every kid in town is hoping the weather will cooperate for going trick-or-treating tomorrow night. A second indoor day in a row at school kept the enthusiasm level lower than normal for the day before a big fun day or holiday; and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I spent most of our lunch break in the music room. Our after-school study session was at Tim's house instead of in the conference room at Landry's Auto; mostly because we didn't have much to get done, and Tim wanted to play video games with the bit of extra time we had before Michael, Rowen, and I needed to get to our part-time jobs.

I worked in the office after getting home until it was time for dinner; and Ethan and Ehlana did some homework while giving me their birthday party and sleepover reports. They needed to give those reports to Dad again while we had dinner; and then I helped with the clean-up before going up to my room to pack an overnight bag for my own impending sleepover. Mom did a short Magi lesson with me and gave me some bonus archive homework before it was time for me to go over to Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's house for the night.

Grandma and Grandpa were there and had been helping out with the early evening shift. That may seem like too much family for some people reading this, but even with two doctors in town now, Uncle Adam puts in a lot of long days with his work; and we're going to make sure that he and Aunt Leanne don't burn out from too little sleep – especially since Zack likes to party off and on all night. I wonder if he gets that from the same place Chris and Martin get their night owl gene from.

Aunt Leanne stayed up until after the nine o'clock feeding, and then went to bed when Grandma and Grandpa went home for the night. Uncle Adam stayed up a bit later than that to do some work in their office, but he was out for the count before Zack woke up for his next feeding; and I was able to take care of that without waking either of them thanks to using some shielding that I kept around Zack and me while moving around the house. He stayed awake for about an hour and a half before going to sleep again; and I've been working on my computer since then. All of my studying and archive research is finished, and I worked on a family business project for a while too before moving on to this update. I haven't done my final computer checks yet, but wanted to get this out of the way; since I expect Zack will be awake again soon for his next feeding.

I'll need to wake Aunt Leanne for that, but then we should all be able to sleep until morning once we get Zack back to sleep again – as long as he doesn't want to talk and cuddle for another hour or two. If he does do that, though, I may just take both of us into a time-phase until he falls asleep. I wonder if any other Magi Masters have used time-phasing for that before? Maybe I'd better wait and check that out with Mom first before experimenting on the effects that might have on babies. Aunt Leanne might not like it if she wakes up in the morning with a toddler-aged kid where her baby was when she went to sleep!

Just kidding – I know that wouldn't happen; but the idea is Halloween scary-funny.

That's a fun thought to wrap this up with, so I'm going to move on now; and hopefully be sleeping soon.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I'm sure that there are lots of scarier places to spend Halloween than Witch Falls – like a castle in Transylvania, one of those amusement park Halloween nights, or New York City any day of the year (just kidding!); but I love how we celebrate Halloween in our hometown.

Before I get started on the report, we – the kids and teens of Witch Falls – need to give a big shout out to Mother Nature for stopping the rain we've had going on for nearly three full days now just in time for us to go trick-or-treating. Things weren't looking good for us when it was still coming down fairly steadily when we were set free from school, but then it pretty much just stopped; and we were able to go out and have our fun without getting more than a few drips on us from sodden trees and porch overhangs.

The rain kept us indoors for Tai Chi again, though we may not get many chances to exercise by the river again between now and spring anyway. Michael stayed for breakfast because Ethan and Ehlana used their dimples, hugs, and kisses on him; so we both needed to rush around to get ready for school once he headed home again. Our morning classes were just something to do while waiting for the Halloween parties and Haunted House; and then the fun really kicked into high gear.

Mom brought Ethan and Ehlana over to the school for the first part of our Halloween party so that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had our Ewoks with us; and we were able to take them to the Haunted House while the kindergarten class was doing that in the gymnasium – and the teen 'scarers' were under strict orders to be on their very best behavior with the little kids. The fright level of the Haunted House went up as the afternoon went on; so we went through again when it was our class's turn to be scared by the teens – after Ethan and Ehlana had moved on to their own Halloween party at KidZone.

While our costumes didn't win any prizes, Ethan and Ehlana definitely stole the show with their Ewok outfits and act. They'd put a lot of effort into mimicking their characters; and were adorable as they waddled around and babbled nonsense at everyone. Ethan was particularly good at 'angry Ewok' the few times some of the guys tried teasing them – or picking on me again for not dressing up as 'Jabba the Hutt, slave-girl Leia'. I'm glad that my friends had so much fun with those jokes, but I plan on being more careful with my costume choice next year.

Playing with Ethan and Ehlana and the Haunted House in the gym were the highlights of the afternoon for me; but the party in our classroom was fun too. I'd like to say that the snacks were good, but Rowen and I didn't get to try very many of them; partly because the guys had demolished a lot of them while we were doing the first run through the Haunted House with Michael, Tim, Ethan, and Ehlana. The games that Uncle Nick – Mr. Ayres – had for us got razzed about by the guys, but we still had fun; and I didn't see anyone turning down the little bags of Halloween candy that he gave out for prizes.

We had no homework to do tonight, but Michael still needed to help out at the Inn before going trick-or-treating with us tonight; so he went straight to the Inn after school while Tim and Rowen came home with me. I would have gone to the Inn with Michael, but Mom was busy today; Alicia was taking the night off; and I needed to help out by watching Ethan and Ehlana. While Mom popped over to check up on Aunt Leanne and Zack, we mostly played video games in the lounge. Ethan and Ehlana told us about their party at KidZone; we had some Olde Bakery Halloween snacks; and Tim helped Ethan regain some video gaming credibility by winning every match they played against Rowen, Ehlana, and me. To be fair to Michael and Ethan, though, Tim wouldn't agree to play any 'girly' games; so they had an advantage that Michael didn't have on Monday night.

Mom went with a quick and easy dinner night, so it didn't take long to cook up pans of smiley-face fries and pub-style chicken strips. For the record, teen guys can make fun of smiley-face fries all they want, but they're not fooling anyone – especially a girl with very strong empathy. It really wouldn't ruin your reps to admit that you love those fries, guys!

Even with the easy-meal we still needed to rush around a bit to get back into our costumes – and for Rowen and I do touch up our hair while getting back into warrior-princesses mode. Michael joined us with enough time to get into his costume too; and then Dad took a bunch of pictures of us – first in the living room; and then outside, where we were surrounded by the Halloween decorations and jack-o-lanterns.

The biggest change this year for trick-or-treating was having a lot more places on our collective must-visit list. Having Grandma and Grandpa home for Halloween this year, and getting to stop in at their house, was one of the best moments for Ethan, Ehlana, and me; but then so were the visits with all of our favorite people tonight. It's a good thing that we took the stroller with us, because even Ethan and Ehlana would have run out of steam if they'd tried walking for the entire two hours we were out and going from door-to-door. Tim especially liked having the stroller along for storage of our loot – and he's also convinced that going with Ethan and Ehlana earned all of us bonus treats. He's probably right about that, but then we also ended up going to more houses than Rowen and I ever have visited in any other year since I moved here.

We had a lot of fun as we wandered our way around town. Michael, Tim, and Ethan regularly needed to have lightsaber battles, and while Rowen, Ehlana, and I occasionally took turns doing that too; we mostly left the displays of derring-do to the boys. It was fun watching Michael and Ethan apply Tai Chi to their lightsaber battles; though only a handful of people in town would even realize they'd been doing that. The three of them might make the town intranet news tomorrow – especially if some of the pictures that were taken of them get posted. There were at least a half-dozen taken of Ewok-Ethan 'winning' two-on-one battles against both Jedi Knights.

While spending Halloween night with my boyfriend was number one for new experiences tonight, trick-or-treating in the new section of town was cool too. Even though there were only three houses to visit so far, I wasn't surprised to see that a lot of kids made the trek – even though it was a lot of extra walking. Of course the fact that the new doctor, the owners of the Olde Bakery, and one of our favorite teachers lived in those homes influenced those decisions; and we were not disappointed.

Okay, I'm related to one of the couples and Ethan and Ehlana are best friends with Naomi and Aiden, so we might have gotten special treatment; but Tim's probably right that our Ewoks earned us some bonus treats just about everywhere we went tonight. Munching on way too much candy over the next few weeks won't actually be a problem for me, but Rowen and I will probably both take Tim up on his offer to help us out with any candy we don't want to keep – or get sick of having before we run out. I'd suggest that Dad would want some too, but Ethan and Ehlana have enough to keep the candy jars at the law office filled at least until Thanksgiving.

Moving along, we hit our end of town – and the new section – first; moved south to do a loop that included all of our relatives in that area; continued into the southwest corner of town; and wrapped up with a stroll along Witch Falls Road that included a stop at the Inn to see Michael's parents. By then, the dinner rush was over, so Miranda and Jacob both had time for a little break with us that included more pictures before we headed home for the night. Rowen and Tim only stayed long enough to help with our trick-or-treating recap and to grab their computers and book bags before leaving; but Michael stayed and helped me with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed while Mom and Dad stayed out on the front porch and handled the last few kids and teens still trying to make the rounds of the entire town before Halloween was finished for another year.

We ended up doing the bedtime story and hot drinks on the front porch too, and Jacob and Miranda caught the tail end of that after finishing up at the Inn. Michael went home with his parents, but I took him inside for our goodnight kiss first. We still got teased about that, but at least Miranda couldn't do a play-by-play commentary on our performance. Dad had work to do in the office, so I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked into their beds; and then we did my Magi lesson in the office for nearly an hour before I was set free and came up to my room.

I wasn't planning on doing any major work tonight, but it's taken a while to wind down; so I did my archive homework instead of just laying in bed and staring at the ceiling for an hour or two. This was yet another really great day, and though I seem to repeat this a lot; a big part of the great comes from sharing most of the fun with Michael – and with Rowen and Tim. Now that Halloween is over, and because I really want that fun with my best friends to continue; I think that it's time to spend a little more time concentrating on getting Tim and Rowen together in a more serious sort of way. It's officially November first now, and I think that a goal of getting them dating by Christmas is definitely do-able. Maybe Rowen and I can talk about that tomorrow night while Michael and Tim are away at the football game.

That might even count as getting more involved like the Magi Council wants me to do; though that probably isn't what they had in mind. ;^)

We'd normally be in for some quiet time during the first couple of weeks of November before gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I don't expect that to happen this year. That's mostly because we have a new baby in the family; Michael and Tim will make sure that Rowen and I are much more involved with football this year – especially the high school playoffs; and we have new activities – like band – that we haven't had before. Maybe Michael and I will even manage to find some alone time now and then while dealing with everything else we have on the go. Don't laugh – it could happen!

Since I can get a bit of extra sleep tonight, and just in case Michael and I do get an opportunity for some quality time together sometime this weekend; I'm going to wrap this up, put my computer away, and hopefully have a few happy dreams that include Michael in a starring role.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

November 2013

Friday, November 1, 2013

After three days of rain, it was really nice to see the sunshine again today. We were still indoors for Tai Chi because it wasn't exactly summertime warm at dawn; but at least the sunshine did brighten our morning through the wide, south-facing windows in the exercise room.

The guys around town would tell me that the only news worth reporting today in Witch Falls is that our football team won their game tonight against Pinehurst. Since that does mean that our team has completed an undefeated regular season, they'll be the top seed for our division during the playoffs, and could end up having home team advantage deep into the post-season; I'll concede the point, but I'm covering the sports section of this report first so that I can get it out of the way and move on to the more fun parts of my day.

Pinehurst came to play tonight, and though I wasn't at the game; pretty much every detail is on the town intranet already. Our team didn't even have the lead from first score to finish as we have practically all season. The good news for Pinehurst is that they put up thirty-eight points against us; but they eventually gave up sixty-three – though the game was close until Kyle again dragged our team kicking and cheering toward the win with a bunch of big plays in the fourth quarter. Three of our last four touchdowns were all on him – and at the expense of the Pinehurst offense when they were finally too tired and sore to keep up with Kyle anymore.

Okay, they were too tired and sore to run faster than he can; but you know what I mean. The Pinehurst players did their best; it was a good game; and that's probably why both teams will be advancing to the playoffs.

Before I move on, the playoff picture for the first round is pretty much set already too, and our team will be playing here at home against Winfield Farms. We haven't been up against this team in quite a few years, so none of our players have any personal game experience against them, but they're one of the lowest-ranked teams to make the playoffs this year; and so our team is the favorite to win based both on our record this season and the fact that we made it through to the championship game last year. Whatever happens next Friday, I am fairly sure that Rowen and I will be at that game regardless of the weather.

Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate for that game the way she did for Halloween last night!

While our team was away and playing a great football game, it was dinner and a movie night at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house tonight, but before I get to that; let's do a quick recap of the rest of the day first. Tai Chi and good morning hugs and kisses with Michael made for a great start to our day. He went home after exercising with us, so I had a bit of extra time to help Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for another KidZone day. Rowen was ready to head for school first today, so she collected me along the way; and we met up with Michael and Rebecca at their house for the first dry morning walk we've had since Monday.

It was a Day One schedule Friday, so we started out with Spanish class. For once, I wasn't the only person who was happy and fired up in that class; though most of the guys were just on sugar highs, and the girls were happy to be entertained by their candy-fueled antics. The Halloween post-mortem was the top chat topic until football took over by lunchtime, and while I didn't watch any television last night, I did include getting up to speed on the highlights while doing my nightly computer checks; so Rowen and I were prepared for the top teen entertainment chats with the other girls.

The work part of our school day was fairly subdued. We started several new study modules today that will take us through to Thanksgiving or the Christmas break. The Halloween decorations are already coming down around the school; and Thanksgiving crafts and displays will take over during the next four weeks. Since our class will be going on the annual Grade Eight trip to Washington D.C. next May, this next phase in our lessons for subjects like Social Studies and History will lead from the founding of the colonies through to the development of our 'modern' government and political system. My favorite class of the day was Phys-Ed; mostly because we were able to go outside for that. It's also the only class we had where I was a little sad that Halloween was over, but maybe Zombie Dodge Ball will be back again next year!

Michael and Tim were heading out of town with Tim's aunt and uncle after school, so we didn't have much time to spend with them; and Michael and I didn't get to share much of a goodbye-goodnight kiss while there were teens, parents, and teachers all around us. Once they were on their way to Pinehurst, Rowen and I dropped their computers and book bags off with Tracey and Miranda; and checked in with Rowen's parents too before heading over to my house. Mom was already working on her contributions for dinner and a movie night, so we gave her our school report; took Ethan and Ehlana with us; and headed up to the lounge for some play time until we all needed to head over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

Without Michael and Tim, Ethan and Ehlana were happy to play music with us; watch a little after-school television; and have a nice long telepathic chat that Mandy happily joined us for. When it was time to leave, Rowen and I helped Mom with carrying the bowls and pans of hot food and a box filled with desserts, snacks, and two bottles of wine. Mom put us to work setting the dining room table after that while Ethan and Ehlana supervised in the kitchen and helped out as official taste-testers. We had a big group this week, and in addition to the full family, we also had the Seagers; Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah; and Heather, Adam, and Brandon Green.

That meant we had lots of toddlers and babies in the house tonight; and Rowen and I were kept busy helping out with kid control all evening. We were okay with that because it meant getting to play with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Brandon; lots of baby cuddle time with Zack, Eli, Leah, and Rebekkah; and especially importantly – get out of kitchen clean-up cards while we helped the grandparents with the babies and toddlers! I really loved everything about our family and friends time tonight; and I'm glad that Rowen and I didn't go to the football game instead – even though that meant not spending time with Michael on his one night off of the weekend.

Now that Halloween is over, spooky movies are off the list for movie night choices; but we still need to stick with toddler-appropriate entertainment, so we watched 'Turbo' tonight. I'd comment on the impossibility of a snail winning the Indy 500, but it was a cute show; and who am I to talk about impossibilities a day after I went trick-or-treating with two Ewoks?

Having lots of toddlers and babies at the party means that everyone is ready to go home early, and while Rowen and I thought about watching a second movie in the lounge after helping Mom and Dad get Ethan, Ehlana, and all of our gear home again, we decided against that; and she went home instead. We had a bedtime computer chat after I helped Mom and Dad with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night and had a little visit with my Jacuzzi; but I haven't really done much since climbing into bed with Mandy an hour or so ago.

We're both going to have another fall clean-up yard work day tomorrow, and I can actually be sleeping before midnight for a change if I finish this up and try very hard to drift off into dreamland; so I'm going to do that. Who knows – maybe I'll even manage to get fully recharged and then get to spend some alone time with Michael tomorrow too!

Don't laugh – it could happen! Maybe. Hopefully. Please?!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Where should I start – with the big surprise of the day; or the Michael and me alone time that finally happened?

I'll go with the surprise first; but only because that'll let me end this update with the Michael and me time – and take those very happy thoughts into dreamland with me.

Our Moms surprised Rowen and me with an afternoon shopping trip to Crystal Springs! Since we were expecting an all-day fall clean-up adventure; that immediately brightened our day when we were each given that news while having breakfast. If the timing was meant to encourage us to get our chores done, the ploy was successful; but the play afternoon at the Mall – and fast food fixes – was worth the few hours of hard work this morning. We can just skip the work report, since the only thing worth mentioning is that Dad and I probably got five or six hours of work done in about three and a half hours before I grabbed a five minute shower and used a little Magi power to get ready to go away for the afternoon in record time-phase time.

We took a snack and drinks along, but Mom and Patricia had Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and I loaded up in the minivan; and we were on the road by a quarter-past twelve. The twins mostly watched a movie during the drive to Crystal Springs, but Rowen and I entertained ourselves by making up our shopping lists and chatting about everything from football (for about thirty seconds) to boy-dazzling fall clothing possibilities. That made the trip to the city seem very fast; and then we were at the Mall and ready to grab a quick, late lunch before getting started on our shopping.

Mom and Patricia had some specific things they were shopping for today, so Rowen and I helped them out by taking care of Ethan and Ehlana a lot of the time while we were at the Mall – and then later when we were at Wal-Mart. We were still able to do a lot of own shopping too, and even split up from the Moms a few times – especially while Patricia wanted to shop for Rowen's birthday gifts. It's hard to believe that she's going to officially be a teen in less than four weeks! Getting gifts for her was on my list too, and we both needed to get birthday gifts for other friends; including Rebecca, Marcie, and Dawn's bff, Jillian. Though we already had Dad's birthday gifts, Ethan, Ehlana, and I picked up a couple of little bonus presents for his birthday on Monday too. We'll be back in the city again in five weeks for the kids' Christmas shopping trip, so we didn't need to buy a lot of gifts today; and that left Rowen and me with extra time to shop for a few new outfits – including a pair of new dresses that are going to help us look great at church tomorrow!

Though we'd done our major back to school shopping trip just a couple of months ago, we both added a few new outfits that were both more suitable for fall weather and so we could replace pants and tops that we're continually outgrowing right now. Though she's two and a bit months older than me, I'm edging ahead of Rowen in height. That isn't enough of a difference to keep us from being able to borrow clothes from each other yet, but that likely will be an issue in the not too distant future for us – though that'll only be for things like pants and long-sleeve shirt lengths; since our body types are very close.

We had a three-hour time limit at the Mall, and managed to finish up a bit early before moving on to Wal-Mart. That stop was mostly for bulk supplies, so we were only there for about an hour before stuffing our purchases into nearly every bit of available free space in the van and getting ready for the trip home again. Our last stop was for fast food to go – and an order for Aunt Leanne. This time, Rowen and I watched a show with Ethan and Ehlana while we all ate; and then we were in girl chat mode again for the rest of the trip.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana went over to Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's house to deliver the food and have a little visit with them – and Zack – after we pulled into Rowen's driveway while I helped Patricia and Rowen unload all of their purchases and get them inside and mostly put away. Michael was finished working at the Inn before we were done with that; so he met up with me there. That's the main reason why Rowen stayed at home when Mom was ready to move the van over to our house – she didn't want to mess up any chance Michael and I might have for even a little bit of alone time before he'd need to be home for the night. I'm sure she'll be very happy for us when she finds out that we actually managed to have nearly two hours of play and cuddle time after we helped to get Ethan and Ehlana tucked into bed for the night.

That almost brings me around to my favorite part of the day. Michael and I stopped in to see Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Zack for a few minutes too, but we walked home with Ethan and Ehlana when Mom was ready to take the van home so that we didn't need to bother buckling them into their car seats for the little hop down the street. We had to unload the van after that; help put everything away; and then join Dad in the office for a bedtime snack, drinks, and shopping adventure recap. Our afternoon was certainly more exciting than Dad's work-in-the-office marathon or Michael's shifts at the Inn; but they told us about the highlights of their day too.

Mom and Dad didn't go to bed when Ethan and Ehlana did, but they weren't working either; and instead decided to watch a movie in the living room. They invited Michael and me to join them, but weren't surprised when we wanted to hang out in the lounge instead. Since I wasn't the only person in the house using my wards and shields tonight, I'll guess that they weren't particularly disappointed to have some alone time too; though I really don't need to know the details about what my parents may or may not have been doing while Michael and I were happily making out in the lounge.

I'll rank tonight at an eleven on the hot scale, but reality was probably more like an eight; with the extra points based entirely on perception due to the no-action drought we've been going through recently. Michael might still blush when reading some of these journals in the future, but I think it's important to write about some of these details – especially if this could help parents deal with Magi tweens and teens in the future.

The physical aspect of our relationship is as important for Michael and me as it is for any other teen couple, and that is what I'm referring to when writing about the hot factor of our play time; but the telepathic and empathic connections and exploration we're sharing is much more profound and important. That's also something that most Magi teens don't get to experience, and the council might want to consider allowing other Magi couples to know about each other sooner – though I also understand why some caution should be taken too. There are risks to opening up like that to someone; and it may not be something that very many teens or adults are willing to do. For me, I've had that kind of connection with Mom my entire life, and now have special links with Ethan, Ehlana, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne; so it's easy for me. I fell really lucky and blessed that Michael is willing to take that risk for the first time with me; and we fall a little more in love every time we can share our hearts like we do when connected that way.

Oh yeah, and the partial nudity, exploring our bodies, and long, heart-pounding kisses are really hot too!

Just saying...

...and I think that Michael's the hottest guy in our school too.

No, I haven't changed my opinion of Jake – he doesn't go to our school anymore.

That reminds me that I'm overdue for a family and friends college update, but I'll do that tomorrow night. For now, I'm ready to get some sleep; and definitely want to take the memories of Michael and me that have been replaying continually since he went home an hour or so ago into my dreams. That'll be sure to help me get a good night of rest. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

It's after two, I've been working on my computer for three hours, and am ready to crash for the night; so let's go with another micro-update.

Good morning kisses and Tai Chi with Michael was followed by breakfast at his house once I'd hit the shower and gotten ready for church. The teens now have just three weeks to get ready for their Thanksgiving weekend service; and our class was put to work on sets and props for the skits they'll be performing. We had a long service today, so Michael needed to leave right away for the Inn; and I walked there with him before going home to have lunch with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. Since Michael and Tim had been away on Friday night, and Rowen and I had been busy with Ethan and Ehlana; we needed to have an afternoon study session while Michael was on his break. We did that in the lounge; had time for a bit of video gaming with Ethan and Ehlana; and then I went to the Inn with Michael to help out during the buffet rush.

That was a long blast of work and fun, and then Michael and I had a bit of cuddle time at his house while having a chat with his parents before I went home in time for the bedtime story and snack with Ethan and Ehlana. Mom did an elements lesson with me after the twins were tucked in for the night; and have been studying and working on my computer since coming up to my room after that. I was going to do a college update tonight, but let's cover that next time – I really just want to crash and get some sleep now; and there isn't anything happening around the family or here at home that can't wait to be written about tomorrow.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Happy 35th Birthday, Dad!

Before I get to the birthday fun and the rest of the news from today, let's start this update with the college report I skipped last night.

Now that our favorite freshmen are more than half-way through their first semester; they've all settled into routines – and the college life in general. That doesn't mean that the Halloween festivities on campus weren't still a bit wild compared to here in Witch Falls; because most of the teens were still surprised – and needed to be extra-careful while navigating the parties and craziness.

That's probably hardest for Stephanie, because Jake can't be there for her all of the time while they're at different schools. Violet and Christina deal with peer pressure and guys hitting on them too; but they have Dillon and Josiah at school with them. It sounds like Stephanie had an even tougher week with those issues than normal because of all the extra parties and activities; and Jake wasn't able to spend as much time with her as usual because of everything they both had on the go. I'll guess that Jake's having some issues too, but he's not saying anything to Stephanie about any problems he's having with girls chasing after him; and he rarely sends emails to me – or to Michael and Rebecca either. He does slightly better with Miranda; but he wouldn't talk to her about things like that any more than he'd tell Stephanie and have her worried over nothing.

The main news to write about tonight for the college teens is that Violet and Dillon will be home for the week of Thanksgiving, but Jacob, Stephanie, Christina, and Josiah won't be. In Jake and Stephanie's case; they're not going to spend the money – or all of that travel time – just to come home for what would end up being just a couple of days. Christina and Josiah are going to make a trip home – just not to Witch Falls. They had to pick one, and since Abby will be busy most of the weekend at the store; they're going to be with the McEwans for Thanksgiving. The good news there for us is that both couples will be in Witch Falls for Christmas – though Christina and Josiah will spend time with her family too while they're off for the Christmas break.

Violet, Stephanie, and Christina all sent Halloween pictures; including shots of everything from dorm room decorations to best costumes and wildest party scenes. Okay, they did make sure that all pictures were kid-rated; but then none of them would have saved any inappropriate videos or photos anyway. I'm sure that won't keep them from having really great stories – the kind Aunt Leanne will be interested in hearing all about; but I'll try not to be around for those conversations.

Moving along, one other minor item that didn't get mentioned in my weekend journals was the annual fall time change early on Sunday morning. That really wasn't a big deal; though I did appreciate the extra hour of nap time. I'd get into a discussion about how messed up our time and calendar system is, but don't feel like doing that tonight, and since nothing is going to change with that anytime soon; pointing out the obvious stupidity in the system is a pointless waste of effort.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, let's talk birthdays!

Ethan, Ehlana, and I loved getting to give Dad his wake-up call this morning and give him our gifts. We're also quite happy to pretend that we don't know why he and Mom were so tired this morning – even though they tried to hide that from us. We're also good with me being at Rowen's tonight while the twins are with Grandma and Grandpa. Dad didn't get a weekend away in Florida for his thirty-fifth birthday like Mom did for hers; but I'll guess that his night has been hotter.

I so wish that I hadn't gone there – even if I'm happy for them too.

Our morning routine was only slightly different than normal; mostly because Dad had his annual birthday get out of work card. Michael came over for Tai Chi, and stayed to help out with making a special breakfast and getting Ethan ready for the day. He ate with us, and Dad had more gifts to open – including one from both Michael and me; and then Michael went home to get ready for school while I helped Mom with the clean-up before getting cleaned up and ready in record time too – thanks to a little Magi-powered assistance.

There was only one topic being discussed by the majority of guys at school today – football. Our team was in the playoffs; and the Raiders fans have high hopes for their chances this season. Kyle and the other guys on the team are getting treated like rock stars – or as close to that as ever happens in our little town. Tim loves all of that, and you can practically see the dreams of football glory in his mind. Okay, maybe I can 'see' that better than most; but the main reason I mention it at all is because he's going to do whatever it takes to play football; Michael will be right there with his best friend all the way; and that means football is going to be a bigger part of my life pretty much from now on. Maybe I'll like the game more when they're playing. After all, I do like to see Michael win – as long as he isn't competing against me! ;^)

That wasn't a problem today, because Rowen and I were on the same team with Tim and Michael when we played football at lunchtime today. That might be the last time we play in any of those scrimmages for the rest of this year; mostly because Rowen and I really don't like playing when it's cold – no matter how much we love spending the time with our favorite boys. It was fairly nice outside at noon today, so Rowen and I weren't even the only girls playing today; and winning the match was a nice little bonus for us too. Michael and Tim also played some football at the park after school – and after we did our homework at my house; but Rowen and I stayed home to help Mom with Ethan and Ehlana – and to get ready for Dad's birthday dinner at the Inn.

Mom had needed the help so that she could go all out with getting ready for the dress-up part of her birthday plans for Dad; and there was no doubt that he was floored when he saw her after getting home from work. Let's leave that thought there too, though I am going to mention that my perspective on that is a bit different now; and I will be a very lucky girl if my husband still looks at me like that when I'm thirty-five.

Having dinner at the Inn with our family and friends was mostly done because Mom didn't want to be working half the day and evening instead of spending the time with Dad; and I didn't have a problem with that plan either. Dad had time to freshen up before we needed to get to the Inn, and while he was doing that, Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana with us; picked up Michael and Tim along the way; and walked over to the Inn a bit early. Grandma and Grandpa were already there, and had a bit of help doing some minor table decorating for the tables we had reserved.

We had a big group, and that meant my friends and I were on kid control duty while Mom and Dad got to enjoy dinner with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and some of their friends. There were enough younger kids that Michael and I sat at the table next to Tim and Rowen; and had six kids each to help feed and keep entertained. We had Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden with us, along with Michael's cousins, Sophia and Ryan Bassett. Jessica had wanted to sit with us too, but settled for being behind me – and next to Rowen – instead. I would have liked to be able to spend a bit more time with Mom and Dad than we could, but that wasn't going to happen with such a big dinner party anyway; and we did get them all to ourselves this morning for a couple of hours.

Though we were on the fringe for a lot of the birthday party, Michael and I still had a blast. Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends seem to be even more fun every time we get together for special occasions; and Aiden in particular is finally to a point where there doesn't need to be so obvious a difference in how he acts in public compared to his older friends. Getting all of them fed is fairly easy now too – especially since they all like the same foods. Ethan and Ehlana spent more time with Mom and Dad than I did while busy with the other kids – helping Dad out when he opened his gifts; with blowing out the candles on the cake; and adding some entertainment to the mix while the cake was being sliced and served.

Having Michael with me for another big family and friends event was great, but I really, especially loved that his parents could be there too – without working while the rest of us celebrated. That doesn't happen often enough, and they both couldn't resist visits to the kitchen and pitching in to help for a few minutes here and there; but they managed to sit down at their table and enjoy the party and meal for most of the time we were there. They went out to the continuing party at Sheldon's too, and don't have to work tomorrow; so I hope they have a fun night too. Michael and Rebecca are doing sleepovers at Tim and Jenny's houses; so there's a very good chance I won't need to hear all of the details of their night any more than I'll want to hear about what Mom and Dad have been doing to celebrate since I went home with Rowen from the Inn.

I'm sure they weren't getting bugged by two annoying boys for the next several hours, though they were at the pub; and it's possible that Mom did have a certain pair of guys trying to yet again badger her into another billiards re-match. If they manage to do that, I'm sure the church will appreciate the bonus donations next Sunday morning. Rowen and I would love to make a donation too, but the Pastors would probably just send Patrick and Scott back to us; and Patricia and Abby are a bit too fond of their only sons to let us give them away to charity anyway.

While some of Patrick's and Scott's antics were entertaining enough, they never know when to quit while they're ahead; and went overboard with their gags and pranks and they took full advantage of the parent-free time while Patricia and Owen were at the Pub for Dad's party. Rowen eventually lost her patience with them, and though the boys both seem to forget that there's a fiery side to Rowen; she certainly reminded them of that tonight in a very loud, graphic way that stunned them into retreating to Patrick's room and staying there for the rest of the night. I guess it has been a while since she's let the fire take over from the normal quiet and shy; but she also knows that Patrick will chalk that up as a victory for him – once the shock of getting blasted by his sister wears off.

Rowen and I managed to have a music practice to get ready for our class and band practice tomorrow, and we watched a show in the living room after that – or tried to do both while dealing with the determined pair of pranksters. We followed that up with a bedtime snack and drinks in the kitchen, and then Rowen sent Patrick and Scott up to bed by a bit after ten while we cleaned up. According to the boys, we were not babysitting, and I'd agree with that; but only because babies are easier to take care of and keep out of trouble. Rowen and I spent more than an hour and a half dealing with Patrick, Scott, and their continually expanding repertoire of gags, jokes, and pranks – right up until Rowen lost it on them. My least-favorite prank moments list tonight was topped by the attempts to scare me while I was getting ready for bed in the bathroom. That wasn't because Patrick and Scott actually scared me – it's just seriously weird to be washing up and getting changed with two boys right there on the other side of the door – regardless of what they're doing.

Dealing with Patrick and Scott put a real kink into my usual nightly computing and studies, but they were at least in their room and possibly sleeping when Patricia and Owen got home from the Pub. They weren't really late, but only checked in with us for a minute before going to bed; and we didn't even try to get a birthday party report from them tonight – or tell them about our evening at home with the prankster pair extraordinaire. Rowen went to sleep shortly after that, and while I kicked it into high gear for my studies and work, I couldn't use any Magi power to help with that; and wrapped that work up at two o'clock – even though I only managed to get about half of my normal studies done.

I only put that time limit on myself tonight because I'm still getting used to the time change; and it feels like three o'clock still. There's quite a bit that I haven't covered in this update, but this has been one of those nights where there's just too much going on to write about it all; and I'm ready to put my computer away and get some sleep. We might get to have a couple of fairly quiet days, but then we'll have another birthday party on Thursday and the football game on Friday before getting into whatever we have going on for the weekend. Since I'll also need to try and catch up on the work I didn't get done tonight; I really do need to crash and snooze for a while, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

My personal top story of the day is that we started to learn Christmas music in band practice; and have our little schedule of two concerts and two parades that we'll be performing in this year.

Though we're not doing many performances, we still have quite a list of music to learn over the next month or so. There is a specific set of songs we'll be doing for each parade; a half-dozen or so songs we'll be performing at the school Christmas concert; and an oldies-jazz repertoire we'll need to have ready for the seniors' Christmas party we'll be playing at the week before school's out for the holidays.

That isn't exactly a problem for me – or really for Michael and Rowen either – but some of the teens seemed to be a bit daunted when we were given the folders with all of the songs we'll be learning. I just really love that we're going to be doing more than just practicing every week. I still mostly keep a low profile when it comes to public attention, and that won't change with Michael and I at the bottom of the food chain in the saxophone section; but it will be nice to have people appreciate and get to listen to our music.

Let's take care of the rest of the update from the beginning.

My morning was more than a little weird. I was on my own for Tai Chi indoors, and had to deal with Patrick and Scott bugging me by the time I was half-way through my long-form workout. As Rowen and I expected, Patrick was very happy about getting her to blow up at him last night; and was trying to make her lose it again this morning. If he knew about some of the things she's really capable of doing, he might think twice before playing his gags and pranks; but we'd never be allowed to do anything to him anyway – no matter how much Rowen and I joke about it on days like today.

It had started raining sometime before I woke up this morning, and while I could have lived without the wet; it did have the effect of keeping Patrick and Scott from continuing their goofiness after leaving the house this morning. They were more interested in getting to school and out of the rain than pestering us; so they went their own way instead of following Rowen and me over to Michael's house to meet up with him. The rain also kept us indoors all day, and for the second week in a row; Tim sat at a table in the cafeteria and worked on his assignments while watching the football team practice in the rain until Michael, Rowen, and I were finished our band practice.

We went on to the computer store after that for our usual Tuesday study session; and then Michael and I went on to his house for dinner after making a quick pit stop at my house to drop off my computer and book bag; and have a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. Rebecca had Jason over for dinner again this week too, but this week wasn't quite as successful as last time because he didn't like the experimental entree that Jacob made for us; and didn't do a very good job faking that he did. He and Rebecca had plans to hang out with Jenny, Garth, and some of their other friends after dinner; but I'm fairly sure they would have found something else to do even if they hadn't already made those plans. We may not see Jason again for Tuesday night dinners either; but we'll see what happens with that.

Michael and I liked getting to have the quiet time with his parents after dinner; and even sent Rebecca and Jason on their way early – mostly because Jason wasn't much help with the clean-up anyway. We had our usual Tuesday evening guitar lesson too, and since we were pretty much guaranteed to get teased about it by Miranda anyway; we spent a little extra quality time 'practicing the rests' at the end of our music play time. Making out in Michael's bedroom isn't the same as in the lounge at my house, mostly because we can't use my wards and shields there; but we still had fun – and the make-out time was worth getting teased about.

Watching some television and chatting with Michael and his parents was fun too. With nobody else around, we spent some time tonight talking about the Inn; and particularly about dreams for the future – especially once Jake and Stephanie are finished college and move home again. Miranda and Jacob still really only have ideas about what they'd like to do, and our family business won't really have any involvement in what will happen there, but Ethan, Ehlana, and I have a pretty good idea about what's meant to be for Michael and his family; and I had fun putting my two-cents worth into the conversation tonight.

I really didn't want to go home when it was time to leave while wanting to spend some time with Ethan and Ehlana before they went to bed for the night too. It was still raining and getting colder out, so Michael and I didn't spend much time on our front porch goodnight kiss before I ran home and moved on to the bedtime chat and snack with Mom, Dad, and the twins. That took a while – especially since I needed to get the kid-rated version of Dad's birthday party at the pub. I'd add the stories from home after leaving the pub, but there wasn't much for Mom and Dad to tell me about that wouldn't have been rated 'way, way too much information'. They both had a really great time and are still very happy tonight; so let's just leave it at that and move on.

Ethan and Ehlana had more stories for me from their adventures with Grandma and Grandpa, and play day at KidZone; and Dad wanted to hear about my night at Rowen's, school, and my evening with Michael and his family. It was after ten o'clock before we'd done all of that and tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night; and then Mom spent more than another hour on my Magi lesson before I was able to come up to my room and get started on my backlog of studies and nightly computing.

Since I was in a Christmassy mood from band practice, I kept that theme going for my language studies and family business work; but couldn't really do that for my archive homework. For that matter, Christmas isn't exactly well-written about in any Sino-Tibetan dialect; but I was still able to practice by translating some English Christmas stories into Wu and Hakka. There really wasn't much that needed my attention for the family business in relation to the Christmas season this year, so I mostly just checked up on how everything was going; and sent some emails with suggestions for little adjustments here and there to accommodate some early signs of supply chain or retail issues I was seeing while doing those checks.

I didn't quite catch up on everything I didn't get done yesterday, but it's heading toward three o'clock now; and I knew it was time to wrap up my work and get the rest of my nightly computing done when I started running out of energy and enthusiasm by two-thirty. Tomorrow is a work night, and I plan on staying home and working after dinner too so I won't need to be up half the night again. Hopefully I'll manage to get ahead on my work and caught up on some sleep too; but for right now, I'll settle for a few hours of unconsciousness before it'll be time to get up and going again.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The rain moved out of the area by this morning, but it didn't warm up much today; and I was okay with being indoors most of the time – except for the walk to school and home again with a stop-off at Landry's Auto for our homework session after school.

I don't really even have all that much to report today either. It was really nice to start the day with good morning kisses with Michael after missing out on that yesterday; Tai Chi was good too; and a prank-free morning was awesome. Football fever officially rules the school now, though Marcie's birthday and party tomorrow earned some attention with the Grade Eight girls today too. There wasn't anything else going on at school today worth mentioning – it mostly just felt like one of those mid-week days you just want to get through before starting the countdown to the weekend.

Our study session at Landry's was fun, but Rowen advised me that she'd really like some more alone time with Tim. They haven't even had an opportunity to sneak any kisses at all in days now, and she's starting to have some doubts about their future to go along with the super-shy that keeps her from taking matters into her own hands and explaining they way she wants things to be to Tim. I didn't bother suggesting to her that dating each other wasn't translating into all that much alone time for Michael and me because she'd be thrilled right now to just be able to hold hands with Tim and share occasional kisses with him in public – not to mention having everyone know that he's 'her' guy.

There isn't much to write about for the rest of my night from the time I got home from Landry's. Ethan and Ehlana hung out with me in the office while I worked on the family business until dinnertime. Mom had gone with a quick and easy meal, and after cleaning up; we were all in the office again for most of the evening. Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan and Ehlana, and then with me. I continued doing my work around that, and Dad did his homework until it was time to do the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana. I came up to my room then; had a soak in my Jacuzzi; and finished all of my language and archive studies at the same time while using a time-phase to help speed things up a bit.

That allowed me to be ready for bed in time to tuck Ethan and Ehlana in after their baths; I did the goodnight hugs and kisses with Mom and Dad then too; and then went back into a time-phase to finish the last bits of family business and nightly computing I wanted to get done before going to sleep for the night – including this journal update.

It's only a bit after ten o'clock now, but I put in the equivalent of nearly five hours of work while in time-phase; so I'll even be able to take tomorrow night off if I don't feel like staying up late after Marcie's party. I'll also be fully re-charged by morning too; so that party should be a blast. That really is all I have for tonight, so I'm going to wrap this up; drop the time-phase; and call it a night. Eight solid hours of down time; here I come!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Marcie!

It's past one-thirty now, and while I didn't need to do any work tonight after getting home from Marcie's party; I'm just getting wound down enough now to be ready to sleep soon. Tim would have something to say about that, since he gave Michael, Rowen, and I orders to get a good night sleep so we'd be ready to cheer for our team in their first big playoff game of the season; but what he doesn't know won't hurt me. As usual with parties like this, I've had a lot to think about and process; but I'll get to that after covering the rest of the news from today.

We had an uneventful start to the day, and though I'm missing getting to exercise by the river, morning kisses with Michael are better indoors without worry of an audience; and being able to practice more advanced Tai Chi forms with him – and Ethan and Ehlana – is great too. Michael went home for breakfast today, but we were just having the standard weekday fare; so he didn't miss out on anything. I spent a little extra time getting ready today, and had some extra fun with Ehlana while doing our hair and picking out clothes to wear both for at school and what I decided to wear to the party.

Starting the school day out with music – and playing the birthday song for Marcie – set the tone for the rest of the day; and her best friends helped to make the rest of the morning and afternoon as fun as possible while also working our way through the rest of our classes and one test. The sunny weather had the boys outside and playing football again as the younger guys settled for scrimmage games while dreaming of high school football glory.

Since Marcie doesn't currently have a boyfriend, she happily ignored the guys and enjoyed a special birthday 'picnic' in the cafeteria that was still going on with a healthy dose of girl chat long after the boys had gone outside. Rowen and I spent most of our lunch break outdoors too, but we only checked out the football action for about five minutes before moving on to wander around the school grounds; and stop now and then for a few cameo play moments with some of our favorite younger kids.

That's about all of the news from school. After being set free, Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me; but only long enough to do our homework at the dining room table before the boys went home to get ready for the party; and Rowen and I stayed together to do the same. We did most of that play time in my room, but then stopped in at her house to drop off her school gear and so that she could change into the outfit she wanted to dazzle Tim with tonight – I mean wear to the party.

Dazzling the boys was a nice added bonus; though Tim didn't do anything more than keep a near-constant eye on Rowen all evening. That's too bad for him, and his loss; because Rowen was definitely dressed perfectly for cuddling as well as looking spectacular. It's a lot of fun getting to watch as all of the shy in the world can't hide just how beautiful my best friend is, and though Tim still can't figure out how to deal with that combination; it was pretty obvious to the Magi Master in the house what he'd like to do about it.

Here's a hint, Tim – Rowen wouldn't have a problem with that. ;^)

Maybe I should just tell him that out loud instead of in my journal; but Rowen would be mortified if I did. Then again, she'd probably get over that a few dozen kisses into dating Tim; so it might be worth it. I'll have to think about that for a while.

Moving along, Marcie's party was fairly standard for a school night teen birthday; including a dinner that most of her family was there for too. She's a member of the extended Sheldon clan; though not of the Pub-connected members of the family. Her younger brother, Matthew, is in the same grade with Patrick and Scott; though he usually hangs out with a different group of guys. There's no doubt that Marcie and Rowen have annoying little brothers in common; and Michael really enjoyed having the older guys around for an audience tonight – and for the video game competition.

This is going to take the story off-track, but I really want to write about some of the thoughts that have been on my mind all evening.

The Sheldons, like most of the other big families in town, have both well-off and poorer members. Marcie's parents fall somewhere in the middle of the lower half of that range, and though I've never been poor; I can certainly empathize with the stresses. My abilities make picking up on those stress vibes very easy; and Marcie's parents were definitely feeling under pressure tonight while trying to give their little girl the best birthday they could. They had family support for that, but it was impossible for me to miss the underlying sense of worry as scarce money was used for gifts and the party that would have gone to paying bills and daily living costs.

We're working on helping out everyone in Witch Falls with our future plans; but I've again been reminded tonight that those changes and improvement in the lives of my friends and neighbors can't come fast enough for some. We should think about making a list, checking it twice, and putting some families at the top of the 'nice' list so that they start getting help sooner than later.

As you're reading this in the future, I hope that everyone has a better life in your time; but don't read those thoughts the wrong way – especially since 'poor' is relative in Witch Falls. Nobody is starving or financially destitute, but that doesn't change the fact that I could easily write a check and make the financial stresses for families like Marcie's go away forever. The problem is that I can't do that for everyone in the world, no matter how much I wish that I could; and we want to make a difference without blowing our super-hero secret identities.

The good news is that I can find some work on the side for Marcie's parents between now and Christmas that might just fall into their laps in the next week or so – just in time to help them out with the extra money they'd like to have coming in between now and Christmas. I'll see about some longer-term help for them after that, and though there won't be high-paying tech jobs at the lab for everyone, there will be lots of opportunities around here for everyone.

I hope that Marcie didn't spend a second thinking about finances or money today, but in addition to those musings; my thoughts have been focused on the information I was getting all night about Magi and latent teens – and the adults too to a lesser extent. The teens in particular are very interesting right now; and not just because I am one – or officially will be in a few months.

Raging hormones have quite the effect on the auras of both Magi and Latent teens. That isn't a new discovery at all, but my understanding of the phenomenon seems to grow more rapidly at parties and bigger events than at other times. I'm definitely getting closer to defining a 'normal' range in which the 'power' level of those auras can fluctuate. I'd love to have another example like Violet to study, but there aren't any teens in my class – or in Grades nine or seven – with that potential to 'cross over'. It appears that a latent basically needs to be bursting at the seams and on the edge of that line to make the leap to Magi; which would explain why it's so rare for that to happen.

While the Magi-latent study fascinates me, so does the interaction of families – and how Magi and latent abilities have manifested through the centuries. The Sheldons, for instance, are of the original settlers – the Magi – yet the only Magi in their family are through marriage; and just a few of the children from those marriages. Sure, the latent potential is high, but there's no obvious reason for why the Magi in their family tree is so comparatively weak to other original families.

The next-closest original family to the Sheldon's for that problem was actually mine – and I guess the Carringtons were there too; but that's all changed now. The Proctors have the first 'home grown' Magi Masters in three centuries, and if Zack's potential is any indication; the next generations of the Carringtons are going to be very strong Magi too. I guess that leaves room for hope that the same can happen for any of the Magi families; but I can't help but wonder if we could do things to make that outcome happen – and if we could; whether we should.

Answering those questions won't happen tonight, but Ethan, Ehlana, and I continue to sense that the Magi part of our collective future will be changing in a major way in our lifetime. How much we actually get involved with how that happens isn't at all clear to us; but I'm sure that it will be an exciting part of our future in Witch Falls.

Returning to the party report, dinner was a buffet, finger food event; and while the adults sat in the dining room, the rest of us pretty much just found someplace to sit with our plates and eat – in the kitchen, living room, or den; depending on what we wanted to do and who we were hanging out with. We all crowded into the dining room to do the cake and ice cream thing – and while Marcie opened her gifts. Cleaning up after dinner was a collaborative effort that about half of the guys dodged; and then Rowen and I were with a few of the other girls in the den who were watching the guys play video games while we had a little quiet girl chat time. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with Marcie; partly because she was spending most of her time in the living room with the teens that wanted to watch their favorite Thursday night shows instead of gaming – not that we would have all fit in either room anyway.

I keep up with the latest in entertainment and favorite shows as much as I keep up with news and sports, but I've never really been able to faithfully watch television series. That has less to do with being a Magi Master than with my hyperactivity. Waiting to find out what happens next week is not one of my strengths – not to mention totally unnecessary if I really wanted to know.

If I temporarily lost you there, no, I wouldn't need to use the Sight to find out – those shows are filmed well in advance of air date; so they're history, not future events. Watching them would be an option, if I chose to use the energy to do that – though it would take using a lot of power; and I would never do that for something that unimportant.

That's getting off-track again, but my point is that I'd even rather watch Michael play video games with his buddies when the other choice is teen-targeted television. Ditto that for crime or medical dramas, and even though I've come to really love playing music; you can put reality talent shows at the top of my television disinterest list. Let's just not go there and move along with the news of the day.

While we were at Marcie's party, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I missed out on game night at the Inn. I missed having my usual Thursday evening time with Michael's parents and sister too, but the trade-off play time with our friends was pretty good; so I'm not complaining. Our family and friends managed to have fun at the Inn without us; and I heard all about it after getting home from Marcie's party at around ten-thirty. The party was over at ten, but Michael and I spent a little time saying goodnight to each other on his front porch after splitting up from Tim and Rowen on the way home. We were still there when Rowen eventually got to her house, so it's possible that she and Tim managed to find someplace private for a little goodnight moment of their own – like maybe in the farm equipment yard at Landry's; but Rowen wasn't online when I eventually got up to my room and started working on my computer, so I won't know the answer to that until tomorrow. Tim didn't walk her all the way home, but she waved before going inside; so he was probably watching her from the other end of the street before heading the rest of the way home too.

Our goodnight kiss was one of my favorite moments of the day, but my night wasn't over after that. Ethan and Ehlana were in bed by the time I got home, but Mom and Dad were working in the office – catching up on what they didn't get done while at the Inn tonight. I had a hot chocolate and a chat with them before Mom did my Magi lesson. That took about an hour, so it was after eleven-thirty by the time I headed up to my room. I stopped on the way up to check in on Ethan and Ehlana, and while he slept through my kiss and getting tucked in again; Ehlana woke up and we had a quick chat before she had a bathroom break and I tucked her in again too.

Since I needed to wind down, I played my keyboard for a half hour, and then got to work on my computer. There isn't anything interesting to report from my bonus studies, and I really am pretty much ready to sleep now; so I'd better get to that and be as charged up as I can be to help my friends cheer for our team at the big game. Football may not be my thing, but that game should make for a pretty good start to the weekend – at least it will if our team wins!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, November 8, 2013

I seriously doubt that in any distant future there will be anyone in Witch Falls that cares about the results of our football team's first playoff match of twenty-thirteen; but it's the only news in town tonight – and yes – we won!

It would be nice to report that it was a great game too, except that would only apply from the perspective of our players, coaches, and fans. Winfield Farms only managed two field goals to our sixty-three points; and they were overpowered by Kyle and our defense right from the opening kick-off through to the last play of the game – a blocked hail-Mary pass attempt that Kyle chose to knock down instead of putting one more big hit on their beleaguered quarterback.

While the Winfield Farms offense was pretty much crushed tonight, their defense played hard, and might even have been a match for our offense if they didn't play nearly the entire game on short fields. I wouldn't give any team much of a chance when their opponent gets to start more than half of their offensive drives within a stone's throw of field goal range. We had quite a few field goals too – all of them in the second half while we tried not to run the score up on Winfield Farms without being too embarrassingly obvious.

On the personal side of the game, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had a blast tonight. We went to the Inn for a burgers and fries dinner; cheered ourselves hoarse during the game; and then got to make an appearance at the post-game party thanks to Tim's family connection with the hosts. Sarah and Lee Landry live in the Landry 'family' home in the south-east corner of town – one of the few, big estate houses on Ridge Road. While I'd never trade the river view we get at our house, the Landry's do have a spectacular view of the valley to the south of town from their house – even at night. Maybe especially at night with the incredible night sky and nothing in the way of that starry panorama.

I haven't been in the house very often before – just a couple of times with Carolyn during baseball season; so it was fun just to hang out there – even though we were the youngest guests there; and didn't get much attention from the older teens. After Marcie's party on Thursday, it was also interesting to compare the action tonight to that. I'll chalk up the guy-weird to adrenaline overload from winning the game, but I really hope that it wasn't just the heightened testosterone level that had Jenny and some of the other girls going half-mental too.

Note to Michael – though it won't matter by the time you get to read my journals: Don't include any of the girlfriend action we witnessed tonight in your football glory plans; because that is never going to happen with you and me. Not ever.

Okay, not ever in public. ;^)

I also won't be cooing, giggling, or lavishing you with asinine, ego-boosting platitudes. That stuff weirds me out as much as the teen guy antics do.

Let's not go any further down that mental trail and get back to the victory party news. The party didn't really get started until the players got there, and we – Michael, Rowen, and I – only stayed until eleven o'clock; but that was long enough to make some teen observations that probably won't surprise any parent reading this in the future.

Teen guys in general can consume vast quantities of food, but it's truly scary to watch an entire football team descend on a buffet table after burning several thousand calories in a big game. The parents of the senior players must really be looking forward to their boys going off to college just for the relief they'll get from the grocery bills. Those savings might even more than pay for the cost of their residential halls; since those rates are at least averaged out for all students.

It's not as surprising to me that the guys were still really fired up and ready to party too – anyone as hyper-active as I am can relate to how long it can take to wind down even after expending a lot of energy. I'm glad that they had fun, but loud and boisterous is never going to be my thing either, and while Tim jumped right in; Michael and Rowen mostly joined me on the fringe of the party. That might sound boring, and maybe it is; but that's just how it is for Michael and me. Rowen would love to be as outgoing as Tim is; dreams of it; and then the shy kicks in every time – a double-whammy when it happens both around Tim and with older, cooler teens.

When you read this and are looking back, Rowen, don't forget that where you are in my now is also a long way from the girl who spent most of her spare time at the library or computer store before meeting me. I'll also guess that you're laughing at this teen you compared to your future self – and ditto that for my now and future. For the record, though, if I end up in some happy medium between being like my Mom and Aunt Leanne; I'll be a very happy camper.

Speaking of them, they spent the evening having dinner and a chick flick night at Aunt Leanne's house with most of the women in the family and the babies. They opted for that while most of the guys took Ethan and Ehlana to the football game. They didn't sit with us – or we didn't sit with them – this time; but we did have a couple of visits together at the end of the first quarter and during half-time. Ethan and Ehlana had Naomi and Aiden with them while Philip and Nathan hung out with the rest of the Dads. I'm sure that they had a fun time at the game too, but Mom, Dad, and I were all tired by the time I got home; so we decided to save trading stories about our evening until morning.

That's also why I'm writing this before midnight; and skipped doing anything more than the basic nightly computer checks after getting changed and into bed with Mandy – I'm ready to get some sleep.

The main reason Michael, Rowen, and I left the party early was because Michael is making up for missing his Thursday night at the Inn by helping out with the breakfast rush tomorrow in addition to his regular noon and dinner shifts. That works out okay for Rowen and me because we have one last big fall clean-up day to deal with – or at least we can hope it'll be the last.

I haven't written anything about the rest of my day, but getting recharged and ready for all of that work seems like a much better idea than dragging this report out – and I guess there really wasn't anything particularly newsworthy going on today other than the football game. Yes, I want to include the every day details of my life in these journals, because I think they're just as important as writing about all of the cool Magi things we can do; but I'm also a teenage girl, and reserve the right to change my mind about what I want to do at any given time.

Deal with it; because that's everyday normal too!

I really do want to crash and snooze for a while now, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Happy 12th Birthday, Jillian!

I didn't even get the chance to talk to Jillian or Dawn today, but Dawn's spending the weekend with her best friend; and I'm sure she's making sure that Jillian is enjoying her special day.

They certainly must be having more fun than I did today; which is why this is going to be another micro-update.

I worked all day, and started out without good morning kisses with Michael because he was already at the Inn before we were ready for Tai Chi. The good news is that the fall clean-up is done, and there aren't enough leaves left on the trees to fill a bucket; so the raking is probably done for the year too. We worked from after breakfast until about six-thirty to make that happen, so I was beat by the time we sat down to eat.

The Jacuzzi time after that had me clean and ready for a nap, so I'm not really even sorry that I fell asleep again not very long after Michael came over from the Inn to watch a movie with me in the lounge. We'll probably regret missing out on that alone time opportunity, but Michael was exhausted too from a long day – especially since he worked with me around the yard during his breaks from the Inn – and I wasn't the only one nodding off while we cuddled together.

Mom must have noticed, because she and Dad came upstairs and gave us a gentle wake-up call before the movie was over, and while I would have seen Michael out; he talked me into just going to bed while he took care of washing up our glasses and snack bowl before heading home for the night.

So there isn't anything exciting or really even fun to report today, but sometimes a really good day happens because of a job well-done; and this was definitely one of those days.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

The extra sleep during the last two nights has helped me to re-charge – even with all of the work I've been doing; but it's past two-thirty now; so my micro-report tonight is because I need to put my computer away for the night and get what sleep I can – and don't want to 'make' extra time for myself with a time-phase.

I loved starting the day with good morning kisses and Tai Chi with Michael; and having breakfast at his house was a delicious bonus! Pretty much every kid and teen at church was busy today working on the Thanksgiving weekend service that's now just three weeks away; though we still have short lessons too before getting to do crafts, costumes, and scene sets.

The top entertainment story today was the trail ride that Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne went on with Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me this afternoon. That little surprise was dropped on us after church, and we went out to the ranch during Michael's break. I'd love to go riding more often; but there just isn't time for everything; and even this little outing required grandparent and friend support to make it happen. Grandma and Grandpa watched Zack while we were gone; and Ethan and Ehlana had play afternoons with Aiden and Naomi.

Michael and I both needed to hit the showers after the trail ride, and then I met up with him for the walk to the Inn. We were a bit late for the start of the buffet rush prep cooking, and I'd protest Miranda's teasing us about why we might have been delayed if it wasn't for the fact that we did have a minor make-out session at Michael's house before leaving there; and it's a safe bet that at least one witness noticed that I was there for more than a minute or two.

Yes, it was worth it.

So was all of the work at the Inn. I love spending that time with Michael and his family, and though we had a really busy night; Miranda made sure that the fun level stayed high for everyone. I worked with Rebecca more than with Michael, and we had fun chatting about the game and party on Friday; Jenny's latest inside scoops from cheerleader land; and plans for the next few weeks as we close in on the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Jason basically wasn't mentioned at all, and that probably has at least something to do with the fact that Rebecca can't help but notice the difference between how Jason is with her and what it's like for Michael and me – especially when it comes to how we feel about her family and the Inn.

To be fair, Stephanie and I both have connections that Jason never will or could; but I'll be very blunt, and just point out that Jason has no idea just how lucky he is to even have a chance with Rebecca – a chance that he's well on the way to blowing. Tim Landry is not nearly the only clueless guy in this town – but I have more hope that he'll come to his senses.

Okay, this isn't exactly turning out to be a micro-update; so let's move along so I can get to sleep. Our time at the Inn was fun, and then Michael and I followed that up with some quiet time cuddling in the living room at his house while having a little chat with his parents and catching up on the sports news of the day on television. I didn't stay long, and got home in time for Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story. Once they were tucked in for the night, Mom did my Magi lesson with me – an elements and transmutation lesson that involved extreme heat and metallurgy inside of a power-shield 'furnace'. That was pretty cool – or hot – but it also meant that I didn't get started on my bedtime studies until nearly midnight.

That's why it's so late, and though I'm skipping the weekly college update; Violet, Stephanie, and Christina didn't really have any major news for me anyway – or at least there wasn't anything going on that was tame enough to report to a twelve-year old. So I guess that's it for tonight. The football game next Friday is the only major event on the calendar this week; so it should be fairly quiet around here. That's a good thing, because Dad will be in the city next week, and though we won't have the family home for Thanksgiving; we'll be getting ready for the holiday in addition to everything else we usually keep busy with while Dad's away. I'd suggest that resting up would be an option this week too, but I'll probably just try to work ahead so that I can do less studying and family business work during the holidays – especially the days that Violet and Dillon will be home.

You are getting very sleepy, Cassie – stop writing; put your computer away; and get some rest!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Today is Veteran's Day, and while it's been years since I've written about it in my journals; I'm going to mention it today because I should do that more often anyway, and we discussed it in both Social Studies and History classes as part of our in-depth coverage of government and politics this year.

While Veteran's Day is a federal holiday, it is not a day off at school or in Witch Falls. I only mention that in case it is sometime in the future, and while it might be nice to have extra long weekends and days off during the school year like there are at other schools; most kids and teens here wouldn't trade that for the extra time we get during the summer that other kids don't when they either start school in August or are stuck for a week or more later in June than we are.

That got off-track fast, so let's get back to talking about Veteran's Day. Once again for the benefit of readers in the future, where the significance of the day may have changed or even been lost; Veteran's Day has morphed quite a bit since it was originally recognized. I've known the political history of it since first learning about it as a toddler; but the lessons in our classes today were new for most of my classmates. Originally Armistice Day, it recognized the veterans of World War One on the anniversary of the armistice that ended the war on November 11th, 1918 at eleven o'clock in the morning. It's still celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in many countries around the world; but was changed to Veteran's Day here after World War Two so that the service and sacrifices of all armed forces veterans would be recognized.

Leave it to politicians to complicate something this simple, and they found a way to do that in the nineteen-seventies thanks to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. That's why November 11th wasn't Veteran's Day for most of that decade; and it was instead held of the fourth Monday of October until being changed back again in seventy-eight. I suppose it's a bit ironic to mention that when the holiday actually lands on a Monday; but I really am including this in my journal this year more because of it being a bigger part of our studies than in the past.

While not quite the same, if Christmas is ever changed to the fourth Thursday in December so that the stores can have a big, Boxing Day Friday sales event; you can bet that the government will be there to help out with waving away centuries of tradition with the stroke of a presidential pen.

If you're reading this in a future where that happened, no, I wasn't using the Sight; but I also wouldn't be surprised.

I'm off-track again, but don't have much more to write about for Veteran's Day anyway. There is a small ceremony held at the cemetery, but it isn't anything like the major event on Memorial Day; and only a few students and teachers attend – including a pair of trumpet players from the school band. We had a moment of silence at eleven o'clock, but again; there wasn't a special assembly in the gym or anything. The lessons that Mr. Ayres taught us were mostly about the political side of the history and sociology; but we discussed war and sacrifice in that context too; so that made for a couple of fairly somber classes today.

That's probably why the rain this afternoon seemed so appropriate – and why the direction I'm about to take this update doesn't fit with that mood at all.

Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me after school, and after doing our snack break with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; we moved up to the lounge to do our homework and just hang out together until dinnertime. The guys weren't interested in playing football in the rain anyway, but Rowen and I were glad that we could stay warm, dry, and still hang out with them too – even when they ended up playing video games after we were finished our assignments and studying for a test we have on Tuesday. We also loved getting to stay together after Mom invited my friends to stay for dinner; and it was thanks to that extra time together that my favorite part of the day happened – a fun little chat with Michael and Tim while Rowen was busy with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana in the kitchen.

The topic of that chat was Rowen's upcoming birthday, and it was so much fun for me because Tim gave me the opportunity to tell him exactly what Rowen wants most for her birthday. He's very likely still in shock, but only because he really is that dense when it comes to Rowen. I needed to walk the line between best friend confidentiality and explaining the obvious to Tim, but I'm hoping that Michael will help his best friend to get the rest of the way from where he has been with Rowen to where she wishes they were sometime within the next two and a half weeks.

While Tim was busy being dazed and confused about what I thought he should get Rowen for her birthday, we also talked about what to do for her big day too – or Michael and I mostly did that. Her birthday is on the Friday of the Thanksgiving weekend this year, so that's a problem both for the holiday; and because Tim and Michael won't be home if our football team makes it into the championship game again this season. We'll need to work on that, and at least we will know a week ahead about whether there will be a football conflict or not. This is also an 'away' holiday for the family; so I'll have more options for doing something special with Rowen too than I would have with a house full of cousins. Michael could have a problem because of the holiday weekend and work at the Inn, but if he can get a special day off for football; we should be able to get the same break for a birthday celebration too – even if that means extra work during the rest of the weekend.

There isn't really anything else to add about Rowen's birthday; though I'm still smiling while thinking about that stunned look on Tim's face – and the grins that Michael managed to keep hidden from his best friend. Tim tried to play it cool during dinner and while we hung out with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge again after dinner, but Rowen suspected that something was up – possibly because he kept sneaking looks at her as if seeing her for the first time. That was like watching a re-run of some moments that were just like that with them early this past summer – except without Rowen in a swimsuit. Yes, we talked later, but Rowen had to settle for no details other than that she'd missed out on a discussion of a certain upcoming event; and that was all she needed to know about it.

I suppose that it would seem funny to some readers that a little birthday planning chat was a bigger deal for me than my Magi lesson with Mom, family business work, and multi-lingual studies; but sometimes it really is the little things that matter most. If Michael and I had gotten more than a minute or two of alone time tonight, that would have been up there on my fun list too; but that didn't happen – and again, I'm not surprised. Maybe we'll have better luck with that tomorrow night at his house.

Going off to sleep and dreaming about that possibility seems like more fun than writing about lessons, studies, or work; so I'm going to wrap this up, put my computer away, and do that for the handful of hours I have before it'll be time to get up and started on another busy school day.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Winter has stopped in to Witch Falls for a visit, but won't be staying long – this time.

The cold was attention-grabbing this morning; and we barely crawled up above freezing before it got colder again after dark. Getting this little reminder that the cold and snow isn't far away is probably good for us; but it was a pain doing the extra running around the house this morning to get winter coats and gear out of the storage room. I'm going to need to get a new one again this year too, but only because the sleeves on the coat we bought last year are too short on me now. More shopping is always a good thing, but I'll be glad when those trips don't have to be because I've outgrown my old clothes – especially since I really don't like having to stop wearing clothes that I really love.

Moving along, my first blast of cold came while welcoming Michael when he came over for Tai Chi; but then we had fun for a minute while I helped him to warm up again before we went upstairs to the exercise room. Other than the winter gear hunt, the rest of the morning was fairly uneventful; and there wasn't much going on at school worth reporting either. The guys were talking football as usual, and worrying about whether the cold would affect the game on Friday or not. It's going to be warmer again by then, but I honestly have no idea why anyone would be worried about the weather with our team this year. Rain, snow, or cold would just help Kyle force the opposing offense into making even more mistakes than usual. Sure, our offense would be affected too, but even though that's the weaker half of our team; they also rarely make huge mistakes. The bottom line is that the other team ought to be hoping for great weather to have any shot against us at all.

That's enough football talk. Though there wasn't much going on at school today, we had fun; and band practice was especially entertaining for Michael and me because we had some missing saxophone players, so we got to play the first and second parts instead of our usual music. I'm not going to comment on how we did compared to our older, more experienced band mates; other than to say that Mrs. Robinson seemed to be very happy about the potential for her saxophone section in the future.

The Christmas music combined with the cold weather led to a side-trip chat during band practice about playing outdoors in cold weather. I hadn't really thought about that before now, but Michael, Rowen, and I did do some internet window shopping while doing our homework at the computer store; and we're going to order pairs of the gloves and other gear that Mrs. Robinson and some of the senior students suggested to everyone. There were some special, cold-weather instrument care tips too; but we don't need to order in anything special for that.

Tim was glad that he didn't have to worry about any of that, but he was off his game today – to the point where he didn't even have a full football practice report for us like he normally did on band practice afternoons. I wonder why he might have been distracted today? Not! ;^)

I'm really glad that he so obviously has something important on his mind, but he hasn't talked about it with Michael yet; so I have no idea where his thoughts about what we talked about – and Rowen – are going. Hopefully he's coming around now, but if I don't hear anything positive before Rowen's birthday, I may have to seriously think about sticking Tim into a very slow time-phase and leaving him there until he comes to his senses.

He isn't the only guy in town with issues, and while I get it that experimental gourmet meals aren't for everyone; Jason isn't just missing out on Jacob's amazing dinners. When we got to his house, Michael and I found out that we were having dinner for four with his parents while Rebecca was out for the evening with Jason, Jenny, and Garth. Jason might think that hanging out with Rebecca's younger brother and me is boring too, and he certainly isn't the only teen in town trying to spend minimal time with parental units, but that just seems strange to me; because I wish that I had more free hours in the week to spend with my family – and Michael's. I really wouldn't want to miss out on the few times we can spend a few hours together – especially when Jacob and Miranda work such long days at the Inn; and don't have very much free time.

It was really great to have that time with them tonight, and the food was as amazing as always; but I still missed spending some of that time with Rebecca. That wasn't only because Michael and I were a clean-up crew of two tonight, though Rebecca was missed there too. There is never enough alone time with Michael either, but we managed a few entertaining moments between my guitar lesson and the cuddle, chat, and television time with Miranda and Jacob in the living room.

We had a fun evening together, but I was home in time for the bedtime story and snack with Ethan and Ehlana; followed that up with my Magi lesson with Mom; and a little visit with her and Dad in the office before coming up to my room for the night. I'm doing a stay-at-home night tomorrow, and plan on doing extra family business work; so I stuck to the language and archive studies after climbing into bed with Mandy and put a one-thirty time limit on that before moving on to the rest of my usual nightly computing. My language studies are now getting easier, and ahead of schedule; so I'll be able to wrap up this batch of dialects well-ahead of the Christmas break and move on to the next language in January. My archives assignment tonight was on the dry and dusty side of boring, but I managed to stay awake through fourteen hundred pages or so of rambling theory.

While I'm thinking about that, let's take a minute to discuss some of the odder things about Magi training. Yes, we really need to learn all about our gifts and abilities, but sometimes, as with my archive studies tonight, the practical application of those abilities is really useless. As a simple example, a Magi could use many methods to heat water, but most of those techniques are inconvenient and useless in real life. There are nearly-endless examples in the archives of admittedly brilliant research that still falls into the category of 'interesting but useless'. I'm all for the Magi here in Witch Falls getting into doing research into what they can do with their abilities, but if that does start happening in a big way; I also hope that the pursuit of practical goals is a priority for that research too – like what Mom's learned to do with computers.

That thought just led to a mental picture of a Magi-powered internet – kind of like telepathy for data; but then I seriously doubt that any Magi would want the job of being the 'server' for that kind of network. Since even Dad and Aunt Leanne haven't really caught on to Magi computing at the levels Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana, and I can work; it might not even be possible – and the four of us can already do full-sensory telepathy anyway.

The idea of a built-in, mental world wide web is still cool, though! Think Google Glass to the nth degree – without the need for the glasses, WiFi hotspots, or some cellular link to the internet; and you're getting close to what I'm imagining.

I wandered a bit off-topic there, but you get the idea of what I mean; and it's time to wrap this up so I can put my computer away and get some sleep. There wasn't anything newsworthy in my email tonight; and I won't bore you with the daily news, entertainment, or sports events. There may not be a Magi-powered internet in whenever your 'now' is; but I am sure that you'll have some way to look up that kind of historical information without reading about it in my journals.

Then again, if you're reading this and thinking that my journals are boring and pointless; take a research side-trip and look up this classic internet expression. :^P

Yeah, I know; but try to remember that I'm twelve in my current now. Then again, Aunt Leanne has been known to stick out her tongue at people now and then too; so that's not just a kid thing.

Anyway, I really am ready for some down time, so that's it, that's all, and I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

I went to school; did my homework with Michael, Tim, and Rowen at Landry's, as usual for Wednesdays; and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening working, doing Magi lessons, and my usual nightly studies and computing. The start of my day was almost nineteen hours ago, and I'm pretty much totally baked now, so that's all I've got for this update.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

It's been an even longer day for me than on Wednesday, and there was more than enough fun mixed in with all of the work; but I really don't have much news worth writing about tonight.

The guys against the girls game night at the Inn – and Miranda and Mom's victory in the senior championship – was the most exciting event of the day. Rowen and I had fun tonight too; but we didn't even place top five in the junior competition – mostly because we were having more fun goofing around with Ethan and Ehlana. They were split up for the night too, and Ethan was on Michael's team with Tim. They didn't do very well tonight either, but all three boys were having as much fun as Rowen, Ehlana, and I were; and I'm really glad that Michael and Tim helped Ethan to have such a good evening 'hanging out with the guys'.

My afternoon location was different today, and so was the work at the Inn instead of hours of family business projects, but it was still work; and I was already getting tired by the time Ethan, Ehlana, and I took Mom and Dad home for the night. Dad had work to do in the office, so Mom and I did the full bath and bedtime routine with the twins; she did a long Healing lesson with me after they were tucked in for the night; and then I got started on my nightly studies and computing after coming up to my room at eleven-thirty.

That was more than three hours ago, but I wanted to get my computer slate pretty much cleared off going into the weekend; and managed to get that done – even though I would have liked to be sleeping a couple of hours ago.

Doing that right now is an option, though, so that's it; and I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, November 15, 2013

It's Friday night, and the only story in town again this week is high school football.

I'm happy for the players, coaches, and fans of our team that they won their second-round match, and are now just one win away from a return to the championship game; but I was just as happy that the rain held off until after midnight so that we could stay dry while watching the game. It was still chilly enough out by the end of the game, but cuddling with Michael and hot drinks helped to keep me warm, and though I'm admittedly a fair-weather spectator; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had fun – and watched a pretty good game too.

Our team was playing Westburg tonight, and they made it through to the second round after earning an upset win last week against perennial contenders, Hillcrest. They were big underdogs for this game too, but they certainly didn't play that way – even though that wouldn't be obvious to anyone just looking at the fifty-four to fifteen final score. Westburg played a great game for three quarters, and only started falling apart when they had no choice but to take some chances in the fourth quarter while trying desperately to make up the eighteen points they'd needed to catch up to us on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for them, that led to two defensive touchdowns for Kyle and a third take-away that he caused while one of the other guys jumped on the fumble; and Westburg only managed one more field goal near the end of the game on one long, last drive that was all for pride and their fans.

There was another post-game party tonight, but Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me after the game instead so that we could watch a movie and hang out in the lounge for a couple of hours. I'm sure that while Tim wanted to go to the party, his decision to pick the movie instead had a lot to do with the chance for some alone time with Rowen. Michael and I still haven't heard a peep from him about Rowen's birthday since Monday, but we did make sure that they had twenty minutes or so on their own in the lounge while we tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night and cooked up a pizza for our post-game snack.

While I'm thinking about that – our chat last Monday and Rowen's upcoming birthday – I should mention that Tim is going to Crystal Springs with his parents tomorrow; and invited Michael to go with him. Maybe they'll discuss Rowen then while wandering around the mall and shopping for things like birthday gifts. Tim's mother is dragging him along because she wants to do some clothes shopping for him too; but he's not very happy about that – despite knowing that he needs more winter-weather clothes now that he's four or five inches taller than he was at the end of last winter. He can complain about it all he wants, but Tracey does a pretty good job picking out clothes for him; and his rare fashion disasters are always self-inflicted.

I'll update the Rowen and Tim story tomorrow if Michael has any news, but I didn't get a chance to talk with Rowen without the boys around; and don't have any details about their alone time – other than that they both seemed happy and appropriately mussed up. I wouldn't dream of suggesting that there was a link between that and Tim's appetite, but he managed to demolish half of the pizza by himself; and there were two empty bags of chips by the time the movie was over too. Michael settled for splitting the other half of the pizza with Rowen and me; mostly because he didn't want to trade the extra cuddle time with me for another twenty minutes in the kitchen we'd have needed to cook a second pizza.

While the approach of the Christmas holiday season had us tempted to watch a Christmas movie tonight, we managed to resist the urge; and went with an action flick instead. Rowen and I might prefer just about any other film genre to the predictability of the good guys fight bad guys mixed in with car chases and blowing things up; but then we really don't care all that much about what's on the television when we also get to cuddle with our favorite boys. The football talk wasn't all that exciting either, but wasn't unexpected – especially after Tim used my computer to find out the scores from the other high school games; and which team we'll be playing against in the third round.

He was a very happy camper after finding out that Grand Summit will be our third round opponent; mostly because we won our second-round playoff game against them last year. That bit of recent history is a plus for our team, but a quick glance at their team stats this season suggests that their team is better this year; and they match up pretty well against us. The not-so-great news, according to Tim, was that three-time champions, Clairmont, made it to the third round too. He's worried about that, but I imagine that Kyle is hoping that our team will be up against Clairmont again if we make it to the Championship game – both for a second chance to beat them and to be sure that if he does win a championship that it's because he helped to defeat the best teams.

I wasn't expecting this to be nothing much more than a football report, but that seems to be what I've ended up with; and there isn't really much else to write about anyway.

Michael and I didn't even get as much alone time tonight as Rowen and Tim did, and by the time the movie was over; we needed to rush a bit to get things cleaned up before Michael, Rowen, and Tim all needed to head out and back to their own homes. I missed out on dinner and a visit at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's house while hanging out with my friends and watching the football game; but Zack was having a cranky day so they didn't even bother trying to watch a movie tonight too.

Mom and Dad had gone to bed while we were in the lounge, so I came straight up to my room again after sharing a goodnight hug and kiss with Michael on the front porch; and I've been cuddling with Mandy while doing my usual nightly computing since getting changed and ready for bed. Our major fall clean-ups are finished for another year, but there will still be the usual weekly chores around the house and yard to do tomorrow; so I'm going to wrap this up and get some sleep. Michael and Tim will be in the city tomorrow, and then Michael will be working at the Inn from whenever he gets back until close; but I'm hoping that we'll get some alone time after that. Should that happen, I definitely don't want to be too tired a second Saturday in a row; and that's a really good thought to wrap this up with – and head into dreamland thinking about!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

It was a fairly quiet day around here, but since that included nearly two hours of alone time in the lounge with Michael after he was done helping out at the Inn tonight; I'm a very happy camper.

My day started out pretty well too when Michael and I had a little extra time for our good morning hugs and kisses before we met up with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana for our Tai Chi workout. His shopping day in Crystal Springs with Tim and his parents was definitely more fun than my housework and chores; but Rowen and I had a fun afternoon playing with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad worked in the office.

That play time included a walk and a bit of shopping during a break in the rain; but we mostly hung out in my room and the lounge. We managed to fit in some video gaming, played my keyboard, guitar, and saxophone for a while, and watched some YouTube videos. An ongoing, telepathic chat and some Magi fun was mixed in there too; but we had to cut our fun short when it was time for Rowen to leave and I was drafted to help out with making dinner.

Since Dad was continuing his work in the office after dinner, Mom and I took care of the clean-up after dinner too before she started doing Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me. That was a bonus round of lessons, but since we always miss out on them over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays; the rare extra lesson we do manage now and then is a good idea – and almost always lots of fun. The extra archive assignment I have now won't be fun; which is why I'm not ending my night with that little job. That would just totally pull me down from the happy place I've been in since spending that quality time making out with Michael.

I'm not going to include the details of that play time, but let's call it an eight out of ten for hotness. Michael and I didn't spend all of our time making out – though that was the most fun. He told me almost everything about his shopping trip except for a couple of details that Tim had sworn him to secrecy over. I didn't try to get him to spill his guts about what could only be birthday surprises for Rowen; but Michael couldn't hide the empathic vibes that those secrets were going to be happy and good.

The stories about the clothes shopping part of their adventure were fairly entertaining, and while Michael does have to play the role to some extent when out with any of the guys; he finds Tim's fashion fights with his mother as funny as I do. Miranda wasn't there to try dressing him up, so he didn't really have to play the 'normal teen' game, but apparently came close to getting in trouble with Tim for taking Tracey's advice and buying an outfit that Tim had outright refused to even try on. Michael showed me a mental picture of the pants and top; and it was obvious that the only possible complaint Tim could have had about them was that his mother had picked them out. I don't expect that Tim will be ready to let any girls help with picking out his clothes, and Rowen would be too shy to comment or offer her advice; but I can't help but wonder if Tim's opinions today would have been different if Rowen had been there and telling him whether she thought he looked hot or not in the clothes Tracey did manage to badger him into trying on and buying.

While I'm thinking about that, here's my parent-teen fashion advice for the day. Teens, try to understand why your parents think that you're nuts for purposely wanting to pay extra for faded, frayed, and holey clothes – especially if the holes are in inappropriate places. Parents, don't forget that when we're in this growth-spurt stage there is no way for us to own any clothes long enough for them to get to that worn in and comfortable stage before they don't fit anymore; so some pre-stressed pants do have a purpose even if the idea seems idiotic. Next time your teen is driving you nuts about this sort of thing, check out your own closet and drawers first, and if you still have pairs of favorite jeans, pants, or shirts that you first owned in high school; stop complaining – especially if you're still able and willing to wear those clothes. Oh yeah, and if there are holes in inappropriate places on any of those clothes, your significant other might find that hot; but your kids feel the same way about that as you feel about us buying new clothes with holes – or pants hanging way too low on the hips.

I love my new home, but one really good thing about having to move around a lot with Mom before coming here is that she doesn't have that clothes-hoarding problem.

Let's move along, though there really isn't much else to report for today. While I didn't do any language or archive studying tonight, there was a bit of family business email work to deal with; and then I did a quick version of my usual nightly computer checks before getting started on this. I'm going to help out at the Inn again tomorrow night, but only until my family gets there for the second buffet sitting; and then I'll join them for that. We don't have anything else planned for the day, but I'll probably spend the afternoon with Ethan and Ehlana to keep them entertained while Dad's busy trying to get everything ready for his week in Crystal Springs. We didn't give Mom and Dad a kid-free night this weekend, but Mom's going to spend Tuesday night in the city; so that'll make it easier for them this week – though her visit this time around is mostly so they can both have a visit with the Malloys while she's there.

I guess that's about it, and while I'm still a bit wound up; it's time to try and get some sleep – especially since I'll be in for a busier than usual week while Dad's away. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

My top happy thought tonight is that Violet and Dillon will be home for their Thanksgiving break in just five days!

That news wasn't even on my radar all day, but Violet sent me her usual Sunday night email update; and now I'm really looking forward to having them home again – even if they'll only be here for four full days; and we'll need to share them with Dillon's family. I wish that Jake and Stephanie could come home too, but they are going to spend the long weekend together; and will probably love their first Thanksgiving on their own – and the New York City holiday shopping experience too.

My day wasn't big-city-shopping exciting, but Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and I mostly managed to have fun. I'd say that Mom and Dad didn't because of all the work they had to do this afternoon, but then they were just a bit too happy to have worked all afternoon while I was out with Ethan and Ehlana. Let's just not go any further down that mental pathway and move along.

Michael came over for Tai Chi, but we split up for breakfast and while getting ready for church. The temperature climbed toward the seventies this afternoon, and that's why Ethan, Ehlana, and I spent most of our time enjoying the temporary break in the weather. Rowen was busy with family stuff today, so I was on my own with the twins until Michael joined us at the park while on his afternoon break. We spent a lot of time at the playground, went for a walk on the path around the park, and Michael and Ethan played some football with some of the guys for about a half hour while Ehlana and I watched the action from the bleachers and talked with some of the girls who were hanging out there too. Tim wasn't at the park today either, but we did see him at the Inn for a few minutes when he stopped into the kitchen for a visit before having dinner with his parents at the early buffet.

I took Ethan and Ehlana home when Michael needed to get back to the Inn, but that was mostly so that I could get cleaned up and changed before heading over to the Inn too. Helping out in the kitchen until the start of the second buffet meant that I couldn't really get dressed up for dinner, but I did bring a sweater along to throw on before sitting down to eat with my family. I don't think that there was any specific reason for it this week, but we had more customers that seating for the first buffet; so Miranda had a waiting list for the second sitting – and managed to turn over quite a few tables three times instead of the usual two tonight. That meant more work for everyone; and I was ready to get off of my feet by the time she advised me that my parents, brother, and sister had gotten to the Inn at a bit after seven.

The food was as great as always, but my favorite part of dinner was getting to take care of Zack while Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam took a break and enjoyed their meals – and some grown-up chat time with the other adults in our group. Ehlana was right there to help me with Zack, but Aiden was at the Inn tonight too, so Ethan spent most of his time with his best friend instead of with us. I would have loved it if Michael had been able to join us too, and Jacob offered to let him do that; but he knew they needed the help in the kitchen more. That decision did get him out of work early, though, and he came home with us to help me with the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana while Dad packed for his trip. Mom did a little Magi lesson with all four of us too, and then we did story time with Dad before he and Mom went to tuck Ethan and Ehlana in for the night while I spent five or ten minutes saying goodnight to Michael in a mostly non-verbal sort of way.

I've been working on my computer since coming up to my room after Michael went home; though that started out with some Jacuzzi time multi-tasking. I took a break while doing my hair and getting ready for bed, and added in a little music play time on my keyboard too before snuggling under the comforter with Mandy and getting back to my studies. It's after two o'clock now, and we'll be up early to see Dad off on his way to the city; so I'm going to skip the details of that work. Violet's email was the most fun, but I loved the updates from Stephanie and Christina too. Dawn's weekend report was a bit rambling, but there may be boyfriends in the near-future both for her and Jillian. It's a bit weird to think that Dawn and I could each be experiencing our first Christmas with boyfriends at the same time; but that will only get seriously strange if she brings a boy here for the family Christmas weekend. Chris or Martin should reach that milestone long before Dawn does, but that actually seems even weirder to me; so let's just not go there at all.

Thinking about Chris and Martin bringing girls home for the holidays to meet the extended family isn't exactly where I wanted to end this update, but I don't really have anything else to add; and I'll need a little extra time now to move on to anything that isn't be that kind of scary-dream-worthy mental pictures. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with Michael – and the potential for more, quality make-out opportunities – will make for much happier dreams; so I'm going to wrap this up and try my best to get there before falling asleep.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, November 18, 2013

There's always a lot going on that I never get around to writing about in my journal; but there were two things that I haven't discussed that hit my radar in a bigger way today that are going to get mentioned now.

The first, thanks to nearly every kid except me at school, is the new video game systems. The Playstation 4 is out; the XBox One will be out soon; and the race is on to see which lucky kids and teens will get one from Santa this year. The guys are also debating which system is better; and they're happily talking about the new games that will be available along with the systems.

Yes, I've mentioned that the new systems were coming, but while the talk around school was big news today; there was something that Mom was able to do behind the scenes that'll be a big deal for some of my classmates and friends. She stopped in to have a little chat with Jessie Warren at the Fix-it Shop; and he was more than thrilled to accept her offer to get him five dozen of each system from one of her clients – especially since he wasn't expecting to get any from his usual suppliers. I'm sure that would sound like a tiny number of systems in nearly any city, but with two or three kids to most families here, that'll put a new system in nearly every house; and Jessie will be the most popular parent and store owner in town this Christmas!

If that little story is news to you; it's because Mom made sure that her name wouldn't be mentioned – and Jessie doesn't know that those Playstations and Xboxes came to him through one of our family businesses. Please continue to keep that little secret for us.

The other story was family-related. I found out tonight that Aunt Grace is looking for a new car at Landry's. She and Uncle Mark were away this weekend, and I should have mentioned that before now if only to recognize that they'd gone to Granite Park for Kaitlyn's sixth birthday party on Saturday. Happy belated birthday, Kaitlyn – though Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and I did send gifts along with Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark; so we didn't actually forget her big day. Moving on to the new car search news, they didn't have a major breakdown or anything with Aunt Grace's car, but she was annoyed with it for a number of irritating reasons; and has decided that they won't be taking it on any multi-hour drives ever again. While she and Uncle Mark weren't planning on having two cars anytime soon, they're apparently also going to keep her 'old' one for him to drive at least for this winter; and use for things like emergency calls.

I wouldn't dream of asking Aunt Grace whether that decision might have something to do with the thought of having a brand new car messed up by transporting injured patients in it, but since she's even more squeamish about things like blood than Aunt Leanne is; I can take a good guess at what her answer would be.

Now that I have those prior omissions corrected, and the new news reported; let's get started on the normal daily update.

Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were up early to have a visit with Dad while he had breakfast; we saw him on his way to Crystal Springs; and then we had a nap together in Mom's bed before needing to get up again and started on our usual weekday morning routine. Michael came over for Tai Chi; went home to have breakfast with his parents and Rebecca; and then met up with Rowen and me for the chilly walk to school. We really only felt the cold more this morning because of how far the temperature had dropped from the warm and beautiful yesterday afternoon, and while it did warm up a bit from those early morning lows; we were definitely back into late fall weather again today.

We started the morning with eight school days left until the Thanksgiving break; and since it will mostly be fun and games next week; this is a major testing week that is only slightly offset by the ongoing Thanksgiving themed lessons and activities. With twelve classes, that means two or three tests a day, and since this is a Day Two schedule Friday week; we wrote three tests today – Art, Social Studies, and History. The other three Day One schedule tests will be on Wednesday; and we'll take two tests a day on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

That's why Rowen and I played football at lunchtime with Michael and Tim. They didn't have enough guys available to play because some of the regulars were busy trying to cram for the History test – or other tests that kids in other grades were writing today. So much for being done with playing football this year now that it's colder; but it's pretty much impossible for me to turn Michael down in situations like that; and Rowen and I always manage to have fun – even if we'd rather be doing something else.

Tim would have rather been doing anything else other than studying after school, but with Music and Geography tests to take tomorrow; he grudgingly conceded his personal need to spend extra time getting ready for both. Mom's going to be in Crystal Springs tomorrow night, and I'll be at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's; so Michael and I did family night at his house tonight – and had our study session there too. We started with music, practiced for our playing tests, and then studied for the theory test too before moving on to Geography. Neither subject is at the top of Tim's best classes list, so he and Rowen ended up getting dinner invitations too; and we studied right up until dinner was ready, and for another hour after we finished eating and taking care of the kitchen clean-up.

While Michael, Rowen, and I didn't need to work nearly that long, we had fun trying to drag Tim along into academic achievement; and he may even manage to impress our teachers tomorrow – if everything he learned tonight doesn't dribble out of his head while he sleeps the way he joked to us that it might. There are always comments going around about Michael, Rowen, and me, and Michael gets razzed by the guys about being one of the class brainiacs; but Tim is really very smart too – he just hasn't put much effort into his studies before we all started doing homework together this year. His parents will certainly be pleasantly shocked if he starts coming home with a lot of A's on his report cards from now on.

Rowen and Tim headed out at a bit after eight o'clock, and since that was mostly because they thought that Michael and I might like some alone time; we were okay with saying goodnight to them and taking advantage of the opportunity. That little blast of fun was even worth getting teased about by Miranda when we joined Michael's parents in the living room for our usual visit and chat before I headed home. Tonight, she wanted to know why the music part of our guitar lesson only took less than fifteen minutes; while 'practicing the rests' lasted three-quarters of an hour. I thought the use of our alone time was perfectly balanced; but then my perception of that might be different than Miranda's.

I don't mention this enough, but I really love just getting to sit and talk with Jacob and Miranda. They get underestimated all the time because all some people can see is a cook and server – or a pair of small business owners. They're two of the smartest people I know; and not just because they're content to work in a business they love while staying in their home town with the family and friends they love the most. Miranda is a talented businesswoman, but her insights into people and society in general are deep and fascinating. Jacob is quiet and easy-going; and he could also be an amazing philosopher with his own unique perceptions of the world around him. I guess that's probably true for many artists; and his culinary skills are art; but his ideas and convictions are solidly rooted in simple, practical truths and honest, relatively un-biased evaluation of the world as he sees it.

This might be the point where you would expect me to write something about getting people like our parents in politics; but Jacob would just suggest that would be a waste of time, and that the majority of people in the world are better off expending their efforts on minimizing the impact that politicians and other social elites have on them and forget about trying to fight the system from within. I really get that because we basically end up doing that nearly every day with our family business.

I won't bore you with a diatribe on the current events idiocies with governments around the world; but anyone reading this in the future will know that Jacob's advice is going to be worth following until we start coming up with real solutions to all of the global problems.

Moving on, I went home in time to do the bedtime story and phone chat with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; Mom did a long Magi lesson with me after we finished tucking the twins in for the night; and then I came up to my room to get started on my usual bedtime studies and work. I wrapped up the studies by shortly before two, but then I needed to deal with some family business email work that kept me going until after two-thirty before I was able to finish up my nightly computer checks. We're closing on three very fast now, and there isn't anything else to add to my journal for tonight; so I'm going to put my computer to sleep and crash for a few hours – right...about...now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Zack and I are multi-tasking tonight. He wants to party after having his bottle, so I'm writing this with the help of a little Magi power while carrying him around his room and trying to get him to go back to sleep again. Of course, he's fascinated by the whole telekinetic computing thing, and has been happily chatting away with me telepathically since waking up; so it may be a while before he runs out of steam again.

We've had a pretty good day around here. With Mom getting ready to go to Crystal Springs this morning, along with the usual Tuesday morning routine, she and I were running pretty much non-stop from the time we got up for Tai Chi until I left for school. She probably didn't get a break until she was on the road out of town after dropping Ethan and Ehlana off at KidZone.

I didn't really have time to think about that while starting my school day with the music theory and playing tests in first class, but other than keeping a mental eye on Mom like I always still do when she's travelling; I wasn't paying any attention to what she was doing. I'm sure her shopping and a little pre-dinner pampering at the hotel was more fun than my morning and afternoon; so not thinking about it didn't have me wishing I was there instead of here. A five-star sleepover would have been fun, but I wouldn't have traded it for this extra time with Zack; and I'll take a wild guess that Mom and Dad are having more fun tonight without any kids there to distract them.

With band practice after school, and three tests to study for tomorrow; it was a bit too busy after school – especially when I added in a short visit with Ethan and Ehlana between band practice and our study session at the computer store. Since that didn't leave Michael and I with much time before we needed to be at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for dinner; we only studied for our Spanish test so that I could help Tim, Rowen, and Michael with that while we could work together. We'll see how Tim plays it tomorrow with the other guys, but he went home with Rowen when Michael and I needed to leave; and he was going to stay there for dinner and to study for the math and Phys-Ed tests.

Before you go there, and just in case that isn't still the case with some future Phys-Ed teacher; we do actually get written tests in that class now and then to go along with the usual tests and assessments – and while they're usually fairly easy quizzes; most of my classmates need to study for them because we don't spend much class time memorizing terminology, definitions, or sport history.

On the other hand, I do hope that they managed to find some alone time while studying, though with Patrick there too; that might not happen – especially since he was talking to Patricia about inviting Scott for dinner too when we left the store tonight.

Michael and I needed to stop in at my house to grab my overnight bag before going on to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's; and we enjoyed having a few minutes together without anyone else around; but didn't have time for a full make-out session before dinner. At least one of us wished that we'd made other plans for tonight while Mom was away, and I'm seriously going to think about doing that the next time I have a parent-free opportunity.

I'll keep that thought for whenever I get around to my nap once Zack goes to sleep again; and move along. We had fifteen minutes to spare before dinner was ready, and Uncle Adam was doing the cooking. Aunt Leanne had just finished nursing Zack; so Michael and I took turns holding him until Zack drifted off to sleep about half-way through dinner. Even when we're doing family things together, I haven't been able to spend nearly as much time with my aunt, uncle, and cousin as I'd like to; so it was really great to have a few hours to spend with them tonight – even while that time included a kitchen clean-up and the studying that Michael and I didn't really need to do after that.

Michael stayed until Zack was ready for his nine o'clock feeding, and then he headed home while I helped Aunt Leanne with Zack; and Uncle Adam went to take care of some work in the office. It was heading toward ten by the time Zack was sleeping again, and I stayed in his room while getting started on my nightly studies and work after sending my aunt and uncle off to bed for the night. I had two bottles of breast milk available; so Aunt Leanne won't need to get up again until the morning feeding at six – or whenever Zack wakes up after wanting this last bottle early; but staying up to play and talk with me.

There's lots of little things from today that I was going to write about, but I'm suddenly hitting the wall; so I should wrap this up, try to get Zack mellowed out and sleeping; and have a little nap before we'll be up and running again in a couple of hours or so. I'll shoot for a more thorough update tomorrow.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I love you, Mom!

Yes, I have perfect memory records of my infancy, but I'm also almost a teen; and don't remember to tell you often enough how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. Zack certainly reminded me of that last night and this morning, and while we had fun; it's no wonder that parents need kid-free nights. We should seriously think about getting one of those nights for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne very soon. I know that Zack isn't quite so busy every day, but we should definitely thank Ethan and Ehlana too; because it was fairly obvious to me this morning that they took it easy on us.

I can also understand why Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne feel the need to skip Tai Chi now and then – I was right there with them this morning; but then we don't get many chances to exercise together right now, so we did a long-form workout anyway while Zack had a post-breakfast nap. At least my sleepover did give my aunt and uncle a chance to get one decent night of sleep this week, so I'm really glad that I could do that for them. I'm also really glad that I can self-heal and banish fatigue. If that wasn't an option today; I might have slept through our tests at school.

Speaking of tests, Tim usually jokes about them before and after each class, and he did that today, but there's a slight difference in how he does that when he's actually confident going in and happy with how he did afterward; so his studying with Rowen last night must have been a success. I can confirm that there was at least one, non-study moment for them that Rowen thought was a success too, and while they're still not acting like a couple in public; they both had bright, happy smiles on their faces when Michael, Rebecca, Rowen, and I met up with Tim at school this morning.

Michael still isn't telling me anything about what he helped Tim with for Rowen's birthday when they were shopping in Crystal Springs, and if they're talking about what I'd told Tim, he isn't mentioning that either; but I'm getting some pretty good vibes now the closer we get to Rowen's big day, and may know more in the next few days – once we know whether our team will be playing for a Championship a week from Friday.

Just for the record, and ahead of that decision, I'd like to mention that if Michael and Tim decide to pick a football game – no matter how important – over Rowen and me on her birthday; that will be grounds for Michael and I to have our first fight. For those of you reading this in the future, flip ahead two or three journal entries to find out what happened; but I'll probably have to wait until Saturday or Sunday to know because we won't be able to make any plans while Rowen's with us on Friday night – or even talk about what our options will be.

Again, for those of you who are wondering why I don't just use my Sight and find out; I'd only see all of the possibilities; and even if you see is 'supposed' to happen; free will and bad choices affect that all of the time. That's really the main reason why we don't use our Sight on that micro level at all – and why it can drive a Magi mad to try.

Getting back to the news of the day, in addition to our three tests, we also had a special History lesson because this was our last class ahead of the fiftieth anniversary for the John F. Kennedy assassination. While that was an event that shocked the world, and had an undeniable, global impact; the historical lessons are as much about how television and radio media impacted the speed of information distribution and played on human emotions in a much different way than newspapers had done in the past. Even all of the conspiracy theories have become a part of our history and culture; and Mr. Ayres managed to cover all of that in broad strokes during our lesson today. I won't include a big write-up about that, but if you're interested; search the video archives we expect to have in our future; and I'm sure you'll find lots of shows that have been on television for the past couple of weeks that deal with pretty much every aspect of the event in more detail than most ever want or need.

There wasn't much going on at school other than our tests and lessons today; mostly because the rain kept us inside at noon; and even the football fanatics were a bit subdued today. Compared to big moments in history, the hair appointments that Rowen and I had with Liz after school weren't important at all; but that was a favorite part of my day. Liz started doing some part-time work at the salon to help Vicky during the holidays; and our Moms had booked the appointment for this week to help out and make sure Liz didn't overdo it next week during the big Thanksgiving week rush.

There was no lack of volunteers to help out with Eli; though he was only there until Philip and Naomi stopped in to get him after he'd picked her up at KidZone once he was finished at school. Rowen got to hold him for a few minutes; but I was first in the chair; and only had time for a little hug and kiss for him. Neither of us were doing anything major with our hair this time around, but Liz had a little play time with each of us after doing the real work; and we both looked great with a few braids and some curls. Fortunately the rain had stopped so we could actually keep the styles for the rest of the night. Michael and Tim liked what Liz had done with us; though I only saw Michael for a few minutes when we stopped in to see them at Landry's on the way home and to the computer store.

They'd been studying for our tests tomorrow, and we had a short visit, but then I walked Michael to the Inn when he needed to go there; walked home; and got started on my own work. Rowen headed over to the computer store then too, but after working her after-school job tonight; she went to have dinner with Tim and his parents – and had another study session with Tim after dinner. He might have a tougher time explaining how he and Rowen were studying for the Health test; though he might just go with telling his buddies that they only studied for English. Rowen and I had a bedtime chat tonight; so I know that wasn't all they were doing.

There wasn't any of that kind of thing in my life tonight; so let's move along. Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I had fun catching up on what we'd all been doing since Mom had left for the city, and the Magi lessons tonight were very entertaining too; but the rest of my night has been all work and not much play – other than that chat with Rowen – and another, shorter one with Michael before he went to bed for the night. Between the mentioned activities, the family business work, and a lot of studying; I've pretty much done as much as I could before hitting the wall. The lack of sleep last night has caught up with me, and though it's only a bit after one, I need to crash soon; so I'm going to have to skip more of those little details I wanted to write about for the second night in a row. I'll try to do better next time, but for now; I'm out of here, and back to the real world – for the minute or two it'll take me to head off into dreamland.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

We've had another rainy day in Witch Falls, and though it stopped raining an hour or so ago; the temperature is supposed to drop to below freezing by morning. The game-time forecast is for freezing temperatures too, and if we get any wet to go with it; there could be either freezing rain or snow. I'm getting cold just thinking about that right now, so let's not and move on with the update.

The big news story for our local family is Aunt Grace's new car. According to Aunt Leanne, she went with a 'boring', dark blue, four-door sedan. I wouldn't really disagree with that, but it is very nice; and Aunt Leanne should be glad that Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark picked a car that has room for baby seats. That'll make it much easier for them to haul their youngest cousins, nieces, and nephews around when they're giving certain parents a break. There's also the fact that they'll need the space for their own family eventually, but even though you're reading this at some time far enough in the future that it wouldn't matter; I'm not going to give away anything that Ethan, Ehlana, and I might know about the timing for that right now.

While the car was big news for them, my day was actually pretty normal. That worked for me because it meant getting to spend more time with Michael; and being at the Inn to help out with the dinner rush – and hang out with Jacob, Miranda, and Rebecca. Miranda might say that winning the game night championship with Mom again this week was the highlight of her day, and game night was fun; but my favorite moments were while we worked together in the kitchen, and I especially loved hanging out and chatting with Rebecca. We're doing pretty good right now when we're not at school, but sometimes – like tonight – it feels exactly the way it did when we first met; and I was sure that I had my very first friend for life.

I've skipped over all of the school day action, but then there wasn't much to report anyway. The rain kept us indoors; the English and Health tests were a breeze; and the only thing the guys wanted to talk about for most of the day was the football game tomorrow night.

Our study session at the Inn after school was entertaining; though Tim didn't think that studying for our science test tomorrow was fun – though Michael, Rowen, and I thought that his antics while we tried to help him were a big part of the entertainment for us. He didn't have an issue with getting ready for the computer test, but there really aren't all that many kids or teens in our school that aren't way ahead of the learning curve when it comes to computers at every grade level. I'm sure that our parents and teachers are very happy to know that those endless hours of video gaming and surfing the web pay off in at least one subject!

Our study session went a bit long, so Michael and I needed to get right to work in the kitchen when Rowen and Tim left to go have dinner – this time with their own families instead of together. It wasn't really all that busy tonight; so that gave us more time to play, and Rebecca and I had a nice long chat while we worked the prep line. She's my best source for the latest teen news; particularly because Jenny keeps her informed of the latest news through the well-connected cheerleader network. Some of that information is more than I need to know; but that happens a lot in every school – even in our little town.

Michael and I didn't win the junior championship tonight, and neither did Rowen and Tim; but we had Ethan and Ehlana with us most of the time, and had a lot of fun with them – so from my perspective, we did win.

Mom went home with Ethan and Ehlana right after the gaming was finished, but I stayed to help with the clean-up; and to walk home with Michael. We had lots of company for our goodnight kiss, so that wasn't anything to write about; and then I started helping Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed as soon as I got home. We had the bedtime story while doing a phone call with Dad; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with me once the twins were tucked in for the night.

This time, we were working on time-phasing again, and while I'm really good at it; there's still a lot more for me to learn about the effects time-phases have on everything from different base elements to bio-systems. Tonight, we worked with some fruit and vegetables, and measured the effects on the produce both while speeding up time and then slowing it down. Theoretically, if you could hold a time-phase indefinitely; pretty much any fresh food could be kept that way for years – even without freezing or refrigeration; since even the temperature can be maintained in a time-phase. That would normally be very impractical; but it's cool to know that it could be done. On the flip side of that; speeding up time can spoil food very quickly. We didn't actually take the lesson that far – only enough to measure and calculate the decay rate for the different fruits and vegetables.

As usual on Thursdays, I got a late start to my nightly studies and computing; and that's why it's heading toward three-thirty as I'm writing this. There isn't anything from the studies or family business worth mentioning; but Violet sent me a last email before she and Dillon will be heading home tomorrow after they're finished classes for the day; and they're as excited about the week off as we are about having them home for a few days. They won't get here until late tomorrow night, but with Dad getting home from the city, and the big football game; we'll be in for a really great start to the weekend – even for those of us who will be freezing our butts off while watching that game.

I wonder if Tim would consider letting Rowen and I set up some web cams and watch the game from the lounge? We do have a handy little WiFi network in town that would make that very easy to do.

That's probably a no, and he wants to be on the team next year; so maybe I should just stop commenting on the downside of the sport; and just accept the inevitable.

Or I can wait until next year and stay in denial while that's still an option.

For right now, though, as I'm thinking about those impending hours of chill time; all I want to do is snuggle under my warm comforter with my cuddly cat and get some sleep. Even without the family home for the holidays, it's going to be a very busy weekend getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I might even get to lose some sleep with a late night girl chat or two with Violet while she's here – if I'm lucky. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Millions of people are remembering and commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, so by comparison to that, local high school football doesn't seem that important – except that it is for a lot of people here in Witch Falls. That's why it is my top story for yet another Friday update; and it's great news for the Ridge River Raiders. Once I finish thawing out, I may even manage to get excited about the fact that they'll be playing for the small-school Division Championship match.

There were probably quite a few people expecting an easy win before the game started because our team had won fairly convincingly when we'd played Grand Summit in the second round of the playoffs last season, but they're a better team this year; and the cold weather was a big equalizer for at least the first three quarters of the match. They even scored first, and the lead changed hands three times before we managed to get the lead back and keep it for the rest of the game. The final score was thirty-eight to thirty-one; and could have gone the other way very easily if the Grand Summit offense hadn't run out of gas and given up two fourth-quarter interceptions to Kyle. The game was all about defense too; since both offenses gave up big plays to the other team's defense, and most points were earned from turnovers.

All of that action did make for a great game to watch, and the slightly more than half of the spectators that weren't supporting Grand Summit needed to celebrate for quite a while – and continued to do that for nearly an hour despite the cold. Tim invited Michael, Rowen, and I to the post-game party at his uncle and aunt's house, so we went there straight from the school; and spent the first half-hour or so helping with the work that was being done before Kyle, his teammates, and most of the other guests joined the party. I checked in at home shortly after we got to the Landry's house, and while Dad was home; Violet and Dillon weren't going to be back until around eleven-thirty, so Michael and I decided to hang out with Tim and Rowen until then.

The guys always manage to astound me with the amount of food an entire team of football players can demolish; and they were even more fired up tonight now that they were getting a second chance at winning a championship. That excitement kicked up several notches when we found out that three-time champions, Clairmont, had won their game too; and we'd be trying to win our first championship in a very long time while trying to keep them from winning a fourth in a row. That's exactly the challenge Kyle was hoping for; so now we'll find out soon whether Clairmont's history of success and another obviously good team will be better than Kyle's talent and towering desire to prove himself to be the kind of footballer his father was.

Dad wasn't going to be home in time for the start of the game anyway, but I don't think that Ethan really had a problem with staying warm and missing the game tonight. He was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house with Mom, Ehlana, and most of the family for dinner and a holiday weekend cooking night. I have mixed feelings about missing out on that, since my jobs would have included a lot of vegetable peeling and dishwashing; but I'm sure they had lots of fun – and weren't frozen solid from being outdoors for well-over three hours.

I think it actually felt worse when Michael and I walked home, but only because we'd started to warm up while at the party only to plunge ourselves back into those freezing temperatures again. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were home by the time we got back; and the twins were up and looking forward to seeing Violet and Dillon for a few minutes before going to bed. Our two favorite college teens rolled in about ten minutes after Michael and I got back; and it was back out into the outdoor freezer again so we could welcome them and help carry Violet's bags inside.

Hot chocolate or coffee, and warmed up Olde Bakery treats helped a bit while we had a little chat before Dillon and Michael both headed home by shortly after midnight; and I should mention that it's more than a little weird to be kissing my boyfriend goodnight at the same time Violet's doing the same with Dillon. She and I tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night after that, and then we sat in the living room with Mom and Dad and continued talking until nearly one o'clock before we all went up to bed.

Violet was tired out by then, but the offer of a dip in my Jacuzzi was too tempting to put off until tomorrow night; and she's doing that now as I write this. She's also going to stay with Mandy and me tonight, though I seriously doubt our girl chat will last very long before one of us passes out – we've both pretty much been on the go since early morning; and neither of us managed to sleep much last night. Other than my usual nightly computer checks and answering an email from Dawn that was mostly about Violet; I'm not doing any studying or family business work tonight.

As expected, I also didn't get a chance to talk with Michael or Tim about Rowen's birthday tonight; and since I haven't seen her online while I've had my computer on; Rowen's probably gone to sleep already, so I haven't talked with her either. I'll need to do that tomorrow, since I could tell that she was having a tough time trying to be happy for everyone tonight; and I'm sure she expects that Tim and Michael will be going to the championship game next Friday. I've already mentioned that Michael and I could be in for a first fight if he and Tim don't make the right decisions for Rowen's birthday, but one way or the other; I will make sure that my best friend has an amazing day – even if I have to spend some quality time knocking some sense into one or more boys!

That's at least an amusing place to end this update, so I'm going to do that; put my computer away; and try to finish warming up while Mandy and I wait for Violet to join us for a chat and nap.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

It was very cool waking up to see Violet and Mandy cuddled together and sleeping in the bed next to me; and the warm tinglies stayed with me as I got ready for Tai Chi, left them sleeping, and went downstairs to put a pot of coffee on to brew while waiting for Michael to come over for Tai Chi.

Violet didn't sleep through that because Ethan and Ehlana pounced on her for an enthusiastic wake-up call, but she did stay cuddled in bed with Mandy while we exercised; and didn't get up until we'd headed downstairs to either take turns getting ready for the day or to start making breakfast. Michael stayed for breakfast so that we could both spend some more time with Violet; and that gave us a chance to at least start talking about Rowen's birthday – and ways that we might work that out with the Championship game trip that Michael was sure that he and Tim would be going on. We have a tentative solution; but I'll get to that in a bit with the evening part of the update.

We've had a busy work day, but I really loved having Violet home; and she couldn't even come close to covering three months worth of college stories during breakfast as she kept the rest of us entertained for almost an hour. I'm sure than no one reading this would be surprised to know that she and Dillon have both changed because of the new experiences overload they've been on almost constantly since moving away to school, but being a bit more worldly and wise hasn't changed who they are; and Violet seemed especially glad to be home and out of the rat race for a while.

A lot of the work was fun today, and I got started on that after seeing Michael out with a hug and kiss; grabbing a shower; and getting ready for the day once we'd finished breakfast. Michael and I had been cook assistants, so I wasn't on the kitchen clean-up crew; and instead started my chores out with a third-floor clean-up. We really did have a lot to do today, so I cheated; and had those chores finished – and a first load of laundry running in the washing machine – before the breakfast clean-up was finished. From there, I did the same on the second floor, and had Ethan and Ehlana help me while doing a mini Magi lesson with them while we cleaned their rooms and the guest bathroom. Violet joined us for part of that just because she didn't get to play like that at school; and then we all helped Mom with the main floor before I went outside to help Dad with the chores we needed to get done around the yard and in the storage barn.

We had a time limit for that work because Mom, Dad, and I were booked to help Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne with getting their house ready for the holiday weekend. While our families are away for Thanksgiving this year, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne have Barb and Corey Collins staying with them for the weekend. That really doesn't make for a lot of extra work, but after six weeks where Zack has been his parents' top priority; the to-do list was long; and we kept busy through until dinnertime – except for the family lunch we had that Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mark, Aunt Grace, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Dillon joined us for.

That lunch meal was the last time I saw Violet or Dillon today because they've been with his family since then. The Carrington homestead and estate grounds were sparkling clean by dinnertime; and we celebrated with a country stew and Olde Bakery sub bun sandwiches dinner for eight – though Zack demanded his own, specialty meal instead of having what the rest of us were eating. Aunt Leanne was getting grandparent support tonight from Uncle Adam's parents; so Mom and Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, and me home when they came over after closing the Emporium for the night. We'd finished the clean-up by then, but had the table set for two and the food ready to go so Uncle Adam could feed his parents too after their long day at the store.

I'm sure they've had a fun night with Zack, but I'd classify my evening as really great. The Jacuzzi time right after we got home was a really good start to that, and then it got even better when Michael brought Tim along with him so that we could make plans for Rowen's birthday. Michael had been set free from the Inn early too, so the hour or so we spent talking with Tim didn't even cut into our Saturday night alone time – bonus!

Having some happy dreams about that will be nice once I do get around to sleeping; but let's get back to talking birthdays before I get distracted. Tim and Michael are going to the Championship game next Friday; and they'll be staying overnight so that the players on our team can attend some of the other championship games and other events going on for the players and coaches. They're going with Lee and Sarah because Tim's parents need to stay home and run the shop – business will be busy for them too on the holiday weekend. Rowen's going to be very unhappy when she finds out that the boys are going to be away for the entire day, and I'll try to help her out with that, but if we get full approval for our birthday surprise; I'll have to let Rowen be disappointed for the next six days.

So here's the plan, pending full parental approval. Rowen and I will go on the trip too; we'll watch some football; and then celebrate Rowen's birthday by going out to dinner and spending the evening at a sports entertainment center while the players and coaches are busy with their own events. I already have parental approval for me, and we don't think that Rowen's parents will have a problem; since they'll be busy all weekend at the computer store too. Tim's aunt and uncle don't have room for four, so I'm going to talk to Sally Reynolds and her parents about getting a ride with them, since both of her brothers are on the team; and they'll be going to the game too. If they have room for two; we'll be good to go.

The absolute best part of the plan, and the reason I didn't need to knock any sense into the boys, is that we're going to spring this on Rowen by having Tim invite her to go with him as his date for the trip. I don't really have any doubt that this plan will work out; and I can hardly wait to see Rowen's reaction. Once we'd talked about everything we wanted to do, and did a little online research for things like restaurants and that sports entertainment center; Tim headed home so that Michael and I could get started on our movie and alone time.

We had a short delay before getting to that while we did the bedtime snack and story with Ethan and Ehlana, but after tucking them in for the night; I led Michael up to the lounge and spent some quality time making sure that he knew how happy I was about what he and Tim were going to be doing to help make Rowen's birthday her best ever so far.

Close your eyes and sing some la-la-la's if you don't want that mental picture; and you might want to skip the next paragraph while you're doing that.

Michael and I may have a fair bit of physical maturing to do, but we like what we see about each other; and saw quite a bit again tonight. That may sound really funny for anyone reading this in the future who knows us as adults, but Michael is in really good shape both from being active and years of helping out at the Inn; and I am my mother's daughter – as well as being active and blessed with a hyper-metabolism. I'm sure we'll continue to fumble around and have lots of awkward moments as we learn how to play together, but we also get to do that together; and being Magi does give us quite a few advantages over other teen couples. Some of those advantages; and my extra enthusiasm tonight is why I'm ranking tonight's make-out session a ten out of ten on the hot scale. Maybe it's a good thing that we don't get alone time more often!

Okay, you can open your eyes and take your fingers out of your ears now – if anyone actually did that.

Michael needed to be home by midnight, and though we would have liked to spend more time together; I did make sure that he was happily tired out by then. Oops – maybe I should have mentioned that before telling you it was safe to open your eyes. Anyway, I saw him out and watched him walk home from the front porch; though we talked to Mom and Dad for a minute before he left. They'd been in the office, and were packed up and ready to go to bed by the time I got inside again. They hadn't been staying up late for me – or for Violet. Dad was just trying to get some of his work done so he could have a little extra play time tomorrow; and Mom worked on the family business while he was busy anyway.

I've only done the basic nightly computing since getting changed and into bed with Mandy, so it's only a bit after twelve-thirty now. Violet isn't home yet, but while it would be nice to have another bedtime chat with her; I'm ready for some down time – and the Michael and me dreams I plan on having while getting a decent sleep tonight. With Violet here until Wednesday morning; Thanksgiving; and Rowen's birthday and championship football on Friday, this is going to be an awesome last week of November; and I've decided to change my own work schedule so I can get the extra rest I'll need to enjoy all of the fun we're going to have – starting right now!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Our day started out with some fun when we woke up and noticed that Violet hadn't made it home last night.

For the record, I'm okay with my cousin setting that kind of precedence for me; since there's a very good chance that it will be very useful to me in the future. She had needed to come home and get clothes to wear to church; but we'd already exercised; had breakfast; cleaned the kitchen; and gotten ready to go by the time she joined us. Aunt Leanne was happy to tease Violet about her sleepover at Dillon's house, and I had fun with that too – right up until Aunt Leanne found out that I'd had two boys all alone in the lounge with me last night; and then the jokes suddenly weren't quite so entertaining.

Then there was the added problem that Rowen was with us while I was being teased; and I needed to explain why Michael and Tim were hanging out with me last night, and why she hadn't been invited too, without telling her anything about what we had really been doing. I didn't – and wouldn't – lie to her, and it wasn't tough for her to make the guess about why she'd been excluded, but she also didn't know if that was good or bad; and I couldn't really help her with that little problem without giving too much of the surprise away.

That scene happened before the service started, and it was cold enough this morning that most people drove to church unless they lived very close – which is why we had the family and friends meet and greet there instead of collecting the usual gang as we walked there. With the Thanksgiving weekend now only days away, pretty much every kid and teen in Sunday school helped out with the last touches on everything the teens would need for the service next Sunday. It's also the first Sunday in Advent this year; so the program the teens are putting on has a lot packed into it; and it's going to be one of the longest Sunday service they've done since I've been here – not including the Christmas pageants.

I know that the usual group of teens that are the main actors and musicians for these teen-led specials are already working on that Christmas show too, but it must seem a bit crazy for them that there will only be three Sundays between the two big shows to finish getting ready for the second one – including the Sunday of the Christmas pageant. Michael is sure to be drafted next year, so I'll probably find out what it's like for myself over the next four years too.

Moving along, the most fun I had at church was working on Rowen's birthday surprise – no easy job when trying to do that without Rowen finding out what I was doing. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it a surprise, but after adding a handful of co-conspirators to the plan; I'm not sure whether that'll happen or not. The good news is that I was able to make the parental approval and travel requests while we were at church; and had confirmation for both by dinnertime. Sally's parents were happy to help us out, and while Patricia had mixed feelings about her baby being away for most of her birthday; she was happy that we wanted to do something big for Rowen while she and Owen were going to be busy at the computer store all day anyway. Mom booked the extra hotel room for Rowen and me at the same hotel the Landrys – and most of the other players and families – were staying at; so Michael, Tim, and I really only need to deal with finalizing the non-football entertainment parts of our surprise.

The rest of my day has pretty much been all fun. We've have Violet and Dillon with our family for most of the afternoon and evening. They had lunch with us – and Grandma and Grandpa. We spent most of the afternoon at our house, and had quite a few guests stopping by for visits. Rowen came over for the afternoon too, and when we weren't hanging out with Violet, Dillon, and everyone else; we were doing our homework in the lounge with Michael and Tim while Michael was on his afternoon break. I didn't help out at the Inn today because we were doing a family and friends buffet dinner there; and followed that up with a couple of hours of fun time at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's house.

Violet ended up agreeing to spend the night there; mostly so she could have extra time with Aunt Leanne and Zack, and while I'm sure they'll have fun; I'm trying not to think about the fact that she'll only have two more sleeps here before heading to Woodvale with Dillon for the Thanksgiving weekend – assuming she actually stays with us both nights. I'd invite Dillon to stay here to make sure that happens, but his parents must be feeling the same way as I am; so I won't even suggest it.

While I missed getting to spend the time with Michael tonight, it was nice to come home and get an early start on my usual school night activities. Mom did a Magi lesson with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before we did the bedtime routine and while Dad was getting some work done in the office. I was in my room and working on my computer by shortly after ten; and that's why it's just coming up on midnight now as I'm finishing this update. I did my archive homework, but skipped the language studies; and only spent a half-hour or so on family business work. With the big testing week finished, and only three days to the holiday weekend; it should be a fairly easy few days.

Easy won't mean quiet. We have a birthday to plan for; I hope we'll have more time to hang out with Violet; there's still work to do to get ready for Thanksgiving; and every store in town will be getting ready for one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. I really do want to be ready and fully charged for all of the work and fun, so I guess that's it for tonight; and I'm out of here. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Violet may or may not make it home tonight, but either way, I'm sticking with my earlier-than-usual bedtime plans; and won't be awake if she does end up here instead of at Dillon's house. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I got to spend some time with them earlier, though, so I'm really glad that we at least got to have that bit of time together.

It's been a busy day; though I didn't feel that until now while organizing my thoughts for this update. Tai Chi this morning was about the only quiet time I had through until Violet and Dillon headed out earlier tonight to hang out with a group of friends that are home this week too; didn't go to college after graduating; or are seniors this year.

I'm sure that you can guess that football was the top story at school today; and will be tomorrow and Wednesday too – even over any Thanksgiving news. Tim, Michael, and the other teens in our class that are going to the game on Friday are getting lots of attention, and though Rowen wasn't happy about that; we managed to get through this first day without any part of her birthday surprise getting out by accident. Other than occasionally assuring her that I'll make sure that she has a happy birthday regardless of what the boys are doing, and being there when she needs to do some minor venting; I'm not having as much trouble with this as I expected – and my co-conspirators and I are having quite a bit of fun too. Tim is actually hamming it up a bit, but then Rowen's used to him being totally dense when it comes to her; so he's not being any different than normal from her perspective.

She definitely was a bit quieter than normal while we did the bit of studying we needed to get done after school, and no more interested in watching the boys play football at the park after that than I was. We went along anyway so that we could also take Ethan and Ehlana out to play for a while and give Mom a break, but we only stayed to watch the football while Ethan had his game time with Michael; and then we were at the playground until the twins were cold and ready to go home for some hot chocolate. We didn't wait for the boys, but they didn't end up staying much longer before meeting up with us again – conveniently in time to help out with the hot drinks and mini-snack.

The four of us split up for dinner, but we were all going to an open house after that; and then Michael, Tim, and Rowen came back here with me to hang out while Mom and Dad were having a family business and future plans meeting in the office. Violet and Dillon were at his house for dinner, but they were at the open house too.

Witch Falls Electric and Lighting are officially opening their new store on Wednesday in time for the big holiday weekend, but they were hosting a wine and cheese open house tonight. I can't say that I really spent any time shopping in their old store, but I had wandered through a couple of times; and their new showroom is much larger and more like a boutique while the other place had more in common with the hardware store than anything else. As usual, our family, neighbors, and friends were out in force to support one of our local businesses; and Mom, Dad, and I did our part by placing an order for several new lamps – including one that I thought would look nice in the lounge.

Rowen's parents won't be taking over the old electric and light store until the New Year, but I was thinking about their plans for it while at the open house tonight; and I saw that it came up in the meeting in the office tonight when I read the notes from it while doing my computer checks tonight. The only involvement with have with that is through the data storage services that some of our family business companies will be purchasing from Emerson Computers' new data center once it opens next March. That's not such a little thing, since those contracts will make sure that Rowen's parents will have a successful start to the new addition to their business; but then it helps us out too – both from a business point of view and because we can consolidate our corporate data in one, local place without that being transparent to the individual companies we own. I'm sure that Owen will have a blast building the toys he'll need for the data center; and that'll keep him busy between Christmas and tax time next spring.

Getting back to the update, Violet and Dillon decided to hang out with Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me in the lounge when we came home from the open house, and we kept Ethan and Ehlana with us too until Violet and Dillon left to meet up with their friends. The boys mostly played video games, so it was girl chat time for the rest of us while we mostly watched them play. Violet mostly entertained us with more college stories, but we talked a bit about Christmas too. She and Dillon are going to split those weeks off between here and Woodvale too; but they'll be here more than there – mostly because Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa won't have much time off over the holidays; and they'll be here for the family Christmas on the weekend between Christmas and New Year's Day. Maybe I'll see about inviting Dawn to come here for an extra few days before or after that weekend so she can spend extra time with Violet while her parents are busy.

We didn't have enough time to watch a movie after Violet and Dillon left; so we ended up watching music videos while having a chat and winding down until Michael, Tim, and Rowen needed to head home. Violet and Dillon had dropped Ethan and Ehlana off with Mom and Dad on their way out; so it was safe for Rowen and Tim to do a little cuddling too – though Rowen wasn't quite as happy about that as she usually was while trying not to show it. She didn't have the usual big smile after Michael and I left our friends with the usual alone time opportunity when we went downstairs first and left them in the lounge; but they also didn't cut that time short either; so they must have had at least a little fun.

I hope they did, because Michael and I didn't get a chance for any make-out time. Our snack clean-up happened at the same time Mom and Dad were ready to clean up from their meeting, so we had company with us the entire time; and then had extra people to say goodnight to – all of them leaving at the same time as Michael, Tim, and Rowen. That certainly threw a kink into my goodnight kiss with Michael; but I'll try to make that up to him next time – or before Tai Chi in the morning.

That's pretty much the end of my regular daily news. Mom did a Magi lesson with me after we had Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night, and I came up to bed after that; so the only other information I want to add is from the meeting I'd missed while hanging out with my friends.

The top news from that is the completion of the lab building – or at least that it's completely closed in now and heated so the construction crews will be able to work in relative comfort all winter. The exterior facade and landscaping will start next spring; and the project is still ahead of schedule enough that there will be some bonus, paid time off for the crews over the holidays. The first apartment building is already almost to that stage too, so the indoor work will start by sometime next week; and that'll pretty much be the end of the visible construction around here until next March.

Other plans have been moving along too. The wind and solar energy farm project is moving along, and we'll be ready to hire a manager by February; and start work on the site by the end of March. If all goes well, Witch Falls should be self-sufficient for electricity by the summer after next; and the plant should make a profit selling excess power to the grid. Having Violet and Dillon home may have been why teen school and job plans were a bigger than usual part of this meeting, but I'm just glad that we're way ahead of the game there; and some of my favorite teens will have summer jobs that will make them happy; put some decent money in their college funds; and keep them here at home.

We're already planning ahead for new construction next spring, and that includes getting ready for the next big build in town – the new medical center and professional offices building that will be right next door to the lab. While having a new, state-of-the-art medical center is the biggest part of that; we'll also have other professional businesses there too. I'll hold off on the details for that even though by the time anyone reads this; it won't matter or be a big secret anymore. There were other, medium-term future plans that were talked about too, but I'll leave those for another time too – closer to when they'll actually be happening.

So I guess that's it for now, and I'm going to be sleeping before midnight again tonight. Another night or two like this, and I'll definitely be fully-charged and ready for Thanksgiving and Rowen's birthday! I'm getting fired up just thinking about that, but it's time wrap this up; put my computer away; and get started on another long winter's nap.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Violet's just gone over to her room after finishing a little bedtime chat with me, and it's closing in on midnight fast; so I'm going to keep this as short as possible tonight; though there's a fair bit to cover.

First up, this was Violet's last full day here; and the chat tonight was mostly because it was our last chance to do that before she'll be heading to Woodvale with Dillon sometime tomorrow morning. The funny thing tonight is that I've started to see the family juggling problem from her perspective; thanks to a coin flip earlier tonight that decided whether I'd be having Thanksgiving dinner with Michael and his family on Thursday – or he'd be doing that with mine. I don't think of that as a win or lose for either of us; but we will be having the big meal with the Bassett-Stone family.

The only news I'm going to include from school today is about band practice; and that's mostly because we did that outdoors. Mrs. Robinson wanted us to get used to playing in the cold; and the only way for that to happen is to actually do it. The temperature was only slightly above freezing, and while it could easily be colder for the parades we're doing; that was cold enough to help us understand what we'll be dealing with. I'm very glad that Rowen, Michael, and I listened to the senior teen advice and bought the fingertip-less gloves; but it was still very uncomfortable to sit in the cold and play music for three-quarters of an hour – and each parade will be closer to around an hour long. The good news there is that I'm not too cool and proud to wear thermal underwear if that means not freezing my butt off; and I'll be getting a new set from the emporium sometime between now and our next practice.

One thing we won't have during the parades is Tim goofing on us while we play the way he was doing today from the warmth and comfort of the cafeteria. He was splitting his time between doing that and watching the football practice; which is why he still had all of his homework to do when we all went to the computer store to do that. We now have day two in the books without giving anything away to Rowen, so I guess his antics did help out some – by giving Rowen something else to think about other than the hope-dread thing she has going on about what will happen – or not – on Friday. We didn't have very much studying to get done, since tomorrow will practically be a play day ahead of the long weekend; so we mostly just hung out together until Michael and I needed to get over to his house for dinner.

Other than the Thanksgiving dinner coin toss decision, the only other major news from that part of my evening was about Rebecca. She and Jason are having issues this week. He's mad at her because she's not going to the championship game on Friday; and she's frustrated that he doesn't get why her parents need her to stay and help at the Inn more – especially since Michael is going to the game. To be fair, Miranda and Jacob would have let her go too if Rebecca had really wanted to do that, but it really will be crazy at the Inn – especially on Friday – and I honestly don't think that Rebecca felt comfortable with the idea of being away overnight with Jason when there would be minimal parental supervision. She told me that Jenny isn't happy about it either, which has me wondering if there were other plans being made – like roommate swaps.

I'd better just not write anything else about that thought just in case my current opinion on that kind of thing changes sooner rather than later! :^)

Dinner, the teen-managed clean-up, my guitar lesson, and our chat time with Miranda and Jacob were all pretty normal and uneventful – except maybe for that coin toss. I was on my way home by nine o'clock; and did the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana before wrapping up my night with my Magi lesson with Mom that Violet sat in on; and our girl chat time after I'd already done most of my bedtime computing.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I will only get to see Violet before I head to school in the morning and they go to KidZone for the day. Mom has her holiday weekend shopping to do after that, and then she and Aunt Leanne are taking Zack on the road and going to pick up Barb and Corey Collins at the airport. Violet and Dillon will be on the road before noon for sure; mostly because they have some errands they want to run before being home before Chris, Martin, and Dawn are finished school for the day.

That all sounds busier and more exciting than my school day is likely to be, but Rowen and I are doing some babysitting tomorrow night while Mom and Dad spend the evening at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house, and we might do a sleepover too; so I'm sure we'll have fun too even if we aren't doing any road trips or shopping.

A sleepover might mean this will be my last bonus sleep time night for a while, though; so it's time to get started on that...right...now!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Rowen and I are stretched out at opposite ends of the sofa in the lounge, watching a Christmas movie; chatting; and winding down after a busy day. Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and Mandy are all sleeping, and since my temporary third-floor neighbor is in Woodvale tonight; it's pretty quiet around here now.

Other than while we exercised; I wouldn't have used quiet to describe anything about our morning here. Barely controlled chaos would be more accurate. I helped out where I could with breakfast, the clean-up, and getting Ehlana ready for her play day at KidZone and with Grandma and Grandpa; but that didn't leave me with much time to spend with Violet while she packed and got ready for her trip and busy day.

I was on my way to meet up with Rowen, Michael, and Rebecca on the way to school before anyone else left, so I missed the rest of the action going on there between when I left and when Mom and Violet each headed out on their trips to the airport and Woodvale respectively. Violet ended up going shopping with Mom after Ethan and Ehlana were dropped off at KidZone, and the main reason for that might have been to check out what Abby had in stock for the holiday weekend sale that Violet was going to miss this year. Mom appreciated the help with the groceries, but they didn't spend a lot of time doing either kind of shopping before Mom needed to meet up with Aunt Leanne and Zack; and head out to get Barb and Corey from the airport.

Everything going on at school today was turkey-day-related; and none of our teachers tried very hard to get any serious lessons taught – possibly because they were all as excited about a four-day weekend as their students. I'm sure that there were some classes in the younger grades that weren't given any homework for the weekend; but our class wasn't that lucky. We didn't have anything that needed to be done today, though, and since the main assignment can't be done until after Thanksgiving anyway; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I skipped the usual after-school studying. That was the good news.

The not-so-much-fun news was that it's a holiday weekend; and my three favorite friends were all working instead. Since Ethan and Ehlana were with Grandma and Grandpa anyway, and Mom wasn't back from the airport run yet; I ended up going to the computer store with Rowen and helping out with getting everything ready for the big weekend sale. I'd been torn between doing that and hanging out at the Inn with Michael, but he suggested that I spend the time with Rowen; since we'd be together for most of the day on Thanksgiving – and wouldn't have much time for Tim or Rowen while we were all busy with our families.

He probably also noticed that Rowen has been getting more anxious the closer we get to her birthday, and that's part of the reason we decided to start our holiday weekend with a sleepover. The other reasons were because we spent the evening babysitting Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad were at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's for the evening and because Rowen needed rescuing from a Patrick and Scott sleepover at her house. I'm fairly glad that we got to be here instead of being around for either of those other events.

I am really happy for Aunt Leanne that Barb made the effort to come here in person to see her childhood friend's first baby; but I also have to be honest and admit that hanging out with Barb and Corey would be very low on my to-do list pretty much any day. Most people wouldn't understand that sentiment from looking at them. Barb and Corey look like the perfect power couple; they're incredibly happy together; and obviously love each other. That's all fine and great for them, but it's the fakery they use to hide their distain for pretty much everything about my home – and the things I love most about it – that gets to me so easily.

They're never going to know the truth about us, and I wouldn't want them to anyway; but then Barb and Corey would never understand our life choices if they did know that we could literally live anywhere and do anything we wanted. I guess that does go both ways, because I don't understand why Barb would so easily walk away from the family, friends, and love she had growing up here when I'd have loved to have connections with friends that I've known since infancy. I'm certainly grateful that I'll be able to say that I have best friends that I've known since I was nine.

Without dragging those thoughts out any longer, let's just say that Barb and Corey look at life and happiness very differently than I do; I hope they have a fun weekend with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack; and move on.

Rowen's parents were keeping the store open late tonight – as were most store owners in town – so Rowen came home with me for dinner. We didn't add the sleepover plan for sure until after finding out that we were babysitting; and that news flash came while we were helping to cook dinner for six. Dad was head chef tonight while Mom got to have a break after her long drive, and the dinner entertainment was a complete exchange of stories about what we'd each been doing all day. It was an all-tween clean-up crew of two with supervisory assistance from Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad got ready to go out; and then we all went over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

Four of us were only stopping in to say hello to Barb and Corey, and then Ethan, Ehlana, and I went with Rowen to her house so she could pack an overnight bag before we headed home again. It was play time in my room and the lounge after that. We played and sang some Christmas music; had a mini video game competition; and wrapped up Ethan and Ehlana's night with an animated Christmas movie. We used my Jacuzzi for their bedtime bath; had the snack and story time in the lounge; and then Rowen and I had the twins tucked in their beds nearly a full half-hour before Mom and Dad got home.

In case you're wondering, yes they stayed up late; and no, we can't fool Mom about things like that thanks to our links with her.

Rowen and I had started our next Christmas movie by the time Mom and Dad got back; and we took a short break when they checked in on us before going to bed. They had a few fun stories to tell us about their evening, and didn't say enough about other things to have me sure they were glad to be home again.

It's been movie and girl chat time since Mom and Dad left for their room; and Rowen's mostly needed to talk about Tim and her birthday. I really feel bad that I can't tell her anything, but we're not that far away from springing at least the first of the surprises on her; and I'm sure she'll think that it's worth the wait. Entertaining ourselves with making plans for Tim that I know won't be necessary has been a fun diversion for her, and since I won't see her much tomorrow except in the morning before she heads home; I'm fairly confident that we're going to keep her birthday plans a surprise until Friday.

I'm sure that's why I'm quietly more fired up about her birthday that Rowen is right now, though she'll probably spend more time thinking about it tomorrow than I will while we're both busy with our family Thanksgivings.

That's something else that I'm really excited about tonight – sharing this holiday with Michael and our families. Rowen wishes she was doing the same thing with Tim, so I'm keeping that low key and not saying much about it; though we did talk about having a little visit at Rowen's house sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening if we can work that out. I'd suggest getting together with Tim too, but with Thanksgiving and the big football game; he's likely going to be too busy with his family to add anything else to his day. I'll ask Michael about it in the morning just in case he has any ideas that might at least help to brighten Rowen's Thanksgiving Day a little bit.

That's all I have for now, and while we still have the last third or so of the movie to watch, I'm going to put my computer to bed now; and possibly fall asleep here on the sofa before the end of the show. It isn't all that late, but I am going to be rested and ready for the next few days of extreme fun!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

I guess the only place to start with a day as action-packed as this one has been is at the beginning.

Ethan and Ehlana gave Rowen, Mandy, and I our wake-up call; though Mandy was only willing accept a little cuddling and some scratching before curling up and going back to sleep again for a while. Rowen opted for a long, hot shower instead of joining Mandy while the rest of us were exercising, so she was ready to go for the day by the time we'd finished our Tai Chi; and helped out with making breakfast with Dad while Mom and I hit the showers next.

She also had time for a little chat with Michael before he went home, and while she attempted to get some birthday hints from him; he earned bonus points for not caving in while also helping Rowen to feel at least a bit better about it too. Ethan and Ehlana provided her with the pre-breakfast entertainment that helped to keep her distracted for a while; and we were in Thanksgiving planning mode while eating – with Mom giving us the rundown on what needed to be done between the end of breakfast and when we needed to be at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

Uncle Adam was dealing with the turkey, but we were contributing some of the pre-cooked food for lunch; had prep work to do for the main veggies for dinner; and had to round up everything from bottles of wine to ice cream to take with us. Mom had dropped off our Olde Bakery contributions yesterday, so we didn't have boxes of pies and treats too; but by the time Michael came over again to go with us for lunch; we ended up pretty much filling the back of the minivan so that Mom and Dad could haul everything two doors down the street instead of making a half-dozen trips on foot. Michael, Ehlana, Ethan, and I walked there, but that was mostly because that didn't take any longer than buckling the twins into their seats for that short of a trip.

Rowen had gone home after breakfast so that she could help her parents out with their own holiday work; and Mom and Dad kept me busy for that few hours of busy before some of us got to get started on the fun parts of the day. For me, that began pretty much from the moment Aunt Leanne welcomed us into the house and made a big deal about introducing Michael to everyone who was there so far as my boyfriend – though Barb and Corey were the only people there who didn't know him; and Barb certainly knew his parents and family even if she'd moved away from Witch Falls before he or Rebecca were born. Since she didn't use any of the 'I haven't seen you since...' platitudes; it was obvious that Barb didn't even remember seeing Michael before on any of her rare visits home. Now that I'm thinking about it, she didn't even ask us to pass on any greetings to his parents or anyone else in Michael's family. While that doesn't really surprise me; it is a bit sad. I could say the same thing about parts of our family Thanksgiving dinner, but I'll get to that with the evening part of the report.

Michael and I were not on the lunch prep crew, and while we played with Ethan, Ehlana, and some of the other kids for a while; we also got to have a turn taking care of Zack too – just in case we didn't get a chance to do that later. He was a bit on the cranky side because of the company overload, and he was much happier and quieter after Aunt Leanne nursed him and he went down for a nap right before the rest of us had lunch. Michael and I weren't the only lunch guests who wouldn't be staying for dinner too. Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah were doing the big meal with his family; and they'd brought Naomi along with them so that she could have a little play time with Ethan and Ehlana while her parents were busy helping Grandma and Grandpa Ayres at their house. I expected that Michael and I would end up with the younger kids, but the grandparents and great-grandparents ended up doing that while we sat with Mom, Dad, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah.

Is it wrong to suggest that we would have had more fun with the toddlers – especially on Thanksgiving? Maybe, and it's not as if the meal conversation was terrible or excruciatingly boring – but it wasn't great entertainment either.

Since it is Thanksgiving, though, I'll spare you the details.

Michael and I helped with the clean-up, and then it was time for us to head over to his Uncle Bill and Aunt Sylvia's house for the rest of the afternoon. We went through a fairly similar welcome and introduction to the one we'd had at my aunt and uncle's house; except this time it was Miranda happily introducing me as Michael's girlfriend; and keeping everyone entertained with that for a few minutes. One thing that is different – or at least feels more like my family when everyone is home – is that there's a big age range between oldest and youngest cousin; with Michael and I just about in the middle of that.

While Jake and Stephanie couldn't be home, Michael's cousin, Mitch, was home from college for the weekend; and he and Lynn Jennings were having Thanksgiving dinner with his family too. I don't know if more coin flips were done like Michael and I did; but Erica Bassett and Caleb Palmer were with us for the big meal too – though with Josiah and Christina at her house this year; the Palmers were having an 'away' family holiday anyway. Rebecca didn't bring Jason, but that wasn't a surprise; since they were having issues anyway, and he was probably as focused on football as the rest of our team's players and coaches are right now. Of course that didn't keep Caleb from spending most of the day with Erica; but then they're a true match – just like Michael and I are.

Since I'm on that thought, let's skip ahead for a moment to our one outdoor adventure of the day. Michael and I took Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia out for some play time and fresh air before dinner. We collected Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, Patrick, and some of their cousins along the way; and went to the school instead of the park because Mitch and Caleb had gone there for a little pick-up football that Kyle may have nudged along in place of a full team practice if for no other reason than to make sure his teammates didn't just fatten themselves up all day ahead of the big game.

While I could have lived without the extra football, we had a blast; and there was the added bonus that Tim was there and eventually spent a little time with Michael, Rowen, and me before we all needed to be at our various dinner destinations. Ryan, Ethan, Patrick, and some of the other, younger boys all got to have football moments too; while the younger girls ended up splitting their time between a little cheerleading fun with Erica and some of the other girls; and some playground action once the younger boys were done with their little football adventure.

I skipped over some in-house, afternoon play and chat time that happened before we went outside, but I won't do that for the dinner. There hasn't been a Thanksgiving dinner that I haven't loved since moving here – or really even before that; though Mom and I didn't exactly make huge meals when it was just the two of us. It also isn't fair to compare our meal today to any others because most families don't have a world-class chef cooking most of the food for them. For those of you who have been lucky enough to experience a Jacob Stone holiday meal; you know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, ignorance really can be bliss, and you might want to think about skipping this part of the update.

Let's begin by talking turkey. If I took some leftovers home, I'm sure that I could give you a very accurate analysis of everything that went into making it, in exact quantities; and scientifically explain the reactions the human body has to the interaction of those flavors and scents. That would be boring, and do absolutely nothing to describe just how awesome the experience of actually eating the food was for most of us. I can't say that for everyone, because there were a couple of people at the table with turkey aversions. Fortunately for them, Jacob had their special needs taken care of with equally delicious alternatives.

Jacob didn't cook everything any more than he did everything at the Inn; but his hands at least touched everything that went on the table except for the drinks and Olde Bakery breads, buns, and desserts. Those touches meant that everything had that little extra-special taste or scent, and in some cases – even the visual display had a special touch added. I suppose you could say that all five senses were served if you include the feel of the mouth-watering foods and that you heard exactly the right noises you should with everything.

Okay, that seems weird, but you know what I mean. We've all eaten food that isn't supposed to crunch, but does; and soggy mush when crisp and crunchy should have been the goal is equally unpleasant. Before you stick any labels on me for that comment, don't forget that I can remember everything I've ever eaten with perfect recall – including every type of baby food Mom experimented with while we figured out what I did and didn't like. Most other people have the luxury of forgetting those bad culinary experiences. The good part of that is getting to remember amazing moments like today too.

Michael and I were at the 'kids' section of the dining room table for dinner, but so were Rebecca, Erica, and Caleb; so we had lots of help with the younger kids. Mitch and Lynn had 'graduated' to the adult section of the table now that they were college students; and they were far enough away that we didn't really talk with them at all – though we did get a chance to hear about some of their college adventures during the clean-up. I don't exchange email with either of them; but do get occasional updates about how they're doing from Alicia – and through my email exchanges with Isabelle and Andrew.

I've mentioned the cousin favorites for Michael's family before, and Erica is still at the top of the list for Jessica and Sophia; though she isn't able to spend as much time with them as she could before hitting high school and helping out more at the grocery store. Michael is Ryan's favorite, and I was again reminded today that we need to try and make more time for Michael's cousins too – though I have no idea how to juggle everything we should be doing more of when we're already so busy. I rarely think about them as cousins because Rebecca and Erica are pretty good friends too, and that bond is stronger again now that they're both in high school.

Rebecca was quiet today; and I think she was a bit sad too. That was at least partly because she was the only teen in the house who wasn't spending the day with a boyfriend or girlfriend; and I don't mind admitting that I'm a little annoyed that Jason apparently didn't want to do anything with her – even if they couldn't have dinner together. I wouldn't dream of blaming their entire situation on Jason – especially when a big part of the problem is Jacob, Miranda, and the other adult couples in Rebecca's life. They've set the bar for happily-ever-after so high that it's tough for any potential boyfriends – or girlfriends – who might be interested in their kids to measure up.

I've been doing okay with that so far, but don't forget that only a few people in Michael's family know that I'm a billionaire Magi Master. :^) Fortunately, everyone else seems to like me well-enough too without that information.

So dinner was best-ever kind of awesome, and the younger cousins kept us entertained while we ate. The clean-up was massive, but we managed to have fun with that too for the hour or so it took to get the dining room and kitchen sparkling clean again. That was the end of the Bassett-Stone family Thanksgiving for Michael and me – and for a handful of other guests that needed to move on to other commitments for the evening. The good bye hugs and kisses took a while, particularly with the younger kids; but eventually Michael and I were on our way back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to hang out there for a couple of hours.

I didn't get all of the details until later, after we were home for the night; but their big dinner was apparently quite the adventure – and not always in a good way. Aunt Leanne hadn't tried springing any major surprises on Barb, knowing that wouldn't go over well with her childhood best friend; but it doesn't sound as though inviting Barb's family to dinner went nearly as well as she'd hoped it would.

Since readers may be getting this story in the distant future, I'll add a little background here.

Barb's parents are Stan and Betty Benton. They're from the early baby-boomer crop born in the first few years after World War Two, so they're recently semi-retired; and I think they're a very nice couple – though I don't really know them very well. They have three children, but Barb's older brother and sister are ten and a bit more than eleven years older than she is, and while I know that kind of age gap will never be a problem for Ethan, Ehlana, and me; it was for Barb while she was growing up. I'm not going to go into everything, so let's just say that Barb's parents live a modest, happy life. They don't score success by the numbers in their bank accounts; and are content and feel blessed by what they do have – loving friends and family. They have five grandchildren; four of them are currently in college; the fifth graduated a couple of years ago and works and lives in Crystal Springs; and they're very proud of all of them. Three of them were home, and at the Thanksgiving dinner; while the other two are at schools too far away for them to afford flying home for just four days.

Everyone who had been there for dinner was still at the house when Michael and I got there, and the empathic vibes were strong enough that Michael probably sensed at least some of what was going on even without overtly using his empathy. We were there while some childhood storytelling was going on; and there was a wide range of reactions to those memories. Barb was mortified by anything that revealed how poor her family was – and is now by her standards. While I knew that she and Corey both don't want to have kids, I'm sure now that the main reason Barb feels that way is because she still resents spending so much of her teen years babysitting her nieces and nephews – especially because she was often doing that for free while her parents, brother, sister, and their spouses all worked jobs that didn't pay enough to afford 'real' babysitters or nannies.

When you're reading this sometime in the future, Ethan and Ehlana; be glad that I love spending the time with you – and getting paid in hugs and kisses. I really hope you remember that in case you find yourselves in Barb's position some day and get asked to babysit your nieces and nephews.

Don't worry Mom and Dad – I don't plan on getting around to that part of my life for quite a while yet!

Okay, without dragging this out endlessly; the Benton family reunion wasn't all joy and happiness; but they were at least mostly together for the first time in years. That made Barb's mother happy and sad, which is why I'm sure that my thoughts tonight about helping Barb's family out will be an easy sell for Mom and Aunt Leanne when I talk to them about it next week. If nothing else, they have four grandkids that will be graduating from college over the next few years; and I'm sure we can find work for them that will get their careers off to a good start – whether they want to live here in Witch Falls or somewhere else.

Michael and I split our time between a visit with the adults in the living room and play time with the kids on the third floor. I got to have a bit of time with Zack too, but that was right before Aunt Leanne nursed him and put him to bed in his crib. The goodbyes started right before that, and continued on until Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, Michael, and I were the last guests standing. We helped with a last round of cleaning and dishwashing; and then headed home too. Michael came in and stayed long enough to help with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed; we had a short chat with Mom and Dad that included one last run-through of our plans for Friday and Saturday; and then Mom and Dad went up to bed while Michael and I spent five or ten minutes saying goodnight to each other in a completely non-verbal way that left us both smiling when he headed over to his house.

I've been in my room since then, and have been busy with getting my bag packed for the trip; wrapping Rowen's gifts; and spending some time with my Jacuzzi. Somehow we fit all of that fun into one day, and it was only a bit past midnight when I hopped into bed with Mandy and started the lite version of my nightly computing. We're skipping Tai Chi in the morning because of the Black Friday breakfast buffet at the Inn, but I still need to be up early; so it's time to wrap this up and get some sleep.

This was an awesome start to the holiday weekend, and if all goes well; tomorrow will be even better!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, November 29, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Rowen!

This has been a best-ever, best friend birthday; and Rowen is all smiles as I'm writing this and we're snuggled under the covers of the bed in our hotel room.

I've had so many favorite moments today, but let's start with Rowen's first birthday surprise at the Inn during the breakfast buffet. The football news that everyone else in town cares about most today can wait.

Rowen was sure that going out for breakfast was entirely because her parents couldn't do anything else with her while working the big sale day at the computer store, so watching her open that first card from her parents with the gift of a ticket to the championship game and spending money was priceless. That surprise quickly moved to number two on the best gift list for the day with Tim's gifts. She loves the necklace a lot, but it was the 'One Boyfriend – Your Choice' coupon in his card that won the best-gift-ever-so-far prize.

I thought that was fairly romantic coming from a thirteen-year old boy, and while that could mean that Michael helped Tim out with that part of their surprise; the 'fine print' was likely all Tim. "This offer is exclusively for Rowen Emerson, and is redeemable only on her thirteenth birthday. Terms and conditions are negotiable. Some conditions apply. Attending Championship football game is mandatory."

Just for the sake of wondering, Rowen; what do you think Tim would've done if you'd tried to redeem that coupon but told him you wanted him to get you some other guy – like Jake Stone? Yeah, probably not a good plan – especially when you've waited this long for Tim to come to his senses. I do want to be there when you show that coupon to your mother tomorrow, though; and drop the boyfriend news on both of your parents – if that news doesn't reach them before we get back.

Rowen liked the rest of the gifts she opened while we had breakfast, but nothing could top the boyfriend gift – even though she didn't technically redeem that coupon until we were on our way to the football game. I think that they were both waiting until we were out of town before trying out things like holding hands in public. They'd moved along to cuddling in hotel room beds by the end of the evening – just a little while ago – so I'd say they've made decent progress in that department since this morning; but I'm getting way ahead of the story.

The breakfast buffet was a bit of a rush for us – and then some for Michael. He'd come to the Inn with his parents to help out for a while before joining us for Rowen's birthday breakfast when the first waves of food were delivered to the buffet tables. While other members of our collective families had to hurry through their meals for other reasons, we needed to eat; have Rowen open her gifts; and be on the road by shortly after eight o'clock.

Since word wasn't out yet, I'm sure that anyone who saw Rowen and Tim leave with his Aunt, Uncle, and Carolyn assumed they were going for the ride together so that Michael and I could be together while getting a ride to the game with Sally, Joshua, and her parents. While they weren't holding hands or cuddling during the trip, I'm sure that Rowen and Tim were both happy about spending that time together; and Michael, Joshua, Sally, and I all had fun too during the two and a half hours it took to get to the Central State stadium. Sally and Joshua weren't in on the entire birthday surprise, but we were able to talk about the post-football plans; and their parents didn't have a problem with them joining us for Rowen's birthday dinner and a play evening at the sports entertainment center.

We were at the stadium with lots of time to spare before the game, but Lee needed to be early enough for the pre-game pep talk that he was doing with our team; and Sally's parents wanted to wish her brothers good luck again before the game too. Once we were in the stadium, Sally was given a cell phone; and the six of us were set free to wander around, pick up some souvenirs, and eventually buy some drinks and snacks before meeting up with a group of parents and going to find our seats. Rowen and Tim were both all smiles while finally getting around to holding hands while we did a tour of the stadium. That tiny little change was the difference between being there as six friends and hanging out as three couples; and I can assure you that it was a big deal for Rowen – especially since it was her first time being one half of a teen couple.

There were a few souvenirs that we all wanted to get, and it's amazing how much customized gear the organizers can come up with in just one week. I'm sure they have things like player's photos and bios, team logos, and the season stats; but that still means everything from programs to pins and wearables are put together in under seven days once the competing teams were decided last week. Of course, for our game, Clairmont may have been added early since this was their fourth trip in a row to the big game; but our team getting here for a second year was only slightly less shocking than our surprise run last year – at least to anyone who hadn't seen Kyle play yet.

So we're ready for the championship game part of the recap.

Mom and I didn't ever go to any stadiums for either sports or concerts, so Central State's facilities seemed very big to me; though I also know that they have a fairly modest building compared to the really big colleges or professional team buildings. 'Our' little block of seats also seemed small even compared to where the Clairmont fans were sitting on the other side of the field from us; but then we'd have needed to pretty much empty Witch Falls to use up all of the seating that we could have reserved – and about half of the Ridge River District too. There were several thousand spectators, but most were not supporting one team or the other. There were media crews, college scouts, and fans, family, and players from other teams; along with mostly local residents or college students looking for some cheap sports entertainment for the afternoon.

We didn't get a warm, balmy weather day for the game, but it was nice out; and enough above freezing to not be seriously uncomfortable. Since holding hands and cuddling was now an option for Rowen and Tim; I don't think they'd have cared if it was below freezing this afternoon. One good thing about high school matches like this is that we had great seats just to one side of the fifty yard line. We weren't the only teens in the Witch Falls contingent, but the six of us had quite a few adults between us and the next closest kids or teens; and Sally and Joshua were only with Rowen, Tim, Michael, and me because of a seat switch so we could sit together.

Even for a championship game, there isn't all that much pre-game fanfare at the high school level, so it wasn't much past noon when the opening kick-off was booted by the Clairmont kicker to our team. This was our first playoff game of the season where we were the 'away' team, and while Clairmont won the coin toss and chose to defer and get the ball for the start of the second half; I'm not sure if that was normal for them, or if there was a particular reason why they chose not to start the match with what was the better half of their team according to the stats – their offense.

Whatever the reason, it looked like a good decision when our offense only managed to pick up twenty-three yards before needing to punt on our first drive. The Clairmont players and coaches all looked very happy with that result – and stayed happy right up until Kyle flattened their quarterback on their second offensive play; scooped up the fumble; and then bulled his way into the end zone for our first touchdown.

Clairmont was a three-time champion, and I'm not going to take anything away from them because they played like champions through the entire game – even when there wasn't any reasonable chance for them to make up the points deficit in the fourth quarter. They came right back from that mistake and managed a field goal on their next drive; and a touchdown near the end of the second quarter. Those were the only highlights for them, though, and there were a lot of bad moments. Kyle led the way, but the entire defense really stepped it up; and if they weren't scoring touchdowns, they were leaving our offense with great field position. We were ahead thirty-one to ten by half-time.

Our cheerleaders took to the field next, and while Jenny and the other girls had fun, did their best, and looked good out there; their little routine seemed very small in that big stadium – and compared to the show the much larger Clairmont squad performed a few minutes later. I know their school is bigger than ours too, but I'll guess that having a winning team more often than not helps with the cheerleader recruiting as much as it would for the players.

Getting the ball first in the third quarter didn't work out at all for Clairmont. Kyle sacked their quarterback on the first play; and then we got another interception on a hurried throw when the poor guy was trying desperately not to get pounded into the ground a second time in a row. Our offense may have averaged less than twenty-five yards per possession, but that's not a problem when half of your drives start in your opponent's red zone.

Kyle followed that up with a defensive takeaway and touchdown on the next Clairmont drive, and with a forty-five to ten lead at that point; we started kicking field goals for the rest of the game – one before the end of the third, and three in the fourth. As I mentioned, Clairmont didn't give up, and played hard right to the end. They managed to earn ten more points, including a touchdown on a busted play at the start of the fourth quarter; but there was no doubt which was the better team this year. The final score was fifty-seven to twenty; and Kyle was the easy MVP pick with five defensive turnovers, three touchdowns, and six sacks. That didn't even include tackles, tackles for losses, or passes he broke up but didn't intercept. Other guys on our defense had good numbers too, but in most cases; they had Kyle to thank for the opportunities.

Kyle got a fair bit of media and scout attention after the game, but the scouts at least were disappointed to find out that he planned on playing ball for his father's college. The press loved that, and at least some of them were probably searching for Lee's old college football records to add to the 'small-town-kid plays big' story.

There was about an hour available in between each championship game, and while some of the members of our Witch Falls group had other plans – or were even heading home again after the game; we had tickets for the next match – as did all of the players, coaches, and cheerleaders. We had enough time to wander around, stretch our legs, and get drink and snack refills before moving to another set of seats. Most of the parents, including Sally's and Joshua's, were still with our team when the next game started, so there were some empty seats around us until about mid-way through the first quarter. All of our players earned cheers when they joined us, and though that was out of place and not timed with any action on the field; nobody seemed to mind. Maybe that happened regularly at these championship events.

Tim didn't get to spend much time with his cousin, but Kyle did talk with us for a couple of minutes before going to sit with Erin and most of the other guys on the team – and their girlfriends. Jason obviously didn't have his girlfriend there, but I have no idea how he felt about that because he completely ignored Michael and me.

With all of the older teens around, Rowen started going into shy mode, but Tim stayed close; and kept hold of her hand when she tried a few times to let go and avoid drawing any attention to them. I know that some of the girls noticed, but if any of the guys did; it was only after hearing about it from a girlfriend first. I don't blame them for that – after all, they'd just won a championship; and there was also a football game in progress that was way more interesting than who was holding hands with whom in the junior teen ranks.

I'm going to completely skip the second game re-cap; since I didn't know anything about either team. Michael, Tim, and Joshua were as into the game as the rest of the guys; but Rowen, Sally, and I mostly just chatted quietly and enjoyed being there with our boyfriends.

That's right, Rowen, you've joined the club. Give it a little time; and you'll get used to the idea.

Before I wrap up the football news, I should back up a bit and mention that Sally and Joshua had some celebration time with their brothers during that second game. Sally's older brother, Alex, is in his second year on the team, so this win was a bigger deal for him – just as it was for all of the guys who had lost to Clairmont in the game last season. Sally's other brother, Mark, and Joshua's older brother, Ray, are both in Grade Ten and this is their first year on the team, so while they don't have the history; they're very excited to now be part of Witch Falls football history. They each spent a little time with us too; but were nearly as busy as Kyle was. Finally, we obviously know all of the players, but didn't get a chance to talk with all of them this afternoon – or congratulate them.

We talked to Caleb and Erica, and they may have made a point of checking in with us after spending the afternoon together on Thanksgiving. Jeff Morris talked to us too, but that was because he was with Carolyn after the game when she came looking for us to get Tim and Rowen for the ride over to the hotel. Cody Carter was the only other guy to talk to us; and he actually sat down for a few minutes at the start of the third quarter. That little moment was fun because we talked horses more than football; but then he was off to hang out with the other, older teens; and we were on our own again.

We headed to the hotel after the 'bonus' game, and while someone had already done the check-in for the players, cheerleaders, and coaches; most of the families that were staying overnight needed to do that before going to our rooms. Sarah Landry needed to do that for Rowen and me; though our bill was going onto Mom's pre-authorized account. Once we were in our room, Rowen and I only had time to freshen up a bit, do our hair, and get dressed for dinner before needing to meet up with Michael, Tim, Sally, and Joshua. Since the players, their girlfriends, and most of their parents were attending special dinners and league events; we were on our own for Rowen's birthday dinner – though Sally was given a cell phone again in case of emergency; we had hotel transportation to the restaurant; and pre-arranged pick-up from the sports entertainment center at eleven o'clock for a ride back to the hotel.

That said; the six of us felt like we'd been set free in the big city for the first time ever. The good news for our parents is that we also took the trust being shown to us seriously; and didn't take the opportunity to get into any trouble – no matter how much Tim joked about doing just that. We'd picked out a surf and turf restaurant that was nice but not in any kind of budget range that would have shocked our friends. Then again, Sally and Joshua were surprised to find out that I was buying for all of us; though they probably assumed that some parental support went into my bank account ahead of time to have that kind of money available on my debit card. My perspective on that is different for sure; but then I spent about fifteen million dollars this week on some family business work; so that isn't really fair comparing my view on money compared to most kids or teens.

Dinner was still really good, though not on the same level as Thanksgiving dinner was yesterday. We had a couple of extra presents for Rowen; and there was a small birthday cake for dessert. We were at the restaurant for a bit more than an hour and a half; and then we walked to the sports entertainment center – ready to play for a few hours. Michael and I had really loved our visit to SportsFusion in Crystal Springs when we went there with his family for that last play day before Jake and Stephanie left for New York, and while this place wasn't as big and had some different activities, it was the same type of fun center; and we all had a blast tonight.

I knew exactly how my best friend would react to some of the extreme games, and while Sally and Joshua were right there with us for everything we tried; this was their first real experience with seeing that side of Rowen – except for maybe if they saw our bike routine during the Fourth of July parade. They were in the parade too, though, so they might not have caught that act. There was a rock climbing wall and Laser Tag here, just as there was at SportsFusion; but no giant zip line or trampoline basketball. They did have a pair of large trampolines with bungee cord harnesses that allowed a safe way to try some pretty cool tricks; an indoor beach volleyball court; and a massive arcade, where collecting tickets to win prizes. I won't comment on how lame those prizes were; since we went through a lot of tokens to win a few of them.

Tim needed to joke about why Rowen won so many games tonight, with the top excuse – I mean reason – being that he and the other guys were taking it easy because it was her birthday. I'm sure that her birthday – and best gift of the year – did have something to do with why Rowen was so motivated and fired up; but Rowen also has that thrill-seeker part of her too. Since she doesn't let that side of her out to play very often; Tim just keeps forgetting that it's there – and seems slightly astonished when she does things like climbing a rock wall while leaving him scrambling to even keep up. Rowen loved the trampolines too; and she and I were good enough at that to draw a small crowd of spectators while we did flips and somersaults for a few minutes. Tim won our games of Laser Tag, but with all of their practice with video games; the guys had a distinct advantage for that.

That blast of fun was over too soon, but we were outside with a few minutes to spare before our hotel van service arrived to take us back to the hotel. Sally and Joshua met up with their parents then, but Tim could only check in with his aunt and uncle because they were still out and celebrating with some of the other parents and teens. Michael and Tim's room has two double beds, so we opted to end our evening with watching a movie in their room – possibly because the guys would have thought that all four of us in the one bed in our room was too weird.

I'm not sure whether Rowen would have been that daring if our parents had been at the hotel too, but cuddling in a bed with Tim tonight when they wouldn't even have held hands in public this morning really is a big step; and for the parents reading this – we didn't do anything more radical than cuddling while watching the movie. Well, there were some kisses too; but I wouldn't classify that as radical either. Sarah checked in on us when their group got back to the hotel; and we were still in the boys' room then; so I'm sure that news will make the town news network over the weekend. We obviously weren't still in the beds by the time Tim opened the door, but it was also obvious that we had been, and Sarah didn't even attempt to hide the smile and laughter as she advised us that it was time for Rowen and I to go to our own room and for all of us to get some sleep. She didn't wait around to make sure that happened, and while it might have looked suspicious when Michael walked me to my room so that Tim and Rowen could end her birthday with a first goodnight kiss with her first boyfriend; he only stayed with me until Rowen joined us, and then he went back to his room again.

Yes, we took advantage of that time too, Rowen; but I'm sure you knew that we would – and I did mention already that this has been my best-ever, best friend's birthday; so a spectacular goodnight kiss should be a given.

We took turns in the bathroom; got ready for bed; and have been talking and surfing the web since then. Sleeping in – at least from my usual morning routine – is an option; but Michael and I are going to meet for Tai Chi early enough that we can do that and still be ready for breakfast at nine o'clock. Rowen is still on cloud nine, and it may be a while still before we're able to sleep, but that's really all I have for tonight; so I'm going to tuck my computer into its case for the night and maybe we'll be able to talk ourselves to sleep. There's a really good chance that we'll both have some very happy dreams to look forward to; so we really should get to that sooner instead of later.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Rebecca, Rowen, and I are having a sleepover at my house tonight; and that's exclusively because Rebecca broke up with Jason earlier today after he got back home. We are not having a guy-bashing party, and Rebecca is mostly just relieved that it's over with him; but that doesn't mean she isn't a bit sad about it too – and the Jacuzzi time and girl chat is helping her to deal with that part of the break-up.

I'm not going to do any guy bashing in this update either. Rebecca broke up with Jason because she found out that he'd spent a lot of time last night with a cheerleader from one of the other teams; and not just in a flirting sort of way. Yes, he's an idiot and has no idea how lucky he was, but they were all but over anyway; and Rebecca is going to do way better than Jason Johnson when she does find her match.

Yes, I could give you a hint; but won't – even though that'll be history by the time you read this. :^)

I've pretty much started with the end of our day, though, so let's go back to the beginning and do the rest of the update for today.

I met up with Michael at his room, and we ended up practicing our Tai Chi in the pool room. We had a handful of spectators watching us by the time we were finished, but weren't interrupted; and didn't get any ovations – though we had obviously entertained the guests and employees who had stopped to watch us.

Rowen had already taken her shower by the time I got back to our room, so I did that next; and then we both had fun doing our hair and getting ready to go for breakfast at the hotel restaurant. I'm a bit surprised in hindsight that we didn't hear about Jason and his cheerleader acquaintance at breakfast, but we didn't; and having Jason ignore us didn't seem any different today than it had on Friday. While pretty much everyone who was still there from Witch Falls was there with us for breakfast; we were at a table with Sarah, Lee, Kyle, and Erin. Tim especially loved getting a real chance to talk with Kyle about the game highlights; we all loved hearing about their dinner and everything else they did last night; and Sarah and Erin were quite interested to hear about Rowen's birthday fun – especially the part where she got a boyfriend as one of her gifts.

We went to one of the Malls for a couple of hours of shopping once we'd checked out after breakfast; and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were set free with Sally and Joshua again while the parents were mostly taking advantage of being somewhere that they could pick up some things that aren't available at home. The crowds weren't as crazy as they likely were on Friday; but the Mall was still crazy-busy; and we didn't do much more than browse and get some ideas for Christmas gifts that we can shop for next weekend when we're in Crystal Springs for the annual kids' Christmas shopping adventure.

With everything we've been doing this weekend, it's hard to believe that we're so close to that trip already – or that Christmas is only three and a half weeks away!

Moving along, we shopped until around noon; had lunch in the food court; and then hit the road for home. Sally's parents dropped Michael and I off at my house shortly before three-thirty; and we had a little snack break and visit before Michael needed to stop in at home to drop his things off; and then head over to the Inn. I needed to run over to the computer store so that Rowen and I could mostly give her mother the trip recap; and that was seriously fun. Owen and Patricia are going to need a little time to get used to their daughter having a boyfriend; but Patricia was very happy for Rowen and Owen isn't really as shocked as he pretended to be to find out that his little girl is growing up.

I went back home for a while after that, and then went to help out at the Inn for the dinner rush. That's where I found out about Rebecca breaking things off with Jason after getting that cheerleader news from some of the girls – including from Jenny. She had the team victory party to attend tonight, which is the main reason why I invited Rebecca to hang out with Rowen and me tonight. The Jacuzzi time offer sealed the deal, and since she'd worked most of Friday and Saturday already; Miranda set us free early so we could get started on that long before the Inn closed for the night.

Rowen didn't need any bonus offers, and though we'd thought about doing something again tonight with Michael and Tim, Rebecca needed her girlfriends more; Tim was going to crash the football party; and Michael didn't mind not having a late night when he's going to be helping out with all four holiday weekend buffets tomorrow. While Rebecca and Rowen both took turns in my Jacuzzi tonight, we also watched two chick flick Christmas movies. Ethan, Ehlana, and Mom joined us for the first one while Dad did some work in the office; and then we had an intermission before starting the second one that gave us enough time to help get the twins ready and tucked into bed for the night. Taking turns in the bathroom meant that Rebecca and Rowen each missed part of the second show; but we'd all seen it before, so that wasn't a big deal.

The girl chat time was the best part of the night for me; and it's felt just like old times tonight – though just a bit different without Jenny here too. Since we couldn't all fit comfortably in my bed or on the sectional sofa, Rebecca got to pick her preference; and she and Mandy are sleeping in my bed as I write this while Rowen and I are camping in the lounge. We put a third movie on; but have only been half-watching it while talking quietly and playing on our computers. I've been doing my nightly computing, and had to deal with a little family business issue; but we're both pretty much ready to get some sleep after three really busy days.

Tomorrow isn't exactly going to be quiet, and that's the last bit of news I have to report for today. While we were away, my family collectively decided that tomorrow afternoon is our best opportunity to go on our annual visit to the Christmas tree farm. I thought we were going to do that next Sunday; but I'm good with adding more fun to this weekend instead. Rowen's going to be able to come with us for that, but Michael can't because of the extra buffets at the Inn. I don't know if Tim can come with us, but we'll ask him tomorrow morning; and I'm sure that Rowen and Tim would both love getting to do that together.

I want to help out at the Inn too; tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent; and the teens are leading the service, so it's going to be another really busy day. With that in mind, Rowen and I really should follow Rebecca's lead and call it a night; so I'm going to at least try to do that now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

December 2013

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Happy Birthday, Mr. Seager!

I didn't really do anything to help Naomi's father celebrate his big day other than to wish him a Happy Birthday while we were at church and give him the gift that Ethan, Ehlana, and I had picked out for him. Ehlana has Naomi doing a sleepover with her tonight; Eli is with grandparents; and Liz and Philip have a kid-free night. No more details for their plans tonight are necessary!

I'm sure that the Seagers have had a good day, and mine has been fairly awesome too – starting out with Tai Chi while Rebecca, Rowen, and Mandy got a bit of extra sleep; and breakfast that Michael and his parents all joined us for after accepting Mom and Dad's invitation so they didn't need to cook another meal when they'd be doing that all afternoon for nearly everyone else in town.

That made for a crazy morning with cooking, cleaning, taking turns getting ready for church, and some girl hair-and-make-up time in my room that Mom and Miranda helped out with. Rebecca isn't all that broken up about Jason, as I already mentioned yesterday; but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to look her very best to celebrate her return to single-girl status.

I happen to know that our collective efforts were worth it after overhearing one specific comment directed at Jason by one of his buddies. "You are such an idiot" pretty much summed up my feelings perfectly, and though Jason wouldn't concede the point with a bunch of guys around; he didn't look very happy today. There was at least one other guy who was very happy about that news story today; but I'll keep that little news nugget private.

The teen service was awesome, and it was even more special to combine the Thanksgiving holiday with the first Advent Sunday. While everyone really enjoyed the music and skits, Michael and I – and everyone else who were working at the Inn today – had to leave as soon as the show was over and get started on cooking everything for the first buffet at noon. I worked with Rebecca on the prep line until I needed to be home to get changed and ready for the Christmas tree farm adventure.

I won't put that trip at the top of my best-ever-so-far list for getting our Christmas trees; but it was really great – and I loved getting to be there with so many extra people this year. Having Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Grace, and Uncle Mark with us was really special. Barb and Corey weren't exactly thrilled with the picking out trees part of the adventure; but even Corey had to grudgingly concede that the store was very interesting – and they even bought some hand-crafted ornaments and some treats to take home with them.

Rowen didn't end up going with us, but she was okay with that; because she went with Tim and his parents instead. They had the day off while Sarah and Lee took care of things at the dealership and shop for the last day of the holiday weekend. That hadn't been in their plans for today; but Tim's parents had offered to bring a truck and join the party after Rowen and I invited Tim when we saw them before church this morning.

Oh, and their story is definitely out on the grapevine now; and Rowen was very happy today – especially when she and Tim sat together at church; and held hands pretty much from the moment they met up until they split up to go home for lunch. They were holding hands a lot while we were at the farm this afternoon too; and even shared a very short kiss in public when Rowen and I showed Tim the 'First Christmas' ornaments we'd bought – one for them and one for Michael and me that we'll hang on the Christmas tree in my lounge this year.

As I mentioned, we had quite a few extra people with us today; and we also had extra trees to pick out and bring home. We had a total of three trucks, and still had to load them high with the trees. Dad had five trees to deliver; including the surprise gift we picked out for Michael and his family – and left on their front porch for them to find when they got home tonight. The Landrys had a full load too; including trees for the Emersons, and other members of their family. They had Grandma and Grandpa's tree too; but only because it was easy for them to drop it off on their way home.

There was so much going on this afternoon that I can't possibly cover all of it here; so let's just include a few favorite moments.

Picking out our trees was amazing; and I especially loved hearing the stories that Grandpa told us today about visits to the farm when Dad and Aunt Leanne were kids. Barb and Corey may not have liked walking around in the fields, but some of those stories included her; and Barb and Aunt Leanne both had fun with that. The first Christmas ornaments that Rowen and I bought weren't the only ones this year. Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam bought one for Zack; Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah needed one for Leah; and though this isn't technically their first Christmas together, it will be Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's first Christmas since they got married, so they bought one of the ornaments too.

While I loved Grandpa's stories, I also really loved getting to make brand new memories with him and Grandma – and especially the moments that included Ethan, Ehlana, and Zack. I know that Grandma and Grandpa love to travel – especially to warm places in the winter – so I'm really glad that we were able to do this with them this year. I'd say that we should move this to the Thanksgiving weekend every year when they'll be home anyway; but it was really crazy-busy at the farm today; and it wouldn't be easy to pull off on the weekends when the whole family is home. We should do it again sometime, though, to make sure that the grandparents and grandkids all get to have that experience together at least once.

We were away from Witch Falls for nearly four hours, so Mom and Dad set me free as soon as we got back so that I could freshen up, get changed, and head back to the Inn to help out there for another hour and a half or so. The third buffet was half over by then; so I was just in time to help with getting everything cooked for the fourth and final buffet. As usual, the customers for the first two buffets had mostly been visiting family and friends who wanted to get in on the buffet action before heading home. The third buffet was a mix of locals and visitors; and tickets for the fourth were sold almost entirely to our families, friends, and neighbors.

I would have stayed at the Inn longer tonight, but I had to choose between doing that with Michael and Rebecca and trimming the tree with Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi. Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for part of that, but they were also at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for dinner and some tree trimming there too – along with Uncle Adam's parents and grandparents – so we needed to share them tonight.

Decorating the tree and living room was both a great way to end the holiday weekend and kick off the Christmas season fun; but it was also time for me to get back to the real world tonight too – and my usual school night work and studies. That included a Magi lesson with Mom after Grandma and Grandpa left and Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi were tucked in for the night. That was another hour of fun time while Dad finished up the work he needed to have finished for Monday; but it was a bit tougher to get motivated for my language and archive studies after coming up to my room – especially when I started by multi-tasking that with some Jacuzzi time.

The work needed to be done, though, along with spending more than an hour on some family business projects; and that's why I'm still awake and playing on my computer when it's past three and I should be sleeping.

It hasn't been all work and no play. Rowen and I had a fun little chat, and she told me all about her tree-trimming fun – at Tim's house. Michael exchanged some text messages with me too; and I had long emails from all of my favorite college teens. Violet and Dillon got back to their residences safely and had a great weekend in Woodvale. Stephanie and Jake probably had way more fun than she wrote about in her email for their Thanksgiving weekend in the Big Apple. Christina and Josiah are back at school now too; and it sounds like their McEwan family Thanksgiving was a success. They'll all be focused on the upcoming final exams now; so I'm glad that they were all able to have some fun before getting into the next couple of weeks of hard work.

Finally, before I wrap this up; let's take a quick look at the week ahead. Tomorrow is Rebecca's fourteenth birthday. That – and the need for most mothers to have a holiday weekend recovery day, is why the Mom's Christmas shopping trip is going to be on Tuesday this year instead of Monday. Mom was going to do another airport run tomorrow, but Uncle Adam decided to take the day off so that she didn't need to take Barb and Corey back there for their flight home. Aunt Leanne and Zack are staying home tomorrow too because they're going on the shopping trip.

The kids' Christmas shopping trip on Saturday will be the other big event of the week around here, though I'm sure that Dawn is as excited about her impending twelfth birthday on Friday as she is about wrapping up her party and sleepover with meeting us in Crystal Springs for the day on Saturday – along with Jillian and the rest of her best friends. As of now, there aren't as many women going on the shopping trip on Tuesday, but Mom and Aunt Leanne expect that the kids' group will be about the same size or slightly larger for the trip on Saturday. I'm sure that everyone will have fun, but since this will be the first time that Rowen and I have done this with our boyfriends; I'll predict that we're going to have a best-ever day – and the entire week is looking pretty good right now.

We have Rebecca's birthday party tomorrow night, and I'm only going to get a few hours of down time as it is now, so that's it for tonight; and I'm out of here.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Happy 14th Birthday, Rebecca!

I have a lot to write about for Rebecca's big day, but need to write about something else that happened today before I get to that.

Michael got asked to do something special for the school Christmas show this year. That's not surprising, since he's one of the best musicians in the school; but he totally surprised me when he asked me to do a duet with him. Just in case the hopeful blue eyes and smile weren't enough; Michael threw in a very sweet kiss that convinced me to agree to do that with him. Doing something like that in public really isn't particularly scary for me; but it does feel very strange to be putting myself in the spotlight again – like we did at the Fourth of July parade – after always wanting to keep a low-profile while on the run with Mom. I wonder how long it will take for me to not feel that way anymore.

Anyway, so we're going to do a duet, so I've been listening to Christmas music tonight while I've been working; and Michael and I are both going to come up with some songs that we like to pick from. I've found lots of holiday duets to listen to on YouTube; but there really aren't very many that are newer songs. Singing one of the old favorites is an option; but I'm hoping that we'll find something that we both like that's newer – and appropriate for our age. There are some duets that are not meant for tween couples – no matter how nice the songs are; and especially with both parents and young kids in the audience.

The idea of getting snowed in and stuck at Michael's house for Christmas is nice, like in the 'Baby, it's cold outside' song; but I seriously doubt we'll ever have a storm so bad that I couldn't make it home from two doors down the street – no matter how much fun that might be. I'll save that thought for later, and get back to the rest of the update.

We started out with a fairly chilly morning, but it has warmed up since then and been very nice for the first school day of December. The only change to my normal weekday morning routine was having breakfast with Michael and his family. He mostly invited me so that we could give Rebecca the joint gift we'd gotten for her; and I was happy to get in on the special birthday breakfast that Jacob cooked for us. Rebecca opened one of the gifts from her parents and the one that Jake and Stephanie sent her; but had to wait until her party to open the rest.

The big story at school today was obviously the football championship; and every player on the team was treated like heroes by pretty much every kid and teen. I'd like to be able to report that we'll be done with football until next year; but the guys are just moving on to putting college football on the front burner. That isn't at the top of my fun list, though in a small way it is because Michael finds it very entertaining when I can jump in with the facts and stats about pretty much anything the guys are debating. I won't get into that, but the bottom line is that football will be on the guy chat list until after the Super Bowl; and I'll just have to make the best of it. The good news is that even if Rowen and I get stuck watching a lot of games between now and then; we'll be able to do that indoors – and preferably while cuddling with our boyfriends.

That little change made the gossip network today too; and Rowen loved every minute of her first school day ever with a boyfriend. She was shy and quiet a lot too; but didn't stop smiling all day – especially anytime she was holding hands with Tim between classes and at lunchtime. She was blushing after the one kiss I saw them share; but I'm sure she'll get used to that soon enough too. It was funny to see the reactions from some of our friends and classmates today. The four of us have been spending a lot of time together even before Nora broke up with Tim, so it was strange to see the looks of surprise and disbelief being directed at Rowen and Tim.

Nora wasn't surprised, but she did look to be just a little bit annoyed with a touch of sad. I don't know if she still had hopes for Tim still when he hadn't started dating anyone since their break-up in August; but the sad might have been there today if she finally saw the same thing that I do with Rowen and Tim. There are guys who still see Rowen the way Tim used to see her; both guys and girls who can't see quiet and shy Rowen together with the mostly overtly outgoing guy in our class; and the few, like Sally and Joshua, who know Rowen well-enough to get exactly why she and Tim are perfect for each other.

I'm just really happy that my best friend had a really great day – and is so happy right now.

Tim and Rowen were on their own for homework time after school – and not just because Michael and I needed to go over to his house to help out with Rebecca's birthday dinner and party. They ended up going to Tim's house to study; and Rowen was quite happy to assure me that they didn't just study when she told me all about it during our computer chat a while ago when I first fired up my computer to get started on my nightly computing. It will not even slightly surprise me to find out that they make more alone time for themselves than Michael and I manage to do; but we'll see how that goes for them – and us.

While Rowen was definitely having more of that kind of fun than I was tonight, Michael and I had a very entertaining evening too; and Rebecca at least had a good birthday if not a great one. The absence of a boyfriend tonight was particularly noticeable because Jenny had helped her to plan a party geared toward teen couples. Michael and I were the only 'kids' there; and we were mostly there for the dinner and to help with the work. Rebecca was really glad that we were because Jenny and the other girls were all busy with their boyfriends; and she ended up spending as much time with us – and with her parents – as she did with her older classmates and friends.

While Jacob cooked a special birthday meal, he also stuck with normal teen favorites too instead of trying something new and exotic. That made for a less-interesting than usual selection of food; but everything was also still delicious, and the entertainment was pretty good – if occasionally weird. I'll put Jenny and Garth at the top of the list for the weirdness; though there were other guys trying their best to compete with them for that title. Other than again mentioning that I will never, ever been seen feeding my boyfriend as if he was a baby in a high chair, complete with the baby talk; let's skip over the rest of the dinnertime goofiness.

The really good parts of the evening included helping out with making the meal and decorating the house. The awesome food deserves getting mentioned again; Michael and I had fun chatting with his parents; and Jenny kept Rebecca more entertained with her antics than their dinner conversation. There were two birthday cake options, and I loved the cherry chip – angel food version that had a creamy whipped fruit filling and the always-awesome creamy icing. That decision wasn't because the decadent chocolate cake was nearly gone by the time Michael and I were able to make our choices; but getting to have larger pieces of the less-popular cake was a very nice bonus.

We sang the birthday song when the cakes were brought into the dining room; though I'd say that about half the teens thought that they were too cool to do more than mumble along – or they just pretended to be singing. Rebecca opened her gifts while the cake and ice cream orders were taken and delivered; so by the time Michael and I sat down again with his parents to have our desserts; most of the teens had already finished eating and were set free to move the party into the living room.

That gave us a little break in the action, but then it was back to work for a fairly major clean-up.

Rebecca stopped in for a couple of long visits while we worked; and later, while Michael and I were having a guitar practice in his room, she stopped in and ended up sitting with us for nearly twenty minutes before anyone in the living room even noticed she was gone and came looking for her. She was okay with that because all of the games she and Jenny had put together were for couples, and while she could play 'game show hostess'; that wasn't always much fun when all of her friends had someone they were cuddling and playing with.

Since it was a school night, the party started wrapping up at nine; and the best part of the night for some of us started after the last teen guests had left. Jacob had brought their Christmas tree inside last night and set it up in the living room sometime during the day; and I was invited to stay and decorate it with them. That wasn't only special for me because it was another first-ever event with my boyfriend. I really loved getting to hear some Stone family Christmas stories; Rebecca was very happy to end her big day with the tree trimming; and we collectively made one of those family moments worth remembering forever.

Doing that tonight meant that I missed out on Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime, but I stopped in to give them kisses while they slept after having a bedtime chat and doing the daily recap with Mom and Dad before coming up to my room for the night. Other than the chat with Rowen and listening to Christmas music, I've been studying and working on some family business since getting changed and climbing into bed with Mandy. I don't have anything newsworthy to report from any of that work, and the only reason I'm writing this when it's only a bit after two is because Mom let me skip my Magi lesson tonight. We probably shouldn't have done that, since we'll probably miss our lesson tomorrow night too if Mom's as tired as usual after a big city shopping trip; but then I should have been sleeping at least an hour ago.

Michael and I are skipping Tai Chi in the morning so that we can help out with the breakfast buffet at the Inn in the morning; and we'll help out after school too because Jacob is expecting a big father-and-kids dinner out night while the Moms are away. That won't be as much fun as some alone time with Michael would be, and he'll miss a day off this week; but then we probably still owe his parents for letting him have the day off for Rowen's birthday and the football game last Friday.

That is what we'll be doing starting in a bit over four hours, though, so I'd better put my computer away now and get what sleep I can. We're supposed to have another decent weather day tomorrow, so getting snowed in overnight with Michael isn't going to happen; but I can definitely dream about it – and will give that a try right now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Mom's Christmas shopping adventure was probably way more fun than anything I did today; but Michael and I had fun even with all of the work time at the Inn.

Spending the morning working in the kitchen at the Inn was a blast; though Rebecca and I had more fun on the prep line than Michael did helping out with the dishes and bussing everything from pans of food going out to the buffet tables to trolleys full of dirty dishes coming back from the dining room. There were only thirty-eight women officially going on the shopping trip this year, but the dining room was more than half-full with other guests who were taking advantage of the special morning meal offer.

Mom, Grandma, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Grace were all going on the trip, but Aunt Deborah was staying behind to help Uncle Mark at the clinic – mostly because she didn't want to do both shopping trips this week; and she and Uncle Nick will be able to shop for Leah on Saturday anyway because she'll be staying here with her grandparents. The three of them were at the breakfast buffet, though; and Aunt Deborah took custody of Naomi when Liz left with the shoppers and the teachers in the family needed to get to school. She dropped both kids off at KidZone before going to the clinic – just as Dad did the same with Ethan and Ehlana before he went into the office.

I didn't catch up on most of that news until later, but I did take a break to spend a few minutes with my favorite women before they left town – and not because I wanted to make sure they had my Christmas wish list.

Michael, Rebecca, and I also stopped working long enough before we needed to be at school so that we could eat something too; and then we were off and running again. With lots of kids happily speculating over whether their mothers would be getting them the Christmas gifts of their dreams this year; it's no surprise that the kids' shopping trip moved to number one over football as the top kid and teen chat topic.

While I'm thinking about gifts, here's some advice for guys in general – if you're seriously planning on re-gifting something that you bought as a birthday gift for your now-ex-girlfriend to a different girl for Christmas, don't admit that to your buddies where it might be overheard and make it to the girl-chat gossip network. I didn't mention it in my last update, but I thought that the comments from a couple of the girls last night suggesting that Rebecca should have waited until after her birthday to break up with Jason in case he had gotten her something really good to be equally un-cool – whether they were joking or not.

Getting back to the real news of the day, the Christmas season is already heating up at school for more reasons that the shopping trips. With just two weeks and two days left to get ready for the school Christmas concert; Michael started taking time off from our classes to help with practices for the kids in the younger grades that he'll be accompanying on the guitar. We worked on our concert music in band practice too; but our first big event in this Friday night at the Pinehurst Christmas parade. I really hadn't thought about that much with everything else we have on the go; but it is going to be exciting; and I can hardly wait to find out what it's like to be at a night-time parade.

Michael and I were into music at lunchtime too; and we decided on which song to do for our duet – one of the three that Michael had picked out. I hadn't heard it done as a duet before; but really love the ideas he has for our version of it. We didn't get a chance to practice tonight, but Michael's going to try to stop in after work tomorrow so we can get started; and it won't take me very long to work up a keyboard arrangement – including at least some of the background instrumentals.

Moving along, we were back to our normal after-school study schedule today, and though Tim didn't have football to watch while he waited for us to finish band practice; he didn't have any problems rounding up a few guys who were willing to toss a ball around on the last nice, warmer-weather day we expect to have for the rest of the week. That was our first study group as two couples; and Patricia had as much fun with that as we did. Rowen thought that the drinks with two straws and two plates of snacks to share was a bit embarrassing; but I thought it was cute. Michael and I only had about forty-five minutes before we needed to be at the Inn by then; so we blasted through as much work as we could before leaving Rowen and Tim to finish the rest of their assignments without us.

The dinner rush was busy for a Tuesday, but not any harder to handle than the breakfast buffet had been this morning. We were busy and a bit short-handed, though; so we weren't ready to close the Inn until about the same time as our favorite shoppers were getting home from Crystal Springs. I missed out on most of the father-kids fun tonight, or I did with my father, brother, sister, and everyone else they had dinner and a play night with while I was busy; but I guess Michael, Rebecca, and I managed to have a pretty good time with their father while we worked in the kitchen together.

We were home by the time Mom and Miranda got back to the Stone's house, but for some unknown reason; I was put in charge of watching Ethan and Ehlana and getting them ready for bed while the parents unladed the van, and Michael and Rebecca were sent off to finish their homework. Grandma had already returned Dad's truck before I got home because Aunt Leanne and Zack were ready to go home before the Wal-Mart stop on their trip; so they'd done their last fast food fix and brought their group home early.

Mom was pretty much done for the day by the time everything had been unloaded and put away, so we went with the condensed version of all daily recaps before we all came up to our beds. I'm the only person who is still awake now; though Mom got temporarily un-tired earlier while having her Jacuzzi time.

Yeah, I really don't want to go there, so if you're currently using your imagination on that; don't tell me. Now, if you'd really like something mind-blowing to think about – imagine me sitting here in my bed; using my Sight to watch you sitting there in the future, reading my journal and imagining what my parents might have been doing earlier tonight during and after that Jacuzzi time.

Now I really wish I hadn't gone there!

That's pretty much ended my interest in writing anything else tonight too; though there really isn't anything else to report anyway. I've spent most of the last three hours on my usual school night studies except for about fifteen minutes of family business time that couldn't wait for after school tomorrow. We should have a couple of comparatively quiet days ahead of us now; so I may even think about having an early night or two to get ready for another busy weekend. That's all for now, and I'm ready for some down time, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I'm running on low power tonight; so this is going to be one of those micro-updates.

We were back to the normal weekday morning routine today; the weather outside was colder with late-morning rain; and there isn't anything all that exciting to report from school – other than the growing Christmas excitement as kids now speculate about what their mothers may have bought for them yesterday; and making shopping lists for our own Christmas trip on Saturday.

After school studying was at Landry's, and then I worked at home while Michael was busy at the Inn – and until he came over at around eight o'clock after being set free a bit early. I did take a break for dinner with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; but I also used a little Magi power to speed up my work too. That, and the energy I used while Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me after he joined us, has a lot to do with why I'm so tired now. Michael and I had a lengthy music practice too, but that was all fun; and our twin critics and audience think that we're going to be a hit at the Christmas concert.

Michael stayed to help with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night; we had a little visit after that with Mom and Dad; and then he went home for the night while I came up to my room to get started on my bedtime computing. That was only about an hour ago, but I've had enough fun; need the extra down time; and the rest of the work I had planned will just need to wait for whenever I can get around to it. That won't likely be until next week now, but I am not going to be too tired for any of the Christmas fun this year! Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The extra rest last night helped a lot today, but I'm still shooting for another early bedtime so I'll be ready for the weekend fun; and this will be another mini-update.

It's been a fairly quiet day, and at least part of the reason for that is because of the plunge back toward freezing winter temperatures. That transition always seems uncomfortable when it happens quickly; though we never have a problem when the temperature soars in the other direction – or when the drop is from extreme hot to air conditioning in the summer. There's a chance of snow this weekend, and I really love white Christmases; so I'll get used to the cold and hope for the best.

Then again, I might have a different opinion about that after the parade tomorrow night; but hoping won't change the fact that it is going to be below freezing; and we'll be sitting in cold chairs on a flatbed trailer while holding and playing cold metal musical instruments. Nobody in the band was thinking about that during our practice on Tuesday when we had such a nice weather afternoon; but I'm probably not the only teen thinking about it now – or almost teen in my case. That seems strange too – being the only non-teen in the band now that Michael and Rowen have both hit the 'teen' milestone.

Anyway, there wasn't anything newsworthy from around school; and I've had the usual Thursday night routine of studying at the Inn; working the dinner rush with Michael and his family; and game night. Michael and I had fun with all of that. Miranda had some fun with Rowen and Tim for their first study session at the Inn as a couple; the work in the kitchen after they left was fairly easy because there just weren't very many customers after the much busier than usual Tuesday breakfast and dinner. The trip on Saturday probably affected that too, but from what Miranda told me tonight; they're going to be really busy for the next two weeks with extra Christmas party bookings for both lunches and dinners.

Michael and I weren't in any danger of winning the junior championship tonight, but Rowen and Tim were fired up; and they managed to come in second place this week. While I really do like to win, getting to spend that time playing with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana was all fun; and I'm learning to appreciate how Jacob feels about just playing for fun. I enjoyed staying to help with the clean-up so that Michael and I could walk home together and share a fairly lengthy goodnight kiss too.

I still made it home in time to say goodnight to Ethan and Ehlana when they were tucked in for the night. Mom did a Magi lesson with me after that while Dad worked in the office; and then I came up to my room about an hour ago to get started on some Jacuzzi and nightly computing multi-tasking. That wouldn't have been enough time for a nice long soak and getting my hair dried; but I cheated just a bit with a touch or two of time-phasing. Mandy and I are tucked into bed now; we're in normal time; and she's already asleep. I'm ready to join her, and don't have anything else to report tonight; so that's it for now. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Happy 12th Birthday, Dawn!

From what I heard when we texted about fifteen minutes ago, she and her friends are having a blast with their party and sleepover; and we'll do what we can to keep that fun going tomorrow when we see them in Crystal Springs for the shopping trip.

Back here in Witch Falls, we're home from my first-ever parade with the school band; and I'm now seriously enjoying being truly warm for the first time in hours while soaking in my Jacuzzi.

Our day started out great, from my perspective, when we woke up and found a little dusting of white fluffy stuff on the ground. There was barely enough of it on the lawns to make any decent snowballs; though we tried our best to do that on our way to school and before classes started while we stayed outdoors and played until we needed to get into the school and started on our studies.

I had a blast with that little round of winter fun, and just in case tossing snowballs at each other could be considered 'our first fight'; Michael and I had a little bonus entertainment while we 'made up' for the first time too. Tim thought that was a great idea, and though Rowen was still blushing about their make-up kiss when we were sitting at our desks and the morning announcements put an end to the teasing and snickers being directed at the four of us; she was also sporting a very content and happy smile.

That was pretty much the most excitement we had through until getting set free for the weekend after last class. Michael, Rowen, and I had time to check in with our parents; drop book bags off at our homes; and we all got changed into clothes that would be warm enough for being outdoors all evening before meeting up again and heading back to the school. The bus and driver weren't there yet – they were busy doing one of the country kids' routes – but that just gave us time to help with getting the band gear together – the bigger instruments, music stands, and a box of music folders and clips that would hold them to the stands. The gear and instruments were the main reasons we were taking a bus instead of just getting some volunteer drivers with minivans, and though the bus wasn't going to be as comfortable for us; it made the trip feel more exciting to me. We were loaded up and on the road by five, and even with the cold weather; it was non-stop fun from then until we got back to the school at around eleven o'clock.

Before I get to that, I want to mention that Tim wasn't happy about not being with us tonight. It's probably the only time so far that he's wished that he was in the band too; though I'm sure that had more to do with Rowen than Michael and me. We'll see if that motivates him to join the band sometime in the future, but I don't expect anything else to get in the way of his high school football dreams; so we'll see whether that happens or not.

There was non-stop entertainment during the bus ride to Pinehurst. Michael, Rowen, and I were mostly quiet while enjoying the show the older teens put on for us – both intentionally and not. When we got to town, we needed to get everything set up on the trailer that had already been decorated by our 'sponsors' and brought to the park where the parade was being staged. All we needed to do was set up our chairs, music stands, and haul the drums and bigger instruments from the bus to the trailer. We had time after that to get hot drinks and food at tables that had been set up to take care of the volunteers and participants; and then we got onto the trailer and had a twenty-minute warm-up as we waited for the parade to start.

That warm-up was musical, not physical, and with the wind-chill tonight; it was well below freezing by the time we hit the road and started performing for the crowds that lined the streets. Pinehurst is quite a bit bigger than Witch Falls, so the parade route was longer than ours is for the Fourth of July. I'm sure that's mostly to accommodate all of the spectators, and there was a great turnout despite the cold. Since we were sitting on a flatbed trailer, we were high enough above the ground to watch pretty much all of the parade elements that were ahead of us; and it was really cool to see everything lit up and glowing in the dark.

Since I started this update with the news that I'm enjoying a nice long soak in my Jacuzzi, there's no point in sugar-coating the effects of sitting around in the cold; and even the guys had to admit that they were frozen solid by the time we had everything packed up again and on the bus. That doesn't mean that we didn't have fun too, because we did; and I really loved hearing people singing along to our music; clapping; and cheering us on. We even had fun with the teens that booed us because our football team beat theirs in the regular season finale this year on our way to the championship.

This parade was about a bit over an hour long this year, and since we were about a third of the way into it; we hit the road at around seven-twenty; and finished up at the other end just before eight-thirty. It was after nine by the time we had the bus packed up; and then we were set free to enjoy the mini winter carnival that was going on in and around the little downtown park and square. Michael, Rowen, and I picked up hot chocolate and snacks first; and then we wandered around and joined in for some of the games and activities while the older teens and our few chaperones hung out in other small groups.

While we didn't really get to have all that much time to play before we needed to be back on the bus and on our way home, most of us were ready to get out of the cold by the time we left for home – though out of the cold was relative; since the bus heater wasn't exactly keeping us toasty warm. I did have Michael to cuddle with while Rowen was on her own; so I won't complain about that too much. We weren't quite done with the cold when we got home either, since we still needed to unload the bus and put everything away in the music room before walking home.

That's why it was past eleven-thirty by the time Michael kissed me goodnight on my front porch before he hurried on to his house and we both went inside at the same time after one last exchange of waves and smiles. Mom and Dad had already been in bed for a while by then, but Mom met me in the hall on the second floor for a quick chat when I stopped there on my way up to leave a pair of goodnight kisses with my sleeping brother and sister. She assured me that running my Jacuzzi this late wouldn't bother her or Dad, so I'm glad that we did talk; since I probably would have skipped the tub time without that assurance. We didn't have time for the full update, but we can do that in the morning – if we have time for that around everything else we have going on with the breakfast buffet at the Inn and the shopping trip.

I really need to wrap this up, get out of the tub, dry my hair, and get off to sleep so I'll be ready for another day of Christmas fun and adventure. Having guys along for shopping trips isn't always a good idea, but Christmas shopping is definitely one of those exceptions; and Rowen and I are both sure that we're going to have one of those best-ever kind of trips for this first one with our boyfriends. Yes, they've been on the trip too before, but that isn't at all the same; and the trips each way are going to be way more fun with cuddle buddies – especially the trip home when we're all tired and ready for some quiet time.

Maybe I should check the travel schedule first before spending time dreaming about that tonight, but if Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I aren't together; that can only be because Aunt Leanne is playing a joke on us anyway. She isn't going on this trip, and I'll miss having her and Uncle Adam with us; but Uncle Adam is taking the on-call doctor work this weekend so that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace can go for the first time – and be there for Dawn's belated-birthday lunch too. I won't be the only one missing Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam tomorrow, but I'm sure that Aunt Leanne will check out the sales that will be going on in town all weekend; and will have one or more fast food deliveries dropped off at her house tomorrow night too.

Okay, that's enough of my wandering thoughts for tonight. It's time to wrap this up; get out of the tub; ready for bed; and off to sleep.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Best Christmas shopping day ever so far!

Starting out with a breakfast buffet at the Inn was awesome; and so was getting to spend the travel time each way with Grandma and Grandpa. I should admit that my appreciation for transportation comfort was fairly high today after riding the school bus last night; and that's also why some of my favorite 'country kids' friends got bonus hugs from me when we bumped into them around the Mall this morning.

Michael and Rebecca were helping out at the Inn up until the first wave of food went out to the buffet tables, and then they joined all of the shoppers in the dining room – Michael with Rowen, Tim, and me; and Rebecca with Jenny, Garth, and a group of their friends. The place was pretty much full without any extra customers, but Jacob and Miranda were continuing the buffet for most of the morning; and expected to have another full house once we were on the road for Crystal Springs. I was totally out of the loop for the organization side of the trip, so I got to enjoy the food and have fun with my friends while Mom was very busy with checking her lists and making sure that every kid, teen, and adult was accounted for and in groups and vehicles before she and Aunt Grace hit the road with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden in the minivan with them.

Grandma and Grandpa didn't even need to wait for the last group today, and we were on the road by shortly before eight o'clock. Rowen insisted that she and Tim sit in the back so that Michael and I could talk with them and my grandparents from the middle seats, and that worked for me; but they were definitely more comfortable cuddling together for the trip home tonight while Michael and I just ended up settling for holding hands when we conceded that our attempts to span the gap between our seats so we could cuddle weren't going to work. I'm sure that Rowen found it convenient that one side of the back bench was filled with shopping bags so that she had to sit in the middle right next to Tim too. You're welcome, guys, and I'm glad I could help you out with that, but for the record; I set that up expecting that Michael and I would be switching places with you for the trip home. Who knew that you'd pick today to decide that the back bench seat isn't really all that uncomfortable or too cold?

The lack of cuddle time with Michael wasn't really that big of a deal, and I really did enjoy the time with my grandparents. It's funny that they've been home all fall, yet we've all been so busy that those three hours on the road with them is the most time I've spent with them since summer – at least when we weren't sharing time with the rest of our family and friends. I should try and fit more of that into my schedule before they start traveling again in the New Year, though as usual; I have no idea how I'm going to make that happen. I'll try not to let that kind of stuff bother me, and just be grateful for the time we did get to spend together today. Even Tim would probably admit that my Grandfather in particular is really good at making travel time fun and entertaining; and he has the best travel stories for sure!

Moving along, we got to the Mall nearly twenty minutes ahead of Mom, Dad, and everyone traveling with them in the last group of vehicles; so Grandma and Grandpa set us free to get started on our shopping adventure. We were given an 'emergency' cell phone too, but even in a big mall, with about ten percent of the entire population of Witch Falls and the Ridge River district; we rarely went more than a couple of minutes without bumping into someone we knew. Text messages with Mom let us keep in touch. We met up with them for a bit of joint shopping not long after they were in the mall too; and that included some shopping time with Dawn, Jillian, and their friends too.

Michael and Tim definitely earned some points with those friends, and according to the email Dawn sent me; the comments after we'd left included offers to move to Witch Falls or adopting and helping poor small-town boys like ours to adapt to big-city life. Since Jillian is the only friend of Dawn's that I could ever see actually enjoying life in our little town, I don't think we'll have to deal with that, and while I have obvious issues with other girls wanting to adopt my boyfriend, Dawn's friends weren't looking at Michael or Tim in a big brother sort of way; so I'm sure they'll figure out soon enough that wouldn't work for them either.

We were so busy today, that there's no way to cover everything here; so let's just go with some highlights.

Getting our pictures taken with Santa as couples was silly and fun – especially since we did that while helping out with the Santa visits for Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, Leah, and some of the other kids. If you want to know the difference between Michael and Tim, ask to see those pictures. Michael stood next to us while I sat on Santa's knee while Tim shared the big guy's lap with Rowen and had an arm around his shoulders. I'm definitely biased, but Ethan and Ehlana had the cutest Santa pictures; including the one they had taken with Naomi and Aiden that had the girls on Santa's lap and the boys standing next to them.

I'm sure that it was just random chance that had Ethan next to Naomi and Aiden with Ehlana for that photo – not!

Oh, and Naomi, yes, I saw that even though the camera didn't catch it. Thanks for that cute little memory; and I love you.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had some shopping time with the twins and their friends between the time we did those pictures and lunchtime while giving Mom and Dad a bit of a break. We did half of that shopping together and the other half split up as needed to buy 'friends' gifts. The four of us were on kid control duty before and during lunch while others dealt with getting food or taking shopping bags out to the vehicles. Dawn's little family birthday celebration while we ate was entertaining; but I didn't actually get to spend much time with her. There was just too much competition for her attention and not enough time before it was time to move on to more shopping fun. We had another hour of mall time after that when we were on our own again before we moved on to spend a couple of hours at the big-box toy store.

Being there with Michael and Tim was a lot different; though Tim is actually a lot like Aunt Leanne when it comes to playing with the toys – the only difference being which toys they like to play with. Aunt Leanne wasn't playing video games when she was there on the Moms' trip; and the only robotic animals Tim liked were the dinosaurs.

While we spent more time with my family today, Michael and I also had some fun cameo moments with his sister and cousins too. We had a little shopping time at the toy store with Jessica and Ryan; Rebecca spent a little time with us at both the mall and the toy store when she and Jenny were split up for a while – either because of shopping plans or when Jenny and Garth were having a bit too much fun and she needed a break from them.

The last stop of the day, as usual, was at Wal-Mart. I had most of my shopping done by then; and spent as much time helping out with younger kids as I did doing anything else. Grandma and Grandpa were ready to take a break by then, so they relaxed while the rest of us continued playing – though they might have headed home with the other half of the shoppers who had been ready to leave after finishing up at the toy store if they'd had a different group of passengers. That did give them a chance to talk with Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa before they headed back to Woodvale, and with some of the other parents who took short breaks too.

Just as with everything else today, we didn't seem to have nearly enough time to say goodbye when we were ready to head home to Witch Falls or Woodvale; but at least we'll see the Rice family when they're home for the weekend between Christmas and New Year's Day. Since we still had around eighty shoppers from home, we split up and hit drive-thru windows at several fast food joints to speed up the food-to-go process; and Grandpa had us on the highway by seven-thirty. The trip home was a lot quieter than the one to the city; and then we had another blast of busy while Grandpa dropped Tim, Rowen, Michael, and me off before heading home with plans to go straight to bed after unloading their own purchases.

Michael and I were at my house in time to help unload both the minivan and truck; and we were busy until ten o'clock with that before we helped to tuck Ethan and Ehlana into their beds. Mom and Dad headed for bed shortly after that too while Michael and I came up to my room. We practiced the song we're doing for the Christmas concert first; watched a Christmas movie; wrapped some gifts; and managed to fit in a bit of quality make-out time too before he needed to head home at midnight.

That was a perfect way to end a really great day; and I've been smiling the entire time since saying goodnight to Michael in a mostly non-verbal sort of way. There were a few snowflakes starting to fall when he walked home, and we should have a little dusting on the ground by morning; but we're only likely going to see a half-inch or so of the white fluffy stuff now instead of the two or three inches they'd called for a few days ago. That won't last long, so I really hope we'll get more snow between now and Christmas!

It's closing in on one o'clock now, and time for me to get some sleep. Dad's going to be playing catch up on his work tomorrow after taking the day off today, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I have a birthday party to go to tomorrow afternoon that includes dinner at the Inn; and Michael and I are both going to help out in the kitchen before and after dinner too so we're in for another busy day. We'll need to get around to our weekend homework sometime too, but we may end up doing that on our own if we can't make time to study together. That's okay with me once in a while, since I can work faster that way; though it isn't as much fun as when we're hanging out together.

That's enough of the news for today, and I really do want to get off to sleep; so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Lily!

I'm fairly sure that Tai Chi this morning was the only quiet time I had today through until I climbed into my Jacuzzi tonight – and even then I was multi-tasking my usual school night studies, work, and computing while I was the tub time.

The morning highlights included some sister hair and dress-up time with Ehlana and the full shopping and travel report exchange during breakfast that included pretty much everything that had been going on when we weren't together yesterday. There was more shopping talk going on at church too, but the main action there for the kids, teens, and Sunday school teachers revolved around the ongoing work needed to get ready for the teen Christmas concert and other holiday activities and crafts.

Snow had continued to fall very lightly all morning, so Michael and I weren't the only people in town having minor snowball fights after church; though we were on our own for that while walking to the Inn. His parents had needed to leave before the service had ended, but we were ahead of Rebecca and most of the staff working the lunch shift too; and while I wouldn't classify that little respite as quiet time; it was quite a bit of fun.

I only helped out at the Inn until the main prep work was finished for the lunch rush, and then I went home to eat and get ready for Lily's party. It had pretty much stopped snowing by then and Dad had cleared that half-inch or so of white and fluffy from the driveway, sidewalks, and porches already. Missing out on that was okay, but I would have liked to be there for the wintry play time Mom and Dad had with Ethan and Ehlana when they'd first got home from church.

Rowen met up with me at my house because Mom was taking us over to Lily's for the party so we didn't have to walk. We picked Michael up at the Inn on our way; but met Tim there. This had been another group gift opportunity, and as usual; I liked being able to do that instead of buying four smaller gifts for our friends. It was also the first time I'd been invited to one of Lily's parties; which gave me a chance to get to know her family a bit better than I did before today.

She's a member of the Ayres clan, but only distantly related to Uncle Nick, Liz, and their side of the family. That sometimes seems strange in such a small town when families have the same last name; but then I also don't usually even think about how connected almost all of the families here really are. I'm sure that Lily doesn't mind having a cousin for one of her teachers this year; and probably has other teachers with closer relationships. It's probably because it was just Mom and me before moving here that makes my new family ties so much more important to me than for other kids and teens.

Anyway, Lily's the baby of her family; her parents are closer in age to Michael's parents than mine; and her oldest brother is in his second year of college now. He obviously couldn't be at Lily's party, but her sister, Alexandria, and brother, Kurt, were there all afternoon – while staying out of the way with their respective boyfriend and girlfriend until we all went to dinner at the Inn. There really isn't much to report from the party. The guys mostly wanted to talk football – and watch it on television when they weren't playing video games too. The college championship games from Saturday were big news – particularly the upsets – and the NFL races for playoff spots are heating up too; so the die-hard fans like Tim are really getting into the games now that high school football is done for the season.

I should probably recognize for posterity that my boyfriend did not even attempt to watch football last night or even check the scores while we were hanging out together in the lounge. Hopefully that won't damage his future reputation; but I've definitely lucked out in the boyfriend department when it comes to things like that.

While the boys were immersed in football and video games, the girls mostly just sat around and talked. The only excitement for the afternoon was when Lily opened her gifts, and her parents had her do that at the house so that they didn't need to drag everything to the Inn only to haul it home again later. Michael and I left for the Inn early so that we could help with getting the first wave of food cooked and out to the buffet tables; and then we re-joined the party. Tim and Rowen had saved seats for us, and though we were on the edge of the birthday action; we enjoyed an entertaining hour and a half together before Michael and I wished Lily one last happy birthday and went back to work in the kitchen.

The rest of my Sunday evening has been busy and more than a little exhausting. Michael, Rebecca, and I were sent home early; mostly because we all had homework that needed to get finished by morning. I stopped in at Michael's house long enough for a decent goodnight hug and kiss; but then headed home for the night from there. Except for some bedtime fun while getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; it's been all work since then. My homework didn't take long, but my Magi lesson with Mom took a bit over an hour; and I've spent more than three hours on my studies, the family business, and my usual nightly computing since climbing into bed with Mandy.

I really need to crash for a few hours now, but before I do that; let's take a quick look at the upcoming events schedule. It's hard to believe that we only have two weeks left at school before the Christmas break, but most of the college kids only have one week left before they'll be coming home. They're all concentrating on exams right now, but I'm looking forward to having Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie home again soon.

That's going to be great, but we have a lot more on the go; including the school Christmas dance on Friday night; a sleepover and babysitting service on Saturday night while the adults go out to a Christmas dinner at the Inn and party at Sheldon's; and our band has a Seniors' Christmas party to play at on Friday afternoon, and the Maple Valley Christmas parade on Saturday morning. We'll be having our last game night of the year on Thursday too; Michael and I need to find more time to practice for the school Christmas concert between now and next Thursday; and I have all of my regular work to do too, so even the quieter days will be busy.

With all of that to look forward to, I really should get started on my nap time now. If this weekend is any indication; this whole month is going to add up to a best-ever kind of Christmas and holiday season; and every day will be full of fun and excitement – even with all of the work.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, December 9, 2013

I've been drafted!

No, I won't be shipping out to boot camp or anything – and I'm sure that Michael and I had a lot more fun while he convinced me to help out with the music for some of the younger kids than standard armed forces recruiting methods would be. Okay, I was actually already drafted before Michael got around to convincing me to keep helping him when we had some alone time in the lounge tonight, and it isn't as if I would have turned him down anyway; but let's not let those little facts get in the way of a good story.

We found out about the need for a pianist before first class when Michael was told that he'd be on his own for the two practices he had due to a shortage of volunteers. The next thing I knew; we were both getting out of class to help out with those practices that were booked for the Kindergarten and Grade One kids. I had to do some acting while 'learning' the songs even though I had them memorized after the first run-through; but everything else about helping the younger kids was really great. Ryan Bassett was thrilled to have Michael playing or his Grade One class; and his buddies seem to think that he's done okay in the older cousin department – even if Michael might have lost a few points for bringing his girlfriend along.

That music time was the most fun while we were at school; though we had fun at lunchtime too that included some Christmas-related chat time while we ate and then some basketball in the gym. Most of the younger kids went outside to play, but we decided not to bother with bundling up for the bit of time we had left of our break by the time we were ready to leave the cafeteria.

Our after school studying was at Michael's house tonight because we were switching up our family dinner nights this week. His parents need to work at the Inn tomorrow to help out with a Christmas parties; so they're only taking one day off this week. He and Rebecca still have Tuesday off; and I invited both of them to have dinner with us – though Rebecca hasn't decided yet whether she'll join us or not yet. Michael and I had a bit of extra work to do tonight after missing most of two classes, but that really wasn't a big deal; and we still had some time left for video gaming before Tim and Rowen headed out and Michael and I set the table shortly before dinner was ready.

Jacob had gone all out with a new entree experiment; and I really love getting to try out those amazing dishes – even when they get mixed reviews from the critics. Anyone reading this who knows Jacob understands that he's his own biggest critic; and that he wants his culinary guinea pigs to be honest when he tests out his new creations. Our dining adventure tonight was spicier than most people would enjoy, and there was a biting after-taste that took a while to wear off; so Jacob is putting that recipe back into the work-in-progress file.

Michael, Rebecca, and I took care of the clean-up; we had a little visit in the living room with Jacob and Miranda; and then Michael and I came over to my house so we could practice for the concert as well as do my guitar lesson and a saxophone practice for both our music class and band practice tomorrow. Mom did a Magi lesson with us too and we joined in for the bedtime story and snack for Ethan and Ehlana; so we were busy pretty much through until the cuddle and make-out time in the lounge – I mean the draftee benefit program that convinced me to help Michael with the Christmas concert music.

Whatever you want to call it, we had fun; and would have liked to play for a while longer than we could under the constraints of a school night curfew. That's probably for the best anyway because it's closing in on three o'clock now; and the only reason I wrapped up my studies and work for the night is because it's so late. I'll put in another long day tomorrow too, but then I'm going to cut back for the rest of the week so I don't burn out going into the weekend.

The last thing that I should mention tonight is the latest news from Violet, Stephanie, and Christina; since I haven't really done a college update in a while. The first day of final exams went fairly well for them – and for Dillon, Jake, and Josiah. It sounded as though the exams were actually less stressful than all of the studying leading up to them; so maybe they'll all be able to relax a bit while getting ready for the rest of their exams. Some of the stories from residential halls are entertaining, but the only thing that really shocks any of my favorite college freshmen is the continuing parties that are going on even when every student should be focused on their studies. Home may seem downright tedious by comparison to campus action; but I think we'll manage to help all of our college students to have a good Christmas even if there aren't any all-night – or weekend – parties; blaring music and non-stop noise; or any of the other craziness they've been experiencing over the past four months.

There's none of that going on here right now either, and that works for me; since I'm ready to wrap this up and join Mandy and the rest of my family in slumber land. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Happy 18th Birthday, Josiah!

Celebrating the day with writing a college exam probably isn't very exciting, and he and Christina will be studying for their next exams tonight; but I hope they had a little fun now and then today too.

I certainly did – especially when Michael and I got to have a second night with some quality alone time while we watched a Christmas movie in the lounge.

Before I get to that, though, we've had another busy, musical kind of day. That included working on the music and skit our own class is doing for the Christmas concert; and Michael and I also helped out with the practice for the Grade Four kids. Since Jessica Bassett, Lindsay Faulkner, and Geraldine Sheldon are all in that class; we had a lot of fun with Michael's cousin and her best friends. I've mentioned it before, and still don't know how to fit everything into our schedule; but Michael and I really do need to find ways to spend more time with his cousins. Maybe we'll put together some play dates with them during the holidays. With mid-week Christmas and New Year's Day and a family Christmas weekend in between; that should be easy, right?

Moving along, the next phase of our musical adventures today was band practice. We had a lot of work to cover today because we're doing two completely different programs for the Senior's Christmas party on Friday afternoon and the Maple Valley parade on Saturday. That meant working a bit later than usual; so we didn't have much time for our homework session at the computer store before Michael and I needed to get home and help out with dinner. Rebecca was already there by then; and Ethan and Ehlana were happily keeping her entertained while she was helping Mom and they were supervising.

We joined in to help; and the next couple of hours or so breezed by as we cooked, ate, and then cleaned up. Rebecca headed home after that despite Ethan and Ehlana's best efforts to get her to stay and play with them while the rest of us were busy. There's a very good chance that Rebecca is the closest thing Ethan will have to a crush. For that special person in Ethan's future reading this in your present, I'm sure you know about that for sure; and have no more to worry about there than Michael does with how I feel about his brother. I think that Ethan has great taste in women – including being in love with you!

That train of thought went a bit off-topic; so let's get back on track.

Dad's putting in extra work time this week to get ready for his last trip to Crystal Springs for the year, and while Mom worked in the office too; she ended up doing another Magi lesson with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and me after Rebecca decided not to stay. Michael and I had Ethan and Ehlana with us for our music practice after that; we did the bedtime story and snack with them again too; and then got around to that movie and make-out time that was definitely at the top of my fun and hot lists for the day!

That play time was way more fun than the studying and family business work I've been doing since Michael went home, but that all needed to be done; and I managed to get far enough along that I won't feel too bad if I go with a couple of early nights tomorrow and Thursday. There are lots of Fun little details from today that I'm skipping over; but it's time to call it a night; put my computer away; and crash for a few hours.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

It's time for a micro-update to go along with my early bedtime plans.

The highlights from today included the music practices Michael and I did with the Kindergarten and Grade One classes; our after-school studying at Landry's before we all went to work at our respective part-time jobs; and the Jacuzzi time that I'm about to finish with as soon as I'm done writing this update. My Magi lesson with Mom was fun too, and our work evening in the office was entertaining enough, mostly thanks to Ethan and Ehlana; but I don't really have any news to report from any of that.

I've only done my archive homework from my lesson and the usual nightly computer checks while soaking in the hot, bubbly water; and that's why I'll be sleeping by eleven o'clock – if I hurry up and finish getting ready for bed and drying my hair. I'm going to get started on that right now, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Okay, sometimes you've got to love it when a plan completely backfires!

For the last game night of the year, Miranda set up another boys against the girls competition; hoping to have Mom help her to have championship bragging rights until the New Year. The absolutely hilarious problem she had with that was Dad helping Jacob to win the senior championship instead! Yeah, I know, Jacob never wins at game night; but you're reading this in the future, so go look it up if you don't believe me.

That was possibly my favorite game night moment ever so far; and everyone there had a lot of fun with it – even Miranda. I have no idea what motivated Jacob to play as well as he did tonight, but while that whole scene was a blast; none of us should have been surprised that he could play well and win if he really wanted to do that. After all, he's a chef; incredibly good with his hands; and though he doesn't get a chance to play sports very often, he's very athletic too.

There's a very good chance that Miranda was reminded of at least two of those facts after they got home and went to bed; but I don't want to go there any more than Michael or Rebecca did when their parents started talking about Jacob needing to make it up to his wife after depriving her of her year-end game night glory. Again, to all of the parents – and grandparents, for that matter – out there, we're not suggesting that sex should be over for you at any age; but we are saying that your under-age kids don't need to know any details.

Okay, that was the highlight of the night, but we've had a pretty good day too. Michael stayed for Tai Chi and breakfast; he and I had more music practice fun at school; and our fun at the Inn tonight started with a study session with Tim, Rowen, and Rebecca before moving on to three of us working in the kitchen. Since Dad is in the city next week, he and Aunt Leanne were doing a work Christmas dinner at the Inn. Families were invited this year, so all of the Nortons were there; along with the families of some of their contractors and suppliers. Michael and I had our little dinner break in the dining room so we could sit in on part of that fun; but we went back to work again to help with the clean-up until it was time to start the gaming action.

We were late getting home from the Inn, so Mom skipped Magi lessons, and I came up to my room to get started on some quality Jacuzzi time while Ethan and Ehlana were getting some tub time too ahead of their Friday KidZone play date. I've missed out on tucking them in for the night, but I really did want to stick with my early bedtime plans; which is why I'm doing this right before getting out of the tub so I can head straight for bed once I've done my hair and hopped into some comfy pajamas. The next few days are going to be crazy – though I should probably just say that for nearly every day between now and after New Year's Day. I'll need to keep up with my family business work; but I'm now seriously considering dropping the language and archive studies until after the holidays. We'll see how it goes. That is all I have for tonight, though, and I still have a chance at a pre-midnight bedtime; so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Let's start this update with a tiny little confession.

I did not write about the snowstorm that was in the forecast because it's Friday the 13th; this Witch Falls; and I didn't want to jinx the holiday fun for today. The great news is that we didn't get any rain until late afternoon, and while I was happy to see snow falling during the school Christmas dance; we didn't get enough of it to get in the way of our evening out. I'll get to that news in a bit; but let's go back to this morning and keep this report in order.

Weather watching was near the top of my to-do list when I woke up this morning, and even then it was still sounding iffy for both the Seniors' Christmas party this afternoon and the school dance. Freezing rain and snow could have nixed both of them – and sent the country kids home early too. All of the kids who are too young for the school dances were wishing for that outcome; but this was one of those incredibly rare occasions when the teens weren't hoping for a weather-shortened school day and bonus time for the weekend.

I had to plan for the school day as if everything was a go, so that meant dressing up a bit so that I'd be ready for the afternoon party at the church; and making sure that my saxophone was nice and shiny too. We managed to fit Tai Chi and breakfast in along the way too before Rowen stopped in to get me on her way to school. She was fired up this morning; and even had her overnight bag and clothes for the dance with her so we wouldn't need to make a stop at her house sometime after school. She was also not interested in hearing about any possibilities that weather might get in the way of her first Christmas dance with Tim as her date and boyfriend; so we didn't talk about that at all while I hoped for the best.

Michael and I had a blast at school today; and that was at least partly because we basically didn't spend much time in our classes at all. We did music practices with the Kindergarten and Grade One classes in the morning; spent our lunch hour and a little extra time before that helping to get everything set up in the church hall for the Seniors' Christmas party; and then spent the afternoon playing mostly oldies Christmas music with the band while many of our grandparents spent a few hours playing with their friends – including my grandparents. That was actually a first for them too; since they'd been going on holidays to Arizona every fall since retiring.

The music and party had me thinking about old Christmas movies while we played and had fun; and I loved spending that time with Michael while we entertained some of our favorite people. Getting fed Olde Bakery Christmas treats was a really nice bonus too; and made the extra work that kept us at school until four worth the delayed start to our weekend. Mrs. Robinson needed the help – especially since none of the country teens could stay late without missing their bus rides home.

We did the after-school snack at my house, and then we had Ethan and Ehlana with us in the lounge for some play time until Michael and Tim headed to the Inn and home for dinner while Rowen and I helped Mom with the dinner and a movie night cooking; had something to eat early; and then went up to my room to get ready for the dance. Michael and Tim 'picked us up' when it was time to head over to the school, though they probably wished they'd just met us there instead. Aunt Leanne was in fine form tonight; she led the jokes and commentary; and made sure that Dad took lots of pictures before finally letting us escape. Yes, I thought that was all fun too, if sometimes a bit embarrassing, but there was Christmas magic in the air from then on; and the rest of our night has been enchanting and wonderful!

Let's begin the dance news by reporting that Rowen and I thought that our guys looked seriously hot. Tim isn't really a fan of getting dressed up, but he also knows that he looks good when he does, and considering how great Rowen looked tonight too; I'm sure that he's as glad that he made the effort as she is. The walk to school didn't take long, and the magic was already in the air when getting into the dance required passing under a strategically-placed mistletoe. There wasn't a line-up when we arrived, so Michael and I didn't find out until we shared our kiss that pictures were being taken of those mistletoe moments. That was probably a good thing that we didn't know – especially since we lost track of a few moments there – about three pictures, some laughs, and a verbal nudge from Tim worth of them.

Going through that ahead of our friends had mostly been for Rowen's benefit; and she did find the very public kiss with Tim easier after Michael and I had given everyone something to laugh about. Their kiss was barely long enough to be caught on camera, but it was; because we bought the copies that were being sold as part of the usual dance fundraising efforts. We did our part to help out with most of those raffles, sales, and buying food and drinks from the concession tables; but we spent most of our time dancing and having fun with our friends.

I'll get to that soon, but let's take a few minutes to write about some of my thoughts about the social side of this little teen event.

First up, Rebecca was at the dance, but she didn't have a date; and spent half or more of her time working as one of the volunteers. She'd helped with the set-up in the afternoon too; and had been back at the school early when it was time to get the snacks and drinks set out and ready to sell. She also looked absolutely gorgeous, and while I know she isn't interested in jumping right back into the dating game again; she was certainly noticed in a big way by a lot of the guys tonight. Rowen and I got her to dance to some songs with us and a few of our friends, and Michael took her out for a couple of dances; but she only went dancing during two other ballad sets with a 'safe' friend and classmate partner who she could trust not to hit on her. I actually know why that's true better than she does; but we'll save that little news tidbit for another, more appropriate time.

Next I'd like to write a bit about how our social standing is changing for Rowen and me. Michael and Tim have always been two of the most popular guys in our class, but let's be honest – Rowen and I haven't exactly been the 'it girls' or anything. Tim's definitely helping Rowen take the next step out of her shyness shell now, and Michael's getting me more involved with all of our friends. That isn't putting us in imminent danger of becoming the most popular couples at school – or even in our class; but we are starting to feel like we're part of the group instead of on the outside looking in.

Of course we are in Grade Eight, and on the outside looking in compared to the high school seniors and leaders. Tim barely has a touch of an in on that crowd through his cousins, but even that doesn't mean that we can hang around with Kyle, Erin, and their group of friends for more than a couple of minutes without looking way out of place and feeling uncomfortable. Even in our little town the social order must be maintained; and we didn't try to rock that boat.

I have some other observations, but think that it's time to stop writing anything about Jason in his post-Rebecca dating career; and I'm going to give Jenny and a couple of other girls a break too. This is a good place to re-affirm that I will never, ever be into way too personal displays of affection in public. That won't be news for you when you read this sometime in the future, Michael; but we'll be keeping that kind of fun strictly between you and me without audiences.

Let's save those thoughts about some Michael and me alone time for my dreams later tonight and move along.

I loved every minute of the dance. Michael is a really good dancer; and it definitely feels like magic when we're out on the dance floor together. That isn't quite as special as our music is, but it is pretty good; and I fall a little more in love with Michael with every one of those special moments we share. Having fun with our friends; Olde Bakery treats; and having Rowen win one of the little raffles all helped to make for a wonderful evening too; and we wrapped up our night out with a pair of magical goodnight kisses. I walked with Michael to his house for ours because it would have just been a bit too weird to share my front porch with Rowen and Tim. That worked out pretty well even with the four of us trying to make sure that enough semi-alone time didn't turn into too long. Since Rowen and I were both fairly happy when I caught up with her and we watched Tim until he was out of sight; I'd say we managed to accomplish that goal successfully.

Mom and Dad had gone to bed already, but Mom came upstairs to see us and have a short little girl chat shortly after we got to my room. Rowen had a couple of blisters and sore feet that I helped her out with using a little Magi power; and she's in the middle of a visit with my Jacuzzi that she started right after Mom left to go back downstairs while I got changed and into bed with Mandy and started in on my nightly computing.

The only news I have from around the family is that Violet and Dillon are almost home to Woodvale. He had a late exam, and then they've been fighting traffic off and on all the way. I hope they have a good weekend there, but I'm going to be really happy to see them when they get here in time for the buffet dinner at the Inn that is mostly going to be for them, Jake and Stephanie, and Christina and Josiah. I haven't heard anything from Stephanie today, but they'll be back here by tomorrow afternoon sometime; and they have Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor picking them up from the airport while their parents are all busy at the store and Inn. Josiah and Christina are doing the same thing as Violet and Dillon; and are probably at Christina's home by now. They'll be here in time for dinner on Sunday too; and all three couples will be home for Christmas – and our family Christmas on the following weekend.

I guess that's really about all of the news I have tonight. I missed the dinner and movie night here, and it sounded like they had fun; at least from what Mom told us with her side of the mini-recaps we exchanged. It also sounds like Rowen is about done in the tub, and we're going to have an early start to the day because of the parade we're playing in; so I'd better wrap this up and get ready to head off to sleep as soon as she's ready for that too. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Now that the weather didn't interfere with the Christmas fun yesterday, I can wish that we'd had a bit more snow overnight, but there was at least a light dusting of white on the ground this morning while not being enough to make the bus trip to Maple Valley a problem.

Rowen and I were a bit rushed this morning. She didn't need to grab a shower, but I did; and we both needed to do our hair and get dressed appropriately for another cold-weather parade. Dad cooked up pancakes and bacon for breakfast; and let us off the hook for work at both ends of the meal. Michael and I both skipped Tai Chi this morning too, but he made it over to my house nearly ten minutes before Rowen and I were ready to walk over to the school by eight o'clock. We were among the first teens there, and helped get the bus loaded with the same gear we took to the first parade. We were on the road by a quarter to nine; and got to Maple Valley by nine-thirty. That gave us time to get everything set up on the flatbed trailer; do our warm-up; and then we had a little time to get hot drinks and take a break before needing to get ready to head out onto the parade route.

I really liked the night-time parade, but we had more fun today. One of the reasons for that, at least for me, was because Mom and Dad brought Ethan and Ehlana to the parade – and to see Santa after it was over. It wasn't really a lot warmer today than at the Pinehurst parade, so I was probably just getting used to playing in the cold already; since I didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable being outdoors for about three and a half hours straight from the time we arrived until we hopped on the bus and headed home again.

The festivities around Maple Valley today felt a lot like they do during the maple syrup festival; and they even had some of the same events going on except with a Christmas theme. We were near the front of the parade this time, and the second musical act; so we had a great reaction from the crowds along the streets. There weren't any teen booing incidents like there had been last weekend, but then our football rivalry with Maple Valley is much more friendly than with some of the other schools – possibly because their years of football glory are about as rare as ours; so their players are in it for the fun.

I guess there really isn't much to write about for our part in the parade. Even with the third and fourth part music that Michael and I play, we still need to mostly focus on our music and conductor; so that doesn't really leave much time for anything else. Yes, I take in and memorize everything that happens around me, and process more than most all of the time; but describing all of that in writing isn't really possible – not to mention that the details at that level can be fairly boring. For instance, I'm sure that you don't care that I noticed everything about the guy checking my Mom out while his wife was talking with her and their kids were hanging out with Ethan and Ehlana right down to the small rip in his left-hand glove and there was a scratch along the edge of the right lens of the sunglasses he was wearing that didn't keep me from seeing which parts of my mother he was appreciating.

Like I've noted repeatedly; having our photographic memories isn't always a good thing.

Moving along, this parade route took about forty minutes to get through, so we were finished playing by ten to twelve. We had a five minute walk to where the bus was parked; so it took nearly another half hour to get everything loaded up again before we were given an hour to have lunch and check out some of the festival action. Michael, Rowen, and I were able to meet up with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana for part of that time, but we only had about twenty minutes to spend with them by the time they found us after the parade was over. We picked up some maple syrup in bottles that had Christmassy-themed labels and red ribbons, and a few items from the craft sale; but then it was time for Michael, Rowen, and me to meet up with the band and get on the bus. Mom and Dad stayed at the festival for nearly another hour with the twins; though they ended up skipping the Santa visit when doing that was going to take a lot longer than an hour. Ethan and Ehlana had done the pictures with Santa last weekend, though, so they didn't mind; and Mom and Dad didn't want to end up rushing around to get ready for their Christmas dinner and party.

We got home before they did even after helping to get all of the band gear into the school again first; but that just gave Rowen and I time to gather up her things and take them to her house. She went on to the computer store from there, and Michael and I went to his house to drop off his saxophone on our way to the Inn to check in with his parents. I couldn't stay there long, but ended up spending nearly a half-hour there when Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor made the Inn their first stop with Jake and Stephanie.

Their experiences over the past four months have definitely changed them; though not at all where it really matters. Stephanie's changed her hair style, and the more worldly and wise I could see in their faces wasn't all from good experiences – or higher education. They were tired from all of the travel time, but the hugs and kisses were enthusiastic; and we had fun for the bit of time they could spend with us before Jacob, Miranda, Rebecca, and Michael needed to get geared up for the dinner rush; I needed to get home; and Jake and Stephanie moved on to drop luggage of at their homes and go to spend time with her grandparents and parents while Jake's family was busy.

The main reason I needed to be home was because Rowen and I were semi-official junior babysitters tonight; and I needed to help Mom with getting guest bedrooms ready for our incoming sleepover kids. Alicia and Erin were in charge tonight, but they'll both be graduating this year; and there's a very good chance that I'll be one of the main family babysitters after Alicia leaves for college next year. Just as a little side-note on that; I wonder if Aunt Leanne will still be interested in negotiating employment terms for me for that now that she'll be needing my services for that too.

Anyway, we didn't have any extra visitors in the house when I got home again; so the bedrooms and bathrooms didn't take long to get ready – thanks to some time-phasing Magi fun. That left Mom and Dad with lots of time to get ready to go out while I kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained. Alicia and Erin came over at four-thirty, and were there early enough to get set up for the pizza-making we were going to do with most of the kids. Our first incoming kid arrived shortly before five o'clock, and Alicia and Erin started the pizza-making activity as soon as we had six kids – including Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden.

Mom and Dad needed to be at the Inn by six, and they left when Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne dropped Zack off with us. Emma Norton was the last kid to be dropped off, and that was just a few minutes after Mom and Dad had left. By then, the first custom pizzas were already coming out of the oven; and she helped with getting the younger kids fed until Rowen joined us and Alicia had the three of us make up our pizzas and cook them.

The first few hours of the night were a bit crazy and busy. The crazy mostly came from Patrick and Scott while the busy happened thanks to all of the babies and toddlers. The guys were distracted easily enough once Michael and Rebecca joined us after they were set free from the Inn. They brought Tim with them, and he and Michael kept Patrick and Scott busy playing video games in the living room while the younger kids mostly watched Christmas shows in the lounge. I spent a lot of my time with Zack or Leah, but they each had naps too that gave me time to play with the twins, Aiden, and Naomi too.

All of that left me with very little time to spend with Michael until after all of the younger kids were in bed for the night; and he and Tim were still kept busy entertaining Patrick and Scott even after they came upstairs and hung out in the lounge too. Rebecca was ready for some teen time by then, and happily accepted Alicia and Erin's offer to watch a Christmas chick flick in the living room with them, but while Rowen and I could have done that too; we opted for the boyfriend time such as it was with the video gaming and two too many guys in the room.

Rowen and I took care of Zack's midnight feeding too; though that was mostly because we'd been nearby after hearing Leah wake up but getting to her just behind Alicia. Zack must've known that the guys were having a gaming competition because he wanted to party for a while with them; and was up until after one o'clock. He went to bed when Alicia put her foot down and sent Patrick and Scott off to their room; took custody of Zack from the 'softie' junior sitters; and put him to bed again too.

That was the only couples time that Rowen and I got to have with Tim and Michael, and that was really just a little chat and cuddle time before we needed to clean up and get to bed too. Rowen and Tim had more fun with that last part of the night than Michael and I did; but only because they were alone in the lounge for fifteen minutes while Michael and I were in the kitchen and had company – including Mom and Dad when they got home from Sheldon's. Even our goodnight kisses were off the hot chart at the wrong end; which isn't making it all that easy for me to sleep knowing that Michael is in the guest bedroom below this one while the girls have the top floor. I'm sure there's a good reason for having Alicia, Erin, and Rebecca up here with Rowen and me instead of Michael and Tim – though I'm very okay with having Patrick and Scott on the second floor.

Rowen and Mandy are already sleeping, and I should be; but I also expect Zack to wake up any time now and will probably just wait for him so that Mom and Dad can sleep until morning. They'll need all of the rest they can get with the gang we have to feed and get ready for church in the morning. I don't have anything else to report for today, though, so I'll wrap this up and maybe listen to some Christmas music until Zack's ready for his next bottle. Then it'll be time for a power nap before we'll need to be up and running again.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

It seems like just yesterday that I was lamenting the lack of alone time with Michael. Oh yeah, it was; but then it turned out that I finished up my journal a bit prematurely.

Michael was having trouble sleeping too, and he was already in Zack's room by the time I made it downstairs; so we worked together to get him fed, changed, and cuddled back to sleep. Then we spent a little quality time saying goodnight to each other in a completely non-verbal sort of way – for a half-hour or so; until we heard someone get up to use one of the bathrooms on the third floor, and decided it was time to get to bed. Trust me, those make-out moments were totally worth waking up still tired for – or from.

Tai Chi with Michael and good morning hugs and kisses were worth waking up early for too; though Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana all skipped it today so we were on our own for that. We also had the coffee brewed; pancake batter ready to go; the skillets hot; and a first batch of sausages nearly cooked by the time Mom and Dad made it downstairs. Alicia and Erin were on kid control with help from Rebecca and Rowen – and from Tim once they were able to convince him that it really was morning. Rowen and Tim were smiling nearly as brightly as Michael and I were when they came downstairs; but I'm sure that had nothing to do with how Rowen had finally managed to get him to wake up – not!

Juggling food, shower, and kid and baby time made for a crazy two and a half hours or so until we had parents picking up their little or not so little angels and heading for church. I was ready for a nap by then, but we – the kids and teens – only had a short reprieve until Sunday school started; and then we were busy again with all of the work that still needed to get finished for the Christmas pageant next Sunday night. The church services are always longer leading into Christmas, so Michael had to hurry to the Inn right away while I stayed with my family until we were all ready to go home. Rowen came with us too, but only stayed long enough to grab her things and take them home. She was working at the computer store all afternoon to make up for taking the day off on Saturday – though that was mostly because she wanted to rebuild her bank account again after putting a big dent in it on the Christmas shopping trip.

Dad's in Crystal Springs next week, so he needed to hide in the office all afternoon and evening; and I had some play time with Ethan and Ehlana while he and Mom were both busy. I helped Mom with the post-sleepover clean-up too, but we cheated to get everything except the laundry done fast; and that was just some more play time with the twins too as we turned that into a lesson too. Michael came over to hang out with me during his afternoon break; and then I went back to the Inn with him to help with the buffet shift until my family got there for the late buffet.

That gave us time to spend with Jake and Stephanie; though they stopped working when I did so that they could have dinner with our collective families – and with Violet, Dillon, Christina, and Josiah. We were having dinner at the late buffet so that most of the family business owners could join us; and we needed a pretty good chunk of the tables to have room for the Palmer, Wingborough, Bassett, Johnson, Carrington, and Proctor clans. The kids were on the edges of that fun, and while I did get to talk to Violet and Dillon for a few minutes; they were too busy for more than that, and I helped out with kid control during dinner while the parents and college teens were getting reacquainted.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I were able to spend more time with Violet and Dillon when they came home with us after dinner; and we got to have them for a while mostly because Dad was going to be away all week. That was a fun hour or so, but they were both tired, and while Violet had dropped most of her things off in her usual room at our house; she was staying with Dillon at his house tonight. Their comparatively early departure had just as much to do with the fact that it was a school night for me; Dad needed to pack and get some sleep before his early morning start; and it was bedtime for Ethan and Ehlana.

Mom was tired too, so we skipped our Magi lessons tonight. It would be more accurate to report that she was too tired for both Magi lessons and some goodbye time with Dad before they went to sleep, but let's not go there; and I was okay with getting an earlier than expected start to my multi-tasking Jacuzzi and study time. I'm tired too – especially after the late night time with Zack and Michael last night; but there was work I needed to get done that couldn't wait for me to get rested up again. The Jacuzzi time helped a little, but it's past one-thirty now; I hit the wall and wrapped up my work before doing a last quick email check and getting started on this; and I'm ready to be unconscious for a while.

I guess the big event this week is the start of the Christmas holiday after school on Friday, but once I've had some sleep; I'm going to be more excited about the school Christmas concert on Thursday – and not just because I already know that this coming weekend will be mostly work time to get ready for the holidays and family Christmas weekend. Michael and I want to put in more practice time over the next few days, so hopefully we'll be able to work that into our schedules; but I'll need to help Mom more with Dad away, and it would be nice to spend some extra time with Violet too. We'll see how that goes, but all I want to do right now is get what little sleep I can before we'll be getting up to see Dad before he leaves, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Our day started out early so that we could see Dad off on his trip to the city, but I was happy to cuddle with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana and get the extra hour of sleep between that little blast of fun and our normal wake-up call time.

Tai Chi with Michael was fun, and only having four to feed and get ready for the day was a wonderful relief after the barely-controlled chaos of Sunday morning.

I don't have a lot to write about from school. Michael and I did two more music practices with the Kindergarten and Grade One classes this morning; and we had a good day; but there isn't really any news worth mentioning. Mom had some fun today while I was at school. She had a meeting with Josiah Palmer, and they apparently had a fairly entertaining chat. He's one of the strongest Magi in his generation, but that's not really surprising when that's true for his parents and their generation too. Josiah is really excited about having Magi Masters around again; and he's already started reading the books that Mom translated for the council. Finally getting to find out what his ancestors had written in those most-prized Magi possessions is particularly important for the Palmers; and Josiah is as happy about that as he is about all of the Magi archives.

His connection to our family started getting closer from the moment he and Christina got together, but now that he knows about Dillon, Violet, and Stephanie; I'll guess that he and Christina will become much closer to the other two couples – even while they're going to school at different colleges. They'll have other reasons to get closer to our family in the future too; but just in case these journals are available to other Magi before some of those events happen; I wouldn't dream of spoiling any surprises by writing about that now.

Moving along, Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I did our after-school studying at my house; and we had Ethan and Ehlana with us most of the time so that Mom could take care of a few things while we were around to help her. The homework didn't take long, and we had time to play for a while until Michael and I needed to be at his house for dinner. Tim, Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana played some video games while Michael and I did a music practice; and then we joined the gaming competition for the last half-hour or so until we needed to go.

Dinner at Michael's house was extra-special tonight thanks to Jake, Stephanie, and her parents. Jacob and Jake had some kitchen play time together, so the food was amazing; but I mostly loved the family together time. This was really my first time getting to do something like that with Stephanie's parents too, and while they've always been two of my favorite people since Mom and I moved here; tonight was the first time I really felt like part of their family too.

Jake and Stephanie's parents are much closer in age than either couple is to my Mom and Dad; and they've been friends since they were all young adults – if not really so much when they were kids or teens when a couple of years was a bigger deal. Those friendships are different when everyone involved is so busy with their businesses and long work days; but that really just makes them appreciate the moments like we had tonight so much more.

While dinner was amazing, the clean-up wasn't quite as much fun – mostly because Michael, Rebecca, and I insisted that the parents needed the time with Jake and Stephanie while we did the work in the kitchen. We still had a couple of hours of play time with everyone else after the cleaning was finished; and Jake and Stephanie entertained us with some favorite college stories. Violet and Dillon aren't the only teens making social changes while on the holiday break, and again; Michael and I don't really have a problem with our older teens setting precedence for us to use in the future. Michael had the shyest reaction to finding out that Stephanie was spending the night with Jake – and not even with the pretense of using a guest room; but that didn't keep him from smiling when he was thinking the same thing I was about that.

I didn't mention it in my update yesterday, but Christina is staying with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne while she's here this week; and it'll be interesting to see whether she and Josiah do any sleepovers there or at his house this week. They may not, since they haven't been together as long as Jake and Stephanie or Violet and Dillon; but I wouldn't put any bets on that. Christina, Stephanie, and Violet may spare me the intimate details when exchanging email with me; but I can read between the lines – not to mention the other abilities I have available to me.

Thinking about that – or boyfriend-girlfriend sleepovers – this close to bedtime is probably a bad idea, but then I'll be dealing with my period for the next couple of days; so I wouldn't really be all that interested in that kind of fun even if it was an option for Michael and me. The good news is that I'll have that out of the way in time for the holidays.

Moving this along, I went home a bit later than usual, and Mom already had Ethan and Ehlana in bed by then. She was working in the office, so we did my Magi lesson there before I came up to my room to get started on my own studies and work. It was after eleven-thirty before I got started on that, and it's heading toward three now; but I'm ready to start cutting back to the basics again for the rest of the week – and hopefully during all of the holidays too.

I'm ready to move on to my next languages in the New Year; and Mom won't have time for many Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, or me after this week; so I'll really only need to keep up with my family business work. It would be nice if I could say that was done for Christmas too, but I was finished with basically all Christmas-related business back in October; I'm past Valentine's Day already; and working on Spring and Easter-related projects. That never stops being a bit weird; but it goes with the job.

With the concert on Thursday and our class Christmas parties and early release on Friday, we really only have two days of 'real' school to go; and Michael and I will be missing half of that time with more music practices. His parents are working at the Inn again tomorrow night, so we'll be spending the evening at my house with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; but other than that, it should be a comparatively quiet couple of days before we're back into the Christmas and holiday fun and busy that will pretty much keep going every day through until we go back to school again.

I can hardly wait to get started on all of that, but need some down time right now; so that's all for tonight, and I'm out of here and off to dreamland.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

It's a really good thing that Michael loves me, because there probably aren't many thirteen-year old guys that can handle honest communication when it comes to things like their girlfriend's menstrual cycle. I'm not saying that I was cranky or any of the other, less-flattering words used to describe women during their periods because I wasn't. I do think it's important for us to talk about it, though; and not let things like that cause misunderstandings.

Of course, it does help that my boyfriend is a very strong empath; but even that can be very weird for him.

Talking with Tim as frankly as I do with Michael isn't as easy for Rowen. Actually, she doesn't want to talk about it with him at all, but that's what friends are for; so I helped her out with that by working a hint or two into our study time chat after school. I didn't get into anything that was too graphic for Tim to handle; but enough to hopefully help them get through their 'first time' dealing with one of Rowen's periods since they started dating.

I'm sure that the men reading this in the future are not at all interested in the teen tribulations that go along with dating and the menstrual cycle; so let's move on.

Music was a big part of my school day again, and Michael and I had a practice with the Grade Four class to go along with our practice with our own class. Band practice was actually fairly short. We only needed to practice the songs we're playing at the school concert; and we wrapped that up in less than a half hour. Our study session was still at the computer store after that, and that didn't take long either; since tomorrow is the last day we'll be doing any real work in our classes anyway; and the majority of the homework we're getting now is for projects we'll work on over the holidays.

Michael came home with me tonight; and we helped Mom with dinner for five. Violet was with Dillon; though she'd spent most of the day with Mom while Ethan and Ehlana were at KidZone doing some family business work and at least one Magi lesson. Mom had gone with an easy-meal on Monday, so we cooked up a chicken casserole, mashed potatoes, and two veggies tonight. Our daily reports were covered by the time we sat down to eat, so we mostly ended up talking about our collective plans for the rest of the week and weekend.

We won't be doing a graduation ceremony or anything, but the big news for Ethan and Ehlana is that they're basically done high school now; and will move on to college-level studies in the New Year. They'll be going to the school Christmas concert too; and then wrap their week up with the Christmas party at KidZone on Friday. The daycare doesn't shut down for the holidays – except for Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day – but they won't have as many kids as usual during the holidays when some parents are either off work or have older sibling or teen babysitting services available instead.

Mom didn't plan a trip to Crystal Springs this week because of everything she has on the go; with spending time with Violet and Dillon at the top of her list until Thursday. We're going to have a lot of family support at the concert; she's volunteering at the KidZone party on Friday; and we'll be having a dinner and a holiday cooking party on Friday night ahead of our holiday chores day on Saturday. Since Michael is going to be working through the weekend, except maybe on Friday night; I'm okay with getting the work out of the way so that we can enjoy spending extra time together next week.

I don't have anything new to add to my own plans this week, other than to mention that Rowen and I will probably be doing our first holiday sleepover this weekend sometime. Some Michael and me alone time would be nice too; but that might have to wait until next week.

Yes, we had a bit of alone time tonight before he went home; but I wasn't interested in anything more than some kisses and cuddle time for the obvious reason.

We also took care of the dinner clean-up for Mom; had some play time with Ethan and Ehlana; practiced our music for the concert on Thursday; and did a Magi lesson with Mom and the twins. Our cuddle time came after we did the bedtime story with Ethan and Ehlana; and Michael went home at ten-thirty.

I've been doing the basic nightly computing since then after getting changed and into bed with Mandy; but I'm also skipping all of my studies in favor of an early bedtime as planned. Kicking things into time-phase mode to do most of that is going to let me be sleeping by shortly after eleven; and a couple of good nights of sleep – and getting through my period – is exactly what I need to be ready for the days and weeks of holiday fun ahead of us; so let's get to that right now.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I'm going with a light report tonight, but only because I don't really have a lot of news to write about.

Our last day of 'real' classes at school wasn't really a big deal for Michael and me because we spent as much time doing music as anything else; and even the classes we were in were more play than work. There was no homework that needed to be finished before the New Year; so Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I all went to work after being set free from the school.

Except for having supper with Mom, Violet, Dillon, Ethan, and Ehlana; I worked on the family business through until Michael came over for a music practice after he was finished at the Inn for the night. We did that; he stayed to help with getting Ethan and Ehlana off to bed; and then the rest of my night has mostly been a repeat of yesterday – except I added in some Jacuzzi time and should still be sleeping before eleven o'clock if I wrap this up now and put my computer away for the night.

The big concert is tomorrow, and I'm really excited about that – and not at all nervous about doing the duet with Michael even though it is my first time playing or singing like that in public. We've already shared some really great first Christmas memories; and I'm sure that is going to be another remember-forever kind of moment for us.

I want to be ready for that – and need some extra time to get ready in the morning too; so that's all; and until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Okay, this is going to start out as a musical update with a touch of personal immodesty to go along with what I hope everyone knows was a really thrilling, happy, and very Christmassy day.

Let's start with a music clip of the song Michael and I picked to sing. We based our duet on the harmonies from this trio; and yes, I think our version was even better! :^)

Not that Far from Bethlehem - The Jordans

Here's the lyrics breakdown for how Michael and I sang the song:

Not That Far From Bethlehem

Me (Solo):

Underneath the stars  
Just a simple man and wife  
Somewhere in the dark  
His words cut the silent night

Michael (Solo, as if he's Joseph):  
Take my hand, for the child  
That you carry is God's own  
And though it seems the road is long

Chorus 1 – Michael – Melody; Me – Harmony

We're not that far from Bethlehem  
Where all our hope and joy begins  
For in our arms we'll cherish him  
We're not that far from Bethlehem

Michael (Solo):

Let us celebrate  
As the Christmases go by

Me (Solo):

Learn to live our days  
With our hearts near to the child

Michael: Ever drawn; Me: Ever Drawn(echo)

Michael: Ever close; Me: Ever Close(echo)

(Me – Melody; Michael – Harmony – through to end of song)

To the only love that lasts  
And though 2,000 years have passed

Chorus 2  
We're not that far from Bethlehem  
Where all our hope and joy began  
For when our hearts still cherish him  
We're not that far  
We're not that far from Bethlehem  
Where all our hope and joy began  
For when our hearts still cherish him  
We're not that far, we're not that far  
From Bethlehem

So we stole the show with that; made Moms and Grandmas cry; and I don't mind admitting that Michael and I had one of those musical moments that musicians dream about where the song is just perfect. I'm okay with getting laughed and whistled at when I didn't make sure that we were out of the spotlight before throwing my arms around Michal's neck and kissing him fairly enthusiastically either. We did have other really great musical moments, though, so let's go over them too – staring with the Kindergarten class.

They sang the 'Christmas Is' song from Elf on the Shelf; and for those of you reading this in the future; here's a YouTube link for a piano-only version:

The Christmas Song - From Elf on the Shelf

Christmas is a time of joy and peace

A time for spending with the family

It teaches us to share

Show others that we care

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

That is why we all believe in Christmas

It's a time of love, joy, and peace

It's a time of faith to believe

More than presents under a tree

Topped with a star

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

That is why we all believe in Christmas

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

'Cause we carry Christmas in our hearts

I certainly wouldn't try to state that the kids pulled off a perfect performance; but they were absolutely adorable, and we had a blast with them as they charmed and entertained the audience.

Michael was accompanying other acts too, but next up for me was the Grade One class. They did a medley of songs from the Muppet Christmas Carol movie. I don't have a clip to share with you that's close to what they did; but the songs were 'It Feels Like Christmas', 'One More Sleep 'Til Christmas' that they ended with 'one more sleep 'til school's out, and 'Bless Us All'. Their performance earned laughs in the right places and was just as entertaining as all of the acts were for the younger grades.

Finally, the Grade Four class sang 'I Do Believe in Christmas' from another newer kid-favorite Christmas movie – The Search for Santa Paws. Here's another song clip that's similar to the version they sang this afternoon:

I Do Believe in Christmas - From the Cast of The Search for Santa Paws

Whenever I hear a Christmas song

I want to get up and sing

Wherever there's love I sing along

And find some bells to ring

Wherever there's Angels up above

Wherever there's Christmas trees

There's gonna be peace and hope and love

And wonderful memories

There'll be laughter, there'll be song

We'll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can't you see?

It's better to give than to receive

Blessings for you and me

Staying up late on Christmas Eve

Will there be presents for me (spoken, excited question)

There'll be laughter, there'll be song

We'll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can't you see?

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

Throughout the year

Whenever there's hope in the air

Whenever we light the tree

Whenever there's love in our prayers

That's Christmas time for me

Whenever I hear a Christmas song

I want to get up and sing

Wherever there's love, I sing along

And find some bells to ring

There'll be laughter, there'll be song

We'll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can't you see?

For you and me

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

Throughout the year

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

We do believe in Christmas - Throughout the year

There were some mini solos in the song, and Jessica had one of those parts; so that was Michael's favorite song that we accompanied; and Jessica certainly is showing signs that she's inherited her Daddy's musical gifts – though she's seemed to be more interested in the piano than the guitar each time Michael and I have practiced with her class. Their song was definitely the best performance that I helped with the music for; and it was another hit with everyone in the room.

Michael, Rowen, and I played two songs with the band too; and with that, and the musical skit we did with our own class; Michael and I didn't actually get to have a lot of time to relax and enjoy the rest of the show. That was okay too, because what we did seemed to be way more fun than mostly just watching the show has been each year since I moved here. I know for sure that I'll never forget any of those magical moments with him, our friends, and the younger kids. I also won't forget the hugs and kisses from my favorite people, or how proud our families were of us today.

While the concert was the highlight of the day for me, there was a lot more going on to write about; starting from first thing this morning when Mom, Violet, Ehlana, and I had some fun picking out clothes and jewelry for me and doing our hair in braids and curls – though I needed to do a bit of a touch-up on the hair at lunchtime. Mom went with pancakes and bacon for breakfast, so with all of that and the Tai Chi that Michael joined us for; that all got our day off to a great start. Michael and I spent the morning practicing music and helping to set up the gym for the concert. Pretty much everyone in the band helped with the second half of that; and we had a mini practice too once the instruments, stands, and chairs were set up.

We had lunch on the fly, and spent most of our break either getting ready for the concert or helping with the younger kids – particularly for the groups that needed to either be in costumes or have them ready to change into between performances. There was even a small crew of teen volunteers helping out with that in one of the rooms adjoining the gym.

The concert was more than two hours long, so we were late getting out of school by the time we'd finished the snacks, drinks, and meet and greet in the main hallway outside of the gym. That meant that Michael and I couldn't stay to help with the clean-up because we needed to be at the Inn to help with the dinner rush; but Rowen and Tim stayed, and there seemed to be enough help – including from some of the parents and grandparents.

Michael and I aren't out in the dining room at all when we're working at the Inn, but we were already a top story on the gossip network by the time the first customers stopped in for their meals or Christmas parties. Miranda and Stephanie were happy to keep us updated on the latest; and that helped to make for a very entertaining few hours. We were also really, really busy. Having Jake and Stephanie as extras helped, but we were also really glad when Miranda and Jacob set us free earlier than we'd expected.

The main reason for that is because Michael, Rebecca, and I were invited to a Christmas movie night at my house. That sounds funny, but Violet and Dillon were hosting it, and had originally just planned on having Jake, Stephanie, Josiah, and Christina hanging out with them in the living room. The decision to invite us too came sometime after the concert; and we were happy to accept and get to spend a couple of hours with our favorite teens.

Ethan and Ehlana watched the movie with us, and according to them; it was necessary so that Rebecca would have a cuddle buddy too – or two. That earned a little teasing for Ethan; but he just thought that was funny and happily cuddled with Rebecca and Ehlana. Having toddlers in the room meant going with a family-rated movie. The guys in the room were okay with that because that replaced the Christmas chick flick that the girls had wanted to watch – though that just ended up being the second show that they watched after the bedtime intermission for Ethan and Ehlana. Michael and Rebecca went home then, and Mom and I went up to bed. She'd taken the opportunity to do some work in the office after taking the afternoon off, and though I got ready for bed right away; she ended her night with some Jacuzzi time first.

The only other news I have for tonight is that Dillon is staying overnight. He has the guest room across the hall from Violet, though I seriously doubt that he'll be sleeping in there whenever their movie night wraps up and they get around to going to bed. Again, I'm good with that precedence, and though they didn't talk about it while we were around; I won't be very surprised to find out that Stephanie goes home with Jake and Christina either ends up at Josiah's or he stays with her at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. Since they could probably work one or two night feedings with Zack into that; I'll lean that toward door number two on that one.

Aunt Leanne would certainly love that – and not only because of the extra sleep!

I'm going to have a third early bedtime in a row if I don't start thinking too much about how nice it would be to have my own boyfriend cuddle buddy tonight. This has been an even better remember-forever day than I'd hoped for, and with just one more sleep until our Christmas holidays; the fun is really still just getting started. While our Moms will have a problem with same-room sleepovers for quite a few more years, I can always dream of some hot Christmas moments with Michael. That certainly sounds like more fun than having visions of sugar plums dancing in my head; and worth hurrying off to sleep to explore and enjoy.

Happy it's almost Christmas vacation; and until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, December 20, 2013

There's a lot to cover today, including the start of our Christmas holidays; Ethan's and Ehlana's unofficial graduation from high school; parties; sleepovers; and the weather.

Our class Christmas parties and imminent break from school were the top stories at school; while the bad-weather forecast had the attention of most adults in the area. Unlike last week, when I didn't want to jinx anything that might mess with our holiday fun; I'm hoping for lots of snow so that we can both have a white Christmas and some winter outdoor fun opportunities for sledding and maybe even snowboarding again if we could get a chance to do that too. The extra work won't be very exciting if we do get everything they're calling for, but at least this was going to be a work weekend anyway; and most of the work is going to be indoors and unaffected by how much snow we get.

There are lots of archive records being made for Ethan and Ehlana, including their own journals; so I don't write about things like their education in my journal very often. Graduating from high school is worth noting, though; and they are very happy and excited about getting to move on to college-level studies in January. While their 'normal' education and Magi training progress is recorded in great detail; I'd like to take a few moments to write about some differences between what they're doing compared to my own early education.

From the education side of things, their studies until now have been very similar to mine; but that's going to change with their college courses. Mom needed to keep me busy when we were on our own, and I didn't have specific goals; so my college studies were very broad-based. Ethan and Ehlana are going to have very focused curriculum now. Ehlana is going to focus on bio-engineering and genetics, and while Ethan will take enough science to be able to work with Ehlana in the lab; he's going to concentrate on history, literature, and library management. They'll still have a long way to go with their education after the lab opens next September; but Ehlana will be ready to take the research she and Uncle Adam only really get to play with now and run with it; while Ethan will learn as he goes – and while our Magi archives are all brought home over the next five years or so.

They'll also need to focus more on Healing than I did in the early years for their Magi training too. Ehlana will need that knowledge in the lab more than Ethan will; but as with nearly everything related to their Magi gifts; they are stronger and can do more working together. Since that's going to be fairly important in our collective future; I'm all for helping them with whatever they need. Mom sometimes feels that the twins are working harder than they should, and maybe they are; but I also understand just how much they need to learn to be ready for certain parts of our future – just as I do. I'm not going to get into any of that, but you can be sure that we will be ready.

In the much more imminent future, we'll also be ready for a snowstorm if it does hit us tomorrow; and the work to get ready for Christmas is still on-track even with the extra work we were doing today to get ready for the bad weather. That work got in the way of any boyfriend time for Rowen and me because Michael and Tim were as busy as we were right from the time we were set free early from school. All four of us were put to work helping our parents, and for me that included everything from helping Dad with firewood and the generator to keeping an eye on Ethan and Ehlana.

The holiday pre-cooking party was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house; so we headed over there in time to help out with making dinner while getting started on the extra cooking and baking too. Rowen met up with me there once she'd finished helping to get her house storm-ready; and we mostly helped with the cooking and baking too while Grandma and Grandpa were the primary babysitters tonight.

I don't really have a lot to write about for those hours of cooking. We had fun, but there isn't really anything newsworthy. Rowen and I did a lot of running around that included hauling pans of food to our house and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's so we could use the extra ovens and freezer space. We worked until after eleven; and that helped out with our sleepover because that didn't leave Patrick and Scott much time to be annoying around us – especially when they had orders not to keep Rowen's parents awake when they needed to be at the store early for the last big shopping weekend before Christmas.

While we didn't get to start our holidays having fun with Michael and Tim today, we had computer chats with both of them after getting changed and into bed. No, we didn't use video chat; though Tim did ask if we would after finding out that we were in night clothes and probably had his imagination running in overdrive. Michael may have had some thoughts along the same lines, but he didn't include them in the text messages; and I'm also sure that he'd know that Rowen and I wouldn't be wearing anything too revealing – especially with Patrick and Scott in the house; not to mention that it's winter and being warm and comfortable is a fairly high priority.

Rowen and I have been chatting for a while now since ending the computer time with the boys; and we really should get some sleep now. Whether we get hit with a bunch of freezing rain and snow tomorrow, we both have a lot of work to do; and we also each tentatively have movie plans with our boyfriends – at Tim's house for Rowen and mine for Michael and me. We don't want to be too tired for that if we can make those plans happen; so I'm going to wrap this up and try to get some sleep now. I'll also guess that those thoughts won't have me dreaming of sugar plums tonight! Let's head off to dreamland and find out!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Well, the first day of winter is certainly all that and then some today! Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

I'd also like to mention that while this may be the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours; it has not been at all short in terms of work, fun, or time awake and active. Some of us aren't done with the work quite yet either; since another round of shoveling is in my near future so that Dad and I don't end up with an even bigger mess to deal with in the morning.

The great news with all of this is that we're pretty much guaranteed a White Christmas now barring a freak summer weather day between now and Christmas Day!

For those of you reading this who are, like my grandparents, ready to head south for the winter at the first sign of a snowflake after spending decades dealing with the white fluffy stuff; try to cut me some slack. I'm still only twelve for another month and a half or so; haven't been worn down by long experience with the work side of snow; and still find it especially magical at Christmas. Then again, if you're reading this at some future time when I'm still around; I hope that I still feel that way in your present.

The major snow-clearing work didn't start until after dinner tonight; so let's back up a bit and cover the news from the rest of the day before getting to that.

We woke up; Michael came over for Tai Chi; we had breakfast; and then I worked all day with Mom and Dad pretty much from the time that Michael left this morning until he came back over again after finishing work at the Inn tonight.

You probably expected that to take longer, but the house cleaning and cooking details aren't all that interesting, and while there was a little play time mixed in with Ethan and Ehlana; the fun parts of the work came from doing that together. There was one, minor afternoon round of shoveling too, but we hadn't had much snow yet; and that had mostly been because Dad didn't want an icy base of wet slush to freeze and turn everything into a skating rink ahead of the snow.

The movie and alone time that Michael and I had been hoping for tonight didn't exactly work out as planned; though we did get some alone time between rounds of shoveling. That wasn't enough time to watch a movie anyway, so we watched a bit of the New Orleans Bowl game while warming up with hot chocolate, a blanket, and some cuddling that Mandy helped us out with.

I hadn't really paid attention to the football action today before then, but Michael had while working at the Inn; Dad must have checked in on the games now and then today too since he'd known the earlier scores when he and Michael had talked about them; and I know from my chat a while ago with Rowen that Tim had watched most of the games too – including this evening while they hung out together at his house. Rowen would have rather watched a movie with him; but their time together was fairly similar to what Michael and I were doing – except without the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana that we had during the first round of shoveling and before they went to bed for the night.

By the way, while I'm thinking about snow, I want to mention that I haven't written about shoveling snow for my grandparents before because they haven't been here for most of the major winter snowfalls since Mom and I moved here, and even though they've stayed home this year to spend the extra time with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack; they pay teens to take care of their driveway and sidewalks when they're away or it's too much snow for Grandpa to deal with on his own. He may still overdo it this weekend, but at least he has a handful of Healers in the family to help him out if he ends up strained and sore.

Then again I'm sure that Michael and Dad appreciate having their own, personal Healers too. I helped Michael out before he went home tonight after we finished our second round of shoveling; and I expect that Mom helped Dad too – though let's not get into the details about all the ways she may have done that – especially after they'd been apart all week while Dad was in the city.

Moving along, Dad and I were half way through clearing the driveway, porches, and sidewalks when Michael came over from the Inn. He helped us to finish that, and then we had the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana before going over to his house to help Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca with more shoveling. Mom had the twins ready for bed by the time we got home from doing that; so we did the bedtime story and tucked them in for the night before making the hot chocolate and doing the cuddle and football thing in the lounge. I'd love to report some quality couples play time to go with that, but honestly, we both just wanted to get warm before needing to go outside and work again.

We started the second round of shoveling at around eleven o'clock, and again worked at my house before moving on to help out at Michael's. I did Michael's mini-healing when we did our goodnight hugs and kisses back at my house; and then I came up to my room after Michael left. Since I am planning that extra, late night round of shoveling, I didn't get changed. Mandy and I have been cuddling on the sofa in the lounge again; and I've been doing my nightly computing along with the chat with Rowen before she went off to sleep a while ago.

I haven't mentioned Violet and Dillon; mostly because I didn't see much of them today. Now that his mother is finished school for the holidays, they spent most of the day with his family; and Violet's spending the night there too. They'd considered another trip to Woodvale, but decided not to do that with the bad-weather forecast. They'll be in Woodvale for New Year's Eve, and may head up there for Boxing Day too before coming back for the family Christmas weekend; but they haven't decided that for sure yet. I know they're having fun, and have more time off before going back to school that we get at our school; but I hope they don't get so busy that they can't get rested up and ready for their next semester. I'm trying to keep that in mind while I'm also wishing that we could spend more time together too – just as Michael and I are doing with Jake and Stephanie. They have a lot on the go too juggling their families, and though they don't need to do a lot of travelling to keep up with that; they do have a lot of family; all of their home town friends; and they're helping out at the Inn too.

Is it any wonder that so many college kids like to go anywhere else except home during Spring Break?

Anyway, I don't have much else to cover tonight. While we've done a lot of work today, my holiday play time starts tomorrow with Marc's thirteenth birthday party and the teen Christmas pageant at the church in the evening. Michael and I are going to juggle the party that's including dinner at the Inn with helping out in the kitchen for that buffet, and there will be more snow shoveling in the morning that will likely replace Tai Chi; but we'll still mostly get to play every day for the next week and a half.

Okay, that's it for tonight. I'm going to put my computer away; have a little power nap; and then clear the driveway and sidewalks again. That'll only leave me with enough time for another, slightly longer nap before morning, but I'll try and do that without waking Dad, and while that won't give me enough down time; I can always do a little extra self-healing to make up for that. One way or the other, I'll make sure that I'm fired up and ready to play and have fun with my family and friends.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Happy 13th Birthday, Marc!

My personal top news for the day is that Michael and I were asked to sing our duet from the school Christmas concert at church for the Christmas Eve service. Pastor John and Stacey approached us with that invitation before church this morning, and I wouldn't have been able to say no to them after seeing Michael's reaction – not that I had a problem with the encore performance after the first time had been so amazing.

That was more fun than the hour or so of morning snow shoveling was before breakfast; but then the snow play time with Michael, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca was very entertaining. So was the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana both this morning and then in the afternoon for a while too before I needed to get to Marc's party.

Now that I'm sitting here in bed with Mandy and winding down; this really feels like it's the first time I've slowed down all day. The snow shoveling was followed by a quick breakfast before I hit the shower and got ready for church. The roads in town were pretty decent because the Landrys and others worked all night to keep them cleared. That wasn't the case out in the country, and snow problems kept a third or more of the congregation at home for the morning service while they dealt with the problems around their farms – or couldn't get into town anyway until all of the roads were cleared. The good news for all of that is there were no major accidents, power outages, or other incidents that might have messed up anyone's Christmas – at least in our area. I wish that was true for everyone else caught up in this bad weather; but there have been lots of other problems – especially for the places where they got a lot of freezing rain and ice pellets instead of snow.

There wasn't really a slow-down in the action at church because it was a fairly energetic service with lots of music; and then Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I helped out with the final pageant preparations during Sunday school. Michael needed to get to the Inn right away after the service; and Tim went with his Dad to do more snow work; so Rowen and I hung out together while her parents needed to get to the store and work there for the last Sunday afternoon shopping day before Christmas.

We needed to stop in at her house for some clothes, but then we went on to my house and had lunch and that afternoon snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana before getting ready for Marc's party. I'm sure that Marc had a good birthday, but it was a bit weird for Michael and me – mostly because of Marc's older brother, Jason. He pretty much avoided us as much as he could, and ignored us when he couldn't. Having a date for the day probably had a lot to do with that; though he certainly wasn't being shy with her while keeping away from us. He's enjoying his football fame more than most of the guys on the team, and without getting into the gossip about him; let's just suggest that Rebecca is way better off without him. While Jason was avoiding us, Marc's older sister, Dawn, helped add some entertainment to our afternoon – particularly when she welcomed Michael and advised us that she personally thinks that her middle brother is an idiot for messing things up with Rebecca.

She is his sister and knows Jason way better than we do; so who are we to argue with her assessment? Rebecca sure thought that was funny when we passed it on to her while helping out in the kitchen before the buffet started.

They were only doing one buffet today, and started it early because of the Christmas pageant. The few hours from the time that Michael and I got to the Inn early to help out until we finished working and went to the church was a non-stop blast of fun and action. While Michael and I had dinner with Marc and the rest of his family and friends, we missed a lot of the birthday fun while also helping out with the work as the buffet wound down and the dining room and kitchen needed to be cleaned and readied for Monday morning.

The pageant was really great – and a bit more special while getting to watch it with Michael – but my perspective on that has changed a bit now; and I can hardly wait until next Christmas when Michael and I will be able to be in the show. The little Christmas party reception after the pageant was great too; though Michael and I helped out with the work for that too this year. That's also why we were among the last to leave the church tonight, and though it was getting late; I went home with Michael for a little quiet time before continuing on to my place at eleven-thirty.

Violet and Dillon are staying with us tonight, and they were hanging out in the office with Mom and Dad when I got home. Ethan and Ehlana were already in bed; Dad was nearly finished the work he needed to have finished by morning; and there's a very good chance that waiting for me to go to bed had a lot to do with why Violet and Dillon hadn't gone upstairs and off to bed by then.

I'd have invited Violet to borrow my Jacuzzi and then cuddle with Mandy and me tonight, but I've learned my lesson there; and have no intention on giving my family any more ammunition to use against Michael and me in the future. They come up with enough to tease us about without us helping them along! Violet and Dillon can't really expect that I don't know they're cuddling together right now as I write this; but then they don't know exactly how far away from another Magi I can be and still feel their aura. That ability has gotten stronger as I've used it more often; though all of my abilities are getting stronger since I started going through puberty.

Thinking and writing about puberty, a teen couple cuddling in the room next to mine, or what my parents might be doing right now is not a good idea when I'm also feeling the need for some Michael and me alone time; so let's just wrap this up and call it a night. At least then I'll be able to dream about what isn't happening much for me in the real world.

Maybe Michael and I will even get some of that alone time tomorrow since we get to have the day off to play. We're going to stop in at the church in the morning to practice our duet, though that's mostly so I can learn the basics for using the fancy digital piano they have instead of hauling mine there and back on Christmas Eve. With lots of snow now, we'll probably spend the day tobogganing and playing outdoors; and then we'll probably watch Christmas movies in the lounge after dinner with Ethan and Ehlana – and hopefully Rowen and Tim too.

I should really get some sleep so I can be ready for all of that; so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, December 23, 2013

This has definitely been a really great holiday play day – at least for most of the kids and younger teens around here; and Rowen and I are ending it with a sleepover and movies in the lounge – that Michael and Tim are here for too.

Okay, they're downstairs now in their own rooms, but they only went there a little while ago; and we watched two movies together after Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden went to bed. The sleepover plans started coming together this morning, and with as cold as it is tonight; it was really nice to have cuddle buddies to stay warm with all evening after a seriously fun play day outdoors. Let's back up to the start of the day and really get this update rolling.

The first topic that needs to be mentioned is that it was very, very cold this morning. I know that's relative, and depends on the environment that a person is used to dealing with; but most people would agree that low single digits on the Fahrenheit scale with a double-digit, negative wind chill is way past 'F' for freezing and all the way to 'F' stands for 'freaking cold' – and then some.

That fact was very noticeable when I welcomed Michael into the house when he came over for Tai Chi this morning, but we were also on our own before going upstairs to meet up with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and had fun while I helped him to get warmed up from his little walk out in the extreme cold. I put coffee on to brew too, but for some reason; my family didn't believe that was what took so long after they heard Michael arrive for us to make it upstairs.

Miranda and Jacob were not taking their usual days off this week for obvious reasons, and that worked for Michael and me since he just stayed and had breakfast with us instead of going home to what likely would have been a couple of packages of pop tarts. I'm glad that he stayed because our breakfast conversation included laying the groundwork for our dinner, movie night in the lounge, and sleepover. Thanks for suggesting that Michael stay for the sleepover too, Ethan. You didn't fool Mom or Dad for a second; but they still couldn't say no to you – not that I actually think they would if I'd asked instead.

Michael did need to go home after we finished eating and cleaning up; but that was only so that we could both get ready for an outdoor play day with Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, Tim, and some of our friends. Since it was so cold, he and I decided to go to the church to practice our duet first so that it was at least a bit warmer out when we were ready to go sledding. Learning the basics for using the digital piano there didn't really take very long, but we had company there; so I had to do a bit of acting. We ended up spending nearly an hour in the sanctuary by the time I'd finished my experimenting with the piano; we'd warmed up with some of our favorite Christmas songs; and then we ran through the duet two times.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had dropped us off and gone to do a little grocery and supply shopping before the stores started getting crazy-busy with the usual pre-holiday rush; so we met up with them at the grocery store and helped Mom with the work side of that through until everything was carried in and put away at home. We did a hot chocolate and snack break then; four of us bundled up in full winter gear; and then Michael and I grabbed two sleds and took Ethan and Ehlana tobogganing until lunchtime.

We collected Rowen and Tim at their houses along the way, and the late start to our snow play had the advantage of a well-packed hill for us to go sledding on with all of the other kids and teens that were out playing too. While that was a seriously entertaining blast of fun, it was also cold enough that we needed to be careful with how long we kept Ethan and Ehlana out there; though we were all getting cold when it was time to take them home and warmed up again. The timing was working out perfectly for us, and we managed to collect full parental approval for our plans for the rest of the day while on our way home; Mom had invited Naomi and Aiden to join us for the rest of the day and the sleepover; and they had both just been dropped off at our house by the time we got there.

Once we all had cups of hot chocolate, Michael and Tim were put in charge of the four toddlers while Rowen and I went to work helping Mom with making lunch. She wanted a hot meal into us before we headed out again for more snow play time; so we made up a put of home-made veggie soup to go along with fresh bakery sub bun sandwiches. Splitting a warm apple pie for dessert was pretty good too; and we were all ready to brave the cold again by the time we'd finished cleaning up again and gotten Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden through bathroom breaks and the extended process of getting them into their snowsuits and the rest of their winter gear.

We took four toboggans with us this time, though we only pulled two of them along with two toddlers in each sled. It was just enough warmer this afternoon that we could stay out longer than was comfortable this morning. An hour and a half of sledding was followed by making a little snow family in my yard; snow angels on the ground; and a boys against the girls snowball fight before we were ready to go inside to stay – and have another warm-up hot chocolate and snack break. I skipped over the stops that Tim, Rowen, and Michael made at their homes to pack and bring overnight bags on our way back from the sledding; but that was just a little blip in the fun that barely slowed us down at all – especially since we split up to do that.

By the time we were warmed up again it was time to get started on making dinner, and while Mom was doing an easy-meal pizza and wings night, we were making our own personal pizzas; and that made for some messy fun while Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden designed their masterpieces. Mom was prepared for two thirteen-year old boys too; and had the extras needed for them to make three personal pizzas each. The only slowdown we had in the process was the cooking; but we started early enough that everything except the second and third pizza rounds were ready by the time Dad got home from work.

We ate in the dining room, and Mom and Dad were kept entertained by our collective snow play stories. They set us free after we polished off a cherry pie for dessert and took care of the clean-up while we came up to my room and the lounge to play and watch movies. The play time included some video gaming; Michael and I had another duet practice; and we had a short game of hide and seek – with Michael and I doing most of the seeking while the four toddlers hid and Rowen and Tim kept getting distracted any time they found themselves alone somewhere while sort of joining in to play the game. Since we stuck to the third floor, and it wasn't unusual to hear one or more of the kids giggling, I'm sure that Rowen and Tim were more successful with the alone time because they couldn't possibly be that bad at hide-and-seek.

We watched one Christmas movie with my brother, sister, and their best friends; and then had an intermission while helping with their usual bedtime routine through until they were tucked in for the night. Before I move on, I should mention that there were four couples cuddling in the lounge during that movie. Since the members of the two younger couples are only two – at least for a few more weeks until Naomi turns three – that they were doing that exclusively to tease Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me; but they sure seemed happy and comfortable too.

Oh yeah, and just because we were all cuddling under blankets; don't think that I didn't notice you holding Naomi's hand for most of the movie, Ethan.

Fortunately, my brother and sister will be old enough by the time they read this to not be shocked at finding out that there was more than hand-holding going on under the blankets with Michael and me during the movies we watched with Rowen and Tim after the toddlers were in bed.

Don't let your mind wander too far down that road. I've mentioned that I don't have any exhibitionist tendencies, and our best friends were cuddling together at the other end of the sectional sofa; so we were not having a major make-out session or anything. Michael and I also weren't the only couple in the room enjoying a bit of quiet intimacy; though Rowen and Tim had a bit more fun that we did while Michael and I went downstairs to make hot chocolate for four during our intermission between the second and third movie of the night.

Yes, Rowen, I noticed the button you missed. Michael probably did too, but don't worry – he didn't see anything he shouldn't; and now you know that I didn't pick a soft, fluffy sweater just for the cuddle factor!

We were about three-quarters of the way through our next movie when Mom and Dad stopped in to say goodnight to us – and give the unspoken directive that we were to wrap up our co-ed time when the movie was over. They'd been working in the office all evening except for while we all were busy getting four toddlers changed and ready for bed. That was mostly because Dad is only working a half day tomorrow; and then taking the rest of the week off except for one short appointment on Friday morning to take care of something that needs to be completed before year-end.

This time, once the movie was over, Rowen ordered Tim to help her with carrying our empty cups and dishes downstairs, and they did the clean-up – and their own goodnight hugs and kisses – while leaving Michael and I with a bit of alone time in the lounge. We took full advantage of the opportunity, and I don't really feel at all bad about leaving Michael wishing he could take a cold shower when he went downstairs to the bedroom directly below mine.

Rowen and I have had lots to talk about, and we started watching another movie; but it's late; there are only two more sleeps until Christmas; we have a very long day ahead of us; and should head off to dreamland soon. Since my thoughts are wandering toward dreams of Michael and me cuddling together all night instead of camping here in the lounge with Rowen, I'd better hope that I don't go sleepwalking tonight – though that might be fun if I ended up in Michael's room and we got away with it.

Just kidding, Mom and Dad – mostly.

I just realized that I haven't mentioned Violet and Dillon yet, and that's mostly because I didn't see them at all except for this morning before, during, and shortly after breakfast. They've been out all day either with his family or their friends; they were spending the evening with Jake, Stephanie, Josiah, and Christina somewhere; and then spending the night at his house. That decision probably had something to do with having eight kids and junior teens at our house tonight; but they may also be thinking ahead to how they're going to handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day too. I'm sure they're having fun, and again; the continuing precedence they're setting for us will very likely come in handy for Michael and me in a few years.

That really is about all I have for tonight. We have enjoyed one of those amazing friends and family play days; and the fun is just going to keep getting better for the rest of the week and weekend – starting with the annual Christmas Eve day shopping fun. Add in some more snow play, helping out at the Inn, the Christmas Eve service at the church, and getting to sing the duet with Michael again tomorrow night; and I think we have all of the ingredients needed for another best-ever kind of Christmas.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

It's late, and this little Santa's helper needs to get a little sleep while I can; but it's been a very busy day, and writing this will help me to wind down a bit so I can get into nap mode.

Michael enjoyed his wake-up call this morning, though that wasn't too much fun for us; since Ehlana chaperoned while helping me out with that. Tai Chi was the quiet before the storm, and then we were all on the go for the next couple of hours while taking turns getting ready for the day; helping out with the work; and having a big country breakfast. Michael, Rowen, Tim, Naomi, and Aiden all went shopping with Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me; so we went to get that done at the same time that Dad went to work so that he could help with the transportation. He had the boys with him while Mom took the girls in the minivan.

While Mom needed to pick up a few last-minute things at the grocery; the main stop for us this morning was the Olde Bakery so that we could pick up our first holiday order and enough Santa-approved cookies and reindeer treats for all of our families. The boys weren't interested in the stop at Palmer's, so Michael and Tim took Ethan and Aiden over to the Fix-it Shoppe instead. We'd mostly gone into Abby's store to window shop, but I found a dress that wouldn't let me go home without it – especially when Abby offered me the Boxing Day sale discount in case I wanted to wear it tonight instead of coming back for it in a couple of days.

We didn't have the extra vehicle for the trip home, but Michael went to the Inn then to help out through the lunch break, and Tim and Rowen walked to the shop and computer store respectively; so Mom and I were on our own with Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends when we headed home again. We made a pair of quick stops to drop off bakery orders with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Leanne; and then I unloaded the minivan while Mom did most of the work getting the four younger kids un-winterized and set up with hot chocolate and snacks.

Naomi was picked up before lunch to have a play afternoon with her Dad; but we kept Aiden with us while his parents were busy at the bakery. Dad was home and finished work for the day in time to have lunch with us; and we all went outside to play in the snow for a while after cleaning up from a homemade mac and cheese with octopus side meal. (The octopus are hot dogs cut in half, with about half of those sections cut length-wise to make four legs that curl up when boiled in water so they look like four-legged octopus.)

We were still outside when Michael joined us while on his afternoon break, so he caught the tail-end of some back-yard sledding runs; and stayed for the hot chocolate and bakery treats snack. The rest of my afternoon got really busy from there; starting with Michael and I going over to his house to welcome his grandparents and carry their luggage up to the room they used during their infrequent visits home. This was their first visit since the Memorial Day weekend; which meant that it was also the first time they'd been here since Michael and I started dating.

I don't really know Michael's grandparents very well yet, and they may have changed a bit in the years since they retired and moved away to be closer to Michael's aunt and her family; but they are quite a bit different than their son and daughter-in-law. They're different than my grandparents too, but I don't mean that in a good or bad way – they just have different personalities. While we were the unofficial welcoming committee for his grandparents, we didn't actually spend a lot of time with them before we headed over to the Inn so they could see the rest of their family – just long enough to get them settled in and have a chance to freshen up after a long drive.

Lloyd and Francis Stone may not miss the work at the Inn, the house they raised their kids in, or even the rest of their friends and family in Witch Falls; but they were genuinely happy to see Jacob, Miranda, and all of their grandkids. Lloyd is also very proud of his son, and is happy that Jacob and Jake love working together in the kitchen – something that he couldn't share with his own son because it was really just a job for him and not a passion.

For Michael, there had been more changes than a new girlfriend in the nearly seven months since he'd last seen his grandparents. The most noticeable to them was that he was now an inch taller than his grandmother. He'd officially hit the teen years; and that apparently changed how his grandparents treated him. They're very kind and easy-going with their grandchildren; but I was a bit surprised at how little they actually know about Jake, Stephanie, Rebecca, and Michael. Only seeing them a couple of times a year is certainly part of that, but there were a few moments that were just a bit weird because they didn't know some pretty basic things about their grandkids.

I helped out with the Christmas Eve day dinner rush, but before I did that, I had to leave for a little surprise hair appointment that Mom set up to have Liz do my hair so I'd look good when Michael and I were doing our duet at the church service. That was a half-hour blast of fun and junior gossip time, and Michael's reaction when he first saw me when I got back to the kitchen at the Inn proved that Liz did a great job.

It always seems a little surprising to me that there are actually quite a few customers for dinner on Christmas Eve, but the dining room was nearly full. Our guests tonight included Michael's grandparents and some of their hometown friends, along with the families of nearly every store-owner in town; everyone helping out to get everything ready for the service at the church; and some straggling, last-minute shoppers who didn't have time to go home and still get back to the church on time.

I worked until I just had enough time to go home, get changed, and get a ride to church with Mom, Dad, and the twins. The Christmas Eve service is one of the most magical of the year, and while my duet with Michael was my favorite part of the night; nearly everything was special and amazing tonight. Having Pastor John, Stacey, and Rebekkah with us for their first Christmas since moving home was nice; and Pastor Martha's Christmas message was really amazing.

That was especially true for those of us who know where she got the material for her imagining of the first Christmas. This wasn't the first time she'd used parts of the Magi Christmas story; but the beautiful, polished version she told tonight has some serious potential for being a Christmas classic – at least here in Witch Falls. While all of the music and everything else was heart-warming, I thought that my duet with Michael was even more special than it was at the school concert; mostly because of the darkened, candle-lit sanctuary and the hushed, near-silence that seemed to blanket us in quiet joy and peace as Michael and I sang and played. Our song ended the service, so there was no applause or anything because the recessional began right away; and the Pastors had wanted to end the evening on a silent night kind of moment.

I'm not going to suggest that I didn't notice everything going on around us as always, but that didn't keep me from getting as lost in the music as Michael did; and I am so glad that I'll be able to perfectly remember those few minutes forever. Since I was at the piano anyway, we continued to play softly during the recessional, and even in the dim candlelight; we were able to see that we'd again made a lot of Moms and Grandmothers cry with our song – our own included. Just in case you, dear future reader, aren't going through weeks or months worth of these journals in one sitting; here's another YouTube video of our duet song – by the group we based the harmonies on for our version.

Not that Far from Bethlehem - The Jordans

We were among the last to leave the sanctuary, and though there's a chance that jokes are still going on in the future about it; we were not late because of the hug and kisses I shared with Michael once we'd finished playing. He had to pack up his guitar; and we talked with several people, including Pastor John and Stacey, before meeting up with our families again.

Our plans after the service hadn't really been settled earlier, but Miranda and Jacob needed to go back to the Inn for a while with some of their staff, and Michael's grandparents pretty much just wanted to go home to bed by then; so Michael was set free and allowed to come home with me for a while. We had Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack with us for a little snack break and visit too before they went home for the night; Violet and Dillon were staying with us for another sleepover; and Christina and Josiah only stopped in long enough to wish us all a Merry Christmas before they went to spend the night at his house so they'd be with his parents, brother, and sister first thing in the morning.

I think that my favorite part of that round of holiday fun was when Michael got to hear Aunt Leanne's Magi Santa story for the first time. He thought that it was very funny that I'd helped her out with understanding how Santa could do all of his 'magic' by seeing me doing phase-shifting and time-phases; but let's skip over what we might have both been thinking when Aunt Leanne suggested how advantageous those particular talents would have been if she'd had them when she was a teen.

No, I don't plan on a late-night visit with Michael; and that would be very tough to explain how I got into Michael's bedroom if we were caught.

Moving along, we did the snack and hot chocolate or alternate hot drink thing; had a nice little visit; and then Michael and I helped with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed once my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin left for home. We had a little privacy for our first Christmas Eve goodnight kisses after the twins were tucked in for the night; and then it was time for Santa's helpers to get to work after Michael went home.

Violet and Dillon helped with that too, so it really didn't take all that long to haul gifts down to the living room; stuff stockings; and munch on the Olde Bakery cookies and reindeer treats. I was back in my room by a bit after midnight; and have been in bed with Mandy for less than a half hour. I've skipped most of the usual nightly computer checks, and the Christmas music I've been listening to while dealing with a few email and this update is lulling me to sleep. Since I expect that Ethan and Ehlana are going to help Violet and Dillon with their family time juggling act by waking up early; I'm going to wrap this up with a digital bow and call it a night.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's been a really busy, sometimes crazy, and always wonderful, best-ever-so-far kind of Christmas. Michael and I were both on the go from very early this morning until he went home a little while ago; though his early morning was because he was helping his father and Jake with work in the kitchen while mine was thanks to Ethan and Ehlana having everyone in our house up and finding out what Santa brought us by five o'clock.

Our favorite 'in public' gift this year is the new Playstation 4 that Santa brought for the twins and me; and we're sure that it was just a coincidence that so many members of our family knew to get us new games for the system. Those games are already getting a lot of play time in the lounge, and we'll have years of fun with our friends; but video games aren't really all that challenging when you can memorize the entire game the first time through and play perfectly after that if we tried our best. I was just as happy with the clothes that Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Grandma picked out for me; music books; and some new movies. Michael really loved the soft, cuddly and beautiful sweater that I wore all day after getting it from Mom and Dad – though probably not as much as Uncle Adam enjoyed what Aunt Leanne bought; and had him unwrap last night.

Feel free to use your imagination so that I don't have to include the details. I'm really glad that Michael wasn't in the room for that bit of girl talk, and while I'm also glad that all of my favorite people have been having an awesome Christmas too; there are some things that a daughter or niece don't need to know. I'm certainly not going to talk with them about anything along those lines that I picked up to share with Michael over the holidays.

Oh, did I write that out loud? ;^)

Let's keep the story moving along. After checking out our stockings and opening gifts, Violet and Dillon got ready for the day and headed over to his house for breakfast and gifts with his family. The rest of us got ready to go over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for brunch and the first part of our family Christmas that pretty much everyone in our collective, home-town families were there for. Mom and Dad needed to get the turkey for dinner in the oven before we left too; but they had nearly everything ready to go for that last night, and didn't really have much work to do this morning. Michael came over while that bit of action was still going on; and he came with us for the brunch and family fun. We collectively had boxes of gifts to take with us; including the gifts that Michael had brought with him for me and my family. He gave me a beautiful, delicate gold locket with a blue sapphire stone and our pictures inside that I'm still wearing now; and Mandy and I have a new stuffed piano cat to cuddle with. My family didn't come up with any particularly good jokes about the new stuffie; but they were happy to drag out the old sax kitten jokes and remind Michael and me of that gift again. Michael liked the gifts I had for him, though video games for his new X-Box One, a sports watch, and some music gear wasn't as personal as the locket was for me. Picking out something too sentimental would have gotten him in trouble with the guys, and while that other purchase I mentioned will require some very up-close and personal time and attention, we didn't have a chance for that today; and by the time anyone in the future reads this journal, we'll all be old enough that Michael won't care what the guys think about that part of our holiday fun.

Michael and I needed to go over to his house right after having brunch; and we both needed to pace ourselves on the food offerings. For my family, the brunch was one of only two meals; with the second being Christmas dinner at my house. Jacob and Miranda were hosting their big family dinner this year, and Michael and I weren't the only people in town juggling too many meals. I will suggest that it was at least a little tougher for those of us who had the Jacob and Jake masterpiece dinner experience as one of those meals; but that was a sacrifice we were very happy to make.

Our schedule juggling kept us off the cooking crews all day, but that was more than offset by being on the clean-up crews for both family dinners. There was also a lot of play time, so let's skip over the work parts of the day; and focus on the fun. There were new snow-fun gifts for kids to try out; so Michael and I spent some time outdoors with our siblings and cousins – more than an hour and a half of sledding and play time between our brunch and the Stone-Bassett family dinner; and another hour or so between the end of that clean-up job and when Michael and I needed to go over to my house for the Proctor-Carrington dinner.

There was a fair bit of video gaming going on too; we watched Christmas parades on television; and Michael and I even caught parts of two Christmas movies during breaks in the rest of our play and work time. While the food was amazing and we ate way too much; the best parts of the day for me were all family-time moments. I loved getting to know Michael's Grandma and Grandpa Stone; growing closer to everyone else in his family; all of the play time with all of the kids and teens; and the bits of cuddle time we managed to share here and there when we were able to sit down and relax for a while.

A fair bit of event juggling must go on while Christmas plans are being made so that most family members can be together for the big meals or other important events. That's different for my family; but everything worked out pretty well for Michael and me. The family interactions were sometimes a little funny – like having brunch with Josiah and our first Christmas dinner with Caleb while they were each spending the day with their respective girlfriends. Most of our teen time was while we were at Michael's house – our outside playing with the younger kids. We only managed a quick visit with Rowen and Tim this afternoon that barely gave us enough time to exchange gifts; and then we all needed to get back to our own family fun.

I wouldn't say that our second dinner of the day was quiet, but it was quieter by comparison to the brunch and earlier meal at Michael's house. That was partly because everyone was getting tired by then; and also because there were only five kids and teens – excluding Violet and Dillon. Zack slept through the meal too, so Michael and I sat with Ethan and Ehlana and mostly just enjoyed the meal while the adults took care of the dinner entertainment. While I really did eat too much today, I didn't have all that much room for more food by then; so I practically snacked on small amounts of everything; and had just a tiny little slice of pie for dessert.

The dinner conversations were fairly diverse tonight. Kid talk from babies to college teens was fairly thoroughly covered, as was everything from charity trips and vacations to Boxing Day sales from the store owner perspective. All grandparents, chefs, and the Mom who needed to nurse her baby were set free after dinner while the rest of us got to work; and spent an hour or so getting the kitchen and dining room clean again. While I'm sure the family juggling had a lot to do with it too; that evening work probably had a lot to do with why Michael's parents were happy to have the early meal - especially when they're going to be doing the boxing day breakfast buffet at the Inn first thing in the morning.

Michael's going to be helping out with that too, and he's going to be a tired puppy after hanging out here later than he probably should have. We got into a bit of video gaming with Ethan and Ehlana after the work was done; and Violet and Dillon joined us for a bit of that before they went over to his house for the rest of the night when it was time for the twins to go to bed. Most of our guests went home then too, and then Michael and I had a bit of quiet time and chat with Mom and Dad before they went up to bed and Michael and I were left alone to end our merriest Christmas in a mostly non-verbal sort of way.

I came straight up to my room after Michael left, and climbed into bed with Mandy as soon as I finished getting changed and ready for bed. Rowen and I have had a little chat; there were email to read and answer; and I did a lite version of my usual nightly computer checks before starting this update. I'm ready for a long winter's nap now; and should get a little extra rest to be ready for another big day of holiday fun – starting with that breakfast buffet at the Inn and some Boxing Day shopping. We going to have some afternoon family play time too that will probably include some sledding, and I'm going to help out at the Inn for the dinner rush. We're going to shoot for another movie night after that with Rowen and Tim if we get finished at the Inn early enough, and I hope that works out; since we probably won't get to have much couples time this weekend while my family Christmas is going on and Michael and Rowen are both busy with work at the Inn and computer store.

This little report doesn't come close to covering every happy moment from today, but even Magi Masters can hit information overload now and then; and there was just too much going on all day to include everything. All that's really important, though, is that this was a really special day; and I'm still feeling the warm fuzzies from getting to share most of those happiest moments with Michael and our families.

With that in mind, I'm off to what will definitely be some very happy dreams, so Merry Christmas again, and...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The bad news is that our movie night turned into college football night instead. The good news is that Rowen and I discovered a nice benefit of watching sports with our boyfriends – curfews are automatically adjusted to allow for watching the end of the game; post-game action where necessary; and a reasonable allowance for the goodnight hugs and kisses.

Michael and I may need to be watching football from now on – even when we're not; if you know what I mean!

While we ended up having a pretty good night even with the football action; my morning started out with non-stop fun too. On a whim, I decided to skip Tai Chi; got ready for the day early; and headed over to the Inn to surprise Michael and his family with a bonus set of hands to help with getting the first wave of the breakfast buffet cooked and out to the dining room. The good morning hugs and kisses were worth the effort; and working with Michael and Rebecca made that part of the morning more fun for all of us.

Rebecca was also set free early to have breakfast before going shopping too; though she did both with Jenny instead of with my family, Rowen, and me. Michael opted to work more in the morning and get most of the afternoon off so that he could hang out with me while we were playing instead of shopping. I worked until Miranda let me know that Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana had made it to the Inn. I ended up at a table with Rowen, Patrick, Scott, Lindsay, Jessica, and the twins; and mostly collected the middle four kids because their parents were either having breakfast in the dining room too or busy getting their stores ready for the big sale.

Rowen helped out at the store a couple of times today too, including before she came to the Inn with Patrick; but she was also set free to shop with me this morning; have some afternoon snow play time; and hang out at my house for the evening after the store closed for the night and she and Patrick had a late dinner at the Inn with their parents and some of the other store owner families. The Boxing Day shopping is a bit less exciting for me now than it was the first year Mom and I were here; but it's still fun – and a lot more special to share with our family, friends, and neighbors than the big city sales events are. Rowen and I actually talked about that a bit this morning, and since she doesn't have any personal experience with the madness that can happen in the malls and big box stores on Boxing Day; we may need to do that some year soon so she can find out for herself – and then we can just go back to enjoying our own home town version of the third most popular shopping day of the season.

I guess it's time to make the most surprising personal admission of the day. I only bought three things all morning! There wasn't really anything I needed to get, and there really isn't any point in buying clothes to put away for later when nothing that fits now is going to in six months or a year. Even Ethan out-shopped me today, which is one of the reasons I'm writing this down; since there's a good chance that won't happen again anytime soon!

We pretty much shopped until lunchtime, and then Rowen went to the computer store to do some lunch break relief for her parents while I went home with Mom, Dad, and the twins to have turkey sandwiches and soup for our own noon meal. Dad spends time with Ethan, Ehlana, and me every day – even if it's just a phone call when he's in the city; but the no-work play days seem rare sometimes. That's why today was special for all of us – though Dad and Ethan weren't quite as excited about the shopping despite buying more than I did. With most parents off work today, we weren't the only family out playing in the snow; but we did end up with one of the biggest groups on the hills when we went tobogganing. That's because we attracted Patrick and Scott to our group when they saw us there with Michael and Tim; and Michael ended up with his cousins, Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia. Philip and Naomi met us at the hill; and Aiden was dropped off by his Grandma and Grandpa Draper. Add in a few friends of the younger kids; and Mom, Dad, and Philip had quite a group to keep up with. That hour and a half of non-stop action was also when we made some of the best memories of the day too.

There was time for a bit more snow fun at home after coming back from the hill; but then Michael and I both needed to get cleaned up and ready to work the dinner shift at the Inn. It wasn't really a busy night there, but as I mentioned; there were quite a few store owners and their families having dinner at the Inn instead of even trying to make up a leftovers meal after a crazy work day. It was certainly a lot easier than the breakfast buffet had been – especially since that had gone on for hours before the switch to the lunch menu.

Michael, Rebecca, and I were set free at seven-thirty; and we all went back to their house to have a little visit with his grandparents; mostly because they're heading home in the morning so they'll be back in time for their own weekend family Christmas plans with Michael's aunt, uncle, and the rest of their families. We stayed until Miranda, Jacob, Jake, and Stephanie got home; and then Michael and I moved on to my house. We called ahead to set things up with Rowen and Tim; so they met up with us before we'd even had time to do the dinner recap with Mom, Dad, and the twins. We ended up doing Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story and snack then, and had them tucked in for the night before it was teen time in the lounge; and Mom and Dad opted for some quiet cuddle time and a movie in the living room.

I didn't find the football game all that interesting, but then there were probably a lot of football fans feeling the same way watching either of the games today. The Utah State team and fans might take exception to that assertion, but let's be honest and admit that was a game that only the winners could love. The only thing that amazed me tonight was that Northern Illinois managed to have an undefeated regular season before losing their division championship and then their bowl game tonight.

The hours of cuddle time with Michael and Mandy was worth putting up with the sporting boredom; though even the boys were thinking that video gaming or movies would have been better as the tedium dragged on. Michael and I are still in need of some holiday alone time; but maybe we'll have more luck with that next week. We loved getting to have that time with Rowen and Tim, and we had no problem filling up the time in between football plays with little chats about everything from favorite Christmas moments to suggestions for what we can do with the few free days we'll have during the rest of our holiday break.

There weren't any major make-out opportunities for Michael and I or Rowen and Tim; but we did do the usual work split right before Michael, Rowen, and Tim headed home that allowed us some privacy for our respective goodnight hugs and kisses. Mom and Dad had already gone up to bed by then, but we didn't try pushing our luck with the already-extended curfews – even though Tim did joke about it.

Mom and Dad weren't sleeping once I was on my own; so I filled my Jacuzzi and hopped in for a soak. No, I don't need to comment on why they weren't sleeping yet; so use your imagination if you must and let me move on with the report. I've been multi-tasking while relaxing in the hot, soothing water; and even took care of a bit of family business that popped up through my email while doing my usual nightly checks. I'm going to get out of the tub soon and be off to sleep not long after I have my hair done and finish getting ready for bed; but let's cover a few news tidbits before wrapping this up for the night.

Violet and Dillon are at his house again tonight; but probably not there yet because they're hanging out with Jake and Stephanie. They're still working out their plans for next week; and haven't decided for sure when they'll head up to Woodvale – other than that they'll be there for New Year's Eve; and probably through the rest of the week and weekend. They'll be split up for the next few days while the rest of the Rice family is here, though I won't know for sure until tomorrow how much that decision has to do with Violet's parents, brothers, and sister. It could just be that they don't want to add one more person to the morning crazy we'll have around here on Saturday and Sunday. I'll keep you posted on that.

I'll be spending some time helping Mom and Dad around the house in the morning; and then be on kid control for a lot of the afternoon and evening. Rowen's going to help me out with the kid play time, and stay for a sleepover with Dawn and me. Saturday will be the big family Christmases and meals; with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne hosting the one for the Carrington-Johnson clan while Mom and Dad host their second big meal of the week. Michael's going to be busy a lot of the time at the Inn, but he'll be with me for the most important parts of the weekend; and I'm going to help out at the Inn on Sunday after going to the first bonus buffet with my family before our guests head home again.

That's all going to make for a wild and wonderful few days of action and family fun; so I really should go and get some sleep while I can. Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, December 27, 2013

I was on the housework clean-up crew of three this morning, and helped out at lunch and dinnertime too; but the rest of my day has pretty much been all play and fun time with my friends, brother, sister, and cousins.

The family news of the day is probably the addition of Michelle McEwan's college boyfriend to the weekend guest list. Neil Ryan is a classmate of Michelle's and wants to be a future teacher too; though he wants to teach computers and Phys-Ed while she's focused on maths and sciences. They've been dating for a while now, and the decision to do family Christmases together was a big step for them – especially since that meant even more travel time for both of them to make that happen with both her family and his. Jonathan got teased about being next now that all of his sisters have serious boyfriends or a fiancée in Tory's case, but he's growing up fast too; and doesn't get embarrassed by those jokes or comments anymore.

While I'm thinking about the McEwans, Tory and Kyle are now just about six months away from their big wedding day; and that was one of the top chat stories of the day too – along with babies; boyfriends; college; and Christmas recaps. Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and I won't be going to it; but it was fun hearing about some of their plans for the big day. Since they're getting married the day before Ethan and Ehlana's third birthday, it'll be an easy date to remember – even without a photographic memory.

Getting back to the events of the day, we started our morning with Tai Chi after some of us took two days off from that; and Michael and I went to his house to have breakfast with his grandparents before they packed up and left for home. He and Rebecca helped them with that, but I only stayed until the kitchen was cleaned up before going home again to help with the housework. Mom and I cheated a bit with that work while Dad was dealing with his one appointment of the day; and mixed that with a little Magi lesson for Ethan and Ehlana.

The first members of our collective families to make it home for the weekend were here in time for lunch; though we didn't have any of our weekend guests at our house until mid-afternoon. Tory, Michelle, and their guys brought Jonathan, Kara, Eddie, and Nicole with them while their collective parents were mostly working half or full days before making the drive to Witch Falls. Uncle Blaine had some work to do this morning the same as Dad did, but they were still on the road by mid-morning; and at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house before Violet's family got to our house.

As I mentioned, I was on kid control for most of the day, and that started with having Kara, Eddie, and Nicole come over to play with Ethan, Ehlana, and me while their cousins were busy unpacking cars and hauling luggage and boxes of gifts up to bedrooms after having lunch with Aunt Leanne. We played outside and went sledding for a while once I had some support from Michael, Rowen, and Tim while Michael was on an extended afternoon break. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden were home in time to catch the tail end of the tobogganing; and Blaine dropped them off with us so they could do that while he and Aunt Alison were busy with their round of arrival work.

Our house was afternoon break central, and after having hot chocolate and Olde Bakery treats; we played video games in the lounge - or some of us did. Chris and Martin went to hang out with Jonathan and play video games with him at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's – along with Kyle, Neil, and Josiah when they weren't busy with their girls. Dawn joined Rowen and me on the junior babysitting crew; and the three of us were kept especially busy once Michael and Tim left when Michael needed to be back at the Inn to help with the dinner rush.

We didn't try to get everyone together for dinner tonight, so we only added Grandma and Grandpa to our dinner guest list along with the Rice family and Rowen. Mom used up some of the pre-cooked food; so making dinner wasn't really much work. Rowen, Dawn, and I were actually glad to be on the clean-up crew for a change from the non-stop kid action; though we'd had fun this afternoon – and did again all evening while playing with our family.

Just consider yourself unofficially adopted for weekends like this, Rowen – you are family to me!

We've had a movie night after dinner, and though we spent some time with the parents and grandparents too; they watched movies in the living room while the kid-rated movies were going on in the lounge. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden were at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's for dinner; but they all stopped in for visits after dinner, and Jayden stayed for a sleepover with Ethan. Dawn and I might end up having Jaimie and Kaitlyn with us tomorrow night, though they also want to spend as much time with their aunt as possible too; so they may change their minds about wanting to do that with us by tomorrow night.

Michael and Tim came over again for a while after Michael was done at the Inn for the night. They were in time to catch the end of the toddler-rated movie we were watching in the lounge; did the bedtime snack with us before Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden were put to bed; and we had a little football and chat intermission with the remaining adults, Violet, and Dillon before coming up to the lounge again for another movie before they headed out at the same time that Dillon left for home.

Violet joined Dawn, Rowen, and me for some girl chat time when the parents and grandparents were ready to go to bed; and Dawn ended up being Violet's cuddle buddy instead of spending the night in her own room or the lounge. Rowen and I have been surfing the net and having our own extended chat time since Violet and Dawn moved next door. We're both pretty much ready to sleep now, and I guess that's about all of the news I have for today; so it's time to put our computers away and head off to sleep. If today is any indication of what's ahead for the rest of the weekend; we're going to need all the rest we can get to keep up with the ongoing holiday action.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

This has been a day full of contrasts; starting with having our family Christmas while the weather practically felt more like early spring and had our Christmas snow melting fast. It's colder again now as I write this, and is supposed to stay cold for the rest of the weekend; which is a good thing considering some winter fun plans we should have finalized by tomorrow morning sometime. I'll get to that news in a bit; but let's back up and keep this update in order.

Michael came over for Tai Chi this morning, but went home again and then on to the Inn to help out with the breakfast rush there while I was busy at home with the work involved for making breakfast; cleaning up; and helping with Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden. The warmer weather made playing outdoors quite a bit messier; but we – the kids – spent most of the morning doing some tobogganing and playing around in the quickly dwindling supply of snow around the yards at my house; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's; and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's. Rowen only stayed for a bit of that fun before going on to the computer store to help out there; but Dawn and I had some help from the older teen cousins; and some of the parents joined in to either go sledding too or while we played in the back yards and had a couple of snowball fights.

Having the temperature warm enough for spring jackets instead of snow suits had a lot to do with us staying out longer than we probably should have; and we were all fairly cold and very wet by the time we were ordered indoors for hot chocolate and a lunchtime snack. We did that at two houses, and Dawn and I had most of the younger girls while most of the boys, including Ethan and Jayden, did that at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. That worked for all of us – especially since it meant not having video games going on in the lounge for the entire afternoon. There was still football bowl games being watched in the living room, but about half of our collective families are guys; so that's hardly a surprise when a big family day lands on a big football day.

I'm not going to write about all of the football chatter or news from today, but for those of you who have a warm place in your hearts for Notre Dame; congratulations – your team won their bowl game today!

We were only snacking for lunch because we had our Christmas dinners at mid-afternoon. At our house, that meant we sat down to eat right about the same time that Notre Dame game ended. That was partially because Mom wouldn't have been able to drag some of the guys away from the game anyway; though we also didn't finish rounding up our dinner guests and sending some of the Johnson-McEwan clan over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's until then. Both dining rooms at our house and theirs were full, but I still missed having Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack with us for the meal while they were busy with the other half of their family. Michael was here to help me out with that, though; and we had fun while he was on an extended break from the Inn so he could do that – and the gift exchange – with me.

Michael, Dawn, and I were not given kid control duty during dinner tonight; and we got to spend that time with Violet, Dillon, Chris, and Martin instead. That meant a lot of football and video game talk with the guys, but that was also when we started talking about a potential teen snowboarding day for next week. Considering the weather today, that seemed a bit strange, but it wasn't as warm up at the Blue Ridge Ski Center; they had more snow to start with; and will be making more tonight and tomorrow. I checked a little while ago, and all runs are expected to be open tomorrow; so once we have full parental approval the trip should be on.

Making those plans really was my favorite part of our dinner chat, but the food was awesome too; and most of us managed to somehow eat too much again. While we didn't have kid duty during dinner; we were all on the clean-up crew. The grandparents were in charge of the younger kids while we did that, but since opening gifts needed to wait until we were finished the work; we had regular visits from my brother, sister, and cousins urging us to hurry up so we could get back to the fun.

It's a good thing that we're drawing names now for everyone or we'd need a full day just to open gifts. That was a fun hour or so of holiday entertainment, but I can't help but think that our collective gift exchange ends up being too much. I know my perspective on that is different than most because of the years when Christmases were just with Mom and me; but I think it seemed like a lot more this year because of the added gift exchanges with Michael and his family in addition to mine. It's all wonderful and amazing too, and more than my little-girl dreams ever imagined; so I'll just leave those thoughts there and be very grateful for all of my blessings.

Michael needed to go back to the Inn as we wrapped up the gift exchange, so I walked there with him so we could have a few moments alone before returning to the family fun. A group of us did a visit to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house; and ended up exchanging some kids, teens, and adults again for part of the evening. There were kid and chick flick movies going on in the lounge, and after getting home again; I stayed there with most of the younger girls and we split our time between watching movies and playing with new toys and games until Michael came over again after the Inn closed for the night.

The rest of my evening was pretty much all football, cuddle time with Michael, and chat time with everyone else watching the games in the living room. Jake and Stephanie came over with Michael to hang out with Violet, Dillon, Josiah, and Christina; and we continued the dinnertime snowboarding chat with all of them. As I mentioned, we still need some parental approvals, and there will be some other teens invited to go with us; but as long as all of that is worked out; we'll be going snowboarding for the day on Monday!

While I really don't want to write about the football games, I should mention that there were four games today, and the last one started late; which is why the teens and a few parents stayed up late again tonight. The bonus time with Michael definitely works for me; and with college or pro football going on pretty much every day for the next week and change; we might even get some chances for alone time where we can pretend to watch football while finding more interesting entertainment for ourselves.

I might be thinking about that a lot now because we sure didn't have any opportunities for that tonight with a house full of family. We didn't really even get a chance for much of a goodnight kiss when Michael had Jake and Stephanie waiting for him when all of the last group of guests headed home after the game ended. Dawn didn't want to hang out with us in the living room, and she's sleeping in the lounge right now after passing out there while trying to watch another movie after the other girls had either gone home or off to bed. Mandy's with her, so I have my bed all to myself – something I definitely shouldn't think about too much right now.

Since it is late, I should probably skip writing or thinking about anything else and just get what sleep I can before we'll be up and starting another of those wild and crazy Sunday church and family travel days. As long as the snowboarding trip gets approved, we'll still have cousins staying here tomorrow night, but that really won't change the workload much; and I'm also planning on spending as much time as I can helping out with the extra buffets at the Inn tomorrow too, so it's going to be busy pretty much all day. All of that can wait until morning, and I'll just shoot for some unconscious time for now that will hopefully have a dash or two of happy dreams that include Michael in a starring role; and us alone somewhere for some uninterrupted play time.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

We're going to be up early to hit the road for the Blue Ridge Ski Center; so this is going to be a micro-report that doesn't nearly cover everything that happened today.

I didn't get much sleep between the time I actually fell asleep and needed to be up for Tai Chi; and it was pretty much non-stop action between then and when I crawled into bed with Dawn and Mandy a little while ago. We fed our gang; took turns getting ready for church; helped our cousins pack and get vehicles loaded up; went to church; and then the action during the service and Sunday school almost seemed like a break by comparison until we were off and running again.

Since our four departing guests were pretty much ready to head for home after lunch, I went to the Inn with Michael straight from church and helped out in the kitchen until the first buffet was ready and out in the dining room. We both took a break then so we could have lunch with my family; though Michael ate quickly and went right back to work again while I stayed with Ethan, Ehlana, and Dawn until we'd all seen all of our traveling relatives on their way out of town. That didn't include Chris, Martin, Dawn, or Jonathan because they're all going snowboarding with us tomorrow.

Since I'm on that topic, let's quickly mention that Josiah and Christina will be taking his brother, sister, Erica Bassett, and Cal Jennings. Jake, Michael, and I added Rebecca, Rowen, and Tim to our group this morning too; so we're going to have two full minivans and Violet's car heading out in the morning, but Violet and Dillon will go on to Woodvale with her brothers and sister so they can all be there for New Year's Eve and Day – and probably through the weekend before coming home again.

Moving along, I went back to work in the kitchen at the Inn for the rest of the day. Michael and I still had a shortened afternoon break after the third buffet went out; but then we were back at it again until Miranda set us free once the last of the cooking was done for the night. That left us with time to play with Dawn, Ethan, and Ehlana before the twins needed to get ready for bed, though Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were there too; so Michael did a bit of video gaming with them too. Violet and Dillon were at his house for dinner and the evening before coming here for the rest of the night. Their arrival was Michael's cue to head home since most of us wanted to at least start getting ready for bed a lot earlier than we have the past few nights.

Dawn borrowed my Jacuzzi when we came up here, and Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were still gaming in the lounge then; but everyone in the house is in bed now. Dawn and Mandy are both sleeping already; so I need to wrap this up and head off to dreamland too if I want to be ready for our big snow play day and five o'clock wake-up plans. There really was a lot going on today that I haven't covered – especially the work and fun at the Inn, but this is one of those rare nights when I'm actually running on low-power; and really need the down time. That should give you an idea of just how much fun this weekend has been – I'm too tired to even write about the fun let alone try for any more special holiday moments.

The good news is that I will be fully-charged and ready to play by morning, so, until then...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, December 30, 2013

I know that we don't exactly live in the best area for downhill skiing or snowboarding, and our chauffeurs for the only two trips we've been on will soon be away at college for the rest of the winter; but Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I really need to find a way to go snowboarding more often than once a year!

I was easily the most fired-up traveler this morning when we met up at Michael's house by shortly before six. Several teens, including Tim, tried to suggest that they were sleepwalking; and didn't plan on waking up until we got to the ski center. While Dawn went home to Woodvale with Violet, Dillon, and her brothers tonight; she came in the minivan with Jake, Stephanie, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me for the trip to Blue Ridge. That was as much for Jonathan as Dawn; and he went with Chris and Martin this morning while Josiah and Christina had Caleb, Erica, Anna-Marie, Calvin, and Rebecca with them.

We'd ended up with two more groups of teens going along by this morning, which had been a fun surprise for me; though Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I didn't end up spending much time with any of them – not even Jenny and Garth. They were with Jenny's brother, Doug, and Alicia Jennings; while Michael's cousin, Mitch Bassett, had another minivan load that included Tim's cousins and all three of their respective girlfriends or boyfriend.

The three-hour road cruise was fairly quiet and uneventful. We made one pit stop in Crystal Springs for washroom breaks and breakfast to go; and were at the ski center by shortly after nine. Thanks to extended holiday hours, we'd missed the early rush; and it really didn't take all that long to buy our lift tickets and get set up with rental snowboards and gear. Dawn, Rebecca, and a few others were either taking a first snowboarding lesson or a refresher; but Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I just hit the slopes and started playing right away.

Rowen and I definitely found that snowboarding with Michael and Tim this time was more fun than it had been on our first trip. I'm sure that they felt that way too; though it was obviously different for them than us. One thing that was exactly the same was the daredevil, thrill-seeking streak the four of us share. Even at a small ski center, there are enough opportunities for that; and we took advantage of all of them. I've really discovered in the last year that I really love getting airborne – whether on a snowboard or a bike. Rowen loves doing jumps too, but she probably leans a bit more toward Tim's love of flat-out speed. Michael loves both too, but what was really amazing for us today was how great it was whenever we were snowboarding together.

That felt exactly the same as Tai Chi together with the added adrenaline rush from the speed and jumps. Tim and Rowen looked good together too, but it wasn't the same because they were having the most fun when they were competing against each other – our Michael and me. All of that competition was fun too, but my favorite moments were when we were creating something really cool together – speeding down the hills in perfect synchronicity or doing side-by-side tricks and jumps. We weren't the only teens in our Witch Falls group to show some real talent for the sport; but we were the best – and that isn't just my opinion; since we were told that at least a couple-dozen times by our cousins and friends.

I'm going to add a comment here about the snowboarding talent of just one member of our group because I can't resist recording this for posterity. The MVP winning leader of our Championship High School football team will not also be having a future career as a professional snowboarder. He would agree with that, and had fun today anyway; but not because of his skill at the sport. During the handful of times we were nearby when he was lumbering down the hill, the entertainment came as much from watching the skiers and snowboarders around him as it did from observing his efforts to stay on his snowboard and not run into anything – or anyone.

Tim thought that we should have gotten Kyle dressed up in a white snowsuit because that's all he would have needed to look like an abominable snowman on the slopes; though that didn't keep young kids from watching him with wide, astonished eyes. It really was a sight to see; and Kyle was definitely the only guy I've ever seen on a ski hill who looked like he needed one snowboard for each foot. Okay, I don't exactly have a lot of experience with that, but there probably aren't that many guys as big as Kyle or his Dad who are even willing to try snowboarding; and even fewer with any major talent for it – regardless of how talented they might be at other sports more suited to their size and abilities – like bench-pressing farm equipment. ;^)

While I spent most of the day playing with Michael, Rowen, and Tim; we had some fun with Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, Rebecca, and Dawn too. That included some snow time; our afternoon break; and having dinner together. I wasn't sure this morning how much fun Rebecca or Dawn were going to have today; so it was great to see and hear that they were both having a blast. Dawn had found a new friend during her lesson; and Rebecca spent a lot of the day snowboarding with Chris, Martin, and Jonathan – and a couple of sisters that hooked up with them. Since my cousins were the primary targets of the girls, that left Rebecca with Jonathan. That actually worked for them, though not in a romantic way – they've just re-discovered that they like each other as friends.

That's why it didn't feel weird being around them; though I can't say the same for anytime we saw Jenny and Martin anywhere together while she was with her boyfriend and he had another girl doing her very best to charm him. That definitely was strange, but I'll leave that there since that was barely a blip in an otherwise really great day.

We pretty much had a perfect weather day for snowboarding, and it was easy to stay warm while we played. Some of the others took longer breaks, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I didn't even stop for long at lunchtime; making dinner the only time we were off the slopes for more than a continual half-hour. That allowed us to get a lot of runs in before we needed to turn in our gear and meet up with Jake, Stephanie, and the rest of the gang.

Before I get to the trip home part of the report, I should mention that Michael and I had a bit of alone time after dinner; though I guarantee that we weren't doing the same thing that Rowen and Tim were when they found someplace to hide while Michael and I continued our snowboarding. The reason I bring that up is because we found a little trail through the woods with a little jump that was only dimly lit and not being used by anyone else because of the comparative darkness to the main runs; and that allowed us an opportunity for some bonus play time. We were good while out in public, but couldn't resist trying a few aerial flips when we had the chance. I would have loved trying that with a little Magi power too; but I couldn't be far enough away from Mom anywhere in the world to do that without her knowing – and she'd definitely have a problem with Magi-powered snowboarding tricks.

We'll just have to save up that kind of fun until after we're adults too!

For the trip home, since Dawn was heading back to Woodvale with Violet, Dillon, Chris, and Martin; we had Rebecca in the minivan with us while Jonathan went with Josiah and Christina. Michael was in the back seat with Rowen and Tim while Rebecca and I had the middle seats, and though I would have liked to have that cuddle time with him; that worked out better for Rebecca, and I was still able to recline my seat and hold hands while we talked with everyone.

I skipped the football news of the day to this point because Michael and Tim had settled for checking on the scores and catching some highlights during our breaks and dinner. Rowen, Rebecca, and I weren't quite that lucky during the long drive home because the boys had access to a radio station and a smart phone so they were able to listen to most of the Holiday Bowl between Arizona State and Texas Tech while getting the game data and some replay videos online. Maybe I should have included Stephanie with the rest of us girls, but then Jake didn't really care about the game; and they'd turned the sound off on the front speakers so they could talk without the game play-by-play getting in the way.

The football action didn't keep Rebecca, Rowen, and I from chatting anyway; but Michael and Tim still made sure that sports-talk was included in our conversations; and we didn't get into any girl-talk that might have embarrassed them – like Rebecca's day with Jonathan or about the girls who happily chased my cousins right up until they left for Woodvale. New Year's Eve and Day were hot topics; partly because Rowen and I are going to the party at the Inn this year for the first time since I moved to Witch Falls – along with our parents and sibs. My Mom and Dad are hosting a New Year's Day Football Bowl game party; and Michael's and Rowen's families will be at our house. Tim's coming to that too; but he and Rowen may split their day between my house and his Uncle and Aunt's house because of the party going on there too.

We made another stop in Crystal Springs for washroom breaks and to pick up food and drinks to go; and then continued to entertain ourselves during the last half of the trip. It was past-midnight by the time Jake dropped Tim off at his house; and close to half-past by the time we had the van unloaded and Michael walked me home so we could have a bit of privacy for our goodnight kisses. That was nice, but after a bit more than six hours of travel time and a full day of snowboarding; we were both tired enough not to be interested in any extended play time.

Mom and Dad had gone to bed sometime earlier, but Mom came up to my room to check in with me shortly after I was changed and getting into bed with Mandy and my computer. We had a short chat; exchanged condensed versions of our daily reports; and then she headed back to bed while I got started on the short version of my nightly computer checks. That included confirmation that Dillon and my cousins got home safely to Woodvale; answering some messages from around our collective families; and dealing with a quick and fairly easy family business issue. It's coming up on one-thirty very fast, and I'm in for two more late nights in a row now; so it's time to wrap this up and get some sleep.

I definitely do not want to fall asleep before midnight tomorrow night and miss out on my first-ever New Year's kiss with Michael!

And on that note; I really gotta go, so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

This is an update for the last day of twenty-thirteen; but it is several hours into the New Year as I write this, so it is the New Year; and you probably don't care about that at all on whichever day in the distant future you're reading my journals anyway.

I'm certainly interested in the fact that I'm in a guest room at Michael's house right now, and while our kiss at midnight while ringing in the New Year was pretty good; our goodnight kiss just a little while ago was fairly spectacular. Well, the kiss at the Inn was spectacular; and the kisses here were not rated to be watched by the general public. This sleepover wasn't a last-minute thing; but I was invited earlier today after volunteering to stay and help with the post-party clean-up at the Inn tonight. Yes, that actually meant I did a fair bit of work, including at the party tonight; but that seems like a fair trade for getting to spend the extra time with Michael – and I'll be here for the bonus New Year's Day holiday breakfast too!

My New Year's Eve day started out with work too – at least once we'd finished our Tai Chi. That was only fair too, since I missed out on most of the post-family clean-up yesterday while playing with my cousins and friends. Mom's to-do list included shopping for everything we needed for the New Year's Day party at our house, so she went to do that after breakfast while I watched Ethan and Ehlana; and the three of us took care of the main floor cleaning while having a bit of Magi-powered play time to get that done. We also un-decorated the tree; packed up the Christmas decorations; put them away; and repeated that process in my lounge while cleaning in there before Mom got home again with a van-load of boxes and bags.

I helped her with that round of work while the twins supervised; and that pretty much kept us busy until lunchtime. Dad was home from the office for the day by then, so we had five for that meal, and then I helped him with getting the Christmas tree outside and into his truck so he could take it out to one of the Green family farms where they are being recycled. He was picking up a few other trees before going out there, but had help at those houses for that; so I stayed home and he took Ethan along for some father-son time. Mom needed a bit more help in the kitchen while he was gone, but I was set free early enough to get ready for our night out and go spend some time with Rowen at the computer store before moving on to the Inn in time to help out with the New Year's Eve dinner.

As always, the party was sold-out, and while my family usually does their own party so that other neighbors and friends can go to one of the two big parties in town. My first experience with New Year's Eve at the Inn two years ago was really only because Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne already had a gang at their party with his entire family home for their family Christmas that weekend; but that party felt very different than this one – mostly because of the work this time; and my change in social status. While doing our own party this year was an option; I'm the reason my family made another exception this year and bought a block of tickets. Mom and Dad knew that I'd want to be at the Inn tonight with Michael; and they wanted to be with us for our first New Year's Eve together. Having a full house made for a busy time in the kitchen, but then that was also shorter too because we only had the one buffet; didn't have any table turnover to deal with; and once the tables were cleared after dessert, most of the work was done in the dining room – at least until the late, light buffet was put out. Miranda had Michael, Rebecca, and I take a break once the first round of food was on the buffet tables so that we could have dinner with some of our friends and family. For Rebecca, that didn't include Jenny this year because she was at a teen party with Garth and most of the football players and cheerleaders. We ended up at a table with Rowen, Tim, and Claire Norton's kids. I'd expected to be helping with Ethan and Ehlana; but they were with Naomi, Aiden, and their families during dinner. Rowen and I haven't gotten many chances to spend time with Emma Norton lately, so that was fun for us; and Michael, Tim, and Lucas happily talked football while we ate – covering everything from the in-progress bowl game to their collective interest in playing High School football next year. I knew that Lucas wanted to play football, but hadn't tried out for the team this year – mostly because he was still about the same height as Tim is now; and behind most of the guys his age.

I wonder if Rebecca noticed that both Lucas and Tim have caught up to her height now. There's not doubt that's something the boys pay attention to – just as Michael is looking forward to when he catches up to Rebecca again – and passes her. Yes, it's a teen guy thing, but then a lot of us girls like having our boys taller than we are; even if the temporary height advantage we get to have is fun for a year or three.

There's a bit more to write about for Rebecca and Lucas, but let's leave that for a minute and keep the story in order. Dinner was a fun break for us, but Michael, Rebecca, and I ate quickly; skipped dessert; and got back to work in the kitchen to help as much as we could so that we could all join the party in the dining room. I should have mentioned that there were televisions set up at opposite ends of the dining room for the evening; with the football games on two screens at the front of the room and a big screen by the back windows that was tuned in to a music video channel that was covering New Year's Eve celebrations from around the world. All sets had the volume turned down most of the way during dinner; but the guys in the kitchen had been watching the games while they worked all afternoon; so we had that added background noise while cleaning up and washing what felt like thousands of dishes and cutlery.

That part of our night might not sound like much fun, but it was; and we didn't really spend all that much more time working than I would have if we'd been doing a big dinner party at home instead. Most of us were able to go and play by eight-thirty or so; and the party part of the night was barely getting going by then anyway. The only change that had been made in the time we'd been in the kitchen was that tables had been moved around to make room for a dance floor next to the back windows and the television that was playing the music video channel. Some games had been set up on tables in the middle of the room; and the volume for both the music and football games had been turned up – as was the conversation noise level to compensate.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I joined in for the football, games, and dancing; though we spent most of our time on the dance floor. Ethan and Ehlana cut in on Michael and me twice tonight; and I'm sure that a certain Aunt of ours nudged them into the first one – not that they weren't very willing to help her out with the joke. We played with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden too; Michael and I had fun doing my football play-calling trick with some of the guys watching the game; and we had some kid, teen, and adult chat cameos as we took breaks from the rest of the fun.

Another thing that was different from my first New Year's Eve party at the Inn was that I didn't really spend much time with Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa. They were all as busy as I was, and having fun too; but I definitely have mixed feelings about this part of growing up and 'getting my own life', as some of my friends would say. I'm not suggesting that I'd trade one kind of fun for the other; but it would be nice if there was enough time for both.

One thing that was very much the same for every New Year's Eve I've been here in Witch Falls for was watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve; though we didn't switch to that channel on all televisions in the room until around eleven o'clock. I have no idea whether that will continue to be such a strong tradition here in the future, but it still is now; and only the younger kids were more interested in playing than dancing to the music and watching the entertainment as we counted down the last hour of the year.

The next major news item for me is definitely my first New Year kiss with Michael. I know that it was fairly spectacular for several reasons. First is because there were fireworks going on that were definitely not just on the television. We also lost track of time; were among the last to end our kiss; and earned two whistles of approval from Miranda and Aunt Leanne. This is probably the best place to make a little confession. I really did get lost in that moment too, but helping to make that kiss spectacular was in my plans because I wanted to make sure that Michael remembers it more than his first New Year's Eve kiss with a girlfriend – the one he shared with Lisa last year.

Feel free not to mention that to Lisa whenever you read this in the future, and don't worry, Michael; I did mean 'more than', and don't expect you to forget that other, hopefully lesser, kiss. :^)

Rowen probably won't be able to say that for her first New Year kiss with Tim compared to his with Nora last year; but that's entirely because she'll never, ever be like Nora when it comes to kissing her boyfriend in public. She wasn't disappointed with the kiss they did share, but I was busy at the time; and have no idea how long their moment lasted compared to ours.

I didn't see Rebecca share a little midnight kiss with Lucas Norton either, for the same reason; but I did hear about it shortly after. That news is sure to make the town grapevine news network, but I'm going to cut them some slack; since I think they were more surprised than anyone. Before you start thinking that it's time for me to turn in my matchmaker badge, they weren't surprised that they both chose to kiss while pretty much everyone else around them was doing that too – they were surprised by their reactions. Let's just say that their 'friendly' kiss felt more than a little friendly to them; and move along.

While Aunt Leanne had whistles for me, she was even more proud of her younger niece and nephew. Ehlana went with a kiss on the cheek for Aiden, but it should probably be Liz who should be proud of her little girl; since it was Naomi who had no problem planting her New Year's kiss on Ethan's lips – though he didn't even try to dodge the kiss either. Hearing about yet two more moments that I missed while busy with Michael was fun, but those kisses had me wondering what it might have been like for me if I'd been born here in Witch Falls too. I'll have to ask Miranda about what Michael was like when he was Ethan's age – whether he was like Ethan; or if girls were icky when he was two or three. Aunt Leanne teased Naomi and Ethan about the 'younger man' thing, but for that to be closer to the same as Aunt Leanne for Naomi; she'd have needed to be trying for kisses with Zack.

Okay, that even has me wanting to move this along.

The party started winding down after midnight; starting with my own family taking their kids home to bed. Michael and I stayed in the dining room until my parents, Ethan, and Ehlana left; and then we went to work in the kitchen. We needed to clean up from the late buffet; wash more piles of dishes; and get clean dishes out to the dining room so that the tables could be set up again for business on Thursday. Miranda and Jacob had volunteers to help with getting the tables back to normal; the decorations taken down; and the televisions packed up and returned to two different homes while Jake and Stephanie supervised the kitchen crew.

It was after two by the time we got back to Michael's house, and Stephanie is staying overnight too; though she and Jake went straight up to bed when Miranda, Jacob, and Rebecca did shortly after we got here. Michael and I opted for some cuddle time in the living room that we happily turned into a minor make-out session complete with more New Year fireworks.

That was a lot of fun, and staying cuddled together on the sofa all night would have been very nice; but we do have that football bowl game party at my house and another late night ahead of us; so we came up to our rooms about twenty minutes ago. I didn't take long to get ready for bed; though Michael and I crossed paths again while taking turns in the bathroom. After seeing me in my nightdress and sharing another goodnight kiss, there's a chance that Michael isn't feeling sleepy right now; but I can live with having that effect on my boyfriend.

I've kept my nightly computer checks to a minimum for everything except doing a Hathorne Industries check. They had another party at their estate, and though I don't really think about it at all; this is Gawain and Kellie's third anniversary today. They probably don't miss the gift and card that I don't send them any more than I miss birthday gifts from them; but I do hope they're happy. Though we do collect the Hathorne information into an archive for them, I haven't done an update for them in a while here; so let's do that now – since Michael might not be the only person needing a while longer before being able to sleep.

Hathorne Industries and 'The Center' are doing very well under Kellie and Gawain. That's good for them, but not so much for practically everyone affected by their businesses and extra-curricular activities. It's a bit surprising that they're also still together as a couple; but everything we get on them suggests that they are not just together, but exclusive too. There haven't been any indications that either of them ever wine and dine other partners, and while Gawain still has his penthouse, if he's there overnight; she's usually there with him. That certainly suggests that whatever deal they made after Corwyn's death is working for them.

There isn't quite as much news about Gwyneth. We can track her when she leaves the estate, and get information on her personal staff and tutors; but the only other details we know about her revolve around her education. That looks impressive, and gets some notice; but we're also sure that her 'real' education is likely tracking closer to Ethan and Ehlana's than what's publicly disclosed. For that, she's approximately tracking the education path of some well-known academic prodigies; and it wouldn't surprise me if she mapped that out based on the records from one or more of those kids. If that's true, she'll likely be going off to college by the time she's six or seven – or around the same time I will be.

While all of those details are either interesting or maddening – when they're doing bad things that we can't do anything about; I'm mostly just glad to see that none of them are trying to do anything to disrupt our lives here in Witch Falls right now. Gawain and Gwyneth are still keeping track of us and collecting every scrap of information they can get about us; but Gawain hasn't tried to come here again; and there's nothing to suggest that they've sent anyone here to personally try to check up on us.

That isn't always going to be the case, so I'll just be grateful for every year we get without the Hathornes trying to mess up our lives – or end them.

Going to sleep on that note isn't a very pleasant thought. Maybe I should sneak into Michael's room and see about making a more happy memory to take into dreamland with me! Okay, maybe not; but that does give me something much more entertaining to dream about; so I'm going to wrap this up and let my unconscious mind have fun with that.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

***Notes***

Thank-you for visiting the Heirs of the Magi world, and spending time with us in Witch Falls!

Cassie's Journals are originally posted on the Heirs of the Magi Blog, and will cover the time between the end of Magi Master and the start of Magi Ascension; which continues the Heirs of the Magi story from Cassie's high school graduation in June, 2018. Cassie's 2011 and 2012 Journals are also available for free at my  Smashwords Author Page.
