

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part One

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 – Steve Leggett

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

ISBN: 978-0-9867537-6-3

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

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

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

Notes

January 2013

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year again!

The snow from yesterday and the college bowl games today combined to convince our holiday weekend guests to pack up and head for home early. Even Chris and Martin were able to get motivated at the prospect of being home in time to watch the games with their buddies; and were packed and ready to go in record time for them despite the lack of sleep from too much video gaming.

Our parents weren't quite as fired up, but Uncle Rick and Uncle Blaine really did want to get on the road early, so Mom, Dad, Violet, and I all pitched in to make that happen for them. It was still only mid-morning by the time we were done with the goodbye hugs and kisses; our outbound family members were all on the road; and we could take a little break in a suddenly very quiet house.

With the Inn closed today, Violet was busy with Dillon from shortly after we had that little snack break, and I went to meet up with Rowen for some snow play fun while Mom and Dad puttered around the house and spent the day playing with Ethan and Ehlana. As kids everywhere there is snow do, Rowen and I managed to find a place where we – and what seemed like half the kids in town – could do a little tobogganing. It wasn't much of a run, and we could only play until the snow cover was too thin to keep sliding down without getting caught in ruts, dirt, or mud and slush. The rest of our snow play included a really fun mass snowball fight at the park; some more snowman building that we stopped to help Jessica Bassett with on our way back to Rowen's house for lunch; and a moderately successful attempt at riding and sliding our bikes around at the park and school.

When Rowen and I stopped in to my house for our afternoon break, I found out that Ethan, Ehlana, and I were doing a dinner and sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa tonight. yes, I'm sure that part of that was so we could spend a little quality time with them before they head out on their next trip this weekend, but Mom and Dad seemed very happy about the prospect of some quality alone time too. Whatever they plan to do with their kid-free time is probably one of those things that kids-don't-need-to-know.

That news did shorten my play time with Rowen, and we ended up staying in my room with Ethan and Ehlana after our hot chocolate and cookies break. We had a little flute and sax music practice; I packed for my sleepover; and we had a little telepathic chat with Ethan, Ehlana, and Mandy while mostly just hanging out and taking it easy. When it was time to go over to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we did the goodbye hugs and kisses with Mom; Rowen headed home; and Dad drove Ethan, Ehlana, and me over so that we didn't have to bother with switching the car seats to Grandpa's van.

There really isn't much to report for the rest of the evening. After days of too much food, Grandma and I put together a light soup and sandwiches meal; we had bakery desserts; and then spent a couple of hours playing before both the grandparents and toddlers were ready for an early bedtime. I wasn't ready to crash at nine o'clock, so I've been playing on my computer since helping to put Ethan and Ehlana to bed. It's still only ten-thirty now, but I guess getting an extra couple of hours of sleep more than usual will be nice – as long as that doesn't just have me up earlier than usual in the morning. I'll let you know how that worked out for me tomorrow night.

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

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

It's been all fun and games for most kids in Witch Falls today. For Ethan, Ehlana, and me, our fun started with breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa. When it was time to go home again, Mom came over to pick us up; I helped out with getting the twins and our bags inside; and then I was set free to meet up with Rowen and get on with our wintry play day.

There wasn't more snow, but some boys had decided to try building a toboggan run by hauling nearby snow by the sled-full and filling in the bare spots left from overuse yesterday. Rowen and I watched that semi-successful operation for a while; had a fairly entertaining snowball fight that was instigated by a pair of un-named girls who ambushed the unsuspecting toboggan run builders; and went for a few slides down the hill on shared sleds before word got around, and there were too many kids all trying to get in on the unexpected bonus time on the slopes.

After leaving the hill, we went back to my house for hot chocolate and a snack, and then we spent the rest of the morning hanging out in the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana. We played our flute and saxophone; did a little telekinetic video gaming that was mostly for Ethan; and basically just goofed off until lunchtime. For Rowen and me, lunch was a picnic for four, and before you get too excited Aunt Leanne, the other two members of that foursome were Rowen's parents; and the picnic was at the computer store. Patricia has been joking since then that our surprise lunch visit was exclusively to butter her and Owen up to get sleepover approval, but that was totally just an added bonus, and we really did put the picnic together just so we could spend a little extra time with them. Having the sleepover at Rowen's didn't really work out all that well for us either, but I'll get to that in a moment.

Our afternoon included picking Ethan and Ehlana up after lunch and taking them to the park for some play time that included making toddler and tween-sized snow angels; slide action that had Ethan suggesting that wearing snow pants for that year-round would be a lot more fun; a brief, too-cold time on the swings; and a walk along the path to the falls and back. We had our afternoon hot chocolate and snack break at the Inn, and then Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana home again. I packed my bag for another sleepover away, and we took that, and our flute and saxophone, over to Rowen's house after doing a round of goodbye hugs with Mom and the twins.

With the holiday rush over for another year, the computer store was back to normal winter hours, and Patricia came home early to start making dinner. She had two volunteers to help with the work, and that's when we found out that there were going to be two sleepover guests at the Emersons. I'm not sure if it was worse tonight because this had been the first chance Patrick and Scott had to unleash their pranks and jokes on us since the start of the Christmas break, but the two boys were in top form all night – and still are even as I write this between interruptions.

Patricia, Rowen, and I had dinner ready by the time Owen got home with the junior jokesters, and for the next forty-five minutes; Patrick and Scott entertained themselves by trying their best to gross the rest of us out with their food analogies, jokes, and a display of dining skills that would have amazed any pack of starving wolves. I won't go into the details, and Rowen and I were both very glad to help her parents when it was time to clean up.

Doing the dishes didn't give Rowen and me a reprieve from Patrick and Scott, since they quickly volunteered to help too. Their help probably added ten minutes to the work time, and they didn't actually get anything useful done while trying to splash Rowen or me with water; putting clean dishes back into the dirty stack; and an attempt at a leftovers food fight that Owen thankfully stopped immediately after two spoon-flung pieces of pasta hit their marks. Getting a noodle and sauce in my hair was gross, and so was getting it out, but Rowen was more annoyed because she needed to change her top so that her Mom could spray it with stain remover.

The hits, mostly metaphorically, have continued all night. Our music practice was constantly interrupted by things like the boys playing YouTube videos of screeching cats or of them staggering into Rowen's room and pretending that our music was killing them – over and over again. Rowen was already wishing she had a dart pipe to blow on instead of her flute by then, but there was still much more to come. While watching a movie in the living room, Patrick and Scott spent all of their time pranking us. Creepy-crawlies would brush up against our feet and ankles from under the sofa, or on our shoulders and hair from above. The list went on and on, and though Rowen and I managed to get through the movie, we came back up to her room for the rest of the night right after it was over.

Unfortunately, the boys came upstairs too, and they had a large cache of weapons of mass annoyance available to them in Patrick's room that they were not afraid of using. Prank and joke delivery systems included a remote-control monster truck and a micro helicopter; rubber worm and spider-throwing slingshots; water guns; a robot; and a squadron of paper airplanes.

Short of using a little Magi power, there doesn't seem to be anything Rowen and I can do to put an end to the little brother and sidekick games tonight – even bribery didn't work – so I'm going to wrap this up and we're going to turn the lights out and at least pretend to go to sleep. It might work – or not.

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

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Pretending to be asleep wasn't enough to keep Patrick and Scott from their mission to annoy us last night; and it took a cease and desist order from the parents to put an end to their warped sense of fun – until they resumed hostilities again this morning. Our solution to the problem was to escape the house shortly after helping Rowen's Mom with the clean-up; and doing our next holiday sleepover at my house.

Other than the change in overnight accommodations, and the welcomed end to our latest episode of being prank targets number one and two for Rowen's little brother and his trusty sidekick; the rest of the day was pretty much a repeat of yesterday. We played outdoors a lot; had a couple of snowball fights; took Ethan and Ehlana to the park; practiced our flute and saxophone in the lounge; and some Magi-shielded fun time with the twins too. Dinner with my parents, little brother and his best friend, Ehlana, was much easier for us; and we're both very glad that dodging food during the clean-up wasn't an issue either.

Violet was at Dillon's house for dinner and the evening, and it was a fairly quiet night around here. Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I watched a movie in the lounge while Mom and Dad worked in the office; Rowen and I helped Mom with the full bath and bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; and then we got ready for bed too, and have been playing on our computers and cuddling with Mandy for the last hour or so. Once I have this finished, we're going to call it a night early – mostly because we were a bit sleep-deprived last night, and partly because we want to be rested up and ready to enjoy the last weekday of our Christmas holiday. Let's not even think about the fact that we only have three days left before it's over and we're back to school again on Monday!

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

Friday, January 4, 2013

The top news story of the day, for just a very few of us, is that Liz Seager is pregnant with her second child! Mom found that out when she saw Liz while dropping Ethan and Ehlana off at KidZone; and I got to 'see' for myself when Rowen and I coincidentally needed to drop off an afternoon snack for Liz and Vicki at our favorite hair salon. The hard part about knowing things like this early is having to keep the secret until Liz can find out 'officially' from Uncle Adam in about a week and change. Aunt Leanne suggested that some girls have apparently had happier holidays than most, but I'll just pretend that I don't know what she means by that.

Compared to the expecting mother story from the Seager family, my day has been fairly uneventful. The snow has been melting a little more every day, so there weren't even any boys out on the ridge trying to do any sledding today. Snowball fights were still breaking out here and there, but Rowen and I stayed away from that action because while I love snowball fights as much as the next kid, I don't like throwing – or getting hit by \- ice or slush balls.

While Ethan and Ehlana were at KidZone, Mom was running around town doing the usual supply and grocery runs; picking up dry cleaning; and having lunch out with Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Claire. Rowen and I had a self-serve sandwiches and chips lunch at my house, and we were there to help Mom with unloading the van; but spent most of the day outdoors except for two warm-up breaks – including the afternoon visit to the salon.

Dinner and a movie night resumed today, and Grandma and Grandpa were there too for a last visit before heading out for their trip in the morning. I so wish that I could be spending the next eleven weeks in and around Australia and New Zealand with them, but since I can't take Rowen, my parents, brother, and sister along too; I'll just tough it out and stay at home with them instead.

Rowen stayed with us for the evening, and we helped Mom and Violet with making dinner. Grandpa led the dinner conversation, and his review of the highlights of their travel itinerary was nearly as entertaining as his post-trip adventure tales always are. I don't know if having a high-tech daughter-in-law and granddaughter is rubbing off, but he must be using the internet a lot these days to learn everything he can about the places they're going to visit and do their family business and charity work.

Uncle Adam and Aunt Deborah had been late getting out of the clinic, and we took our time having our meal, so by the time we finished cleaning up, it was after eight o'clock. We all moved into the living room, picked a kid-appropriate movie; and settled in for a little quality cuddle time. Violet went out to meet up with Dillon at the Inn when Rowen's parents and brother joined us after closing the store for the night. They stayed for the rest of the movie and our bedtime snack break before taking Rowen with them and going home when my grandparents, aunts, and uncles headed out.

Going off-recap for a moment, I'd like to mention that Patrick is usually fairly tolerable when he and Scott aren't collaborating – and trying to show off for each other. It was even fun watching him play with Ethan while he was here. Rowen assures me that he can be very annoying without having Scott around to help him, but there does seem to be some hope that he'll eventually outgrow this phase some day. Sooner would be nice, but I won't hold my breath; and I'm not sure that when he and Scott hit the tween stage that it won't just be worse.

Anyway, back to the main story; I helped Mom and Dad put Ethan and Ehlana to bed, and have been in my room with Mandy since then – starting with a little Jacuzzi time for me. (For some reason, Mandy never wants to take a turn.) Mom and Dad went to bed early too, and I doubt that Violet will be home early when she has less than two days left before she'll need to go back to Woodvale. She'll be sad about that, but the good news is that this will be the last semester that she and Dillon will ever spend apart.

I've just been puttering around the internet since climbing into bed with Mandy, and there isn't anything else to report for today; so I'm going to shut down now and shoot for a third night in a row where I'm sleeping before midnight.

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

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Grandma and Grandpa are currently flying over the Pacific Ocean on their way to Australia; and it'll be Monday morning local time when they land. I still wish I could be with them, but spending the morning working around the house, playing with Rowen all afternoon, and doing one last holiday sleepover has likely been more fun than a travel day that still has a long way to go before it's over.

They haven't exactly missed much here in Witch Falls during their first day away. While I've escaped a lot of work over the past two weeks, that ended today; and I put in a solid four hours of house cleaning, and another hour working outdoors with Dad, before being set free after lunch. The good news with the diminishing snow supply is that Rowen and I could ride our bikes pretty much everywhere we wanted to go this afternoon. That included stops at the park and school, a warm-up break at the Inn that Miranda and Rebecca joined us for; and a handful of cameo stops to visit with some classmates and friends we met up with while touring around town.

While I'm thinking about our snack break with Rebecca, I should mention that Jenny didn't join us for that because she's currently spending a lot more time with Shane, and less at the Inn with Rebecca. I've thought about spending some time in the kitchen there to give Rebecca some company while she's busy, but I don't see how to do that without having Aunt Leanne teasing me about being there because of Michael instead, and redoubling her matchmaking efforts; so I just haven't done that at all. For Rebecca and Jenny, though, I suppose this little change does at least help out with separate best friend and boyfriend time.

I really don't want to stay on that topic for long, so let's get back to the recap.

We had an easy-dinner night; played for a couple of hours with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and have been hanging out in the lounge since the twins were tucked into bed after their bath and bedtime snack and stories. With just the family in the house, I was able to put up my wards for a while so that Rowen and I could play our flute and sax without bothering anyone else, and also include Mandy in our girl chat. After our practice, we settled onto the sofa and have been watching a movie for the last hour or so. Violet has been spending her last evening here out with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie, but she only brought Dillon home with her; they're in the living room now; and Rowen and I are sure that we do not want to interrupt them tonight.

I don't want to think about that either, and there really isn't anything else to report for today, so I'm going to finish this and get back to our movie.

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

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Grandma and Grandpa are safely in Sydney Australia now, where it is already Monday afternoon; where it's one heck of a lot warmer than here. We had a short phone call with them after they were in their hotel room. It took a fair bit of power to make it happen, but I was able to do a full link with them so we could chat telepathically – though Mom made me keep that short too so I didn't wear myself out.

That little reach out and touch someone moment happened shortly before we had dinner, but there was a fair bit going on today before then. With Violet heading back to Woodvale today, it was a busy morning around the house. She did most of her packing this morning, and we had Dillon over for breakfast so they could have a little extra time together. While she was busy, Mom, Dad, and I juggled shower time; cooking and cleaning up from breakfast, and taking care of Ethan and Ehlana.

Things were pretty much back to normal at church, and Pastor Lewis was on a roll that lasted until shortly after Jacob needed to leave and get to the Inn. Our congregation is quite happy to give the Pastors all the time they need on Sunday mornings, but that might just change if lunch at the Inn was delayed a half hour or more because of it!

That wasn't a problem for us, since we were having lunch at home. Dillon was with us for that too, along with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam. It's hard to believe that the week and a half Violet's been here is over already, and even at lunch time, it didn't really feel like I'd spent much time with her when her attention was mostly on Dillon – and they both talked a lot with Uncle Adam and Mom about what they don't even yet know is their part in our future plans. I should probably just get used to that, since five and a half or six years difference in age is a lot when it's between eleven or twelve and seventeen or eighteen. Cameo moments are likely all Violet and Dillon will have time for with me for the next five or ten years.

Dillon had to do his goodbyes with Violet right after lunch, and get to the Inn, and I went to meet up with Rowen then too; though I did my goodbyes with Violet first. She wasn't leaving quite yet, but was going to be busy doing a last lesson with Mom before getting on the road; so I wasn't really going to have a chance to do anything with her anyway. Rowen and I spent most of the afternoon biking and playing at the park. Now that the computer store was again closed on Sundays, we were able to have our warm-up break at her house and have a little music practice before playing outside again until we both needed to be home for dinner.

I've already covered the long-distance call and link; dinner and the clean-up were both quick and easy; and then Mom and Dad had an hour or so of play time with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before Dad needed to get to work in the office again, and I helped Mom with the bath and bedtime routine for the twins that included a short Magi lesson. Once Ethan and Ehlana were in bed, it was time for me to hit the Jacuzzi. I spent about an hour and a half in the bathroom by the time my hair was done and I was ready for bed. A little telekinetic packing had everything I'd need for school in the morning ready to go, and then I went down to the office to say goodnight to Mom and Dad – and to get Dad to sign off on my report card. He still hasn't gotten tired of showing off my straight A+ reports, and I'll never get tired of seeing my Daddy proud of me – even if he doesn't get to brag about the really big things we do.

The impending return to 'normal' in the morning also meant that I got back to my usual nightly computing and studies tonight; though I'm also trying something different for a while to see whether a little time-phasing makes a difference; or just ends up leaving me more tired from the extra power exertion. Doing that is the main reason I'll be sleeping before midnight, and have all of my archive and language work done too plus the usual email, news, entertainment, and sports checks. I'm not starting my next new language until tomorrow night, but I even managed to get everything set up for that so I can just jump in with my first lessons and go.

That's it for tonight, so...

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

Monday, January 7, 2013

Having the kids back in school again might be the top news story among students and parents, but the most important event in Witch Falls happened when Sharon Palmer officially joined the family business this morning; and started working with Mom to learn everything about her new, multi-billion dollar investment portfolio. Sometime within the next two or three months, she'll take over most of the banking, financial, and insurance industry interests we own; along with a few related businesses. I'm sure that even if you're reading this in the distant future, you'll know that the whole banking and insurance industry didn't exactly have a rosy reputation for the past four or five years, but you can be sure that our companies are the exceptions; or we wouldn't own them.

While things weren't nearly that important or exciting at school today, it was still a really good day. My morning started out great too, starting with Tai Chi, breakfast, a little dress-up and hair time with Mom and Ehlana, and a ride to school for Rowen and me from Dad so I didn't have to try carrying two saxophones and the rest of my usual gear. Holiday news dominated the school grapevine all day, and kept everyone entertained as well as informed. The boys, of course, were also talking football all day too, with both the pro and college games on the weekend topping their chat interests. As far as I'm concerned, the only good news there is that college football will be done after tonight; and, sort of like groundhog day, that means four weeks left in the NFL post-season before football gets shelved until next summer.

The best time of the day for Rowen and me was getting to play our new flute and saxophone in music class. Michael and I were both teased about having matching saxophones, with a few new lines related to what could happen if we get them mixed up and use the wrong one. Since Michael and Lisa seem to have 'officially' joined the couples club now, you can guess that Lisa wasn't at all amused by any of the sax jokes directed at us, but there wasn't much that either Michael or I could do about it once a few of our classmates got on a roll. The only thing that saved us a bit was having that class near the end of the day instead of the beginning. By tomorrow, there will be other targets and jokes.

The fun for Rowen and I continued after school. We had another warm day – warm for winter – and after finishing our homework; we took Ethan and Ehlana to the park to play. Ethan was happy to find out that the warm weather also meant that the guys were playing football too, and Michael was there to help him get one more football moment before Rowen, Ehlana, and I were able to escape the testosterone zone and split the rest of our time between the playground and a walk by the river. There were a lot of kids and teens hanging out at the park today, and we spent nearly as much time chatting as playing before it was time to get home again – or to the computer store for Rowen.

Mom had another New Year change to announce tonight, and that was the end to our weekly healing lessons with Uncle Adam. After two years, they'd decided that he could continue his training on his own, and just get help from Mom whenever he needed it. My healing lessons will continue, but probably won't be on a specific night anymore. Since Mom was going to be spending a lot of time with Sharon Palmer, and Aunt Leanne was busy with the real estate end of our future plans, they didn't have a meeting tonight either, and it seemed really quiet around here without any company.

We did have Magi lessons tonight – elements for Ethan and Ehlana, and transmutation for me. I was in bed shortly after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in, and thanks to another time-phase, I'm finished my work for the night; and it isn't even eleven o'clock yet! The only news from my work tonight is that I started learning the Polynesian-Malayo languages; and that should keep me busy through to the end of the school year in June. If I'm going to really find out whether using the time-phase helps or not, I'll need to get to sleep soon, so...

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

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Crimson Tide rolled to their third National Championship in four years last night, and from what I heard around school today; it wasn't a good night for the fighting Irish and their fans.

Yes, I did need to check the score this morning before going to school, though Dad could have given me the update too since he apparently watched the game on and off while working in the office. I'm not really interested enough to add the game details, but if you, dear future reader, really want to know them; wiki it!

For me, today's highlights were Tai Chi with Mom and Dad and lunchtime music practice with Rowen and Michael. Don't go there, Aunt Leanne – we were just having fun playing music. Rowen and I were a bit surprised when Michael joined us in the music room for the first time since he started hanging out with Lisa, but he wants the extra practice time enough to put up with more saxophone jokes and jabs from the guys. Lisa didn't look happy with either Michael or me the next time Rowen and I saw her in our first afternoon class, but there wasn't much that I could do about that except keep my mouth shut and stay away from her boyfriend for the rest of the day – which I did.

I was also glad that it was an after-school work night. My end of the family business wasn't neglected at all over the holidays, since I did deal with anything that absolutely couldn't wait while I was 'on vacation', but there's always more to do; and I managed to keep busy from the time I sat down at my work station in the office until dinnertime. With Alicia working with Mom, using a little Magi power to help out wasn't an option, but I did still manage to get enough done that I didn't need to keep working after dinner.

Instead of doing that, Mom had more lessons for Ethan, Ehlana, and me; we all had a little play time with Dad; and then I helped out with getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and in bed before coming up to my room for the night. Another time-phased study and nightly computing blast followed, and I'm again ready to hit the pillows before eleven o'clock. I could get used to the extra sleep, but it's still to early to say for sure whether the trade-off to using the extra power is worth it or not. Time will tell, but for now...

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

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

It sure hasn't felt like January – at least during the afternoons – for the last few days; and it's going to get even warmer before the colder temperatures return again. That's good for getting outside at lunchtime and playing after school; and Rowen and I had fun biking and playing at the park once we had our homework out of the way.

There actually isn't really much of anything for me to report today. We're getting right back into more serious studies in our classes; after-school play time was fun, but there isn't anything special to write about there; it's been a quiet night at home; and my nightly bedtime computing and studies were quick again, and not particularly exciting.

Mom's keeping busy with all the usual work plus training Sharon Palmer; Dad's getting ready for his week in the city; and Ethan and Ehlana are excited about getting started on Grade Ten material, Magi lessons with Naomi and Aiden, and KidZone visits. I may even have the easiest schedule right now, but even though that could be true; I'm still ready to wrap this up and get some sleep, so...

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

Thursday, January 10, 2013

It's been a rainy day in Witch Falls, but that hasn't kept us from having fun.

For our class, while I've actually been trying not to think about it all week, Gretchen's birthday party tomorrow night topped the conversation list – her first boy-girl party. I know I should just relax and deal with things like this, but don't seem to be able to handle the fact that I have a very low tolerance for tween weird very well.

A good example of that happened at lunchtime. Rowen and I escaped to the music room so we could avoid the worst of the chat among our friends about how cool it was going to be having a Friday night party with minimal adult supervision. Michael and Lisa had both joined us by the time we'd gotten our instruments out and were warming up, and the weird got stranger – and more annoying – from there.

This first comment isn't going to sound particularly great, but to be honest; Lisa doesn't really have either the interest in or aptitude for playing music. Trying to practice along with the three best students in our class just makes that more obvious; and I'm sure she realized that as quickly as I did today. While Lisa and I haven't really gotten to be friends, we have always gotten along just fine, but she isn't happy about how Michael acts around me; and really gets annoyed anytime the sax jokes start flying. The difference in our musical abilities certainly put her off, and if that wasn't bad enough; Tim and Nora stopped in too, and though their teasing was meant to be fun, it probably moved Lisa along from being annoyed to borderline angry; and pushed the weird scale way too far for me to find anything funny about the situation.

Michael is like his father, and it takes a lot to get him angry or annoyed, so Tim at least knew when he'd gone too far with his best friend, and beat a hasty retreat. None of us were really interested in practicing after that, but we went through the motions for another ten minutes before packing up. Rowen and I left the room right away, but I don't think that Michael and Lisa did until just before we all needed to get to our next class. Yet again, I'm left wondering why on earth Aunt Leanne thinks that I need to rush into crossing over and dealing with messes like that.

After having that little reminder that the weird can pop up when you least expect it, I was happy to focus on our classes for the rest of the day, and go home to some nice, sane, family business work. That only ended up being a break from the strange and annoying because game night was back again; and Michael and Tim were there with Lisa and Nora. I wasn't surprised to see that Michael wasn't mad at Tim or Nora anymore, since he'd already moved on by the time we'd gotten to our Social Studies class, but I'm sure that Lisa still wasn't happy despite the fact that she was trying hard not to show it. Add in a couple of Aunt Leanne matchmaking nudges directed at Michael and me, and though that bugged me as much as it ticked Lisa off; there's a good chance that she won't be talking to me much for a while. Please tell me again why I only talk and think about skipping game night instead of acting on those impulses. Oh right – because playing with my family, friends, and neighbors is so much fun!

After getting home and coming up to my room, I should have worked in normal time, since I'm not exactly winding down very quickly, but I stuck with the time-phase work experiment, and don't have anything left to do except wrap this up and try to get off to sleep. Maybe if I don't think about the weird from today or the impending weird for tomorrow night at Gretchen's party, that will happen sometime before midnight. I'll let you know tomorrow whether that happened.

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

Friday, January 11, 2013

Mother Nature must love Gretchen a lot – she gave her beautiful spring-like weather for her birthday. Happy twelfth, Gretchen!

Since everyone in our class was going to her party, school pretty much seemed like a way to keep ourselves entertained while waiting for that to start. Rowen and I did actually have fun at school, and that's mostly true for the rest of the day except for Rowen being more than a little annoyed with a certain boy by the time we were picked up to go back to her house after the party.

Yes, we're doing another sleepover at her house; Scott's here with Patrick; and they did try messing with us earlier until they found out that wasn't a good idea when Rowen's got her mad on for boys.

Let's back up a bit. It was a quiet morning at home, and I was ready for school early. The sleepover was added to our plans for the day while I was picking Rowen up on my way to school. I think Rowen was already thinking that she'd need her best friend to talk to after the party. There wasn't actually much going on at school other than the usual work, but nearly everyone was outside for lunchtime to enjoy the warm and play. My day went particularly well because I successfully avoided any close encounters with Michael and Lisa – a fact that she seemed to be very happy about – especially when I was able to do that all evening too.

Gretchen's party was a good example of how much things have changed in a year – the biggest being that it was a girls-only party for her last birthday; and the not-yet-crossed-over group had more than one member. Everyone is taller, and the boys are beginning to catch up with the girls, though that hasn't been as big of a deal for Rowen and me, since we started out as pixies; and never got very far ahead of any of the boys. Rowen and I are also still, um, behind the curve in other developments that are of particular interest to the guys, but I guess it'd be fair to note that we – the girls – have all made progress in that department since the last party.

Taking a little side trip, that lack of development for us bugs Rowen, but I'm fairly happy that we're not at the top of the class for this. Some of the girls like the attention that comes with being more physically grown up than the other girls, but I wouldn't like dealing with any of that at all. Let's put this down as one more good reason to stay on my side of the crossing over line indefinitely.

Moving along, Rowen and I had time after school to do snack and report time with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; pack my overnight bag; and head over to her place to get ready for the party. We walked over to the computer store to get a ride out to the party with Rowen's Mom, and were among the first guests there. Since Gretchen's boyfriend was already there too, we didn't get to spend much time with her while waiting for the rest of her friends and some cousins to get there, and I guess we really didn't spend much time with her all evening; since she was mostly hanging out with the 'couples club' tweens and teens.

Rowen and I were definitely in the singles minority, but we also weren't alone either; and had other girls to hang out with and chat; and there were always groups of girls dancing to up-tempo songs later that we could join. I guess it was just during the ballads, when the couples paired up to dance, that we were left on the sidelines, but we also took some of those opportunities to go outside for short walks that were usually timed to help Rowen cool down a bit and do a little constructive venting.

Note to any future boyfriends for either Rowen or me – there will not be any making out in public with us. Not...going...to...happen – ever!

If Rowen does get 'her' guy some day, that'll be a memo he'll definitely need to get; since his current girlfriend doesn't have that little dating restriction – and that was a big reason why Rowen was so hot under the collar tonight. There was more than one couple helping to make things weird tonight, but I must be changing a bit too, because that really didn't bother me all that much tonight; and I really had fun all evening. Doing a barbeque dinner buffet in mid-January was great – even with the guys competing with each other to show off their incredible feats of food and drink consumption. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but there's also something about barn dances that I really love.

Gretchen's party had a midnight curfew, but Rowen and I were getting picked up at eleven – partly because we didn't really want to stick around for the inevitable couples' dances wind down and goodbyes; and because we didn't want to keep any of our parents up for an extra hour after a long work week. I was especially glad that we made that decision when we found out that Aunt Leanne had volunteered to pick us up; and she had no matchmaking opportunities to spring on me before we were in the car and ready to go. That didn't keep her from teasing me, and lamenting my stubborn refusal to get with the program so she could have more entertaining party reports, but I was happy to play along with that when the potential alternative scenes could have been much worse – and weirder.

Our pick-up run apparently also marked the end of dinner and a movie night at my house; so Aunt Leanne parked in her driveway, and Rowen and I stopped in to say a quick goodnight to Uncle Adam before walking next door and doing a bedtime snack and story time with her parents, Patrick, and Scott. As I mentioned already, the boys tried bugging us after we all went up to our rooms for the night; but quickly retreated and left us alone when Rowen blasted them – rhetorically, not with Magi power; though she really, really wanted to do it that way instead.

If you've never experienced it, since it happens so rarely, I can tell you that it's very entertaining when Rowen lets her mad out – as long as you're not on the receiving end of it. Patrick and Scott probably have a different opinion about that right now, but they'll survive; and Rowen and I are both happy that they aren't bugging us anymore tonight.

We've been fairly happily engaged in some constructive guy-bashing that has included some very entertaining and topic-related YouTube videos. Okay, Rowen wasn't exactly happy, but we did manage to laugh a lot, and she does feel better. It's getting late, and we need to think about getting some sleep, so I'm going to wrap this up; and we're going to try and do that.

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

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Maybe Rowen should get mad at Patrick and Scott more often! They were still leaving us alone this morning even though she was obviously in a much better mood by the time we sat down to have breakfast. We didn't even get results like that with our past bribery attempts. I've never seen Rowen as the geeky bookworm that I keep being told she was before we met, but Patrick and Scott might; and that could explain why being on the receiving end of her anger had such an impact on them. Whatever the reason, it made for a fun start to our day, and I needed that; since there was a lot of house work in my immediate future once I got home.

I know this is shocking, but it seems that my mother actually does have limits to how much she can get done in any given week; and adding in daily training sessions with Sharon Palmer put a serious dent in how much work she could get done around the house. That meant extra work for all of us today, and I kept busy with that until we stopped for lunch shortly after one o'clock. Alicia was here working with Mom and taking care of Ethan and Ehlana, so using a little Magi power to help with the cleaning was out, but Rowen was working at the store anyway, and winter temperatures had returned overnight to Witch Falls and brought a mixed bag of rain, freezing rain, and a bit of snow along; so putting in the extra time helping out around the house really wasn't cutting into my social life anyway.

When Rowen came over after lunch we ended up spending the afternoon hanging out in the lounge anyway. We had a music practice; played with Ethan and Ehlana; and watched a movie before she needed to head home and I was put to work again on the dinner cooking crew. It was just the five of us for the rest of the evening, and after eating and cleaning up, we had a little play time before Dad needed to get back to work in the office; Mom and I did the extended bath and bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana; and then I came up to my room after the twins were tucked in for the night while Mom joined Dad in the office.

There isn't much else to report for me. I've had a nice, long soak in my Jacuzzi; finished a short version of my usual nightly computing; and am ready for an early bedtime and good night's sleep.

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

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I'm going to keep this short, since there really isn't much to report today.

Tai Chi, breakfast, lunch, and the late sitting for the buffet at the Inn were pretty much the only times I spent with Dad today; since he spent the afternoon and evening working in the office and getting ready for his week in the city. Rowen and I spent a couple of hours playing with Ethan and Ehlana after lunch, and Mom did a Magi lesson with all four of us before we met up with Rowen's parents and brother, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah at the Inn for dinner.

We ended up with a fairly large group once we added in some more friends, parents, grandparents, and other family members; and had a lot of fun during the two hours and change we spent at the Inn. By comparison, it seemed very quiet once we were home again, though Mom and I still had fun while doing the bath and bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana. I was good with the quiet while having a long soak in my Jacuzzi after the twins were in bed, and it was even quieter while I was in time-phase mode and doing my nightly computing and archive and language studies.

Just as an interesting side note, bath water does cool down while in a time-phase, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about trying to fit in an hours-long soak when you only have enough 'real' time for a shower.

Anyway, I have my work done; am ready for bed; and that's all I have for tonight, so...

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

Monday, January 14, 2013

Happy 2nd birthday, Naomi!

She might not always think so, but finding out today that she's going to be a big sister was her best birthday present this year.

Liz may have timed her appointments with Uncle Adam to make sure that her pregnancy test results came back today, but since she's quickly getting into the barfy stage, I'm not sure she was thinking about that at all when she had her first appointment on Friday. Her off-and-on morning sickness is also the main reason why Mom and I spent a few hours at their apartment from the time I finished school until after Naomi's party ended so that we could help her out with the work – and keeping up with the gang of toddlers that included Ethan, Ehlana, the kids they played with at KidZone, and a few friends they all knew from church.

I've definitely jumped ahead in the daily recap, so let's back up; and I'll get to the party story in a minute.

We were all awake early this morning to see Dad before he left for Crystal Springs, and then Mom had four cuddle buddies, including Mandy, for the hour or so of nap time we made time for after Dad left. The rest of the morning at home was fairly quiet, though Ethan and Ehlana were fired up about Naomi's birthday; and kept Mom and I entertained during breakfast by chatting about everything they'd be doing today.

The fact that it's winter instead of spring might have had something to do with why we didn't end up with a play afternoon at school today after Liz and Naomi stopped by to let Mr. Seager know that he was going to be a Daddy again; but maybe that's just something that applies to first babies. Whatever the reason, though that did become the top news story at school, classes continued as normal; and even Mr. Seager's class only had the bonus entertainment of having Naomi give her Daddy flowers along with the baby news before getting back to work again.

Helping out with Naomi's birthday party replaced our usual play night, and Rowen just ended up hanging out at the store instead of going out to play without me. Since my main job was keeping up with Naomi and her friends while Mom, Liz, and Philip took care of the work end of the party. Quite a few of the grown-ups in Naomi's family stopped by to see her, or stay for dinner; including her grandparents, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah.

I'd suggest that feeding toddlers – especially the cake and ice cream – is scary, but it really wasn't any worse than watching a gang of tween boys demolish every morsel of food in sight when they get together; and the toddlers aren't trying to impress anyone while they're making a mess and having fun. Ethan and Ehlana had to play along, and reminded me that there were some advantages to being a toddler when it was just Mom and me. I rarely had to pretend that I couldn't feed myself without the mess, and since my brother and sister are both neat freaks already; they don't really like having to make even the minimal mess they need to do for show in public.

Of course, they also have their own iPads, so I don't feel too sorry for them!

Getting back to the party story, I led most of the pre-dinner games; we survived dinner; and needed to do a lot of kid and room cleaning after the cake and ice cream before having Naomi open her gifts. While finding out that she'll be a big sister by sometime in mid-September would eventually rate as her best present, the iPad mini from her parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles was her favorite today. I'm sure of that because the first thing Ehlana did after getting home tonight was test out a little Face Time with her friend – with a little cosmetic help from Mom and Liz. I'll take a wild guess that they'll be doing a lot of that; including some chats after they're in bed for the night.

Liz and Philip will probably get razzed about having a toddler with an iPad as much as Mom and Dad did, but even if Naomi was a 'normal' toddler, there are lots of games available to help teach even young kids; and this really isn't any more radical than putting computers in primary and kindergarten classrooms was ten years ago – it's just where technology and education is going into the future.

Mom and I were able to take Ethan and Ehlana home by shortly after eight. We were the last 'friends' to leave, and as I mentioned already; after getting home, Ehlana needed to play with Naomi and their iPads for a while before bedtime. I had homework to get done, along with the rest of my usual nightly computing and studies, but helped Mom do bath time with Ethan and Ehlana first before going up to my room; getting changed and into bed with Mandy; and started on my work.

With a little time-phasing help, I was able to get everything done fairly quickly – at least in real-time terms. I experimented a bit with that; adjusting how 'fast' I sped up so that I could measure and compare the power used. There is a lot written in the archives about the exponential function that relates to mass for all Transmutations, but the same applies to other factors too; and there isn't nearly as much information about how Magi power use changes depending on things like how fast or slow, and length of time spent in time-phase. That isn't something I'll have the answer for in one evening of study, but I'll write something up for it once I do get some answers.

That's all I have to report for my day, but while I've been thinking about the Seagers a lot tonight, I should mention that their big news today will also have an impact on our future plans because they're going to need to move to a bigger place to have room for two kids. Ethan, Ehlana, and I know what's supposed to happen, and we'll keep that little secret for a while longer, but I can assure you that starting out twenty-thirteen with a new pregnancy and birthday parties is just the beginning of the excitement this year for Naomi and her parents.

I've had enough excitement for today, and am ready to get some sleep, so...

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

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

My usual Tuesday after-school work plans were changed when Mom decided that she was due for a sleepover in Crystal Springs with Dad this week.

Instead of working on the family business, I helped Alicia with Ethan and Ehlana after we picked them up at KidZone; and we kept them entertained until Aunt Leanne finished work and took us home with her for the rest of the night. I moved on from assistant babysitter to cook's helper for a while, and then it was mostly playtime after Uncle Adam joined us and Alicia headed home.

Okay, it wasn't all fun and games – at least for me. Aunt Leanne took the opportunity to spend a little quality time teasing me about Michael – especially at the point in my daily recap when she found out that he joined Rowen and me for our lunchtime music practice; but Lisa didn't. I'm really getting tired of repeating the fact that I'm not interested in any boys, or in crossing over, and even if I was; Michael, and for that matter every other boy in our class, has a girlfriend.

No, Aunt Leanne, I'm not getting so tired of repeating myself that I'm going to give up, cross over, and start dating just to get you to stop bugging me about it. I'm tired of seeing that particular topic pop up far too often in my journals too, so let's skip the teasing and matchmaking details and get on with the rest of the story.

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne led a Magi lesson with us after we cleaned up from dinner. There really isn't much that they can teach me, but they can work with Ethan and Ehlana; and I do learn other things that relate more to the 'how' they teach than the 'what'. The way they were taught was a lot different than how Mom's been training me, and that's one of the things that is going to be changing a lot now – though Mom can't possibly train every Magi; and it will take time to teach other Magi her techniques.

While our lesson wasn't challenging for me, we all had fun, and continued to keep entertained with some play time, a little television and cuddle time, and a long bedtime story and snack time. All of that, and some bonus aunt and niece hair, nails, and chat time while I was getting ready for bed, had me starting my nightly studies and computing a bit later than I've managed for the last week and change, so I kicked up the time-phase into high gear; and still managed to get everything done before eleven-thirty.

Unless Mom's using a time-phase tonight too, I'll guess that Dad isn't finished his work yet, but I'm not sending them any messages to find out if I'm right or not. I really don't need to know most of the details of what they've been doing tonight, and the recap of their dinner with the Malloys can wait until I see Mom tomorrow after school. I wish that I could see Angela, Terry, and Valerie more often, but they're at least as busy as Mom and Dad; and getting together for weekend visits just never seems to be an option.

Anyway, I need to wrap this up and get some sleep. It's not that I have anything particularly exciting booked to rest up for, but I will be doing back-to-back work nights now to make up for not getting much done today. Except for school and game night at the Inn, it'll also mean that I won't have any play time with Rowen until Friday, so it's a good thing that we get to have a three-day weekend so we can have an extra day of fun to make up for the lost best-friend time this week.

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

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It's definitely felt like the longest day of the week for me; mostly because I worked on the family business for nearly four hours in total between the after-school and after-dinner sessions.

Add in two tests at school; a long Magi lesson with Mom after Ethan and Ehlana were in bed; and another hyper-speed study and nightly computing session, and even though I've still managed to get everything done before midnight, I'm exhausted too.

There's more that I could write about tonight, like Mom's night in the city recap that thankfully skipped over the parts of her time there that the twins and I really didn't want to know the details about anyway; but none of that seems as important as sleeping right now, so...

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

Thursday, January 17, 2013

I've had another long, busy day. There isn't any news to report from school – it was fairly quiet and uneventful; though long weekend planning kept a lot of kids and teens entertained whenever we weren't busy with our class work.

The only breaks I had today between Tai Chi and game night at the Inn were meals; our lunchtime music practice; and a conference call that Dad linked with us for to wish Grandpa a happy birthday, since it was already Friday in Australia. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had dinner with us tonight so they could be with us when we made that birthday call, so dinnertime was fun too; and by then, I was ready for a break after another long family business work session in the office.

Grandma and Grandpa are having a lot more fun than we are here, and he's going to celebrate his birthday for two days – one for Friday in Australia, and for his 'actual' birthday – which will be most of Saturday for them. They have a lot of work booked for this trip too, so I'm glad that they are getting some fun days too between all of the meetings and travel.

We wrapped up our chat with Grandma, Grandpa, and Dad in time to walk over to the Inn for game night; and the fun continued there for a couple of hours, with a healthy dose of tween weird thrown in – though that was just for Rowen and me. Mid-January boredom may have been responsible for the big turnout tonight, and that always makes for a longer night when there are so many teams vying for the junior and senior championships. If Miranda was hoping that teaming up with Mom while Dad was in the city would get her to another win, she was disappointed when they didn't even manage to place top five. Rowen and I didn't do nearly that well in the junior competition. She was regularly distracted and annoyed by 'Tommy' and his girlfriend; and that might have had a lot to do with the fact that they were mostly oblivious to everything except each other. The fact that they did even worse than we did wasn't any consolation to Rowen.

That was more than enough to throw off her game, but my gaming wasn't exactly stellar either, and I'm sure you can guess that might have something to do with Michael and my dear, incorrigible, and determined Aunt Leanne. The meaningful looks, whispers, and passing nudges and nods she prods me with are bad enough, but she apparently thinks that Michael isn't very bright if she believes that he didn't see right through two 'chance' meetings at the snack and drinks table when she conveniently happened to need his help to carry a drink or snack to me because her hands were full with the other orders she was juggling. Yes, he did as she asked, but knew from my reaction each time that the deliveries were bogus, blatant set-ups. Judging by some of the looks I got from Lisa tonight; she wasn't thrilled with Aunt Leanne's efforts either. With all of the extra-curricular action, it's no wonder that the gaming was so mediocre.

It was heading toward eleven o'clock by the time we got home, and that was again partly thanks to Aunt Leanne, since she conveniently volunteered us to help with the post-game clean-up; and then we walked home with Miranda, Jacob, Rebecca, and Michael. That was good for one more little strike against me with Lisa, and it'll be two or three if she finds out about Aunt Leanne's goodnight hug and kiss comment when she advised me that I'd 'missed' him after hugging his parents and sister. Ehlana earned bonus sister points for immediately reaching out to hug and kiss Michael; getting everyone laughing, and rescuing me from a no-win situation.

After helping Mom to get Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night, I came up to my room; kicked the time-phase into high gear; and finished all of my planned studies and nightly computing in record time. The only problem I have now is that I'm too wound up to sleep. I don't really write about it much, but anyone reading my journals in the future might be surprised to find out that there actually are so many things that annoy or worry me; since I basically never get visibly angry, and I'm perpetually happy and fired up in public. So much of my life since moving to Witch Falls is so amazing and fun, I sometimes wonder why I even bother writing about some of these things, but I guess it does at least show that even Magi Masters have everyday, normal, real-life issues.

For me, tonight, those issues include wishing that I could do more to help Rowen, since she really is having a tough time with having crossed over, but hooked on a boy who is both currently taken and oblivious to her as anything more than one of the 'other' girls in his class – and certainly not a girl he's ever been interested in the way she's interested in him. Telling her what the twins and I know about our collective future would probably help a lot, but that really isn't an option. Jokes and musing about Magi-powered solutions are only entertaining for so long before they're not much fun anymore; and a medical or Magi cure for the ailment still isn't available. I might be more help if I could relate to Rowen on more than an intellectual basis for this, but I still really wish that we were all still on my side of the crossed over line – especially since if we were; this wouldn't be a problem for her at all, and I might have the added bonus of no auntie matchmaking directed my way.

That's the other issue keeping me awake. There was no doubt that Aunt Leanne's matchmaking moments tonight were harder on Michael than on me. It's not always fun knowing sensing things that others can't; and that's definitely true for me when it comes to him. This is also another case where telling Aunt Leanne what I know might help convince her to stop; but it's not something I can or will do. Ethan, Ehlana, and I don't always like it, but in addition to knowing what we do about our future, we also know what we are and aren't supposed to reveal to others too. Yes, that bugs Mom, Dad, and everyone else in the know about our having this particular talent, but trust me – it really is tougher for us.

I'm not really feeling better about any of this, and haven't come up with anything useful while writing about it here, so I'm going to wrap this up and try a little sound-shielded music practice. Maybe that'll help make me sleepy.

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

Friday, January 18, 2013

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Yes, we did the birthday phone call yesterday, mostly because of the time difference, but now it's officially his birthday, and he's still celebrating it anyway too; though I wish we could be there to do that with him.

We haven't had summer-in-Australia kind of hot weather, but it has been pretty nice again for mid-January, and Rowen and I were ready for a play day after school; so that worked out great for us. So did dinner and a movie night with some of our favorite grown-ups; and the sleepover at my house that helped give Rowen's parents a kid-free night after Patrick and Scott ended up doing a sleepover at the Faulkner's.

All of that made for a great start to the weekend, and bonuses included Dad getting home earlier than usual – in time for the start of the movie; Rowen's parents stopping in for a couple of hours after closing the store for the night; and a special bedtime snack and story adventure that included making and eating personal pizzas. Rowen and I are still watching movies in the lounge; playing on our computers; and having a nice, long telepathic girl and cat chat. The chat has been really good for Rowen, and she feels a lot better than she has for the past few days. Mandy may have helped with that more than I did, since her suggestions of how Rowen should handle 'Tommy' might be cat-sensible; they would not work particularly well in the human tween world at all. Mandy's advice was really entertaining, and though I didn't have much to offer in the way of advice; I think that talking about it all helped Rowen work a few things out for herself.

It's been such a good day that there should be more for me to write about, but there really isn't. We had a good day at school; play time after that, including some park time with Ethan and Ehlana, was fun but uneventful; and there isn't anything special to report from dinner or our movie time. Since that seems to be it for tonight, I'm going to wrap this up and move on to a little surfing while Rowen and I finish watching the movie before going to bed.

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

Saturday, January 19, 2013

We've had another nice weather day in Witch Falls, and once the work was done around the house this morning, Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying it and having fun.

That seemed to be a theme today for lots of people – get the work done, and then play for the rest of the day. For some of my favorite parents, that meant working all day and then having a date night out. I don't know who started putting that together, but Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne were all happy to join the dinner and pub party. Babysitting services were available at the Bassetts house for the younger kids, and Rowen's home was party central for the older kids and tweens; and Rowen's parents ended up keeping all eight of us for the night.

Since date night was starting with dinner at the Inn, Rowen and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for their night at the Bassetts after our play afternoon, and then we headed out with Mom and Dad to trade the twins in for Jessica Bassett before they went on to the Inn; and we went over to Rowen's house. Rowen's Mom had come home from the computer store early so that she could get ready for their night out, and be there when the kids and babysitters started dropping in. Alicia and Erin were leading the crew at the Bassett's, so we had two of Alicia's usual helpers, Kelly and Sue, taking care of us tonight.

'Us' included Jessica, Geraldine Sheldon, Lindsay Faulkner, and Emma Norton with Rowen and me for the girls; and Patrick had Scott, Emma's brother Benjamin, and Jimmy Sheldon for the guys' side of the group. The good news for Rowen and me was that, including our babysitters, the boys were outnumbered two-to-one; and Patrick and Scott toned it down a long way from their usual because of a combination of extra kids and less-familiar babysitters.

That didn't mean that all was quiet tonight at the Emersons. The dinner pizza and wings was loud and a bit chaotic – especially after Owen and Patricia left for the Inn. The boys were set up with gaming in the living room after that, and they kept the noise level up practically straight through until they were sent upstairs shortly before midnight. Rowen and I took care of most of the entertainment for the four younger girls. We watched a movie, but mostly played games, listened to music, and talked until Kelly and Sue had us wrap things up for the night too.

Once we helped to get Jessica, Lindsay, Geraldine, and Emma settled into two of the guest bedrooms, Rowen and I got changed and into bed too; but we've been surfing the next and chatting since then instead of trying to sleep when we weren't ready to do that yet. Not having Patrick and Scott pestering us has made winding down easier, and though it's getting quieter in the house, we're not the only kids still awake. Judging by the sounds, there's some portable video gaming going on, and the occasional giggling is proof enough that Rowen and I are not having the only bedtime chat among the girls.

I guess there really isn't anything else for me to report tonight, and I definitely don't need to write, talk, or even think about what any of my favorite grown-ups are doing on their date – or with their kid-free night for those that bonus applies to. In fact, I'm going to finish this and shut my computer down too; then just let Rowen take care of the entertainment until I fall asleep.

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

Sunday, January 20, 2013

We've returned to winter-like temperatures overnight, though there still isn't any snow play anywhere in the current weather forecasts.

There was a bit of a circus going on around the Emerson's house while Rowen's parents were kept busy trying to get everyone fed and ready for church in time to actually get there in time for the service. I managed to get through my Tai Chi with only a couple of spectators before the barely-controlled chaos took over; and then Rowen and I were running non-stop until we hopped into the car with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Emma Norton. Rowen's parents had the boys in the van with them, and Jessica and Lindsay got a ride with Geraldine and her parents.

While we didn't have to deal with most of our usual little brother and buddy sleepover annoyances, but this afternoon, Rowen and I were ready to just spend a few quiet hours hanging out in my room and lounge. We practiced our music; worked on a project for school; played with Ethan and Ehlana; and watched a movie in the time we had between lunch and when Rowen needed to be home for her family dinner plans.

It's been a quiet evening here too, and we all opted for an early night after staying up late on Friday and Saturday. I was in on the play time and Magi lesson after dinner, but came upstairs to spend some quality time in my Jacuzzi when Mom and Dad were ready to give Ethan and Ehlana their baths. I did the full, time-phased nightly computing and study session after my bath too, though we don't have school tomorrow; and that's when I learned something that was instantly my number one top news story of the day.

Time phasing affects your biological age!

For the Magi of the future, that may not seem like a huge revelation, but you won't find anything in the archives older than this journal entry – and the report I'll be writing for Mom after I finish this – that even really considers the possibility, let alone quantifies it. The measurement of the effect is actually very simple – you age by the amount of time that passes while you're phased; regardless of how much time passes in the 'real' world.

That doesn't sound like a big deal, and under normal circumstances, it isn't. If you time-phase to get somewhere fast, or are only trying to do something in seconds instead of minutes; aging by an extra few minutes isn't even noticeable unless you're keeping track of it. Using a time phase to slow everything down has the opposite effect – you age more slowly than real time.

How cool would that be? Maybe I should experiment with that some day and see if it would be possible to do a 'slow' time phase at night while I sleep. Imagine if you could cut seven or eight hours of aging off of every day of your life! Would that make it possible to live an extra thirty or forty years if you could sleep and be able to hold the power flows?

The reason I say that I'd need to study that sometime in the future is the same reason why I need to stop doing these big, nightly time phases – extensive use of time-phasing and puberty do not mix. In the two weeks that I've been experimenting with time-phase studying, I've aged by nearly two days more than everyone else. Extrapolating that out, I'd catch up to Rowen in a bit over a year; and add an extra year to my true age about once every six or seven years. I definitely don't want to shorten my life by one-seventh!

Now, for those of you who have read all of my journals, you're probably thinking right now that I've stumbled onto the perfect solution to my 'crossing over' problem; but you'd be wrong. Yes, if I could slow myself down for that seven or eight hours a day; I could slow my aging down by a couple of days every week. Most adults would love that idea, and in some ways, it's even tempting for me, but there would be some parts of that decision I wouldn't like at all.

Having the body of an eleven-year old girl when I'm fourteen or fifteen wouldn't be good, and I seriously doubt that I'd find dragging out puberty for two or three extra years much fun. Then there would eventually be all of those little biological issues that would be very noticeable and unexplainable – like having menstrual cycles that were a third longer than any other girls. I also didn't always enjoy always being one of the pixies in my grade so much that I'd like to go back to being the shortest person again while dragging out reaching my eventual adult size over several extra years.

Like I said, that will be a cool experiment, and maybe Mom would like to try it herself, but even if it means I'll end up crossing over sooner than I'd like; this really is not a good time for me to be messing with my biological clock.

While this does mean the end to my time-phase study experiment for physical reasons, it's only temporary; doesn't mean that I can't still use time-phasing a little bit now and then; and I didn't really answer the question of whether the power demands are a net benefit or not compared to doing my studying at normal speed.

For now, though, this will be my last early study night for a while, so I'm going to wrap this up; write the report for Mom; and then get a little extra sleep while I can.

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

Monday, January 21, 2013

Today was one for the history books; at least in America. The second-term inauguration of our first black president on Martin Luther King Day was both historic and meaningful for tens of millions of people here; and probably around the world too.

From a kid's perspective, though, let's be honest and admit that this was really just a bonus day off from school.

Rowen and I spent the day hanging out together, and since it didn't really warm up much today; we stayed indoors, and only went out once for a chilly little tour around town on our bikes shortly after lunch. We played with Ethan and Ehlana; had a couple of music practices; played on our computers; watched a movie; and had a Magi lesson with Mom.

The law and real estate office wasn't officially open today, but Dad and Aunt Leanne both spent some time there anyway. Other than having three days off in a row, it didn't really even feel like a holiday weekend. There weren't any special holiday meals or big family events; and with most of the stores closed, and almost no visitors or tourists around; it was very quiet on Main Street. The cold kept most of the kids indoors too, though that would have been a lot different if we had snow to play in.

We still had a fun day off, and having nothing special going on this evening allowed me to get an early start on my nightly computing and studies; so I'll still be sleeping before midnight even without using a time-phase.

That's it for tonight, so...

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

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Today marks the start of eight long weeks until our next holiday – March Break.

I guess that kids and teens shouldn't complain about that, since most adults have to wait until Easter for their next holiday, but Easter is early this year, so they won't have to wait too much longer than we do.

Our teachers must think that this is a perfect time to get some extra work done, so piling on the homework and starting new projects was the theme for today; and probably will be tomorrow too. That brought on the expected grumbling and groaning from the usual groups of kids and teens, but the work isn't a problem for Rowen and me; and our lunchtime music practice helped us to miss out on the main gripe session.

It also helped us to miss out on a lot of the football talk going on with the guys, though Rowen and I did spend all of about ninety seconds talking about it with Michael while we got our flute and saxophones ready to play. I probably should have mentioned the NFL conference championship games that were played on Sunday, if for no other reason than because Sunday marked the two-week countdown to the end of football season for another year. I don't actually care that the Baltimore Ravens beat the New England Patriots, or that the San Francisco Forty-Niners will play the Ravens in the Super Bowl after winning their game over the Atlanta Falcons; but both games were a big deal for a lot of the guys even though most were disappointed with the results from one or both games. Michael's into football as much as Tim is, but seems to mostly be amused by the total indifference Rowen and I have toward the game while showing that we know as much or more than most of the guys do about the sport whenever we do get pushed into those conversations.

While music practice at noon works great for Rowen and me, Michael is definitely taking some heat for hanging out with us. For some reason, the guys think it's a problem for him to pick practicing Disney songs with us over talking football, showing off for the girls, and hanging out with the couples club. That last part is especially annoying to Lisa, and though she isn't razzing Michael too, the looks and obvious disappointment probably have more of an effect on him than the jokes and jabs do from Tim and the other guys.

Again, I have to ask why anyone would want to rush to cross over and deal with all of that tween angst. I'm only a spectator, and find myself regularly wishing for the good old days when I first moved here when the guys wouldn't hang out with girls for fear of girl germs, and the girls all thought that guys were gross and obnoxious.

Somehow, I've managed to completely go off the rails for today's recap, so let's get back on track.

Rowen and I were working after school, so we were each on our own for most of our homework, but we got together at her house after dinner so we could do some work on one of our new projects. For my work on the family business, I spent most of my time dealing with Easter-related business issues. I don't think it'll ever stop feeling strange to be working on holidays that are still months away, but since my work today included a lot of spring fashion reviews; I had fun playing with all of the plans that were being finalized. The downside of that is knowing that I won't be able to go shopping for those cool new clothes until after they hit the stores – and even then it's not like we get to go to the Mall once or twice a week. Maybe Rowen and I should stop in to see Abby after school tomorrow – just to see how she's doing, of course!

We had a quiet dinner at home, and after spending about an hour and a half working on our project at Rowen's house, I got home in time to do the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana; followed that up with a Healing lesson with Mom; and then came up to my room to cuddle in bed with Mandy while doing my usual nightly computing and studying.

I haven't done a family update in a while, so let's do that next.

Violet wasn't here for the long weekend, but she and Dillon did get together in Woodvale; and she'll be here for the weekend before Valentine's Day so she can go to the school dance with Dillon on Friday night. Aunt Grace and Mark are doing a getaway at a ski resort in Colorado too, but probably won't see each other again until Easter. There isn't much news from the rest of the Proctor and Rice families, and the Johnson family seems to almost be in waiting for the arrival of Kevin and Elaine's second child now that they're down to just weeks to go. Nicole is certainly wishing her new baby brother or sister will get here sooner than later; mostly because "Mommy can't do any fun stuff anymore until after the baby comes."

I spent an hour reading in the archives; a half hour on our Magi project; and another hour and a half reading books in two different languages while having a little online chat in Javanese. Since I didn't get an early start, and my time-phasing sessions are over for at least the next few years, it's now heading toward one-thirty; and time for me to wrap this up and get some sleep. I may miss those extra hours of down time, but my first night back in normal mode was okay; and I'm actually not as tired as I have been each night after my high-speed nights. I'll keep track of that for a while, but there probably isn't much real difference between my actual sleep needs whether I'm working in normal or hyper-time.

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

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Happy 29th Birthday, Liz!

It seems a bit strange to be starting so many journal entries with best birthday wishes, since there was only one a year before Mom and I moved here; but I love it too. Adding all of the Seagers to my 'friends' birthday list is happening mostly because Naomi's friendship with Ehlana and Ethan is bringing our families closer together. Getting Liz for my favorite hair stylist ever is just a great added bonus!

Mid-week dinners at the Inn are a bonus too; and that's where we were tonight to help Liz celebrate her big day. I was at the kids' table, as usual now, but since we had Naomi with us too; we were at the table next to her parents, so I didn't need to get a post-party report to find out what had been going on with the parents tonight. Roasting Liz was a top priority for her friends, but talking babies was a close second; and a pregnancy update is probably in order.

Since it's Liz's birthday, I'll start with her. She's 'officially' only known for a bit over a week, and isn't due until September, so other than some fairly unpleasant morning sickness; there isn't much else to report. Hannah Draper has started her third trimester, and both she and the baby are doing great. Her repertoire of baby and bakery jokes has expanded faster than her waistline, and she easily wins the comedy award in the pregnant women category this year. Aunt Deborah is next on the due date calendar, and her continuing claim to local fame is the almost total absence of the usual pregnancy problems. She's near the end of her second trimester, and looks amazing even after putting in a long day at the clinic. I noticed a couple of smiles and looks between her and Uncle Adam that has me suspecting that he's helping her out with a little more Magi Healing than they've told Mom and me about.

While there weren't any other expecting moms having dinner with us, but Aunt Deborah, Liz, and Hannah have quite a bit of company in their little club this year; and there's a good chance that their new babies are going to have a few more classmates than usual once they are old enough to start school. Amy Spencer and her sister-in-law, Natalie, are among a young group of friends who will all be having their first children this year. Since they're all around ten years younger than Mom and Dad, except for getting school day updates from Amy, I get the rest of my pregnancy information from Uncle Adam's reports in our Magi project archive. One thing that he is very interested in is that he's already confirmed as many Magi babies as there would normally be in an entire year; so there's a possibility that we could have even more new Magi born this year than two years ago when Ethan and Ehlana helped set a new record – at least for recent history.

While I caught most of the conversation at the parents' table, the toddler action going on around me was entertaining too. Chicken strips and fries was the most popular meal choice, and I'm sure that was mostly because they have a low mess quotient compared to something like spaghetti. Staying mostly clean ended when the birthday cake and ice cream was delivered; and that little mess event also gave Aunt Leanne a too-easy opportunity to play matchmaker with her current favorite targets.

It was near the end of the evening; there weren't very many customers left in the dining room by then; and Miranda sent Michael over to help with the clean-up. He and I made the mistake of actually having fun while we did our best to get four toddlers – and the table, chairs, and floor around them cleaned. Aunt Leanne started things off with a comment about how cute we were, doing such a great job with the kids; and predicting that we were going to make great parents some day. Things went downhill from there, though that was just my perspective – and Michael's – since the adults around us all thought that all of the jokes and teasing that followed was a lot of fun. I'm just hoping that their collective little Kodak moment of entertainment at our expense doesn't make it to the school grapevine tomorrow.

I don't really want to write or think about that anymore, so let's skip the details. Once Aunt Leanne, Hannah, and Miranda decided that they'd had enough fun with Michael and me, all that was left to do before heading home was have Liz open her gifts; and follow that up with a long round of goodnight hugs and kisses. After getting home, Dad needed to get to work in the office, so I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine; including doing a short Magi lessons in the elements with them that we multi-tasked while they were in the bathtub.

Once the twins were in bed, Mom did another Magi lesson with me, and then I came up to my room to start my own bedtime routine with a long soak in my Jacuzzi. Working in normal time doesn't keep me from multi-tasking too, and I finished my language studies while in the tub; did my usual nightly email, entertainment, news, and sports checks while dealing with my hair; and wrapped up my night with an hour and a half of archive study while cuddling with Mandy in bed.

I guess that's about all for today. There wasn't really anything exciting to report from school today; and though Rowen and I had fun with our after school play time, all we really did was wander around downtown, and hang out by the falls for the hour or so that I had between when we finished our homework and when I needed to be home to get ready for Liz's birthday party. We have another classmate birthday tomorrow, but Lisa didn't invite Rowen and me; and there's one more reason why I hope the jokes about Michael and me from tonight don't get passed around at school tomorrow. That's not the kind of story any girl wants to hear on her birthday when it involves her boyfriend and another girl. It's definitely not something I even want to be thinking about right now either, but it's not easy to turn off the photographic memory.

Time to not dream about soft, cuddly bunnies; and get some sleep.

I will not dream of bunnies; I will not dream of bunnies; I will not dream of bunnies.

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

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Happy 12th Birthday, Lisa!

I hope she's had a good day, but it was occasionally a bit weird for me.

This was probably the most awkward time I've had so far with giving someone a gift, and the only thing that made it even a little easier was that it was a joint gift from Rowen and me; and Rowen gave it to Lisa before first class this morning. I'm sure that Lisa liked what we gave her, but wasn't any more comfortable about it than I was.

Giving Lisa her gift early was Rowen's suggestion, and that was as much for my benefit as it was to avoid any potential bonus awkwardness that might have come if we'd done it later – closer to when Lisa, and most of our classmates, would be going to her birthday party after school. If I'd had a little luck, giving Lisa a birthday present would have been the only weird moment of the day; but luck wasn't with me today.

Instead of being able to stay out of Lisa's way, as I wanted, there was a series of moments that annoyed her; and led to more than a few dark looks directed my way. While it wasn't actually unusual, having not one, but two test results returned to us with the opening line – "Congratulations to Cassie, Michael, and Rowen for perfect scores plus bonus points." I'm fairly sure that our teachers are not in on Aunt Leanne's matchmaking conspiracy, but I'd really appreciate it a lot if they'd think outside of alphabetical order once in a while. Michael didn't try to do something dumb like join us for music practice at lunchtime on his girlfriend's birthday, but Rowen and I heard later that there were some jokes directed his way about that; and Lisa was not amused. Add in an art class supply share, and Michael rolling his chair over next to Rowen and me to work out a problem with our assignment in computer class; and by the time we were set free for the day; Lisa was definitely ready to not see me around for a while.

By the time I got home, I was ready for a few hours of full-immersion family business work; and even left my homework for later so I didn't have to think about anything school-related. I even stayed away from working on anything that even remotely involved tweens or teens; going over financial reports and new project proposals. I managed to get all the way from the end of the school day through until we went to the Inn for game night without any more weird, and though I thought that I'd be safe there with all of my classmates that would usually be at the Inn too away at Lisa's party; I was wrong, and wish I'd just stayed at home.

To be fair, nothing that happened, and none of the comments or jokes, was meant to be anything more than good-natured fun; but sometimes those little moments add up to make things very weird and uncomfortable. Explaining why we weren't at our classmate's birthday party – a handful of times – was a pain for both Rowen and me; and being Magi of the Light does not mean that we don't still need to deal with the little social lies that keep the real world spinning. No, we weren't the only two kids not going to Lisa's party, but we were in a very small minority. Some jokes and one-liners from Aunt Leanne and Miranda added to my growing frustration, and if that wasn't enough; there was some Michael and Lisa gossip making the rounds with the junior championship competitors that I didn't want or need to hear.

Eventually escaping all of that didn't end the weird for me tonight – there was more of it waiting for me when I got around to my nightly computing after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked into bed. Usually, I'm happy to keep up with my 'friends and classmates' email and chats, but the party recaps that even included some pictures and videos had a fair bit of weird to go along with the entertainment. A chat with Rowen assured me that I wasn't the only one glad that we'd missed the party – while also wishing we hadn't been sent the pictures, links, and videos. There were quite a few things that we each wish we were still blissfully unaware of, including anything to do with 'Tommy' and his girlfriend for her, and some scenes with Michael and Lisa for me.

No, you shouldn't infer that I'm crossing over – I'm not.

My discomfort was from the visuals, and accompanying comments about Michael's reluctance every time the group prodded him and Lisa together for birthday kisses – which they apparently did as if they were at a wedding reception instead of a birthday party. If that's going to be a regular part of future boy-girl parties; I'm going to be sick for every one of them that I get invited to from now until that little trend passes. Michael apparently did well-enough to earn bonus points in the girlfriend birthday gift category, but lost one or two when he couldn't be talked into playing guitar and singing a birthday love song for Lisa – despite the fact that he might never live something like that down with the guys if he had done it.

Not being there didn't save me from getting into trouble anyway – at least with Lisa. I managed to do that a few times, starting with a joke about Michael playing love songs with me during our lunchtime practices when they were trying to get him to play and sing for Lisa. There were other comments or jokes, but the last straw, so to speak, was probably the conversation about when the next classmate birthday was. The fact that Michael came up with that answer first, and he knew the date, didn't go over well with Lisa; and neither did the follow-up comments about my birthday being on the same night as the school Valentine's dance – or the jokes about how I might get a Valentine for my birthday.

I am so glad that I don't plan on going to the dance or have a 'friends' birthday party!

All of this has managed to throw me off tonight, and it's taken me longer to get less done than I wanted to do tonight. I finished my homework, but only managed to read one foreign language book; and barely covered a thousand pages in the archives. It's after two, and I'm going to finish this up now despite the urge to write an expose on the benefits of a time phase for all tweens that would jump us through these awkward years. Even if it was possible for me to do that with all of my classmates, I'm sure that suddenly having a Grade Seven class full of fourteen or fifteen-year old teens would be noticed; and Mom – and the Magi council – would have a problem with it too.

Instead of doing that, I'm going to once again try not to think of soft, cuddly bunnies; and get some sleep.

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

Friday, January 25, 2013

I wrote about enough tween weird yesterday, and don't really want to do that again tonight; so I won't.

That actually doesn't leave much else to report, since there isn't anything else of interest from school today; Rowen and I just hung out in the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana after we were set free for the weekend; and it was a quiet, no-company family night here from the time Dad got home and Rowen headed out for the dinner she and Patrick were having with her grandmother. Ethan, Ehlana, and I had fun getting to play with just Mom and Dad for a few hours, but even an hour of Magi-powered entertainment didn't include anything new worth mentioning. I came up to my room early; spent a little time in my Jacuzzi; and caught up on the language and archive studying that I didn't get done last night.

Not thinking about bunnies won't be necessary tonight, since I'm pretty much ready to crash for a few hours.

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

Saturday, January 26, 2013

We've had another quiet day around the Proctor home, and I'm good with that; though quiet did not mean that there wasn't anything going on.

There was the usual Saturday morning chores; Rowen and I got to spend the afternoon together; and Mom and Dad spent the evening playing with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before we all went up to bed early again tonight. Cleaning the third floor; helping with the laundry; and doing a bit of work outside with Dad didn't include anything special worth writing about here. Rowen and I did a little biking after lunch and hung out with some friends at the park for a while, but then we spent the rest of the afternoon in the lounge until she needed to head home for the night. It seemed strange to not be having even one sleepover this weekend, but I guess even best friends should take a weekend off from things like that now and then.

I didn't want to write about any more tween issues yesterday, and I'm happy to report that there wasn't anything weird or annoying to report today. Maybe I should hide at home most of the day more often!

Taking the night off from studying was an option, so I've only done my usual nightly computing, and I plan on being out for the night within a few minutes of wrapping this up and shutting down my computer, so...

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

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Rain moved into the area overnight, but most of what little did fall came overnight, it moved on by lunchtime; and we had an overcast but very warm afternoon.

My morning started out great after my nice, long winter's nap. From the time that Mom, Dad, and I exercised together until we went to church, we had fun; and even the work before and after breakfast was entertaining as we played as much as we worked. Mom, Ehlana, and I had some extra fun playing dress-up and doing our hair; and Dad and Ethan had time to actually play games while we were busy.

There isn't anything special to report from church or Sunday School today – we're in a bit of a lull for kids and teens, and that probably won't change much until sometime after Valentine's Day when Easter-related practices and projects will start.

Rowen invited me to spend the day with her family, so I only stopped in at home after church long enough to get changed and grab my saxophone. Patricia and Owen were actually taking the entire afternoon off for a little play time with their kids, and since Rowen had invited me, Patrick had Scott with him for the afternoon too. I don't think they were intentionally taking the day off from their usual antics when they're around us, but we also spent most of the afternoon biking and playing outside; Owen kept them busy most of the time we were indoors around lunch and dinnertime; and there just weren't many good chances for them to get into full-goof mode.

I needed to stop in at home again long enough to get my bike once the decision to go riding had been made after lunch, so Rowen and I did that while her parents had a short chat with mine, and Patrick and Scott put on a little riding show for Ethan and Ehlana while my brother and sister sat on the front porch steps with Mom and Dad. Yes, that sounds weird to be sitting out on the front porch steps on the last weekend of January, but like I mentioned; we've had a warm afternoon, and it felt more like spring than winter today.

After leaving my house, we biked out River Road for a half hour or so before returning again and doing a loop of the park on the trail before stopping to catch a little football action and hang out at the playground. Since there were some other fathers playing football, Owen was recruited as a substitute for a while, and I think he did pretty well for a computer geek even if Patrick and Scott razzed him. If Lee Landry was coming after me, I'd be trying to dump the football off to anyone else too; and Owen did manage two laterals that were successful – at least until Lee caught up with the guys who then had the ball instead.

Rowen and I didn't stay to watch the football game for very long, and part of the reason for that is because Patricia and several of the other Moms are as much sports groupies as some of the tween and teens girls are – and possibly even a bit more scary. Football did work as a great diversion for Patrick, Scott, and most of the other boys, which allowed the girls to rule the playground. We had Ehlana with us for a bit of that time after Mom and Aunt Leanne dropped her off with us before going on to watch their boys – including Ethan – join the football game too for a while.

There was only a little more football intervention in our time at the park, and that only lasted until we talked the parents into an afternoon snack break at the Inn. Dad, Uncle Adam, and Owen took some heat from the other guys for abandoning the field of battle, but before we left the Inn after our Olde Bakery treats and hot drinks break; more than half of the other players had decided to do the same thing; and Miranda had some unexpected, but welcome, bonus business to help fill up the interlude between the lunch and dinner rushes.

After leaving the Inn, we split up again, and those of us with bikes rode back to the Emerson's. Rowen and I had time for a long music practice, and then we helped her Mom with making dinner for six while the guys spent all of that time playing video games in the living room. Sitting down for an hour and having dinner was fun, and even the bit of goofiness from Patrick and Scott was mild enough to stay entertaining instead of getting annoying. That might be at least part of the reason why Patrick and Scott were set free after we finished dessert to return to their video gaming while Rowen and I helped her parents with the cleanup.

I biked home shortly after that, and we had a third quiet night in a row at home. Mom did an early lesson with me; she, Dad, and I all helped with the full bath and bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; and I was in bed and doing my nightly computing and studies by shortly after nine o'clock. All of that is done now, and I'll still be sleeping before midnight if I finish this up now, so...

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

Monday, January 28, 2013

The last four work and school days of January have started off with an even nicer spring-like day than we had yesterday, and I'm really glad that Rowen and I were able to go outside and enjoy it; since we'll be returning to more normal temperatures again over the next couple of days.

It wasn't quite warm enough to take our Tai Chi – or the twins – out to the river first thing this morning, but it seemed like everyone was more cheerful today thanks to yet another break in what has again, so far, been a very mild winter. There seemed to always be at least some kids and teens outdoors all day while we were at school. Quite a few gym classes were out on the track or football field; a handful of teachers found some excuse to do lessons or some kind of exploration outside; and nearly everyone was out during lunchtime – and at recesses for the younger kids.

With less than a week left to go until the Super Bowl, a lot of the guys were in full football mode, and while there weren't any pick-up matches until after school; there were groups of guys tossing footballs around – including at least a few dozen 'illegal passes' in hallways and classrooms. Rowen and I managed to mostly stay away from both the talk and action while we were at school, but we took Ethan and Ehlana with us to the park; Ethan really needed to go play football with the guys; and Michael was happy to help him do that when we got to the football field, and Ethan toddled out to join him and the other guys.

I've managed to get through a few days without writing about any of the usual tween problems that seem to crop up so regularly in my life, but having Michael play with Ethan brought a little unwanted attention my way from Lisa and a couple of her friends. They were there with probably close to twice as many girls as would usually be watching the guys; and Lisa was not happy while watching Michael with Ethan; the hug and kiss Ehlana had for him when he brought Ethan back to us; and my smile, thanks, and close contact with him while he handed Ethan off to me was probably not interpreted well either. All of that would have been enough, but Ehlana innocently decided to make things a bit tougher for me by inviting Rebecca to go with us when we were ready to head over to the playground with a devastating combination of dimples, a hug, and a simple "Come too?" question. I didn't need to look back to see the looks directed my way, though Rowen did let me know about them later when we were back at my house and hanging out in the lounge.

It's too bad that hanging out with Rebecca for a little while upset Lisa, but Rebecca was glad to get away from Jenny and the rest of the girls who were mostly talking about their boyfriends and upcoming expectations for Valentine's Day; and I was happy to spend a little time with her. She still isn't really looking for a boyfriend, but Grade Eight might even be worse for that in a small town than either Grade Seven or high school is – especially for girls. Grade Eight guys can date girls in Grade Seven, but girls rarely date the younger guys; mostly because of the height difference. Niners almost never date younger teens, so there aren't many dating options in the first place; and right now, there aren't any available guys in her class anyway.

I'd make a comment about why the most beautiful – and one of the smartest – girl in Grade Eight was also the only girl in her class not dating anyone; but that would be just a bit too close to what Aunt Leanne has said about me more than a few times; so I won't do that. Let's go with the idea that being the brightest girls in our grades is helping Rebecca, Rowen, and me be smart enough to stay away from guys while they're going through the worst of the tween and early teen years – even if two out of three of us would give up their single status in a second for the right guy.

That's more than enough of the whole tween-teen thing for me right now; so let's move along. Rowen and I had a music practice after getting home to go with our little chat time; we did a little surfing on my computer; and then Rowen headed home when Mom drafted me to help out with making dinner. It still seems a bit strange to not be doing Monday night Magi healing lessons with Uncle Adam, but he and Aunt Leanne went for a walk with us after dinner, and then stopped in for a while so we could have a family business meeting. That was good for a couple of hours of fun while they were here even though we were mostly talking business and future plans.

Our meeting pushed back my Magi lesson with Mom until after Ethan and Ehlana went to bed, so it was nearly eleven by the time I started my nightly computing and studies. I cut back a bit on the language lessons, but did all of the archive research and reading that went along with my Magi lesson; and I kept my email, news, entertainment, and sports checks to a minimum when I didn't even get that started until after one-thirty. It's going on two now, and I'm ready for some down time, so it's time to wrap this up and get some sleep.

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

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

This has been one of those strange weather days where we've gone from warm spring temperatures straight down to winter freeze in just over twenty-four hours. It's been raining off and on too, and the forecast is for some freezing rain and snow by morning. I'd say that everyone in town would agree with me that going from cold to warm was way more fun than the big reversal today has been.

The change around school was obvious too. The yard was basically empty all day; the whole atmosphere and mood seemed to drop right along with the temperature; and I didn't even see one classmate blankly staring out a window and daydreaming of being outside instead of concentrating on our lessons. Yes, one of the guys did get caught dozing off by Mrs. Warren, but that really wasn't that unusual for him regardless of the weather.

After the tween issues in the park yesterday afternoon, I was doing my very best today to stay under the radar as much as I could, though that's not always easy when Rowen, Michael, and I are frequently the go-to answer whizzes for all of our teachers. That's never really bothered me before, and I've honestly never really even thought about it, but having a few of the girls in our class watching me, and seemingly annoyed with just about everything I do, has forced me to think about things like that a lot.

I've been thinking about Lisa and her best friends too, and think I should mention that we've always gotten along just fine before now; and they've always been as friendly, even while they've also always hung out with different groups than Rowen and I have. Hopefully this will just be a tween phase that we'll all get past soon, since I seem to be fairly lousy at handling the situation. That does make me wonder how hard being a 'normal' tween must be when it's like this for a Magi Master with a broad, post-graduate college level education.

I mostly managed to avoid most of the tween weird today except for a couple of comments before our first afternoon class that were related to the lunchtime music practice that Michael joined Rowen and me for. Since our practices are always fun for us, I really wish our classmates in general would cut us some slack; that the guys would stop razzing Michael about it; and that Lisa would not get so upset about Michael practicing with us twice a week when she has nothing to worry about from me.

Going home to work in the office after school was a good way to stay out of any more tween trouble with the bonus of being dry and warm. Alicia and Mom were busy with the twins and working around the house while I did my homework and spent a couple of hours on the family business. Dad was a bit late getting home after his last appointment went longer than expected, and then we all spent most of the evening in the office after having dinner and cleaning up. We split our time between work, Magi lessons, and a little computer play time until it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to get ready for bed.

I came up to my room then, and had a long soak in my Jacuzzi while Mom and Dad did the bath and bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana. While in the tub, I finished the archive assignment that went along with my lesson tonight; did my nightly computer checks while getting ready for bed and drying my hair; and worked through my language studies after getting into bed with Mandy. Starting all of that early let me get a bit extra done, and though I could have kept going, it's after midnight; and I've had enough fun for today.

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

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

What a difference a day makes!

The cliff-dive into winter wasn't welcomed by anyone yesterday, but the snow we had this morning was very exciting – at least for most of the kids and teens in town. Even the grown-ups weren't too upset about a little shoveling; and some, like Aunt Leanne, were having nearly as much fun playing in the snow this morning as the kids were.

Rowen and I definitely had a lot of snow fun today. That started with a running snowball fight that Patrick started when we left their house on our way to school. He got some help from Michael, Tim, and a few other guys, but Rowen and I won the fight with a little help from Rebecca and some of the other girls that joined the battle along the way. I know I'll hear about this for a day or two, but Michael found out that sneak attacks are a bad idea when attempted on a friend with extensive martial arts expertise, and while landing in the snow was a bit softer for him; he also ended up with a fair bit of snow down his back.

That might not have been too big of a problem for me, but we were almost to the school by then; he decided that he was tough enough to pull his coat and shirt off to shake the snow out; and then Tim started the jokes about me doing that on purpose just to see Michael 'half-naked'. You can guess how that part of the rest of my day went from there, and I'm sure Aunt Leanne will have a lot to say to me about it when I see her next tomorrow; but honestly, I had way too much fun today to really care at all about any of that – or giving Lisa and her best friends another batch of reasons to be annoyed with me.

At the risk of giving Aunt Leanne future ammunition some day when this journal is available to her to read, I'll also add that, while I really was just defending myself in a reasonably fair and entertaining snowball fight; none of the girls around Michael this morning, including Rowen and me, minded seeing him without his shirt on. No, that doesn't put me in imminent danger of crossing over, but I'm not dead either. (That line is unapologetically stolen and adapted from Aunt Leanne, the movies, and married women everywhere.)

Starting out the day with a little snow fun led to an upbeat, entertaining morning of classes; though that probably made our teachers' jobs a bit tougher, and not everyone was as happy as Rowen and I were. We were out in the thick of the outdoor action at lunchtime, and had a blast with more snowball fights and helping Jessica Bassett and some of her friends to make one of the snowmen that dotted the yard by the time we all needed to get back inside for our afternoon classes.

Note to the boys in our class – just because you'll take your shirts off when it's cold and snowing does not mean that girls will do the same if you dump snow down the back – or front – of their shirts. Attempting to do that to girls other than your own girlfriend is also a bad idea; and some of you already discovered that your girlfriends don't find the experience nearly as fun or exciting as you did. If you don't understand why, try wearing a cold, wet bra for a few hours and see how you like it. The good news for the guys in our class that did end up on their girlfriend's naughty list today is that you still have a week and a bit until the next school dance, and two weeks before Valentine's Day, to redeem yourselves.

I should also mention that 'Tommy' was one of the boys getting in trouble with his girlfriend, and although we know it's wrong; Rowen and I still found that very entertaining.

We had fun in all of our afternoon classes, and then Rowen and I went to my house for the after school snack and story time with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. Getting our homework done was quick and painless; and then we were off and running again for some more snow play. Ethan and Ehlana wanted to play too, so we spent a half hour or so with them in the back yard. There are now twin toddler-sized snow people close to the back porch – a little boy and girl; and where Michael, Tim, and the other guys failed miserably in their attempts to win snowball fights against us; Ethan and Ehlana managed to win our little snow battle. I even ended up with a little snow down my back for the first time all day thanks to a sneaky little toddler hug and kiss.

Ehlana, you better have been joking about telling Michael how successful that little snowball fight tactic was for Ethan. That would so not be funny no matter how much you, Rowen, Mom, and Ethan think that it is.

After leaving my devious and comedic brother and sister with Mom, Rowen and I still had time to play at the park for an hour. There were more snowball fights there; we added a snowman to the collection that dotted the baseball and football fields; and got in on some of the playground fun that included a zip line ride that ended with a twenty or thirty-foot long slide on the sheet of ice and snow on the ground at the low end of the line. Depending on the tweens watching, Rowen and I either earned bonus points or demerits for being particularly good at that zip-and-slide game; but we were having too much fun to really even pay much attention to any of the usual tween stresses and pressure.

I was a bit late getting home for dinner, but Mom didn't seem to mind; and my outdoor adventures – and Ethan and Ehlana's – provided lots of dinner entertainment for all of us. Missing out on the cooking did mean that I was drafted for the clean-up; so Dad and I took care of that while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana played in the living room. The rest of the night has been fairly quiet. We did an Empathy lesson; worked or played in the office while Dad was doing his homework; and after a busy play day, I was ready for another long visit with my Jacuzzi.

My nightly computing, language lessons, and archive studies have kept me busy for the past three hours – including my time in the tub. I miss the extra sleep I was getting while studying in a time-phase, but I'm not more tired or rested in the mornings; and don't miss it so much that I want to literally rush growing up just so I can spend a couple of extra hours a night in dreamland.

I am ready to get some sleep now, though, so...

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

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Happy Birthday, Patricia!

Rowen's Mom doesn't like anyone making a big deal about her birthday anymore; though she hasn't gone so far as to try and stay twenty-nine like Grandma Eleanor does. She agreed to a small dinner party at the Inn tonight, but the only other concession she allowed was agreeing to a kid-free night for her and Owen. We won't add any comments on what they're doing while Rowen's here with me and Patrick is staying with the Faulkners.

I don't really want to write about the continuing tween saga that continues to intrude too often into my otherwise blissfully happy life; but there was more of that again today at school – and especially during dinner and game night at the Inn. The birthday fun this morning and at dinnertime offset the weird a little, but we hadn't gotten a lot of snow yesterday; what hadn't been 'used up' for our snowmen and games already had passed its optimal play potential; and Rowen and I were more interested in staying warm today than in eking out what little bit of snow entertainment was still left to be found outdoors.

That was the main reason we were in the music room at lunchtime, and Michael did not impress Lisa by making it three lunchtimes in a row where he spent more time with us – with me – than with her. It was probably just me, but it sure felt like there was a cold draft coming my way from the general direction of Lisa's desk all afternoon. Rowen and I were skipping our work night, but we did our homework at the computer store; helped her parents for a while so they'd be able to close up early; and then went home to get ready for the birthday dinner and pick up an overnight bag for Rowen on our way through to my house.

The weird on my day kicked up a few notches when Aunt Leanne finally got her hands on me for the first time after hearing about my adventures yesterday. Unfortunately, that didn't happen until we met up with her and Uncle Adam at the Inn, and she provided way too much entertainment for everyone close enough to catch any of her comments and jokes for the rest of the evening – with most of the laughs coming at my expense. I had expected it to happen eventually, but Aunt Leanne was definitely on a roll tonight, and though I'm glad that she helped everyone have so much fun; my life would have been a lot easier if I'd stayed home all night instead.

I'm sure that you'd like to hear those jokes too, but I'd really rather not go into all of the details here. There were jokes about having boys fall for me; knocking them off their feet; unorthodox ways of getting them to take their clothes off; and the benefits of a photographic memory to generalize a few of the joke sub-categories. Use your imagination from there.

I did play along, as always, and even thought that a lot of her comments and jokes were funny; but I already had enough tween problems to deal with, and none of this was helping me – or Michael – with Lisa and her friends. Just finding out that I'd been at the Inn for dinner had given Lisa enough of a reason to be upset with me; and I'm sure that she eventually got the full recap of Aunt Leanne's antics by the end of the evening.

Maybe I should take a sick day tomorrow. It's really too bad that some of my teachers know that I can self-heal pretty much anything, and that taking a sick day would be completely bogus.

Though Michael and I unwillingly provided a lot of the dinner entertainment, some of us actually remembered that we were supposed to be celebrating Patricia's birthday; though she quite happily encouraged Aunt Leanne's efforts – probably because it kept everyone from concentrating on roasting and toasting her instead. She wasn't able to completely escape from that, and Rowen and I especially had fun hearing some old stories about her Mom – except for a couple of them that tied in just a bit too closely for comfort to the jokes about Michael and me.

Rowen and I were at a kids' table for dinner, and we took care of Ethan and Ehlana while the parents were busy. By the time our food orders were delivered, I'd hoped that being out of the way would encourage Aunt Leanne to give me a break, but she sat right behind me; and the ongoing jokes and teasing was loud enough for everyone in our little group to hear. Miranda helped her out nearly every time she stopped by for a visit or to make sure that we had everything we needed, but Michael didn't even come out of the kitchen until just before the games started after getting teased by Aunt Leanne during his one and only foray into the dining room. Having Lisa there for the game competition didn't keep Aunt Leanne from teasing Michael whenever she could, and he looked like he wanted to escape just as much as I did.

I seriously need to move on from all of that.

Rowen's Mom had fun at dinner; we did the cake and ice cream dessert; she opened her gifts; and then she and Owen went home to get started on their kid-free night. Those of us staying for game night had nearly a half hour before that started, and though I declined Aunt Leanne's and Miranda's generous offer to let me help Michael in the kitchen; Rowen and I did help get the games set up while the dining room was being cleared and cleaned.

Since I really do want to skip writing any more about my tween problems, I don't have much else to write about for the actual game night; other than that I spent most of it trying to dodge Aunt Leanne, and stay away from Michael and Lisa as much as possible. That wasn't always an option, and Rowen and I had to compete against them for two games tonight. Winning both of those matches didn't help me, but the worst was having Aunt Leanne ask Michael if he was losing his shirt to me when we were playing cards.

So much for moving along – I concede defeat.

No, that doesn't mean I'm going to cross over just because Aunt Leanne wants me to do that. It means that I'm going to skip the rest of the daily recap; shut down my computer; and try very, very hard not to dream of bunnies.

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

February 2013

Friday, February 1, 2013

Let's start today's report by finishing the one I gave up on last night.

Having a school night sleepover was one of the top highlights of the day, and Rowen and I had a lot of fun after we got home from the Inn. We helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana to bed while Dad went to work in the office; Rowen spent some quality time getting reacquainted with my Jacuzzi; and we had a nice, long chat while I was busy with my usual nightly computing and studies. Rowen had been sleeping for more than an hour by the time I got around to writing my journal, and it was probably a combination of being tired and frustrated about all of the tween nonsense that had me ready to just crash and forget about everything for a few hours.

I was better again by morning, and having Rowen over gave Dad an excuse to make pancakes and bacon for breakfast; which helped to get our day off to a great start. Playing dress-up and taking some extra time doing our hair was fun too; Fridays are usually very popular at school; and that has all made for a really good start to February.

The start of the new month also put Valentine's Day at the top of the girl chat list at school; with the dance next Friday a big part of those discussions. Rowen and I could end up being the only girls in our class not going to see Abby this weekend – or going to Crystal Springs – in search of the perfect dresses or outfits for the occasion. I'm okay with that, but Rowen wishes she was a member of the couples club with 'Tommy' instead of his current girlfriend.

One really good thing that happened today that helped me out in tween land was that the non-plans for my birthday became public knowledge after Sally asked me about it this morning. Lisa in particular seemed very happy to find out that not only was I not doing a friends party; but I wasn't going to the dance either. That helped offset the mess from last night, but I also kept a low profile as much as possible all day too. Ditto that for after school. Rowen and I were both doing a make-up work day, so after being set free from our last class, we headed for the store and home; and I only took a short break with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana before going to work in the office until dinnertime.

I should have mentioned that while the girl talk was all about love and Valentines today, most of the boys were in full football mode with the Super Bowl now just two days away. Football fever wasn't a problem at home, but since we're hosting a Super Bowl party here again this year; it meant that we were having a work evening instead of a dinner and a movie night so that Dad would be able to take Sunday off.

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne still came over for a while after dinner, but that was mostly so we could all call Grandma to wish her a happy birthday. She and Grandpa had already been celebrating her big day – and would be doing that for two days; just as they'd done for his birthday. That chat was fun, and so was most of our evening – even if most of us were working too. I put in some extra time on the family business; we had a little impromptu future plans meeting; Mom and Aunt Leanne went over some real estate business both for the family business and the projects here at home; and Uncle Adam, Ehlana, and Ethan played with the twins' lab stuff and talked about their plans for the lab and the work they wanted to do there.

Mom and Dad are still working in the office now, but I came up to my room after Ethan and Ehlana were put to bed and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne went home. I'm already tucked in with Mandy; took care of my basic nightly computing earlier; and I'm skipping the archive and language studying in favor of a few extra hours of sleep. Doing that this early on a Friday night could cost me some cool points if my friends find out, but I'm tired; and it's going to be a busy weekend with extra work tomorrow to get ready for the Super Bowl party on Sunday. It's a good thing that we'll also be doing a chick flick movie afternoon and evening too, or I'd be wishing that Mom, Aunt Leanne, Ehlana, and I were going away for the weekend instead.

That's actually an awesome idea! Maybe we should think about doing that next year!

Anyway, that's all for tonight, so...

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

Saturday, February 2, 2013

This won't take long tonight; and I'll be off to sleep early for the second night in a row.

Mom, Dad, and I worked all day, and only stopped for meals and a couple of short breaks.

Almost everything Mom and I did was either the usual house cleaning or to get ready for the Super Bowl party tomorrow. Dad took care of his usual chores in the morning, and then hid in the office all afternoon; and Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana while the rest of us were busy; though they spent some time with me too while I was getting everything in the lounge ready to be chick flick central tomorrow.

The only non-work part of my day was our after-dinner Magi lessons. Helping Mom with bath time for Ethan and Ehlana was fun too, but meant another clean-up of the bathroom once we were done; and I took care of that while Mom finished getting the twins ready for bed. Once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night, I was ready for some quality time with my Jacuzzi. I've been doing my usual nightly computing while in the tub, but I need to wrap this up; finish getting ready for bed; do my second bathroom once-over of the night; cuddle with Mandy; and get some sleep.

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

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens – the Super Bowl Champions this season! San Francisco was down early, and tried hard to make a comeback – possibly with a little help from a third-quarter stadium blackout – but they were still a few points short when time ran out.

If you're looking for more of a live recap on an event that would be history for you; this is the wrong journal for that. I've had a great day, but that was because of a lot of girl time; chick flicks; and playing games while the boys were busy with yet another annual man event. The game didn't interest me at all, though I have memorized the stats so I'll be ready for tomorrow if needed. If the guys can get it all out of their systems tomorrow, Witch Falls will hopefully be a mostly football-free zone for the next five or six months.

That's something worth celebrating today!

The lounge and my bedroom were a bit crowded fairly regularly for most of the afternoon and evening except while we all had dinner in the dining room. We ate a bit early so that wouldn't get in the way of the start of the game, so that gave us – the girls – time for two movies in the afternoon, and three more after dinner. Rowen and I didn't watch all of them because we spent nearly as much time playing with Ethan, Ehlana, and the other kids. Ethan and the other boys might disagree, but they really did spend more time playing with us than with the men in the living room.

While I've had a really good day, there actually isn't much else of interest to report. We mostly had the same gang here as last year; the games are getting a bit more advanced as Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends can do more this year; and the chick flicks were a mix of new and old favorites plus one animated feature that was picked specifically for the younger kids. Rowen and I didn't really get any time to just hang out on our own, but we liked getting to spend the time with some of our favorite women; and I had the bonus of basically not getting teased about boys by Aunt Leanne at all. Hoping for that to be the start of a new trend for her is probably too much to ask, so I'll just be grateful for the day-long reprieve.

Since the party wrapped up late, I've only managed to get through about half of my usual nightly computing and studying, but I'm not going to stay up later to finish the rest. I will try to put in a little extra time every night this week so I can catch up; but we'll see how that goes – even Magi Master tweens can get a little distracted in the days leading up to their birthday.

Anyway, it's after one, I'm tired, and it's time to get some sleep, so...

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

Monday, February 4, 2013

I'm still hopeful that this will be the last day for a while where football is at or near the top of the conversation list for the guys, but most of the girls my age and older at school are now interested in one thing – Valentine's Day; that's almost equally annoying to me; and will certainly be the top story for the next two weeks.

I wonder if our parents would let Rowen and I go to Australia and spend that time with Grandma and Grandpa instead? Probably not.

Today would have been another good one to take off from school – or to at the very least keep my mouth shut during all non-educational activities. While it hasn't been a big problem in the past, correcting boys on Super Bowl game statistics just because you can is apparently a bad thing for me this year. Some of the guys were annoyed; others were impressed; and the girlfriends of the boys in that second group were not happy with me either. The worst of that happened at lunchtime when one of my comments led to a rapid-fire mini test of my football knowledge that Tim, Michael, and a couple of the other guys in our class threw at me. Aunt Leanne's love of winning must be rubbing off on me, because I could have fudged an answer or two; but didn't. Then again, it was a test, and I've never fudged answers on them in any of my classes either.

Whether my response was nature or recent nurture doesn't really matter. The results were that I earned bonus rep points with some of the guys; lost them with the rest; and made things worse for myself with the girls I least needed to do that with. Rowen and a couple of other girls thought the whole scene was very entertaining – especially outdueling all of the boys on the football trivia. I'm glad I could help make the day more fun for them, but still should have just kept my mouth shut instead.

Since we didn't really want to have anything like that happen again today, and weren't interested in being around for any girl chats that would be all about Valentine's Day, the school dance, and boys; Rowen and I decided to spend our after-school play time in my room instead of going to the park or doing something else outside. We did our homework; had a music practice; played with Ethan and Ehlana for a while; and our own girl chat time did not include anything about football or Valentine's Day.

After the gang we had over yesterday, it seemed very quiet here tonight, but I've been busy too. After cleaning up from dinner, we all had some play time together before Dad got to work in the office; Mom did a long Magi lesson with me; Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine kept us busy for an hour or so; and I've been in my room working on my studies and nightly computing since then. Mandy and I talked for a while at first, but she's been sleeping for a couple of hours now; and even Mom and Dad are sleeping – though they weren't when they first went to bed.

No, let's definitely not go there.

I didn't completely catch up on the leftover work from last night, but finished enough of it that I should be back on my little internal study schedule again in another couple of days. Mom gave me a fairly heavy archive assignment, but I also have more time to get through it; so that won't be a problem. News around the world is often a bit depressing, and I don't want to go there tonight either; but I should probably do a Magi Master kid's perspective sometime soon. I am very glad that my future won't revolve around any level of politics; though since I will be working for an international family business, completely avoiding politicians and bureaucrats won't be possible. I can't even avoid that now even when my family business jobs are essentially anonymous.

There's always more to do, but it's late; I'm tired; and I'm ready to call it a night, so...

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

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Aunt Leanne is going to have a baby!

Ethan, Ehlana, and I know enough about our collective future that the news wasn't completely unexpected, but we aren't allowed to know every detail; and finding out today after school was an awesome surprise.

This news won't become public until late next week, once Aunt Leanne is far enough along for a positive pregnancy test. Mom found out when she stopped in to the office while doing some running around town with Ethan and Ehlana, and I got the news directly from Aunt Leanne at the start of my after school break; though technically I was allowed to find out for myself while hugging her when I discovered her in the kitchen with Mom and the twins.

It's funny when you consider all of the secrets I have to keep as a junior Master, but keeping this one is going to be as tough as not getting to tell anyone about Ethan and Ehlana when I found out about them. I'll manage, but it won't be easy.

The top news, at least for our family, changed up our plans for the evening; but Aunt Leanne went back to the office after our break, and I still tried to work on the family business until stopping to help Mom with making dinner; though I got distracted from what I was supposed to be doing fairly easily. We'd only been able to talk babies until Alicia got here for her usual Tuesday after-school shift, so it wasn't until Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam got home and we sat down for dinner that we could talk about it again.

Uncle Adam is very excited too. He couldn't sense the baby yet passively, which is why Mom found out first, but he was able to do that tonight, and that was a really special moment for all of us too. The phone call with Grandma and Grandpa was awesome too, though they weren't somewhere they could do a link with us, so we couldn't do the full-sensory experience with them tonight.

Taking the night off wasn't an option for Dad, so we all had a work night together with a few Magi lessons mixed in – one each for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne; Ethan and Ehlana; and me. I continued working on the family business too, but talking babies was fun, and if you know Aunt Leanne; I'm sure that you can guess there were a lot of jokes and enthusiasm mixed in. By the time you read this sometime in the future, I'm sure that many of those one-liners will become classics. One of my favorites tonight was the suggestion that Uncle Adam was planning way ahead for Aunt Leanne's birthday in October. Giving her an early present was borderline too weird for the kids, and I needed to leave the room and get a drink refill when they started talking about things like 'planting the seed'. How many times do I have to remind my favorite grown-ups that there are some things that a kid just does not want to know?

There was some serious baby talk tonight too, and though a lot of what Mom discussed with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam won't start for quite a while; they're going to be taking pre-natal Magi baby care to a whole new level – even beyond what Mom and Uncle Adam are doing with Aunt Deborah and her baby. (See the Magi Project archive for details.) Pre-natal development is going to be one of the most important things that Mom and Uncle Adam do over the next few years; and it's going to make a huge difference for future Magi.

Moving along, we worked and played in the office later than we should have, and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam stayed until after Ethan and Ehlana went to bed, so it was already heading toward eleven o'clock before I even got up to my room and could get started on the rest of my work. I started out with some Jacuzzi time while reading a couple of foreign language books; did my email, news, entertainment, and sports checks while doing my hair and getting ready for bed; and wrapped up with an hour and a half of archive study.

I'm ready to get some sleep, but before I do that, my day did start long before the after-school baby news; and I should include the rest of the story before wrapping this up.

Ethan and Ehlana were up early, so Mom, Dad, and I had spectators for our Tai Chi. We had a standard weekday morning breakfast, and Rowen and I met about half-way between our houses before walking to school together. We heard almost nothing at all about football today, but love was definitely in the air; and I tried my very best to hide from all of the tween and teen angst and weirdness. Escaping from Valentine's Day isn't possible. Decorations and crafts are popping up all over the school; themed lessons and projects are all the rage this week; and it seems like every iPod or alternate personal media player is loaded with playlists full of love songs operated mostly by girls who aren't afraid to use them.

I'm sure that Michael was as grateful as I was that we didn't practice any music that could even remotely be considered love songs at our lunchtime practice. He's getting himself into enough trouble with Lisa just by continuing to do these practices with us. We don't need to make things even worse by being overheard playing saxophone duets of love songs. Rowen actually thought that idea was funny when I mentioned it to her after Michael left the room to meet up with Lisa, Tim, and Nora, but she knows as well as I do that I'm right; and while Lisa may not be interested in practicing with us, she and her friends always find some reasons to wander past the music room at least twice every time Michael's practicing with us.

Other than annoying Lisa because of that practice, I managed to stay out of tween trouble for the rest of the day. We had one test in the afternoon, and the other two classes were a combination of lessons and project work time. The test was a breeze, and other than wishing I didn't catch nearly as much of the girl talk as I did; the rest of the afternoon was mostly fun too.

That does pretty much wrap up my story for today, though, so...

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

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Spring is back for a day or two, and today was definitely the nicest we'll have this week.

I've been fired up all day thanks to the top family news story from yesterday. Sunshine and bonus outdoor time at lunch helped keep the good day rolling; and managing to get through the entire day without any major tween drama was nice too. Most of the kids and teens were outdoors whenever they could be today, but Rowen and I did our own thing at lunch; and stayed far away from the couples club. The Valentine's dance is the number one topic now, and most of the boys are doing their best to impress their favorite girls. Yes, that is scary; and so is all of the girl chat that often goes into way more detail about relationships than I ever want to know about my friends and classmates.

Once we were set free from our last class, Rowen and I did our usual play night snack break at my house; got our homework out of the way; and then took Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some quality playground action. Hanging out there was a popular choice with the kids and teens, so we had a lot of friends to hang out with; and Ethan and Ehlana had lots of help as they played on the swings, slides, and the rest of the equipment. We finished up our play time with a walk along the path to the falls and back, and then Ethan, Ehlana, and I walked Rowen over to the computer store before going home again in time for me to help Mom with making dinner.

The rest of my evening has been quiet. We had an easy dinner and clean up; Mom did a Magi lesson with me; and then I came up to my room to get an early start on my nightly computing and studies. That helped me get finished early too, and I'm going to be sleeping before midnight if I hurry up and finish this, so...

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

Thursday, February 7, 2013

I've officially been twelve now for a couple of hours as I write this, but I'm not trying for a two-day celebration; so I'll leave the birthday recap for tomorrow night.

It's been a busy day, and mostly fun; with a couple of exceptions. The first came courtesy of my peripheral involvement in the Grade Seven tween drama that continues thanks to Michael's decision to continue joining Rowen and me for our Tuesday-Thursday lunchtime music practices despite knowing that it annoys his girlfriend. I suppose I should be glad that I haven't crossed over and have to deal with those kinds of issues directly, but none of this stuff with Lisa is fun for me now; and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make things better.

The second exception to a pretty good day came courtesy of Aunt Leanne while we were at game night. I had been hoping that being an expecting Mom might distract her from at least one of her matchmaking missions, but Michael and I both soon found out that she was still actively on the job. I am so glad that there won't be a Valentine's Day game night next Thursday!

For the record, Aunt Leanne, Michael didn't need to be reminded about my birthday; the fact that he did know isn't the big deal you tried to make of it; and while the rest of your comments, jokes, and nudges seemed to entertain you; they just made life a bit tougher for Michael and me. Here we go with yet another Friday when I wish calling in sick was an option.

The best parts of the day, ironically, also included our lunchtime music practice and game night at the Inn. Music practices are always fun despite the downside problems; Mom and Dad won the senior championship; and Rowen would suggest that we had fun with everything tonight, including Aunt Leanne's teasing, jokes, and matchmaking efforts. That may have been true for Rowen, but I'll only concede that a couple of Aunt Leanne's jokes made me laugh for real.

We had some fun during our classes today too, and my family business work went great. After getting home from the Inn, we were all in on the full bath and bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; and had fun with that for more than an hour before they were tucked in to their beds for the night. Mom and Dad both went to work in the office after that, and I've been in my room since then; doing my usual nightly computing and studies.

Rowen and I are planning on staying up late tomorrow night and doing a movie marathon, so I should have been sleeping an hour or more ago; but got side-tracked for a while in our Magi Project archive. It was a bit weird to see that Uncle Adam had already added a file for Aunt Leanne's pregnancy, but being able to get more involved with that part of our project is going to be a lot of fun too.

I could get off-track again writing about that for a while, but I really do need to get some rest, so...

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

Friday, February 8, 2013

Let's start out today's report with a big "THANK-YOU!" for Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana.

Just as my saxophone was my top Christmas gift, getting a portable synthesizer-keyboard was my favorite birthday gift this year. With a little help from my grandparents and aunts and uncles; I'm set up with everything else I needed from a portable stand and bench to music books and jump drives for moving music back and forth between my new synthesizer and my computer.

I won't be able to show off for anyone else other than Rowen and my family for quite a while, but I have been reading up on playing the piano; plunked away on them a bit here and there at school or church; and can already play a mean piano app on Ehlana's iPad, so I could actually play quite a few songs on my new keyboard right out of the box. The only thing that surprises me about my newfound love of playing music is that I didn't have any urges to do this sooner. Maybe being on the run from a Dark Magi for the first nine years of my life had something to do with that; but whatever the reason, I'm really glad that I can do all of this now.

I had to wait until after dinner to get those gifts, but I did get to open a gift this morning; and had a new outfit to wear to school today. Dad made pancakes and bacon for breakfast; Mom, Ehlana, and I had some dress-up and hair play time; and then my day went a bit sideways for a while.

Michael stopped in to drop off a birthday present for me. Nobody will be reading this anytime soon, so I can safely admit, if only in my journal, that his gift was my second favorite – a plush, stuffed, orange and white cat that was a fairly close match to Mandy; accessorized with a little alto saxophone and neck strap. I loved the gift, and Michael didn't mind the fairly enthusiastic hug I had for him in thanks – or at least he didn't until the tail end of it was witnessed by Rowen and Patrick. They'd come over to walk to school with me, and I knew from the look on Patrick's face that Michael's plan to keep this little moment off the school news network wasn't going to work out for either of us. Rowen wouldn't have said anything, but she made it clear that we'd need to talk later too; and couldn't stop grinning at me from then until sometime after we'd started first class.

Some of my friends had cards and little gifts for me, and that was fun, but then the news that Patrick, with some help from Scott, launched into the school grapevine made its way to some of our classmates at lunchtime; and Michael and I were both in trouble from that point on. Michael by far got the worst of it, but Lisa had a couple of comments for me this afternoon too; and nothing Michael or I had to say helped at all. The guys all razzed Michael too, but I mostly only got watched a lot by both the girls and guys, and only had a couple of my closer friends actually ask me about it. None of this made for a great way to go into a school dance date, but I do hope that Michael and Lisa work it out and have fun tonight.

One more piece of information that won't make the school gossip or be public knowledge anytime soon is that Michael still doesn't regret giving me the present or the hug. I picked up that little tidbit from him during our music class – at the same time that we were both getting frosted glares from Lisa that were cold enough that we should have needed to wear our coats. You can probably guess that Rowen and I decided not to hang around after school, and other than checking in at the computer store and picking up her overnight bag; we've spent the rest of the day here at home.

Mom and Dad were only having Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah over for my birthday dinner, and since Michael's gift and the problems that caused at school gave Aunt Leanne new material to use on me; I'm really glad there weren't more witnesses. Before I get to that, though, after getting home, Rowen and I did a little snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; we went up to the lounge to hang out and talk for a while; and then we helped Mom in the kitchen until reinforcements arrived and we were ordered to stop working.

Aunt Leanne came home with Dad, so it wasn't long before the jokes started flying. I seriously hope that some of those lines don't get out to anyone at school. If anyone at school starts referring to me as 'Michael's little sax kitten', I might just forget about the rules for a while and use a time phase to drop that person off at the north pole or someplace else far, far away. I'd have considered taking Aunt Leanne on a little time phase trip, but that could end up very strangely if we came back and she was suddenly several months pregnant, or whatever the equivalent would be depending on how long we spent phased.

I wonder if that would be a popular service? "Magi Master's Pregnancy Accelerator – Zero to Nine Months at the Speed of Light!" That's a joke, Aunt Leanne, and since you're reading this for the first time years from now, no, it wouldn't have been a viable option for you. Even if I could hold the power level needed for the equivalent of nine months real time; how would you explain something like that to the non-magi? I sort of doubt that being super hyper-active would work as an excuse for a one or two week full-term pregnancy any more than people actually believed that Lee Landry bench-presses farm equipment on his lunch breaks.

Getting back to the actual news for today, with the birthday gift from Michael jokes and commentary as a starting point, Aunt Leanne was happy to lead my birthday roasting; and it's amazing how much material she's managed to accumulate in the less than three years that Mom and I have lived in Witch Falls. My best friend and brother and sister all found that a lot more entertaining than I did, but it wasn't all bad for me either; and having dinner wrap up with my favorite Olde Bakery cake and some very cool birthday gifts was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

Rowen and I had my keyboard set up in my room, with some supervisory help from Ethan and Ehlana, by the time the post-dinner clean-up was done. There was a break in the birthday party action when Violet got home. She'd been delayed on the drive from Woodvale, and needed to rush around to get ready for the Valentine's dance at the school. Aunt Leanne helped her out with some hair and make-up support, and Violet was ready to go, and looked beautiful, when Dillon came over to meet up with her shortly before they needed to hop in her car and pick up Jake and Stephanie on their way to the school.

Violet had waited until Dillon was there to give me the birthday present from them, and hugging Dillon to thank him just gave Aunt Leanne a chance to tease me a little more about hugging boys on my birthday; and speculating on how Michael would feel about me hugging other boys. Fortunately, Violet and Dillon could only stay for a condensed version of the rest of that story, though Aunt Leanne still managed a fair bit of embellishment, and then they were gone again, and Rowen and I were encouraged to put on a little mini concert in my room. Our showcase included keyboard and flute duets; a sing-along; and a couple of short piano solos before we all went downstairs again to watch a movie in the living room.

Going off-track again for a minute, it was funny to think about the fact that we had two out of three of the women in our usual Friday night dinner and a movie group now. Rowen doesn't know about Aunt Leanne yet, so we couldn't talk about that, but Aunt Deborah is starting her last trimester; and she and Uncle Nick are really starting to get exciting about the impending arrival of their first baby. Ethan and Ehlana may have been messing with our aunts by picking the new Baby Geniuses movie to watch. Since it was an utterly forgettable movie, I'm glad that we did find a little entertainment from talking about babies and the upcoming spare bedroom to nursery plans that would be starting in a month or so at Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah's. I'd add another pregnancy update for Aunt Deborah, but it's still going so smoothly that just about every Mom in town is jealous.

So the third Baby Geniuses movie earned a 'twenty thumbs down' rating, and we did a bedtime snack and story together before Ethan and Ehlana went to bed; Rowen and I came up to the lounge to get started on our movie marathon; and the grown-ups returned to the living room for a little wind down time before my aunts and uncles headed home. We'd had enough of baby movies for a while, and didn't want to watch anything that might have us thinking about Valentine's Day or the school dance; so we went with watching comedies.

After getting changed and setting ourselves up with pillows and blankets on the sectional, we were ready to relax, play on our computers, watch the shows, and chat until we fall asleep. Rowen eventually got around to asking me about the big birthday gift scene with Michael this morning, and really started having fun with the whole thing after Mandy advised her that I loved Michael. Thank-you so much for the help, Mandy.

Rowen is a moderately talented Empath, and that wasn't exactly a news flash for her, but that didn't keep both of them from having a little fun with me. I didn't help my case by having the cute stuffed cat tucked under my arm while they were teasing me, but it is soft and cuddly; and I do really love it.

None of that changes the fact that I'm still not interested in crossing over.

We stayed away from talking about the dance. That was mostly for Rowen's benefit, since she was already spending too much time thinking about how much fun 'Tommy' was having tonight with his girlfriend. Everything else was fair game, including talking about finding a reason for a shopping trip to the city; plans for the rest of the weekend; and Valentine's Day week avoidance techniques we might try using for the next four or five school days. March Break is still five weeks away, but we spent a little time thinking about what we could do for that break from school too.

The third movie started about half an hour ago, but Rowen advised me that she wasn't going to be able to stay awake for it; and then promptly fell asleep. It isn't actually my birthday anymore either, but Mom and Dad already let me know that I have a get out of housework card for Saturday, so I do get a bonus play day out of the deal; and Rowen's taking the day off from work too. Violet's home from the dance, but she and Dillon are still downstairs, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get the recap – though I'm not entirely sure I wouldn't be better off not knowing at least some of the details.

There isn't anything else to write about tonight, and I should get some sleep so I'll be ready for our play day, so...

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

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Kids should get to have weekend birthdays every year!

Starting the day out with another big breakfast was great, and then getting to skip the usual Saturday morning chores kept the good times rolling.

We didn't have spring-like weather today, but there wasn't any rain, and it was still warm enough for biking and spending most of the day outdoors. Rowen and I really decided to get away; packed a lunch; and started biking out along River Road. We biked far past the whirlpool, but eventually returned there to sit and have our lunch before returning to Witch Falls.

That gave us lots of alone time to talk, and Violet's breakfast dance report was high on the list for us. We weren't surprised to find out that both Rebecca and Stephanie had heard about everything at school, and they'd already known that Michael was going to give me a gift. Violet had some 'inside information' on that, and since Stephanie was keeping an eye on Michael at the dance; she also knew how at least the dance part of the night had gone for him and Lisa. The good news for both him and me is that roses go a long way to smooth over tween dating trouble; and Lisa apparently decided not to be mad at him anymore by the time they got to the dance.

Rebecca advised them that the word among the younger girls was that my not being there helped too; and though Violet didn't have the details, Michael spent an hour or so at Lisa's after the dance before getting home at the same time that Violet and Dillon dropped Jake and Stephanie off after they were finished helping out with the post-dance clean-up. Violet had news about 'Tommy' and his girlfriend too, but Violet didn't know that news was of any extra significance for Rowen when she passed it on with the rest of her dance recap. 'Get a room', followed sometime later on by 'but not a school classroom' should be the only hints you need to know to get the gist of that part of Violet's recap. I'm sure you can guess that Rowen wasn't thrilled, but that was one of the reasons why we didn't want to be there last night.

There were also stories of apparently successful dates, and two that didn't go well at all – including one couple from my class. They did an old-style diner theme for the decorations and set-up that looked cool from the pictures Violet showed us on her phone, and it sounded like Violet, Dillon, Stephanie, and Jake all had a great night. Since Violet was both tired and smiling non-stop this morning; I'll guess that both the dance and her alone time with Dillon until whenever she did finally make it upstairs to her room made for one of those best-ever-so-far kind of date nights.

That's enough tween and teen news for me, so let's move on. Our timing for the ride was good, since the traffic was mostly heading into town on our way out; and then outbound by the time we were going west again. There wasn't anyone playing on the river today, but there really aren't that many people interested in canoeing or swimming the Ridge River in February.

Ethan and Ehlana were interested in some park play time this afternoon, so we spent an hour and a half doing that with them after getting back. Some of our friends were hanging out there too, and we multi-tasked our playground fun with more Valentine's dance news chat. Rowen was particularly interested to find out that 'Tommy' missed his curfew after staying at his girlfriend's house about an hour or so too long. We learned more of the details about the date-gone-bad involving our classmates too; and I'll guess that will be a couple that may not still be together by Valentine's Day. It sounded like the rest of our friends had as much fun as Violet and her friends did; but Rowen and I are still very glad that we weren't there too.

We all went home for the rest of the afternoon once Ethan and Ehlana decided they'd had enough outdoor action for the day – or it might have been that Ethan didn't want to hear any more girl talk. We had a snack break with Mom, Dad, Violet, and Alicia; then played in the lounge until it was time for Rowen to head home. Rowen and I entertained my brother and sister with a music practice that included both keyboards and saxophone for me while Rowen played along on her flute. Rowen and Ehlana had fun teasing me a little more about my second-favorite birthday gift, but Ethan was as ready as I was to drop it and move on to anything else. I really hope that does all blow over by the time we go back to school on Monday; but I'm not holding my breath that it will.

Rowen went home about a half-hour before Mom's planned dinnertime, and it's been a quiet evening around here since then. Violet did a couple of lessons with Mom today, including one while we were at the park. She had dinner with us, but then got ready to go out after we'd both helped with the clean-up; and was off and running again in time to meet up with Dillon at the Inn before going on to hang out at his house. Mom and Dad spent a couple of hours playing with Ethan, Ehlana, and me. 'Normal' toddler games are just for show around here when we have company. Tonight we played with Ethan and Ehlana's science lab for an hour and a half and solved that whole global warming problem.

Just kidding about the last part of that!

We did have fun, though, and Ehlana continually amazes the rest of us with just how especially brilliant she is when it comes to the sciences. I won't be surprised if she does solve global warming some day.

I came up to my room for some Jacuzzi time when Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana up to do bath time with them, but I kept it short enough that I could still do the bedtime snack and story with them. Mandy and I have been tucked into bed since ten-thirty; I didn't really do much of my usual nightly computing before getting started on this; and I don't plan on being awake for very much longer. We don't really have anything exciting planned for tomorrow that I need to rest up for, but I'll be back to normal school night studies again tomorrow; and a little extra down time tonight is looking good right now, so...

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

Sunday, February 10, 2013

After having a couple of busy days, it's been comparatively quiet around here; and I don't have much to report.

Part of the reason for that is my intention to not discuss Aunt Leanne's interpretation of today's love-themed sermon for how it applies to me. Use your imagination all you want, but I just didn't – and still don't – want to go there again today.

Rowen was busy with her family today, so Ethan, Ehlana, and I spent the afternoon and evening hanging out together; and with Mom and Dad when they took some time off to play with us. We all did a trip to the park after having lunch and seeing Violet off on her way back to Woodvale; Ethan, Ehlana, and I played in my room and the lounge after that for a couple of hours; we had an easy dinner; and then had a little more play time with Mom and Dad after dinner. When Dad needed to get back to work, Mom did a Magi lesson with us; I helped her with getting Ethan and Ehlana off to bed; and I've been practicing music and studying in my room since then.

Playing my keyboard and saxophone for a while pushed back the start of my 'real' studies, but that was the most fun for me; so I didn't mind staying up a bit later so I could do that too. It is heading toward two o'clock now, though, and my work is finished, so I'd better call it a night and get some sleep.

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

Monday, February 11, 2013

The good news for today is that I managed to stay out of any tween trouble. Lisa was obviously very happy with how well her dance date with Michael had gone on Friday; and I successfully stayed as much out of the way as possible. Doing that had the added bonus of keeping both Rowen and me away from a lot of the girl chat too; and we were quite happy to miss out on a lot of the talk about the dance; and the ongoing Valentine's Day gossip and speculation.

Since that strategy had worked well at school, Rowen and I decided to hang out in the lounge and my room after school instead of going out to play. We did our homework; played music; and spent some time with Ethan and Ehlana until it was time for Rowen to head home, and for me to help Mom with making dinner. We've had a fairly uneventful evening since then. Dad had work to do in the office after dinner, and Mom spent nearly three hours doing Magi lessons – first with Ethan and Ehlana, and then with me. I came up to my room after helping to get the twins in bed for the night; and I've been doing my usual nightly computing and studying since then.

I don't have anything else to report for today. Rowen and I are both working after school for the next couple of days, since we won't be able to work our usual Thursday schedule because of Valentine's Day. With a little luck, maybe I'll be able to keep a low profile, and out of tween trouble, for the rest of the week. I know, that's a lot to hope for, but it might happen. Anyway, it's still been a long day even if there wasn't anything particularly exciting to report, and I'm ready to crash for a few hours, so...

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

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

We're on a roll – two school days without any major tween troubles directed my way!

Michael does deserve mention here for understanding that picking lunchtime music practice with Rowen and I over hanging out with his girlfriend would have been a bad decision with Valentine's Day less than forty-eight hours away. We don't expect to see him for our Thursday practice either – unless he's really in the doghouse with Lisa by then.

The younger kids are having lots of fun with Valentine's Day crafts this week, and the crossed-over tween and teen couples are keeping themselves entertained too, but it's been a fairly quiet day for those of us who are single either by choice or circumstance. I'm okay with that, but it's getting a bit harder for Rowen the closer we get to Valentine's Day. I'll be there for her, but still feel like I don't do that very well when it comes to her problems with 'Tommy'.

Another uneventful day at school was followed by a family business, Magi lessons, and studying afternoon and evening at home with breaks for dinner and Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine. I threw in some keyboard practice time too, along with some extra language studying, so it's heading toward two-thirty; and I'm definitely ready to crash for a while.

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

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Take yesterday; change to our Day One schedule at school; add bonus lunchtime music practice; change my evening Magi lesson to Healing, and not much else was different – including that it's heading toward two-thirty as I write this.

I'm sure there will be a lot more to write about tomorrow.

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

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the first time since moving here that Dad was home for Valentine's Day, and Mom didn't go to Crystal Springs to be with him. That was nice for all of us, and not fighting any Dark Magi Masters today was a bonus – though I might have picked that instead if I'd ended up dealing with any major tween drama. Fortunately, I didn't have that problem either.

Dad and Ethan had little gifts for their favorite girls this morning; we did a special breakfast; and Rowen and I both had roses delivered to our classroom again this year. Most of the other girls, including Mrs. Warren, were sent flowers too. That was only a problem for one boyfriend, since the other exceptions had done something different and equally worthy of girlfriend approval and appreciation.

As an aside, here are some hints for guys that I learned through the grapevine today – all of them suggesting that you should know your girlfriend before picking out that perfect gift. Don't buy chocolates for a girl who is obsessed with her weight; even if she's a size zero. Do not buy anything that causes an allergic reaction. Never, and I repeat – NEVER – re-gift a Valentine's present – especially if your current girlfriend remembers seeing a previous girlfriend wearing it sometime in the past. Don't be one of the few boyfriends in your school doing nothing because you think it's a stupid holiday – that strategy won't end well for you unless your girlfriend honestly agrees with you.

I am so glad that I haven't crossed over!

Moving on, but not really, most of the kids and teens had fun today. The younger kids played games, had parties, made crafts, and exchanged Valentines to all of their classmates and friends. There weren't parties for the tweens and teens, but that didn't make the day any less entertaining for most of us. That didn't mean that the single students in our school – like Rowen and me – weren't able to have a little fun here and there too; but it definitely felt weird to be in limbo between the younger and older kids today.

Rowen was having a tougher time than I was, thanks to having to watch 'Tommy' and his girlfriend all day. Hiding in the music room at lunchtime for our practice helped, and I think that passing her regular doses of one of her favorite candies every time I thought she needed one helped too. By the time we were set free after last class, she was eager to escape; and we didn't waste any time getting away from all of the amorous after-school action.

We stopped in at the computer store; then went on to Rowen's house to pack an overnight bag for her before going home. With Dad home, the plan for tonight included dinner and the Valentine's Day party at Sheldon's for them, and a sleepover and babysitting for us. The big difference this time is that Rebecca is staying overnight too, and she, Rowen, and I took care of Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden while Mom and Dad were out. That was mostly because Alicia had a date, and alternate babysitters were in short supply tonight for the same reason.

It was an all hands on deck night at the Inn, so Rebecca didn't come over right after school, but worked at the Inn for a while first. Rowen and I were in charge of feeding Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden, but it was easy to cook up chicken strips and fries; make up a couple of veggie sides; and get them to eat the 'real' food before finishing up our meal with the Valentine-themed Olde Bakery desserts that Mom had picked up for us. She was busy getting ready for her date while we did that, and Dad went to do that too after getting home from work. We'd finished eating and cleaning up, and had moved into the living room by the time they were ready; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne stopped in to pick them up on the way to the Inn.

Aunt Leanne was fired up tonight, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with having her pregnancy test appointment today, and that we won't need to keep that little secret anymore by sometime tomorrow. They didn't want to be making that announcement on Valentine's Day, and while that will make a difference for them tonight; I doubt that the one day difference will keep them from getting Valentine's Day baby jokes directed their way in the future. After tonight, I don't really have a problem with that, since she spent some quality time teasing us; starting with asking Rowen and I where our Valentine sleepover boyfriends were since Ethan had Naomi and Ehlana had Aiden staying overnight with them. Other jokes followed, including commentary on parental double standards and the need to take matters like this into our own hands. Dad tried half-heartedly to defend me while trying not to laugh, but Mom did laugh; and my brother, sister, and their friends giggled their heads off and didn't seem to mind being teased too at all.

Rowen and I were saved by Rebecca's knock on the door, and she earned a bonus hug for that timely intervention. There were more hugs and kisses, and then Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne left; and we were on our own for the next six and a half hours or so. We moved upstairs to my room and the lounge, and spent most of the evening there. The four younger kids wanted to play games first, so we ran around doing that for the first hour and a half. That included everything from music time with my keyboard to a fairly elaborate live show complete with talking dolls, action figures, and stuffed animals. Play time was followed by some cuddling while we watched television for a while; and then it was time to get Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden ready for bed. That ended up taking nearly an hour by the time we finished doing the snack, story time, and getting them changed and tucked in.

That was all fun, but Rebecca, Rowen, and I were ready for a break by the time we had the four toddlers settled in for the night. We grabbed drinks; sat on the sectional sofa in the lounge; and had a chance to just talk while listening to music videos. So much is still different now between Rebecca, Rowen, and me, but it didn't feel that way for most of tonight. Rebecca was as happy as we were to be away from most of the Valentine's Day action – especially when it came to Jenny and Shane – or even Michael and Lisa. We were mostly able to keep our chat away from all of that except for a touch here and there when we were talking about school, the Inn, work, and everything else from shopping to upcoming free time and weekend plans.

Rebecca doesn't really have a lot going on except school and work, and I didn't realize just how much alone time she's had while Jenny spends more and more time with Shane. She still wasn't interested in any particular guy enough to join the Grade Eight couples club, and I could still feel that same sad echo I've sensed in her since last summer. Her reluctance to put her heart on the line again and Rowen's issues with 'Tommy' both seem like very good reasons why I shouldn't cross over and join them on the tween and teen emotional rollercoaster. Yep, fighting Dark Magi Masters definitely sounds better than that!

We managed to keep entertained until Mom and Dad got home, and since it's a school and work night, we kept the recap with them short before Mom and Dad went downstairs to their room; and Rebecca went to her room to get changed and go to sleep. She was staying with us because her parents won one of the kid-free nights. Michael was staying with Tim after their double date with Lisa and Nora; and Jake was staying at Stephanie's. Rowen and I would have been happy to have Rebecca stay with us, but having some privacy is definitely one thing that Rebecca prefers now; and having her stay in Violet's room did allow me to get some of my nightly computing and studies done after Rowen and I were changed and in bed too.

Rowen sat up and talked with me for a while as I studied, but she and Mandy have both been sleeping for over an hour now. With company in the house, Mom and Dad couldn't use their wards tonight, but I can assure you that they are not asleep. Use your imagination if you want, but I'm not going there. I haven't had time to do all of my work, but I finished more than I actually expected to before running out of steam. Tomorrow is going to be a big day, and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's news will definitely be the highlight. The post-Valentine's Day gossip, analysis, and residual mushiness probably won't be much fun for either Rowen or me, but at least life should start getting back to normal – whatever that is for tweens – by next week; and stay that way until March Break or even Easter if we're lucky.

For tonight, though, I've had enough, so...

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

Friday, February 15, 2013

Official congratulations, Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam – you're pregnant!

Yeah, that kind of news is a bit anti-climactic in our family by the time it actually becomes public knowledge; but it did still make for a really fun day too. By the time I got to start celebrating with my family after school, I was seriously ready for some fun too; and Rowen needed the distraction.

The day-after Valentine's Day tween drama that was life in our Grade Seven class – and around the school – was tougher on Rowen than it was for me, but there wasn't a lot of fun moments for either of us to offset the weird and annoying. For her, it was all about 'Tommy' and his girlfriend. The girl chat about them included far too many details about their date last night; and they were so glued to each other all day that it seemed like they were just taking breaks for their classes while in the middle of some kind of make-out marathon. Okay, it wasn't quite as bad as that sounds, but probably looked worse from Rowen's perspective.

I don't want to know any more than I already do about the guy talk on days like this, and wish I knew a lot less of the things we heard whenever we were around for the ongoing girl chats. Once again for the record, there are things I don't need or want to know about my classmates and friends! The school gossip network was alive with more than just the stories making the rounds about the couples in our class, and while there were a few cute and fun tales, most were either of the 'date-gone-bad' or 'don't need to know' variety.

Before moving on, I'd also like to make a general comment on perspective without going into any specific examples today. There were several cases today that Rowen and I witnessed with girls and boys seeming to have completely different views than their respective boyfriends or girlfriends on how their Valentine's Day and dates went yesterday. In most of those cases, you wouldn't need to be a Magi Master, power empath to see that if you'd just open your normal senses and pay attention. You also don't need to have the Sight to see the problems that some of those couples are headed for sooner or later.

Yes, I now that all of this tween and teen drama is normal, but all of this does help to explain why I'm in no hurry to join the club; and a lot of those problems could be avoided if dreams, wishes, wants, and desires didn't get in the way of reality so often.

Let's move on. There was an after-school 'We're pregnant!' snack break party at my house; and Rowen was immediately cheered up by Aunt Leanne's news. Getting to invite her to go with us to the Inn for a celebration dinner was a bonus; and we decided to do another sleepover to go along with our post-dinner movie night plans. We had time to get our homework out of the way; go over to Rowen's house and repack her overnight bag; and have a little play time with Ehlana while the three of us got ready to go out to the Inn.

Friday nights are busy for all of the store owners in town, so we weren't able to have dinner tonight with most of Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's regular group of friends, but Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and a few other friends like the Nortons were able to join us on short notice. After having a full house for Valentine's Day, it was a really quiet Friday night at the Inn – quiet enough that Miranda, Rebecca, and Michael all had dinner with us too. Pregnancy didn't keep Aunt Leanne from making a couple of comments to Michael and me about that – especially since he and Rebecca sat with Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, the three Norton kids, and me.

Miranda was happy to join in and tease him about having dinner with girls two nights in a row, and by the time they were finished having their fun with us; we were both worried about whether we'd be back in tween trouble again despite the fact that we weren't doing anything to deserve it; and were only sitting next to each other because Ethan wanted him to sit next to him, and I was helping Ehlana with her dinner. I won't comment on Rowen's eagerness to switch seats to help Ethan out with that – or why she might have been grinning at me so often from that moment until Michael was able to escape back into the kitchen after dessert.

I know Emma Norton fairly well, and talk to her once or twice nearly every day when I see her around at school, but hardly ever spend any time with her brothers, Lucas and Benjamin. Lucas is in Rebecca and Jenny's class, and seemed happy to have Rebecca to talk with while we ate; though he was very quiet, and nearly as shy around us as Rowen can still be when we're in bigger groups. Lucas gets his looks more from his mother than father, and though he's as strong as any of the 'farm' boys; he probably won't grow up to be as big as his father. Benjamin is nearly two years younger than Emma, and is going on nine this year. He's got his father's looks, and does everything in high gear – something he must have gotten from someone farther back in his family tree; since his brother, sister, and parents are all practically standing still by comparison. He was a bit bored, being stuck at a table with so many girls, but he badgered Lucas and Michael with endless questions; and occasionally trying to get Emma riled up.

I'm sure you know this already, Ethan, but if you decide to learn how to be a brother from guys like Benjamin, Patrick, and Scott; Ehlana and I will quickly prove to you that would be a very bad plan.

Sitting at the kids table kept us out of the loop for most of the conversations going on among the adults, but Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I heard about some of the highlights after we got home again. We put together drinks and snacks, and then settled in to watch – you guessed it – a comedy about pregnant women. The show was funny, but our adventures with Ethan and Ehlana would make for a pretty entertaining film too. Too bad we can't sell that story to Hollywood!

By the time we'd finished watching the movie, Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah were both tired out, so Uncle Adam and Uncle Nick took them home shortly after we'd cleaned up from our drinks and snacks. Rowen and I helped Mom and Dad with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine, and then we came up to my room for the rest of the night. Rowen's borrowing my Jacuzzi right now, so I've been hanging out with Mandy and getting my nightly computing out of the way before we go watch another movie in the lounge once we're both ready for bed. There were some email to catch up on that were either Valentine's Day or baby-related.

Violet had managed to enjoy her Valentine's Day even without getting to spend time with Dillon; Dawn, Kaitlyn, and Jaimie all wanted to know what I thought about Aunt Leanne's pregnancy; and Aunt Grace and Mark both had email for me that included Valentine's Day updates and baby commentary on the news from Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam. While getting teased by Aunt Leanne and Miranda earlier wasn't much fun for me, I did think that Aunt Grace's jokes about pregnant women and weddings were funny. Aunt Leanne will too, and I doubt she'll be anywhere near as worried as Mom was about how she'll look in whatever gowns they end up picking out for the bridal party. I'll get around to a wedding update sometime soon, but it sounds like Rowen's just about finished in the bathroom, so I'm going to wrap this up and get on with having a little more fun before we get some sleep.

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

Saturday, February 16, 2013

We've had a work day around here from the time that Rowen left for the computer store after breakfast until we stopped for a late dinner at around seven o'clock. All I wanted to do after long hours of chores around the house and yard was have a long soak in my Jacuzzi before climbing into bed with Mandy.

This is the last of the bit of computing I'm doing before crashing, and there isn't anything else to report for today, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging (and soon to be passing) out!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Getting the extra sleep last night helped me to be fully charged this morning, and that's a good thing; since it feels like I've been going almost non-stop since getting out of bed and meeting up with Mom and Dad for Tai Chi.

We've had a couple of colder days in a row, but other than making yesterday's outdoor work a bit uncomfortable at times, it wasn't a problem; and today's warm and sunny was timed perfectly for the afternoon play time Rowen and I had planned. Before I get to that, though, we had a lot of fun this morning at church with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam. Their baby news was a top story, and it seemed like Ethan, Ehlana, and I got congratulated nearly as often as our aunt and uncle did. I wish that Grandma and Grandpa could have been there today too, but they'll be home five weeks from today; and will probably do a little less travelling between now and when Aunt Leanne has her baby this fall.

Getting to share in that fun with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne was fun, but things didn't go so well for me in tween land – especially during Sunday school. I have no idea about when – or how much – Lisa found out about the Friday night dinner at the Inn, but I can assure you that she wasn't happy; and I was back in the tween danger zone. (Cue 'Top Gun' music now.) I'd been too busy with the whole baby news thing to notice anything until Rowen and I were walking from the Sanctuary to our classroom, but I knew that Lisa was upset again when she and her friends gave me the frosty looks and cold shoulder treatment while staying as far away from us as they could in a fairly small room.

Michael was in the doghouse too, and though he obviously knew it; he also probably made things worse for both of us by not doing whatever Lisa seemed to think he should to make up with her. I also know why he isn't doing that, but there are some things an empath senses that shouldn't be made public even in a journal like this one. I don't intrude on a person's emotions intentionally, but it's also nearly impossible for me to avoid sensing strong feelings without using shields to block them. It's definitely the reason why I find it very hard to have anyone mad at me too. It's a good thing that the upside of being an empath usually makes up for the not-so-much-fun moments.

Moving along, at least until I get to tweeird (tween weird) scene number two for the day; Rowen came home with me for lunch. Dad was going to be spending the rest of the day getting ready for his trip to Crystal Springs, so Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana along with us to the park after helping Mom with the lunchtime cleanup. It was after one by then, and there were a lot of kids, teens, and adults enjoying the warm weather and some outdoor play time. We started out with a walk along the path to the river and back, and then we mostly hung out around the playground with some of our friends.

Tweeird moment number two came when Michael stopped in at the park during his afternoon break from the Inn. Ethan ran over to him as soon as he saw him walking into the park, and basically didn't go far away from him until he had to get back to the Inn again to help get everything ready for the first buffet. To be honest, Rowen, Ehlana, and I had fun playing with Michael and Ethan, but that didn't change the fact that I knew Michael and I would both be in yet more trouble because of that – especially since some of the other kids in our class were there to witness our play time. Just hanging out together like that earned us some looks and unwanted attention; and I'm sure Lisa heard about it before dinnertime if not sooner.

That's the only reason I vetoed Ethan and Ehlana's suggestion that we leave the park with Michael and have our afternoon snack break at the Inn. I know that Ethan genuinely loves playing with Michael; but I'm more than a little suspicious that he and Ehlana, and maybe even Rowen, have been recruited by Aunt Leanne to help out with one of her favorite matchmaking missions. If they are, I'd just like to point out that I'm a Magi Master, and even dimples, hugs, and kisses from my adorable brother and sister are not going to push me into crossing over.

We did our afternoon snack break with Mom and Dad after getting home again. Let's not write about why they were smiling so much or think about what they might have been doing while their kids were away instead of working in the office. Ditto that for the grins that they directed my way while Ethan and Ehlana were telling them about our play time at the park with Michael.

Rowen and I had time for a little music after our snack break, and I have as much fun playing my keyboard to accompany her flute as I do playing my saxophone. I haven't mentioned this in my journal until now, but I should have noted that of the three instruments, my keyboard is easiest to play using Magi power, and Rowen's flute is the toughest. Magi-powered saxophone playing is only slightly easier because getting the reed to vibrate isn't as difficult as controlling the air flow across the mouthpiece of the flute while holding it steady and pressing the keys with Telekinesis. Too bad we'll never be able to show off those talents in public!

When Rowen went home, I helped Mom with making dinner; Dad spent a couple of hours with all of us, including while we ate, before needing to get back to work; and then Mom and I did a bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana that included baths and a Magi lesson. I came up to my room after that, and have been in bed with Mandy and working on my usual nightly computing and studies. My archive homework from Mom's lesson didn't take long to go through, so I spent a little extra time on languages, including a couple of internet chats and reading three books. There isn't anything else to report on for tonight, and we definitely don't want to think about what Mom and Dad have been doing since stopping by to say goodnight to Mandy and me on their way to bed, so this is a good time to wrap this up and for me to get off to sleep.

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

Monday, February 18, 2013

Seeing Dad off on his work week in the city always makes for a tough start to a Monday morning.

Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were up early; made breakfast for Dad while he got ready and loaded the truck with his bags and cases; and had time for a little visit while he ate before doing the goodbye hugs and kisses when it was time for him to hit the road. There was a little morning nap time with Mom after he was gone, and then we were up and going again with a subdued version of our normal morning routine.

I knew that it was going to be a tween drama day at school too, but just wasn't as prepared as usual to deal with the icy glares and too-loudly whispered comments. We've had rain off and on all day, so Rowen and I hid in the music room for most of our lunch break to get away from the tweeird, but we didn't manage to escape completely. We ran into Lisa and three other girls while they were in the middle of a girl chat moment that wasn't particularly flattering toward me while on our way to our first afternoon class. Since nobody except Rowen knows that even my normal senses are extremely highly developed, and the photographic memory helps me capture everything going on around me, I normally pretend that I didn't hear every word of conversations like this one. I should have done that and moved on then too, but stopped when one of Lisa's friends said something about Michael that really annoyed me.

Lisa in particular didn't like hearing that I loved Michael and Rebecca because they were my first friends in Witch Falls, or that he was sweet for spending time playing with my little brother and sister once in a while. She really didn't like hearing that I thought he didn't deserve to be treated like crap just because he liked playing music with me; got stuck sitting beside me at a 'We're pregnant' dinner party because Ethan wanted to sit with him; and we had the audacity to have fun at the park for a couple of hours while playing with Ethan and Ehlana. That was enough to make things worse, and it's a good thing I stopped there. I'm not sorry for defending Michael, but that little chat hit the gossip network almost immediately; with the predictable tween misinterpretations.

The rest of the afternoon was as bad for Michael as it was for me, but he was just shrugging it off, and completely ignoring the hints from Lisa and some of the other girls that were meant to lead him back onto the path that all good boyfriends are supposed to stay on. It was his turn to get us in trouble during music class when he talked and joked around with me; we showed off a little with a warm-up saxophone duet; and he just played along when Tim started teasing us with yet another round of sax jokes. It probably shouldn't have been, but that was the most fun I'd had all day so far; and that's why I hugged him as we were packing up our saxophones – and both thanked him and apologized for my part in making Lisa mad at him.

Note to me: there are times when you should not hug another girl's boyfriend. File that memory as a perfect example of that universal truth.

Thankfully, we were only allowed to speak Spanish in our last class. I'm sure that saved Michael and I from even more tween weird, and Rowen and I were on our way home in record time once we were set free. We stopped in at the computer store for a short visit before heading to my house for our after school snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. That's when we found out that we were going to be spending the weekend in Woodvale. 'We' included Rowen, and Mom had finalized everything today before springing the surprise on us.

Mom's news didn't save me from Rowen's enthusiastic recap of the highlights of my day from her perspective, but none of that seemed as bad now; and Rowen's re-telling really was entertaining and frequently funny – though I seriously doubt that Lisa would agree with that. Our snack break took a bit longer than usual, and then Rowen and I did our homework before spending the rest of our play time with Ethan and Ehlana. I was definitely a lot happier by then, and didn't want to risk messing that up with more tween trouble, so we stayed in and played in the lounge.

When Rowen went home, Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were on our own for the rest of the night. We did an easy dinner and clean-up; Mom did Magi lessons with us; we watched television for a while; and then we all went up to bed early. Getting a head start on my usual nightly computing and studies was a bonus, and I managed to get everything I wanted to do finished; and added in a bonus internet chat with Violet and Dawn so we could talk about what we'd be doing on the weekend. I've had more than enough time to think about everything that happened at school today too, and though I should probably be worried about that continuing tomorrow, I'm not.

I'm either too tired to care, or just tired of letting all of the tweeird bother me so much. One thing I am sure of is that it's time for me to get some sleep, so...

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

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Happy 12th birthday, Kris!

Kris has the distinction of being the last twelfth birthday in our class, since Gil will be the first 'teenager' in Grade Seven this year when he turns thirteen in April.

Being the youngest didn't keep Kris from being among the first to cross over, and he's already been a member of the couples club with more than one girlfriend. His current girlfriend is also one of Lisa's best friends, so Rowen and I weren't surprised to not be invited to his birthday party. Considering how things went at school yesterday and today, that was probably a good thing for everyone – including Kris.

Why is he included in that? Because he liked the birthday gift that Rowen and I left on his desk this morning a bit too much. It's never been a problem when I know the girls in my class well enough to pick out gifts for them, but it's now apparently a bad thing for me to know anything about the guys. I'd have thought that everyone who knows Kris would know he's into classic (comparatively) video games, and it didn't seem like that big of a deal to track down one of the games we'd heard him talking about wanting to get.

Somehow, Rowen managed to escape any implication in that tween drama even though she was an equal partner in the gift-giving; and she thought the whole thing was very funny too. While she was happily entertained, I know had both Lisa and Kris' girlfriend mad at me. That helped me answer the question I went to sleep thinking about, and I've decided that I'm tired of letting the tween drama bug me so much. I think it's time to stop letting all of that tweeird keep me from having fun and just being myself. It feels better deciding that, but I'm sure there will be more tween trouble for me because of that choice.

Really having fun with Rowen and Michael during our lunchtime music practice was my first chance to test out that change in attitude. The sight of the three of us laughing, smiling, and walking together when we went to our first afternoon class had the expected impact on Lisa and her friends, and though I'm sorry that she's upset, I didn't really find it that hard to not let it bother me or get in the way of having fun for the rest of the day.

Changing how I deal with my personal tween drama doesn't mean that I stopped seeing and hearing everything, and the empathic vibes were very strong all afternoon too, so I was really glad to go home after school; hide in the office; and immerse myself in family business work until dinnertime. Mom and Alicia worked and took care of Ethan and Ehlana while I was busy, and Alicia stayed and had dinner with us before going home for the night when Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne stopped in for a family business and future plans meeting with us.

I've been so busy with other things that I haven't really been thinking about how close we're getting to the start of the next big phase of our future plans. The groundbreaking for the lab is just five weeks away now, and construction on the first new houses to be built in Witch Falls in years will be starting too – including the one we're building for Aunt Grace and Mark. Aunt Leanne expects to have homes sold to the Seagers and Drapers soon, and if that all works out; they'll be the first three families living in the new part of town.

Ehlana and Ethan are especially excited about the lab project actually getting started soon. Ehlana can hardly wait to be able to do research in the lab; and Ethan is looking forward to having our entire physical Magi archive here in Witch Falls. Mom's going to start working on that more with Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor, and they'll be doing a lot of traveling over the next five years to help us bring all of those books home.

Pretty much everything else we have going on with our future plans for the rest of this year is on-track, and once the construction gets started, we'll focus on a few other things – like helping out some of our favorite teens as they get ready to go off to college this summer. There could be some matchmaking to do this year too, but since Aunt Leanne spent a little time teasing me about Michael tonight, I'll leave that update for another time.

Our little meeting lasted until after nine. Mom and I did a Magi lesson as part of the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana after Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne went home, but it was still going on eleven by the time I came up to my room and got started on my studies and nightly computing. It's now three and a half hours later, and I'm ready to crash, so...

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

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

I really love Witch Falls!

The only news today around here is the winter storm that should be moving into our area within the next few hours. I love my home town, friends, and neighbors because Mom had all the help she needed and more to make sure that we were ready for anything tomorrow. With both Dad and Grandpa away, their friends made sure that the wood was stocked for our fireplace, and the generator was ready to go if needed.

As of now, as I write this, there hasn't been any official announcement on the town intranet, but I think there's a very good chance that Principal Jacobs will call a snow day by morning and cancel classes for the day. The forecast is for anywhere from six to twelve inches of snow with the possibility of freezing rain or ice pellets depending on the temperature. I'm definitely hoping for the snow – there has not been enough toboggan time this winter.

While this was technically an after-school play day for Rowen and me, we spent most of that time helping our Moms and taking care of Ethan and Ehlana. Mom had already finished a grocery and supply run by the time we got home, but we helped to unload the van and put everything away. There was some cleaning to do at both of our houses, in case we ended up with power outage guests, so we helped out with that at my house first, and then took the twins along and worked with Rowen's Mom until dinnertime.

Getting ready for what could be the biggest snow event this winter – at least for our area – over-shadowed what was otherwise a fairly uneventful day. I managed to stay out of any major tween trouble; now that Valentine's Day is over, we're now into a stretch of more work and less fun in our classes that will probably last until March Break. Rowen and I didn't get around to doing our homework until after dinner, and then Mom did a lesson with both of us before Rowen headed home again for the night.

Mom decided to add a bonus bath time for Ethan and Ehlana in case we do end up with company due to the storm, and she and I both spent some time in our Jacuzzis after the twins were tucked in and at least pretending to go to sleep. I've been studying since then too; doing my archive assignment while in the tub; covering most of my nightly email, news, entertainment, and sports checks by the time I had my hair done and climbed into bed with Mandy; and wrapped up with an hour and a half of language studies.

It's not really all that late compared to my usual study nights yet, but since we could have a very long day tomorrow, I'm going to wrap this up and get some sleep.

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

Thursday, February 21, 2013

For the 'country kids' it was a SNOW DAY!!!

Since there wasn't any snow on the ground yet first thing this morning, the rest of us weren't quite that lucky; but we still ended up with the afternoon off once the snow finally moved into the area and started coming down at about an inch an hour.

I wasn't the only kid or teen to be a bit disappointed to find out that school wasn't cancelled for the day this morning, but with only about half of the students in every class, we didn't exactly work hard anyway, and once the snow started falling; nearly everyone started getting excited again. Getting set free at lunchtime caused some problems for some of the working parents, and Mom helped out with that by offering to have Rowen and Patrick, and Scott and Lindsay Faulkner, spend most of the afternoon at our house.

Our half snow day wasn't all fun and games, though we did get to play a lot too. With Dad in Crystal Springs, I started shoveling the driveway for the first time as soon as we got home. Rowen started to help me with that, while Patrick and Scott were more trouble than help, since they were more interested in throwing shovels full of snow at each other – and at us – than in actually getting the driveway and sidewalks cleared.

With several inches on the ground already by the time we started, Rowen and I were making slow progress on the driveway, and that's probably why Jake ordered Michael to come over to our house to help us out. We were glad to have the help, and were having fun too until Lisa, Tim, and Nora came looking for Michael, and found him at my house – in the middle of a guys-against-girls snowball fight work break.

That didn't go over well with Lisa, and was the first of several tweeird incidents that kept her mad at me for the rest of the day. When Michael advised them that he wasn't able to go sledding with them until we were finished clearing the driveway, Tim talked Nora and Lisa into staying; and he joined in to help us get finished faster. He also helped us get into another snowball fight that was more like a little war with Rowen, Lindsay, Patrick, Scott and I up against Michael, Lisa, Tim, and Nora.

I've mentioned that I like to win nearly as much as Aunt Leanne does, and though it was socially in my best interest to lose that fight, we didn't; and that just made things worse for me with Lisa. The irritations of getting stuck waiting for Michael and fairly convincingly losing the snowball fight was only slightly offset by the hot chocolate and Olde Bakery snacks warm-up break that Mom invited all of us in for; though I'm sure Lisa would have preferred to have taken that break anywhere except at my house.

Michael was finally out of excuses not to head out with Tim and their girlfriends after we finished our snack; though he wanted to stay. I know how that sounds, but it's also the truth; and I didn't even need to sense anything empathically to know that. When they headed out in search of other members of the Grade Seven couples club and more snow fun, Mom helped Rowen and I get Ethan and Ehlana bundled up for some outdoor snow fun, and we spent three-quarters of an hour playing with them, and keeping Patrick, Scott, and Lindsay entertained. Jessica Bassett came over to play with Lindsay too; and we built snowmen; made snow angels; and pulled the twins around the yard on two of the toboggans until they started getting cold and were ready to go inside again. Rowen and I shoveled the driveway again after that, and then we took Patrick, Scott, Lindsay, and Jessica over to one of the favorite tobogganing hills to finally get in on some decent sledding action.

Cue the next tweeird moments now.

I would first like to point out that I was just minding my own business, and Jessica and I were getting ready to trudge up the hill again after a pretty good run when Michael and Lisa crashed and burned at the end of their run down the hill. The only reason I 'caught' Michael was because he would have run into Jessica if I hadn't; and I laughed while getting knocked over and ending up half-buried in the snow with him on top of me because it was funny. The fact that he ran into me when there were so many other kids and teens on the hill, not to mention the whole timing thing had me laughing even more, and he laughed too even though we both knew that Lisa wouldn't be finding anything about the situation funny at all. Make that a 'wasn't amused', since by then she was sitting up and glaring at me from where she'd ended up after sliding about fifteen feet farther than Michael had. Seeing both of us laughing about it didn't help, and neither did the jokes that were tossed at us while most of the witnesses to the crash laughed too.

While I was in more than enough tween trouble already, I was having too much fun, and didn't let it bother me while Rowen and I played with our friends – including with Michael and the other guys. Everyone was mostly interested in tobogganing, but that didn't keep us from tossing snowballs around, and finding other entertainments while we waited to take turns sliding down the hill. Rowen and I took our little gang home for a late-afternoon snack break, and then we needed to shovel the driveway and sidewalks again. Scott and Lindsay were picked up while we were still working on the driveway; and Patrick went with them while Jessica went home. That gave Rowen and I a chance to hit the hill again for a while without having to watch the younger kids too; and we played there until we each needed to get home for dinner.

Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam came over for dinner with us, and Mom had invited them mostly so they didn't have to cook a meal too while dealing with the snow removal at their house after work. I'd expected game night at the Inn to be cancelled, but it wasn't, and Mom decided that she couldn't let Miranda down on the one week of the month that she actually had a chance to win the senior championship. We bundled up and headed over to the Inn early, and were there in time to help out with getting the games set up while the dining room was being cleaned from what Miranda told us had been the quietest dinner of the year so far.

There wasn't even half the usual turnout for game night, and Rowen and her family were among the regulars that weren't there tonight. Ditto that for the Landry clan, though we heard that was because the Landry men were busy dealing with a combination of area snow removal and equipment breakdowns. If you're guessing that Aunt Leanne took advantage of that opportunity, you're right; and she and Miranda had Michael and I partnered for the junior gaming competition before we knew what had hit us.

Now that I'm trying not to let any of the tweeird bother me anymore – or get in the way of having fun – I mostly thought that Aunt Leanne's jokes and nudges were entertaining, and Michael and I had fun playing the games together too. I'm sure that won't go over very well with Lisa when she finds out about it – especially since he and I won the junior championship tonight.

I wonder if Rowen will think that's funny or be annoyed that she didn't get to share the win with me.

To be fair, we weren't the only players competing with different partners tonight; there were less than half the usual kids and teens; and we had Ethan and Ehlana with us for a lot of the night helping us out. That all added up to not just winning, but being way ahead of the second and third place teams. Since Mom and Miranda won the senior championship too, Miranda was even happier to claim both crowns for the Stone and Proctor families. Aunt Leanne was very happy too, and amused herself by teasing Michael and me while we cleaned up after nearly everyone else had left, and had a little snack, drink, and chat break before heading home.

No, I'm still not in any imminent danger of crossing over, but I am having more fun, and feel more like myself than I have in a while.

After getting home again, I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed and tucked in before coming up to my room and hopping in the Jacuzzi again to get cleaned up after a long day of snow work and play. I thought about taking the night off from my usual archive and language studies, but decided against that; and started out by reading a couple of novels while soaking in the hot, swirling water. That nearly put me to sleep, but by the time I climbed into bed with Mandy, I'd caught my second wind and put in another hour and a half of archive work before doing a last email check and starting this journal entry.

I may wish that I'd gone to bed earlier by tonight, but I'll enjoy our weekend in Woodvale more now that I've finished all of the work I wanted to cover this week. After today, getting away for a couple of days might be the best thing for me, though there's a high probability that I'll be in for more tween weird at school tomorrow before we can escape for a couple of days.

Let's not go to sleep thinking about that. Rowen, Dawn, and I are going to have a blast, and dreaming about shopping, movies, and the rest of the fun Aunt Melissa, Violet, and Dawn have planned for us should work even better than not thinking about soft, cuddly bunnies!

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

Friday, February 22, 2013

There were another couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground by the time I woke up this morning, and I shoveled the driveway and sidewalks instead of doing Tai Chi with Mom. I was only a little surprised when Michael came over to help me with the work, and we even managed to get finished before Jake was done clearing their driveway.

We took the tween hit for it at school this morning, and I suspect that my adorable little brother and sister had something to do with the change in breakfast plans, but Mom invited Michael to have pancakes, bacon, and hot chocolate for breakfast with us to thank him for helping out with the shoveling yesterday and this morning; he accepted; and we both had fun goofing around with Ethan and Ehlana for nearly three quarters of an hour while we ate and then cleaned up before he headed home again, and we both needed to get ready for school.

I had to pack my bag for the trip to Woodvale too, since we were leaving right after school, so Rowen already had the evening and morning news updates from Mom and the twins by the time I met up with her in the kitchen. She was a bit too entertained by those stories, and couldn't resist teasing me about winning the game night championship without her. Aunt Leanne will be proud of her for adding in a few jokes about ending the night teamed up with Michael and then working together first thing in the morning again before having him stay for breakfast. Ethan and Ehlana didn't exactly help me out by telling her that they'd still been asleep, and didn't actually witness Michael come over to our house this morning. Thankfully that little attempt at humor didn't make it onto the school gossip network!

The news that was floating around at school today made things weird enough for Michael and me; though it was harder for him. Rowen had only teased me in private, but Tim didn't feel the same need for constraint, and led the jokes that were mostly directed at Michael. He seemed to be oblivious to the effect that was having on Lisa, and she was nearly as upset with him as she was with me by the end of the day.

While I managed to provide the wrong kind of entertainment for my friends and classmates, we did actually have classes to work through too, and there were other things going on that were more interesting to most of the kids and teens at school than the tween drama of the day. Snow play at lunch time – and recesses for the younger kids – topped the to-do list for a lot of us; and Rowen and I had as much fun as everyone else as we joined in for a major snowball fight and added our contribution to the small groups of snowmen that dotted the yard by the time we went inside again for our afternoon classes. I hadn't really thought about it much, since we'll be away all weekend, but the Maple Valley Winter Festival is this weekend, and it seemed that nearly everyone except Rowen and I were planning on going to the festival either on Saturday or Sunday. This will be the first year that I've missed it since moving here, but I wouldn't trade doing that instead of a weekend away for anything.

After being set free from school, Rowen and I stopped at the computer store to say goodbye to her parents; she changed and picked up her bag at her place; and then we met up with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana at my house. Mom had the van loaded and everything ready to go, but I wanted to get changed too, and did that quickly before we all hopped into the minivan and hit the road.

We were winging our travel plans, and wouldn't be deciding whether we'd be stopping for dinner in Crystal Springs or just hitting a drive-thru and picking up fast food to go. That decision ended up being for fast food when it took nearly three hours to get to the far side of Crystal Springs. We were able to meet up with Dad there, but since we'd all been delayed; Mom and Dad decided not to lose another hour and a half by stopping for dinner at a restaurant. Even with more delays from Crystal Springs to Woodvale, we managed to get to Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa's by nine-thirty.

Mom and Dad had a surprise waiting for them – two nights away from the kids while we stayed with our cousins, and they spent their nights doing whatever parents do when they don't have the kids around in the privacy of a five-star hotel room. We needed to unload the van first; they stayed for an hour-long visit; and we put Ethan and Ehlana to bed before they left the minivan behind and took Dad's truck over to the hotel.

Dawn, Rowen, and I are using the family room for our weekend sleepover headquarters, though Dawn told us that Chris and Martin hadn't been happy about giving up their usual weekend hangout for us to use instead. Having girls invade their space wasn't the problem anymore – Dawn and Violet had both kept me up to speed enough for me to know that Chris, Martin, and their buddies usually had girls hanging out with them this year. That change, however, did not apply to kid sisters, her friends, or to Rowen and me; so we were cramping their style.

Violet spent a little time with us after Mom and Dad left for the hotel, but Chris and Martin took over the living room to do their big screen gaming there while we were watching junior chick flicks. My usual late study nights must be making a difference, since Dawn fell asleep before we were half-way through the first, and what will be the only, movie. I was doing some surfing on my computer while she, Rowen, and I watched the show and chatted, but started doing my usual nightly checks once Dawn was out for the count.

There really isn't much family news to report so far, but we didn't really have much time to talk about much more than our trip and what everyone had been doing for the past couple of days – especially with how we'd been dealing with the snow. I'm sure we'll have more time to catch up on everything that doesn't make the email rounds tomorrow while we're shopping and playing together all day.

For now, though, the last thing I want to mention is that I miss being home. I know that sounds weird, since we've only been away from Witch Falls for a handful of hours, but it's still true; and unexpected. Maybe it's the Witch Falls magic tugging at me. I definitely miss Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Mandy; and I guess there really is a feeling – an attachment – that I don't really even think about; but it's as real as the links I have with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. I've been exploring that sensation while thinking about it, and changing the focus to range from concentrating on the town and area in general to specific people and places.

I'm not surprised to find out that I especially feel that sense of something missing with the Stone and Emerson families, but discovering that feeling is strongest when I think about Michael – even more than Miranda or Rebecca – must mean that I've entered the tweeird zone. Hopefully that isn't a crossing over danger sign! That little piece of information won't be getting to Aunt Leanne anytime soon, and I half wish that I didn't know either; though it also feels really great to have that whole connection to home.

We have a big day ahead, starting with meeting Mom and Dad for breakfast at their hotel, so I should wrap this up and get some sleep.

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

Saturday, February 23, 2013

There's a lot to write about today, so let's start from the beginning.

First of all, I should have made sure that I didn't dream of soft, cuddly bunnies last night. That might have save me from spending what I remember of my dreams – which is everything – solidly in the tweeird zone.

Don't ask, because that's all I'm going to write about that.

I had time for my Tai Chi workout before going upstairs to take care of Ethan and Ehlana when I sensed they were waking up and ready to play 'normal toddlers' again. They may not be missing home the same way I am right now, but they do wish that they didn't have to deal with wet and dirty diapers. Once I had them changed and dressed, we went downstairs again to give Rowen and Dawn their wake-up call, and really had fun doing that. The ensuing pillow fight made enough noise to wake up Aunt Melissa, Uncle Rick, and Violet, but by then it was time for everyone to get up and take turns getting ready to go out for breakfast anyway.

Mom and Dad had left the minivan so that Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa could haul Ethan, Ehlana, and their gear over to the hotel. Chris and Martin are too cool for minivans with car seats, and Chris wanted to show off his developing driving skills, so Uncle Rick let him drive their SUV while Aunt Melissa had Ethan and all of the girls with her in Mom's van. We made it into the hotel restaurant and had a first round of drinks delivered before Mom and Dad joined us there – catching up with us while Grandpa Richard and Grandma Carrie were still doing the round of good morning hugs with us.

I don't think they were late because of Tai Chi. Let's leave that train of thought right there and move along.

There's a chance that my ongoing thoughts of home were affecting my perception, but I would have enjoyed having this breakfast at the Inn a lot more than at the upscale, high-priced hotel restaurant. We had fun with our family, and the food was fine, if not as good as at the Inn, but Mom and I have also been in a lot of restaurants over the years, and this one certainly wouldn't have made our favorites list.

Fortunately, we had lots of entertainment to keep us happy. Violet and Dawn had a lot to tell us about school, everything else they had on the go, and their upcoming plans. Violet is really getting fired up about spending the week with us over March Break, and though I wasn't thinking about it at all; she's looking forward to the school dance on the first Saturday night of our holiday. For some reason, that particular annual event means a lot to her – and probably to Dillon too if he knows what's good for him. Chris and Martin were getting a fair bit of attention directed their way from groups of girls at a couple of nearby tables – there was apparently a gymnastics competition going on somewhere in town this weekend. Dawn teased them about that – especially since they both currently had semi-serious girlfriends; were with the parents and grandparents; and couldn't exactly take the obvious opportunity being offered to try flirting with the girls.

We – the 'kids' – were sitting at one table while the adults were at the one next to us, so I missed out on a lot of the grown-up conversation. It might be after we get home again before I get those highlights from Mom and Dad, but I'm sure they were mostly just catching up on current and near future events too. Once we'd finished having breakfast, it was time for some serious shopping at the Mall. Chris was driving again for the short hop to the Mall, but this time, he was driving Dad's truck, and had Uncle Rick and Martin with him. He had the bonus of impressing some of those girls when we left, though he was apparently concentrating so much on taking care of Dad's truck that Martin had to tell him about the girls. With the guys now in Dad's truck, Aunt Melissa took Dawn, Rowen, and me in their SUV, and Mom drove her van with Violet and the twins. Grandma and Grandpa Rice were going to shop with us too, but had a side trip to do first before catching up with us again.

Rowen and I hadn't been in a Mall since the Christmas shopping trip. Violet and Dawn had been there on Thursday – a perfect way to spend at least part of a snow day away from school. Despite that little difference in our social lives, we were all enthusiastic about making the rounds of the stores in search of bargains and new fashion. Rowen and I also had a list for upcoming friends and family gift occasions, and even Chris and Martin didn't mind helping us out with the 'guy' gifts.

We shopped until about a quarter to one, and then had lunch in the food court before heading home again. Mom spent the afternoon doing Magi lessons with Violet, and Chris, Martin, Dawn, Rowen, and I were politely kicked out of the house and told to go tobogganing or do whatever else we wanted for a few hours. The boys went to meet up with their buddies, and though they were eventually hanging out at the same hill Dawn took us to; they pretty much ignored us the whole time. We stopped by to get Jillian on our way to the hill, and were able to scoop an extra sled there too so we each had one to use instead of needing to take turns having two of us share one.

This was my first time going to the favorite tobogganing hill in Dawn's area of Woodvale, and Rowen and I both thought that it was a lot better than anything we have right in Witch Falls. The hill was about a half-mile wide; the steepest section was about twice as high as the ridge at home; and the longest run was probably close to two hundred yards. They'd gotten a few more inches of snow in Woodvale than we had back home, and the entire hill was now in perfect shape for sledding after getting lots of use over the past forty-eight hours. There were also a lot more kids and teens there too, and we really needed to be careful both on the trips down the hill and while trudging our way back up to the top again.

While most of the kids, teens, and adults were using a wide variety of sleds, there were quite a few teens on snowboards too, though that didn't look to be nearly as fun as snowboarding or skiing is at an actual ski resort. The longest run was also the busiest, so we only went down it a couple of times, and that was a long enough walk back up the hill that at least a rope tow would have been nice to have. Some of Dawn's and Jillian's friends were there too, and we spent some time hanging out with them; though that was mostly while we were all walking uphill or waiting for turns to slide back down again.

When we pretty much couldn't feel our feet anymore, we headed back to Dawn's house; stopping in at Jillian's to drop off her sleds and pick up her overnight bag. She was going out with us for dinner and a movie; and staying for a sleepover. We'd given Mom and Violet enough time for their lessons, and Mom and Dad had gone back to their hotel room to get ready for our night out. Aunt Melissa set us up with cups of hot chocolate and a little snack, but we didn't have much time for that break before we needed to take turns getting ready to go out too.

Aunt Melissa and Violet were taking care of Ethan and Ehlana, but Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I took turns helping out when it was their turn to get ready. The shock of the day so far for me was that Chris and Martin each spent about an hour getting showered and dressed up too. Yes, they really are the same cousins who could get ready for church or dinner at the Inn in less than five minutes – ten if they needed to take a shower too. It was a little scary.

We had to split up when it was time to head over to the restaurant. While it wasn't quite as cool as Chris might have liked, he and Martin had Uncle Rick with them when they left in the SUV to pick up their girlfriends. I'll guess that having their current girlfriends meet the family tonight will be scary for all four of them. Aunt Melissa had Mom's minivan again, and she had the twins, Rowen, and me with her; while Violet took Dawn and Jillian, and went to pick up her two best friends, Ally and Katrina.

This time, Mom, Dad, Grandpa Richard, and Grandma Carrie were all at the restaurant ahead of us; and were seated at the largest of three tables that had been reserved for us. Since we went straight there, though we left the house last by the time we had Ethan and Ehlana buckled in to their car seats, we were five minutes ahead of Violet, and it was nearly fifteen minutes before Uncle Rick joined us with Chris, Martin, and their girls.

There was a fairly lengthy round of introductions, though Chris' girlfriend, Erin, and Martin's girlfriend, Nikki, were the only two people I didn't already know. We worked through that while getting seated; and our servers had already been working on some drink and appetizer orders by then too. Aunt Melissa teased Chris and Martin about having them take care of Ethan and Ehlana during dinner, but put the two teen couples at a table for four. The twins were with Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and me; and Violet, Ally, and Katrina were with the parents and grandparents.

Before I get on with the dinner recap, I'd like to mention that Chris and Martin were acting completely different tonight than what I thought their 'normal' was – even compared to the last time I saw them during the Christmas holidays. Now that I think about it, they weren't acting any differently last night or earlier today either. If this is just date night or new relationship best behavior, Erin and Nikki will eventually be in for a shock; though I guess that assumes they didn't know my cousins before starting to date them. That's one thing that can't really happen with the tweens and teens back home – especially when nearly everyone grows up knowing every potential boyfriend or girlfriend. Anyway, watching Chris and Martin with their girlfriends tonight was more than a little strange, and I was glad that Ethan and Ehlana helped keep me distracted from the weirder moments.

Aunt Melissa and Grandma Carrie had picked out a really nice restaurant, and while Dawn, Jillian, and Rowen weren't feeling like going on a culinary adventure with me, I picked one of the exotic chef specials. I'd still rank the Bistro in Crystal Springs a bit higher, but my meal tonight was very good too. Ethan and Ehlana thought so too when I gave them some to try; and they proceeded to eat more of my entree than they had from their own plates – something that our server thought was both amazing and funny. Whether they went with more normal meal choices or entree specials, everyone in our group seemed to be happy with their dinners. If you're reading this some day in the future, and happen to be related to the Drapers, I'm sorry, but it's only fair for me to admit that the desserts at this restaurant could give Nathan and Hannah some tough competition. How good? Chris and Martin temporarily reverted, and Erin and Nikki watched them each scarf down three desserts. I'm fairly sure that they bring the dessert carts around instead of menus for a good reason; and I'm very glad that the bill for our little family dinner wasn't mine to pay for.

We were at the restaurant for more than two hours, and then most of us moved on to the movie theater. Grandma and Grandpa Rice were taking care of Ethan and Ehlana instead of seeing a movie with us, so they took the minivan and went back to Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa's house to babysit them there while Aunt Melissa took Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I in their car.

I love movie theaters. It's one of the few things I do wish we could do more often than we can living in a small town. There were only a few choices tonight that Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I could go to, and we ended up going with the full-out chick flick option – Safe Haven. Dawn and Jillian needed a little convincing, but we sold them on the fact that the story was written by the same guy that wrote 'The Last Song' and 'The Notebook'. They can always come back to see their first and second choices if they want to; and since I'd read the book, I was a happy camper. It was also weird to have Chris, Martin, and their girlfriends pick the chick flick too. I'd expected them to pick the latest, never let a cash-cow franchise die hard, harder, or any other way, Bruce Willis flick; or possible the Dark Skies alien movie. Of course they could be doing all of this because they've been taken over by aliens, so if that's the case, the second option wouldn't likely interest them anyway.

I won't give anything away for the movie, just in case you, future reader, haven't seen it – even if it's an oldie in your present. Most of us loved the movie, though more than two of the guys only loved the cuddle and/or make-out time with their girls. No, Mom and Dad were not one of the couples making out during the movie, though they did cuddle and share a few kisses. That might have been even scarier than what I wish I hadn't witnessed with Chris, Martin, and their girlfriends, but then I also don't want to think about what my parents are doing right now in their hotel room.

Moving along, we split up after the movie. Mom and Dad went to their hotel; Violet and Uncle Rick made the rounds to drop off Ally, Katrina, Erin, and Nikki; and the rest of us went straight home. Ethan and Ehlana were already in bed and sleeping by then. We put a snack and drinks together, and had that ready by the time Uncle Rick, Violet, and the boys got home too. Chris and Martin must have been holding back at the restaurant and theater, because they demolished the snacks that were put out, and then took bags of chips along when they headed for the living room and some gaming action.

Dawn, Jillian, Rowen, and I helped with the post-snack clean-up; stayed to see Dawn's grandparents off on their way home, and then went to get changed and settled into the family room for our sleepover. Sleep was the operative word for three out of four of us. We started a movie, but I'm the only one still awake, and it hasn't been on for a half hour yet. I started out catching up on email and the usual news and entertainment checks, and once I finish this; I plan on joining them in dreamland.

Before I get to that, there is some family news to report from my email. Elaine Johnson has gone into labor, and is in the hospital. She and Kevin will have a baby brother or sister for Nicole anytime now; and I expect that Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah may be doing a rush trip. I'm sure that Aunt Deborah is particularly excited, since her brother and sister-in-law's new baby will be so close in age to her first child. I'm sure that will be the top family story for tomorrow, and I'll have the details tomorrow night, but that's it for now; and I'm ready to get some sleep, so...

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

Sunday, February 24, 2013

It's a girl! Congratulations, Elaine, Kevin, Nicole, and the rest of the Johnson family!

Robyn Johnson was born at 5:37 this morning; weighing in at 8 pounds, two ounces. Aunt Leanne sent pictures, and Robyn is beautiful, healthy, and both Mom and baby are doing great. We found out later than Uncle Adam confirmed that while they were there; and I'm looking forward to reading his report on Robyn in our Magi Project archive. Edgar and Doreen Johnson didn't try to make the flying round-trip to see their newest great-granddaughter, but Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne went to Rosemont with Grandma Christine, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah. They left first thing this morning, and though I haven't seen them because it's so late; they got home again about an hour ago.

It's been an exciting day for the Johnson family, so my report for today will probably seem boring by comparison. Ethan and Ehlana were up early and wanting my immediate attention, so I started out the day by dealing with a pair of diaper changes. Ethan and Ehlana played on the floor and watched me work through my Tai Chi after that, and then we did another wake-up call for Dawn, Jillian, and Rowen before I left them with the other girls and went upstairs again to take an early turn grabbing a shower.

I helped Aunt Melissa with making breakfast after that – Mom and Dad were on their own until they were supposed to meet us at church. My timing for personally getting ready for the day wasn't very good, since I ended up helping with the clean-up too; but Uncle Rick, Violet, and I had fun while we worked too; and Ethan and Ehlana did a lot of giggling as they supervised us.

Chris and Martin were opposites this morning. Martin was up early and again took extra time getting ready for church while Chris acted exactly as he normally has on every Sunday I've been around him for. I didn't really need the confirmation from Dawn and Jillian to figure out that was because Nikki had recently started going to their church too, and Erin didn't go to any church. Martin may have dragged things out a bit to avoid any kitchen work too, but Chris was barely conscious long enough to eat and get ready to go out the door when it was time to head out.

I was more organized, and even with the cooking and cleaning, I had my bags, and all of Ethan and Ehlana's things, packed and ready to go before we left for church. Mom and Dad, Grandpa Richard and Grandma Carrie, and Jillian's parents, were all at the church already by the time we got there. Thanks mostly to Chris, we didn't have much time until the service started, so the good morning hugs and kisses were quick; and then we went in search of someplace to sit in the sanctuary.

Rowen and I had fun with Dawn and Jillian; and with their friends while we were in Sunday school, but I that tugging sensation from the general direction of home I'd been feeling all weekend seemed stronger while we were at the church. It almost felt as though I could hear our Pastors and praise team; and I definitely missed the usual weekly hugs with my favorite people. The Sunday school classes were all spending at least some time working on their contributions to the upcoming Easter weekend programs, and while Rowen and I couldn't help out with learning the skits or music, we were able to help out with the sets, decorations, and costumes; and we would have been doing things like that at our church too if we'd been home. With just five weeks left until Easter this year; that really isn't much time left to get ready – especially at Dawn and Jillian's church. They told us that half the kids would be away for both March Break Sundays, so they were trying to get nearly everything ready before the holiday.

Time seemed to speed up for a while after church. We all went back to Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa's place – including Jillian's parents and Nikki. Rowen and I were put on the cooking crew because we were leaving for home right after lunch. While we were doing that with most of the women; Dad and Uncle Rick loaded the minivan; and this time, Aunt Melissa provided some entertainment for all of us by putting Chris and Martin in charge of Ethan and Ehlana. The twins confirmed to us later that they definitely played up the normal toddler act because it was funny to watch our cousins try to keep up, but the diaper changes that the boys refused to deal with were not part of the act; and they were both glad that Chris and Martin didn't attempt fumbling their way through getting them cleaned up and dry again.

We spent nearly an hour having lunch together, and then it was time to get on the road for Witch Falls. I wish we didn't live so far away from our cousins, and it's always really hard to say goodbye to Violet, but we also really needed to get going; and Mom and Dad didn't let the goodbyes drag out. I went with Dad for the first half of the drive, and Rowen went with Mom so she could help out if Ethan or Ehlana needed anything. It was smooth sailing to Crystal Springs, and we only made one short stop at Wal-Mart so that Mom could pick up a few supplies before continuing on to Witch Falls. Ethan and Ehlana assured us that they were going to nap for the second half of the drive, so Rowen and I both went with Dad, and kept him entertained with the stories from the last week that we hadn't been able to share with him while we were all busy with everything else that had been going on.

We made good time, and were home with enough time to get the van and truck unloaded and put everything away before we needed to meet up at the Inn with Rowen's parents and brother. The original plan was for Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah to be there too, but not having them there wasn't all bad, since we were able to squeeze in around one table instead of being split up like we normally are.

We got to the Inn before Rowen's parents and brother did, and there weren't many people in the dining room yet for the first buffet. I didn't see Miranda or Stephanie in the main room, so I went back into the kitchen to get hugs and kisses from some of the people I'd missed so much while I was away. I'm sure it was just random chance that Michael was the closest person to me in the kitchen, and I was hugging him before either of us even really thought about it. He hugged me back, and the moment probably lasted at least a few seconds too long; judging by the grins we could see after stepping apart.

Miranda was right there to tease me about that, but I didn't care, and hugged her for a long minute too before moving on to share hugs with Jacob, Jake, Rebecca, Stephanie, and Jenny. By the time I was ready to go out to the dining room again, Michael was really getting razzed by Jake and the other guys, and looked like he was both very happy and mortified. He was already in for a bad night now anyway, so I hugged him again, apologized for putting him in the tweeird zone, and assured him that I wasn't sorry about the hugs because I really had missed him. Then I left the kitchen, and completely ignored the laughs, whistles, and jokes.

Miranda didn't wait long to continue teasing me by starting her round of welcome home hugs with Dad and Ethan before moving on to hug the girls. I was home, was filled up with the warm fuzzies, and just went along with the jokes and had fun. Witch Falls has really felt like my home for quite a while now, but something changed this weekend; and it's just a little different now – and stronger. I'll try to study that a bit, and write about it some more if I figure out why that's happened.

For tonight, though, I was just happy to enjoy another great buffet dinner; spend time with my family and friends; and be home again. We'd needed to rush around a bit to go to the early buffet, but we did that because Dad needed to work in the office to get ready for appointments he has on Monday – or may have. The buzz in the dining room was about the worsening weather forecast for another winter storm to hit us; possibly as early as Monday morning, but currently expected to start in the afternoon. The timing will be the problem; and could mean the difference between a lot of freezing rain and a lot of snow. The good news for us is that whatever happens, we're mostly still ready from the extra work that was done just ahead of the last storm.

I must have been in a very strange place tonight, because I included Michael in my round of goodbye hugs before Mom and Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, and me home; and I mostly did that because I wanted to – and because I knew it would get Jake and the other guys going again. Since Michael hugged me back again, grinned, and didn't look at all upset anymore; I'm sure that he knew exactly why he was getting the bonus hugs.

After getting home, while Dad worked in the office, Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me that also took care of the little bit of storm readiness we did need to do – giving the guest bedrooms and bathrooms a once-over in case we needed them sometime over the next couple of days. We followed that up with the full bath and bedtime routine for the twins; and then I was set free to spend a little quality time with my Jacuzzi. Mandy must have missed me, because she came into the bathroom with me while I was in the tub. We talked while I soaked and got started on my usual school night studies. I did my archive assignment while having my bath; did my hair and got ready for bed; and I've been cuddling in bed with Mandy for the last couple of hours while doing my language studies and the usual nightly computer checks.

It's been a long day, and I've wound down enough to be able to sleep now, so I'm going to wrap this up and call it a night. The forecast is still looking rough as of my last check, and tomorrow could be a very interesting day.

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

Monday, February 25, 2013

The next big snowstorm has finally arrived as I write this, but we only had a dusting of snow and rain late in the afternoon; and the snow didn't start falling again until late evening. If we get as much snow as they're forecasting by morning, it's a safe bet that we'll get a snow day – something that every kid and teen at school is hoping for.

Since the storm was taking its sweet time getting here today, it was school as normal today. After being away for the weekend, we had a lot of catching up to do with our friends, and the Maple Valley Winter Festival was the top story for most of them. Rowen teased me about being too busy hugging Michael last night to find out that he and Tim had taken Lisa and Nora to the festival on Saturday; getting a ride out there from Jake and Stephanie. It sounded like they all had a fun day, and that probably went a long way toward saving Michael from ending up in the girlfriend doghouse after my little hugging incidents with him made the gossip network rounds.

That didn't keep me from being on the receiving end of a frosty cold front that was definitely chillier than anything this storm will throw at us over the next twelve or eighteen hours. I didn't help my case with Lisa and her best friends by having fun all day; smiling a lot; and playing along with the jokes that Tim and some of the other guys threw at me. It still isn't much fun having some of my friends upset with me, but the tween drama is a lot easier for me to deal with now; and I have every intention of continuing to be myself, have fun, and not worry about all of that anymore.

There was extra homework for us today, and most of the bonus assignments were for our Day Two classes. Mrs. Warren passed all of that along to us, including the homework from other teachers, so they were obviously expecting a snow day tomorrow too. That wasn't a problem for Rowen and I – we just added a little Magi power to our after-school study session; and were still finished everything with lots of time to play.

Mom hadn't been playing while we were at school. She'd dropped Ethan and Ehlana off for the morning at KidZone daycare; done a grocery and supply run; and then she'd spent the afternoon on some family business work with Miranda, having a travel plans meeting with Grandma Emerson and some of the volunteers; and keeping up with Ethan and Ehlana. That's the main reason why Rowen and I stayed indoors after getting our homework done instead of going out for a little sledding action. We played with Ethan and Ehlana in my room and the lounge so that Mom would have a chance to do some work in the office before cooking dinner.

Our play time included a music practice; some cartoon action; a long telepathic chat that Mandy was in on too; and a short, Magi-powered video game match. When Rowen needed to head home, I helped Mom in the kitchen, and Ethan and Ehlana supervised. Aunt Leanne stopped in on her way home from work mostly so she could tease me about the Sunday night hugs with Michael; though she also had more pictures of Robyn Johnson, and a few stories about their trip. She'd needed to get home and get a few things done in case their house was needed for any storm-related emergencies, so she didn't stay long before heading out again.

Dad had come home at the same time Aunt Leanne had stopped in, and we were able to sit down for dinner a bit earlier than usual. He was expecting a snow day tomorrow too, but still spent most of the evening working in the office just in case he and Aunt Leanne were able to open the office in the morning. I'm hoping they don't if school is cancelled. Shoveling all of that snow during the last storm wasn't so much fun that I'd like to do that much work this time.

While he was busy in the office, Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; we had a little play time; and then I came up to my room to get an early start on my nightly computing and studies. That really just ended up giving me more time to work, and if we do have any power outage issues with the storm, I'm far enough ahead of my study plan for this week to take a night or two off if needed.

Whatever Mother Nature ends up throwing at us, I should probably wrap this up and get some sleep if I want to be ready to deal with it, so...

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

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Yes, we have a SNOW DAY!

We also had another power outage emergency too, and I didn't end up getting much sleep before waking up at around five-thirty when I sensed or heard Mom and Dad moving around. I got up and dressed appropriately to work outdoors. Mom was in the kitchen when I got downstairs, and Dad was outside already; shoveling his way out to the generator so he could get it fired up. A fire was already started in the living room fireplace; and Mom was getting things ready for incoming while waiting for the generator to kick in.

Dad was going to need to get his truck going to help pick up everyone in town needing someplace warm to go until the power was fixed, so after I hugged Mom and got the update; I grabbed my coat, gloves, and boots; and headed outside to start shoveling the driveway. We already had maybe five or six inches by then – it was hard to tell with the blowing and drifting. It was also really heavy, and I was making very slow progress when Dad joined me. The work went a lot faster after that, and I mostly cleaned up behind Dad as he dug in and threw shovels full of snow in a steady, unbroken rhythm. We joked about easier ways we might be able to do the work if only we could apply a little Magi power to the job, but speed shoveling or auto-cleaning driveways and sidewalks would just be too hard to explain; and the Magi council has apparently already ruled on those kinds of requests several times over the last couple of centuries.

We concentrated on getting the driveway cleared from his truck to the road first, and then he cleaned off his truck and headed out for his first pickup while I started on the sidewalk to the front porch next. I had that done, and was taking a break in the kitchen with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana when he dropped off George and Madeline Morris and their two kids, Natalie and Mike. Natalie will be two in March, and will be a future classmate of Ethan's and Ehlana's; and Mikey is about five months old – and the main reason why they were near the top of the transportation list this year.

Thanks to our incoming guests, I quickly had some snow support after that. George Morris helped me for a while, and then Philip Seager joined us outside after getting Liz and Naomi into the house. We had Mom's van, and most of the rest of the driveway dug out by the time that Tammy Morris, her brother, and parents were dropped off; and Jeff and his Dad relieved us so we could rest up and get some breakfast. By then, there was enough more snow for them to start the whole process over again; with close to two more inches on the ground.

Being twelve now has definitely changed things for me since my experience with 'the storm' my first winter here. The good news is that I had Tammy for company, and once our last group of guests – Alicia Jennings, and her parents and brother – joined us; we were mostly given the easiest outdoor jobs. We kept the sidewalks and porches cleared; helped at the unloading end of the firewood delivery line; and took a couple of turns babysitting Ethan, Ehlana, and the other toddlers.

Mom had lots of help with making meals, and that's when we had most of our guests in the house. The snow started to taper off by mid-morning, and after that, most of the guys were out and around town helping out with whatever work needed to be done. There was a giant pot of stew ready for everyone by lunchtime, along with variety trays full of sandwiches; hot drinks; snack sides; and Olde Bakery desserts. Tammy and I helped out with the kids while we ate; stayed for the clean-up; and then we were set free for the afternoon so we could go and play with our friends.

We met up with Rowen first, and then invited Rebecca to join us before heading for the toboggan hill. The Stones had some guests too, so we ended up collecting extra kids, and I stopped in at home again to help out with getting some extra sleds. Some of the guys, including Michael, started a snowball fight while we were still in my yard, and that delayed us for quite a while as we chased each other around the yard and tossed snowballs at each other.

Once we finally made it to the hill, I expected to be wading through deep snow after each run, but there'd already been a lot of kids playing there already, and as long as we stayed on the beaten path, the slope was in perfect condition for both the sliding and the return walk. With the extra kids and teens, we didn't have enough sleds for everyone; so we paired or tripled up with the bigger toboggans. Rowen and I used hers, and that was fine with both of us until she decided to lose her mind for a few moments and pull an Aunt Leanne.

Timing is everything too, and she couldn't have picked a worse time to prank me by getting Michael to sit on her sled behind me before shoving both of us down the hill. There's even a chance that Mother Nature was in on the conspiracy too. I knew what was happening the moment Michael sat behind me; put his arms around my waist; and stretched his legs out against mine. We were both laughing, and our run was great – right up until the point where we blasted past the well-packed area where most sleds had been stopping; and plowed into the deep snow beyond. We didn't crash, but we were pretty much buried to our waists.

If you guessed that was when Lisa reached the hill with a group of friends and other kids and teens; give yourself a pat on the back. Michael still has his arms wrapped around my waist; we're laughing our heads off; buried in snow; and since his hands were under the snow too, that probably didn't look good at all to his girlfriend. The whole scene turned into a comedy sketch after that, though certain spectators were not at all amused. Getting out of the snow wasn't easy. I needed to stand first; helped Michael to get up too; and then he slipped on the sled and I ended up on my back; buried in snow again; with Michael on top of me.

I know, but it was funny, and I couldn't help but laugh about it. That was also when I saw Lisa at the top of the hill as I looked to see how many witnesses there'd been to that little moment. Laughing harder didn't help my case with her, and advising Michael that his girlfriend was not currently amused with us only helped to keep the comedy going. In his defense, he was only trying to help after knocking me over, but putting his arms around me to help me up probably looked a lot like hugging, and keeping an arm around my waist as we waded back out of the deeper snow didn't have gone over any better with Lisa.

Could we have been lucky enough for that to be the end of it? Of course not!

By the time we were back on snowy-firma, Lisa was on her way down the hill toward us. I'm sure she didn't intend to run into us, and definitely wasn't happy when I ended up in the snow again with Michael on top of me after he pulled us both out of the way of her sled at the last moment. Again, laughing about it didn't help; but we both laughed anyway. Since I wasn't buried this time, I was able to get up easily enough, and though I didn't really want to leave Michael to take all of the heat; we both knew that staying to defend him would have only made things worse. Instead, I grabbed Rowen's sled and headed up the hill.

I took a moment to bean my best friend with a snow ball while she laughed at me unapologetically, and then we went back to our sledding; and tried to stay out of Michael and Lisa's way while we continued to play and have fun with our friends. Since we saw Lisa eventually laughing an having fun too, Michael must have worked things out with her, but I still got icy glares whenever I made eye contact with Lisa; and Michael looked like he was trying not to grin or laugh whenever I looked at him.

By four o'clock, I was ready to go home and get warmed up. It was almost four-thirty by the time I made it into the house after walking home; putting sleds away and saying goodbye to Rowen, Rebecca, and most of the other girls and boys who had come back with us. Michael and Lisa were not in that group for some reason. Tammy was still hanging out with some friends, so I was on my own when I went inside.

Mom and Dad already had dinner cooking going on in the kitchen, and lots of help, so I sat at the table after getting a cup of hot chocolate; and gave them the afternoon update. I spent a lot of the next couple of hours in the kitchen. Most of the 'kids' had dinner there while the parents and older teens were in the dining room. The hour-long clean-up that followed kept all of the teens and tweens busy, and that was mostly because the power started coming back online again. That had the Dads heading out to start checking on houses and making sure everything would be fine at home before moving any of the younger kids again.

I would have loved doing a storm night sleepover, but within a couple of hours, all of our guests were ready to go home again; and this little snow emergency ended up feeling like a big family and friends party day instead of a major bonding event. Despite not having any overnight guests, there was still a fair bit of clean-up work to do once Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were on our own again; and Dad was still out driving people around town. I have no idea how many showers were taken, but there was a lot of laundry just from that, plus some nap time bedding, and our usual laundry that hadn't gotten done during the day. I helped with that; cleaned the guest bathrooms; and Mom and I tag-teamed taking care of Ethan and Ehlana.

Dad didn't have any work to do after finally getting home, but by then, we only really had time to do the bedtime snack and story with Ethan and Ehlana before they were tucked in for the night; and then Mom decided that she and Dad needed to have an early bedtime. They didn't go to sleep anytime soon after I was sent up to my room for the night, but let's not go there.

I was in need of some Jacuzzi time by then anyway, so that was the first order of business; but I multi-tasked while in the tub too. Next up was a little computer chat with my best friend. She still isn't even remotely sorry for setting me up for that little sledding incident with Michael, and was happy to have another few laughs while reminding me of the highlights – not that my photographic memory will let me forget anyway. Yes, I had fun with it, but could have done without all of the tweeird that we ended up having too.

Let's not think about Michael and I buried in snow with his arms and legs wrapped around me either and move along. Rowen and I chatted for nearly an hour, but I did some archive reading too, and decided to skip the language lessons tonight. That only left this and my nightly email, news, sports, and entertainment checks to deal with after I finished doing my hair and climbed into bed with Mandy. There isn't anything new to report from around the family; and not really much email to deal with either. Though we could get another inch or more of snow overnight, it looks like school will be back on again tomorrow, and most, if not all, businesses will be open again too.

Rowen and I didn't have our usual after-school work shifts today, but we're still having our usual play time tomorrow so we can take advantage of the snow while we have it around to enjoy. I can always add some family business work to my bedtime computing, or do a bit extra on the weekend. We'll just play that by ear this week. I'm going to wrap this up now and try to get some sleep; but I may need to not think of entire fields full of soft, cuddly bunnies to get there from where I'm at now.

Make that snowy hills full of soft, cuddling – I mean cuddly – bunnies.

This is all your fault, Rowen Emerson!

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

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Dad and I started out our day with more snow shoveling instead of Tai Chi, but it was a lot easier to deal with today; and we even managed to have a little fun while we worked.

Mom took care of Ethan and Ehlana, and had a hot cereal breakfast ready for us by the time we were finished, and after cleaning the kitchen; it was time to hit the showers and get ready for work and school.

Despite the sledding incident yesterday, there wasn't really any tweeird for me to deal with today. Lisa didn't really talk to me at all, and definitely kept an eye on Michael and me during music class; but we stayed out of trouble, and at least that part of my day was uneventful. We were all kept really busy in our classes, and though the two snow storms hadn't actually affected our Day One classes; our teachers still seemed to feel the need to work us a little harder to make up for the lost days. The school was practically empty during lunchtime – at least once everyone had eaten. Even some of our teachers came outside to play for a while; and nearly every kid and teen was in the school yard, even if they were only there to watch the action and chat with friends.

I was trying to balance having fun with staying out of the tweeird zone, so Rowen and I decided to help some younger girls with a little snow castle building. We helped them defend it during a snowball attack from some of the boys their ages; and then we went inside a few minutes early so we'd have enough time to de-snow ourselves before going to our first afternoon class.

Keeping my day tweeird-free wasn't a problem after school – Michael was working at the Inn. Rowen and I did our after school snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; got our homework out of the way; and then we took the twins out for a little snow play time in the back yard. The deep snow wasn't quite as much fun for them today, and they were ready to go in after about twenty minutes or so. After helping Mom to get them out of their snowsuits, Rowen and I grabbed our sleds and headed for the toboggan hill. There was already a gang of kids and teens there, and the fun was in full swing. The snow was getting packed down farther out along the bottom of the ridge now, so the runs were longer – and so was the walk back up the hill. We were out there for about an hour before we were cold enough to decide that it was time to head home again.

Rowen was staying for dinner and a Magi lesson, so we made up cups of hot chocolate after getting home, and helped Mom with making dinner until Dad got home too. The next few hours were fairly entertaining. Mom and Dad had a lot of snowstorm stories from around town to pass on to us during dinner; Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and I all had a blast (not literally) with our Magi lesson; and Rowen and I even had time for a music practice before she needed to head home. I helped Mom with giving Ethan and Ehlana their baths after Rowen left; we did the bedtime snack and story with Dad in the office; and I've been in my room since tucking my brother and sister in for the night.

Since I was in bed early, I used the extra time for a little family business work, and then moved on to my usual studies and nightly computer checks. There isn't anything particularly interesting to report from any of the work I've been doing since climbing into bed with Mandy, and I'm pretty much ready to crash now anyway, so...

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

Thursday, February 28, 2013

I hadn't really thought about it, but we've missed two Day Two schedule school days because of snow – even those of us in town that had a half-day last Thursday didn't really do any new work while our country classmates were home. That meant that it was make-up time today; and will be again tomorrow for our bi-weekly Day Two Friday.

With our teachers keeping us busy, the fun level was a bit lower than usual. Michael met up with Rowen and I for our lunchtime music practice, and we knew that continued to irritate Lisa, but other than looking in to the music room while wandering by a couple of times and continuing to give me the cold shoulder; she seemed to be getting along fine with Michael all day; and we didn't have any personal tweeird moments – while we were at school.

Rowen and I were both back to our usual Tuesday-Thursday after school jobs, so I only stopped in at the computer store long enough for a little chat with her parents before going home; grabbing a snack and drink to go; and heading into the office to get started on my family business work. I did my homework at high speed too before stopping for dinner, but that really didn't take long; and my job was definitely more interesting.

I'm not tired of winter yet or anything, but working on projects to get ready for summer retail and manufacturing had me thinking about long, hot summer days even though we still have three and a half months or so to go before summer holidays. Talking about that, and other family business issues, ended up being a big part of our dinner conversation, and though that might not be most twelve-year old kids' idea of fun; it was for me. We're dealing with a lot of challenges that can vary quite a bit in different countries and regions; and even with our special abilities, it's still a lot of work to our businesses the way we want them operated and be successful too.

Since I'd worked in the office right through until dinnertime, I was drafted for the clean-up crew of two; and Dad and I took care of that little chore while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana got ready to go out to the Inn for game night. Aunt Leanne had been too busy to spend any time with me over the past couple of days, so when we met up with her and Uncle Adam in the dining room at the Inn; she was ready to go with an ongoing litany of jokes about my recent snow adventures with Michael. She added in a healthy dose of hugging comments and offers; and wrapped up the night with a discussion about why neither Michael nor I were able to win the junior championship with Lisa or Rowen this week. Rowen found everything Aunt Leanne was doing and saying very funny, but Lisa was far from amused.

I didn't make things any easier for myself with Lisa, but I had fun with the whole thing. Trying to defend myself or Michael was a bad tactic, so I mostly just teased Aunt Leanne right back. Suggesting that Uncle Adam might need a new game night partner because his was too busy with extra-curricular entertainment to concentrate on the games earned some laughs, and so did my suggestions for possible replacements. Grandma Eleanor is younger than Aunt Leanne now, so adding some youth to his team might be just what Uncle Adam needs to get back to winning senior championships again. Baby and pregnancy-related counter-jokes were mostly a hit too, but at best our little comedy contest was a draw; and I'd say that Aunt Leanne had a slight edge if only because she was far more determined than I was.

At least Mom and Dad didn't have to deal with similar jokes – they won the senior championship tonight, though they gave credit for that to Ethan and Ehlana for successfully distracting all of their opponents while they were busy playing to win. Aunt Leanne attempted to have a little more fun with Michael and me before we went home, but Mom and Dad saved us from that by deciding to take Ethan, Ehlana, and me home right after the championships were announced instead of staying with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam after she volunteered to help with the clean-up. I was glad to have the out – especially when Lisa made it obvious that she was not leaving her boyfriend with any opportunities to get into more tween trouble. I really hope that Aunt Leanne didn't do anything after we left that I'll regret tomorrow.

The rest of the night has been all about studying for me. Dad had work to get done in the office, but Mom was just putting Ethan and Ehlana straight to bed, so other than taking a few minutes to help her with that; I've been working in my room since getting home. A little keyboard practice wasn't part of my study plan, but I did that for a half hour anyway when I needed a little break between my work in the archives and on my language lessons and practice.

Even with the short school week, I'm looking forward to the weekend – and some more quality snow play time with my friends. That's going to make for a fun first weekend of March – I didn't really even notice until now that February officially became history hours ago now. With my little musical interlude, I've stayed up working a bit too late, so I'm going to wrap this up and get started on my not-very-long winter's nap.

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

March 2013

Friday, March 1, 2013

I'm fired up right now, and writing this in Magi-powered mode because Rowen and I need to get to sleep so we'll be ready for an early morning wake-up call.

We're going snowboarding in the morning!

That's also why our day at school was so awesome – Dillon invited us to go before first class. He and Violet talked about spending the day at the Blue Ridge Ski Center with Jake and Stephanie; and then started inviting other friends and relatives. Jake and Stephanie will have a full van if Lisa and Nora get approval to go along with Michael and Tim, so Dillon decided to drive too, and he'll have us, and Cal Jennings, with him. Josiah Palmer will have a van load too, and there will probably be one more group going along too; though I haven't heard any details about that tonight.

Rowen and I weren't the first in our class to put the ski trip news onto the gossip network – Tim did that. We also didn't have parental approval until after school, but earned mixed reactions from our classmates when they found out we'd been invited. I'm sure that you can guess how happy Lisa was about that, and it didn't matter that our invitation had come from my cousin and her boyfriend. There were a few bonus points for getting to spend the day with a bunch of high school seniors, and at least a couple of the boys were a little jealous. Rowen and I mostly ignored all of that, and enjoyed some snow chat and planning when we had time in between classes.

We sent our Moms the request by email this morning so they'd have time to discuss it instead of getting the news as an after-school shock, and it wasn't a surprise to find out that our travel request had been approved by the time we stopped in at the computer store. Mom and Dad were hosting a dinner and a movie night, so we got approval for the sleepover at my house too, plus a bonus sleepover at Rowen's tomorrow night after we get home again. With all of that decided, we spent some time at Rowen's house getting an overnight bag packed; her snow gear put together; and a second bag she'd need for our trip and day on the slopes.

Once we'd hauled her gear over to my place, we collected Ethan and Ehlana; and took them with us for a little run to the bank and to pick up some Olde Bakery treats and grocery store snacks and drinks to take with us too. Dillon was being nice enough to drive us all the way there and back, so we thought the least we could do is provide the drinks and munchies. Some of our supplies needed to be put away or refrigerated until morning, so we took care of that after getting home again; packed what could be put into bags right away; and then came up to the lounge to get our homework out of the way before dinner. Only a few people would actually believe us, but we had Ethan and Ehlana help us out with the studying just for fun – after all, they are expecting to be finished Grade Ten by the start of March Break now; so our Grade Seven work is easy for them!

Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Nick were here in time to help Mom with making dinner, so we – the kids – were free to do our own thing until Uncle Adam and Aunt Deborah joined us after closing the clinic for the night. Our impending ski trip earned first spot on the dinner conversation list, and Aunt Leanne teased me a bit about potential snow incidents with Michael, but she was more focused on Aunt Grace's and Mark's wedding plans tonight; and spent most of the time talking about that with Mom and Aunt Deborah. It's hard to believe that we're already down to just about four months to go, and the main reason they were having what amounted to a wedding planning dinner meeting was because Aunt Leanne is meeting Aunt Grace, Grandma Mercy, and Aunt Alison in Crystal Springs to pick out bridal party gowns; have another planning meeting; and do a little recreational shopping. I've pretty much been out of the loop for almost all of the wedding planning, but from everything I heard tonight; Aunt Leanne has pretty much everything on the Witch Falls end of things under control and ahead of schedule.

Rowen and I were on the cleanup crew with 'the men', while pregnant women, Moms, and toddlers were exempt – though Ethan stayed in the kitchen with us to supervise. By the time we had that done, Aunt Leanne had wrapped up the wedding planning for the night; and we all sat down to watch our movie. That ended up being an hour and a half of wind down time for the adults in the room, and by the end of the show; my aunts were ready to let their husbands take them home to bed. The clean-up and goodbyes didn't take very long, and then Rowen and I had some more trip preparation to do while Mom and Dad got Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed. We sat in on their bedtime story; helped tuck them in; and then came up to my room again to get ready for bed.

The last thing we did before I started my nightly computing was to do a little Magi experiment. Rowen's never been skiing or snowboarding before, but I've gone skiing a few times with Mom, and tried snowboarding once, while we had our little hideout in the mountains. Our experiment was in telepathic, full sensory, virtual memory transmission. Basically, Rowen got to experience skiing and snowboarding through my photographic memory. We'll find out tomorrow if that helps her skip some of the bumps and bruises that normally go along with the beginner's learning curve. She's a bit worried about it, but I think even Rowen sometimes forgets that she's always been a straight A+ student in Phys-Ed, like she is in every subject; and she's a very talented athlete.

I think we're going to have fun with that tomorrow, but that's all I have for tonight. It's still early compared to my usual weeknight bedtime, but Rowen and I need to be up by no later than five, and Dillon's picking us up by six, so we need to add the extra nap hours to this end of the night. Thanks to Aunt Leanne, I'm feeling the need to not think about soft, cuddly bunnies. I really hope it works!

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

Saturday, March 2, 2013

We're back, and Rowen and I had an amazing day!

I was a lot more fired up when I got out of bed and hit the shower at a quarter to five this morning than Rowen was when she got my five a.m. wake-up bounce and hug. Mandy wasn't impressed either, but has probably forgiven me by now. Rowen had a shower too while I finished doing my hair and got dressed; and then we had a little hair play time for her too before we both hurried downstairs to grab a breakfast snack and finish getting our bags and snow gear ready to go. Mom and Dad got up to see us off, but Ethan and Ehlana stayed sleeping; and hopefully they all got an extra couple of hours of down time before getting up for the day.

Dillon was early too; and we didn't need to guess that was because he was fired up about spending the day with Violet. He already had Cal with him, so we quickly loaded our gear into the car, and hopped over to the Stone's house; where we were meeting up with the other groups before heading for the highway. Josiah Palmer was there already; and had his brother, sister, Erica and Mitch Bassett, and Carolyn Landry with him. Jake, Michael, and Tim had their gear loaded in their van already; Stephanie had stayed overnight, and joined us outside a few minutes after we got there. The fourth group was all Grade Eleven or Twelve 'country' teens, and they pulled up to the curb at exactly six o'clock. Rowen and I really only know Cody Carter very well out of that group, and we didn't spend any time with them today except for when we were all getting our equipment rentals and when we met up again to head home.

Lisa and Nora were each dropped off by a sleepy-looking parent; and we were on the road by six-oh-five. Josiah was apparently the driver most familiar with the route, so he led out, and Jake and Dillon were in spots three and four. Dillon, Cal, Rowen, and I talked together for a while, but eventually, the two boys carried on their own conversation; and left Rowen and I to entertain ourselves. We made one stop in Crystal Springs for a washroom break and to pick up a fast food breakfast to go; and then pushed on the rest of the way to the ski center. It was just after nine when we got there, and Violet had beaten us to the parking lot by fifteen minutes. That's when Rowen and I found out that Chris and Martin had come along too; and brought Ally and Katrina with them. Five in Violet's car was a bit crowded, but two out of three of the back-seaters didn't seem to have minded the enforced cuddle time. I didn't expect to see much of Chris, Martin, or their girlfriends today either; and we really only saw them a handful of times when we were in the same lines waiting for lifts.

The lifts were already running by then, but it was nearly ten o'clock by the time we'd picked up our lift tickets; had our rental gear; and were either ready for our first runs or lessons. Rowen and I were part of the group taking an introductory lesson; and our instructor started working with us as soon as we were ready. About half of our group – including Michael, Lisa, Tim, and Nora – were with us for the lesson, and over the next hour; some of us did quite a bit better than others. We were set free by eleven, and Rowen and I went out on our own so we could explore some of the other runs; and test the limits of our fledgling snowboarding skills.

We both think that our little Magi experiment helped out a lot, but Rowen was even more surprised than I was to find out that she's a natural; has more than a little dash of thrill-seeker in her; and doesn't show even a hint of shy or quiet when she's flying down a hill on a snowboard. We were racing down intermediate runs by noon, and taking some fairly impressive jumps before taking a lunch break at one-thirty. The food was nothing to write about, except for the Olde Bakery desserts we'd brought with us; so the only part of lunchtime worth mentioning was the chat we had with Dillon, Violet, Jake, and Stephanie as they were finishing their lunch. They were the only teens from our group that we saw while we were in the dining hall, but we met up with Michael, Lisa, Tim, and Nora when we lined up for the double chair lift closest to the main ski center building.

Here's where I have to admit that Rowen and I spent some quality time showing off. We probably shouldn't have, but Tim started shooting his mouth off, as he occasionally does, and we didn't need anything more than a glance to agree that we weren't going to let him keep on thinking he and Michael were now Witch Falls' greatest gift to snowboarding in the history of the town. Tim was even nice enough to help us with the set-up for the fall off of his self-promoted pedestal by agreeing to have the four of them go first so he and Michael could show us how it's done.

The two boys were actually pretty good. They each did three jumps on the way down that, at least briefly, had them airborne. Lisa and Nora seemed to be doing okay, but didn't try to keep up with the boys; and definitely didn't try any jumps. Nora fell once, and took Lisa out in the process; but that was more like a messy stop than a major wipe-out. Rowen and I waited until Michael and Tim reached the bottom; exchanged excited grins; and then Rowen took the lead while I followed about twenty feet behind her.

Jump number one was a warm-up with big air and one-eighty front-to-back spins – Rowen's choice. Next up, about half-way down, we followed that up with a pair of three-sixties. The last jump was seriously unfair, and we really shouldn't have done it, but we must've looked amazing doing side-by-side, back-to-front five-forties.

Yes, it may have been wrong, but it was also so worth it! All four of our classmates were staring at us open-mouthed, but it was Tim's expression that was so priceless. He was taking turns looking at Rowen and me as if he'd never really even seen us before now. Maybe, in a way, he hadn't. Michael looked impressed, but not shocked, and Lisa and Nora seemed to be trying to decide if they were impressed or annoyed with us.

The other girls made it abundantly clear that Rowen and I should go our own way again, and we really tried to do that; but I'm sure that Michael and Tim were trying just as hard to meet back up with us again whenever they could nudge Lisa and Nora so they'd all end up at the same lifts we were at – even if we started on different runs.

Maybe Rowen's flaming red hair kept giving us away. ;^)

The boys might not have noticed, but I'm sure that the warm-up break that Lisa and Nora took was directly related to one too many meet-ups with Rowen and me. Staying out on the slopes without them wasn't a good idea, but to be honest; Rowen, Michael, Tim, and I had a blast doing a couple of high-speed, high-flying runs together before I advised them that they were about one run away from being in deep girlfriend trouble. They wisely decided to meet up with Lisa and Nora again; and we didn't see them again until after dinner.

I should mention that we had perfect weather all day – sunny skies, and the temperature was right around freezing most of the day. Rowen and I stopped for dinner at six, but only took a half-hour break before getting back out on the slopes again. Blue Ridge only has a dozen runs, and we'd been on all of them at least several times each by then, but snowboarding at night added a whole new dimension; and being on the slopes at night was all-new for both of us.

So was snowboarding at night with Michael and Tim after they tracked us down at around seven-thirty.

Lisa and Nora had hit their winter fun limit for the day; had turned in their rentals; and were going to wander around the ski shop and then hang out in the dining hall to wait for everyone to meet up again for the trip home at nine o'clock. Skiing together again was probably another really bad idea, but that last hour and change was also the most fun we'd had all day too – and Rowen and I had been having an awesome day already! I can also report that there weren't any up-close-and-personal snow moments tonight, but we did share some really cool snowboarding runs, jumps, and tricks before it was time to return our equipment; get changed; and meet up with the rest of our group.

I'm not sure if Michael and Tim were in trouble with their girlfriends by then or not, but there wasn't any doubt about that for Rowen and me. The snowboarding was bad enough, but apparently I shouldn't have picked out soft, comfortable sweaters for Rowen and I to wear for the drive home; and bouncing around excitedly while sharing some hugs and kisses with some of my favorite teens was inappropriate when we were more than sixteen hours into a long, busy day.

Lisa and Nora hadn't been the only members of our group to wrap up their snow fun early. Violet and Dillon had spent some quality time saying goodbye to each other; probably in a mostly non-verbal sort of way. That helped to make it easier to part ways when we were ready to leave; and we were all on the road for Woodvale or Witch Falls by a quarter after nine. We repeated the washroom break and fast food pick-up in Crystal Springs; staying together in case we had any problems or break-downs. It was smooth sailing all the way, and Dillon dropped Rowen and I off first at her house by twenty after twelve. Yes, the boys may have set the cruise control a bit over the speed limit; but they were still barely keeping up with the traffic flow on the main highways.

Hopefully Aunt Leanne won't give me a hard time if she watched me give Dillon a big goodnight and thank-you hug before he and Cal left and Rowen and I went inside. I'm sure she'll have enough to tease me about once she hears about our trip. Rowen's parents were waiting up for us, but admitted that they'd napped on the living room sofa for a while until they heard us pull into the driveway. We did a mini-report with them before we all headed up to bed. Patrick had Scott staying overnight too, but if they'd planned on bugging us tonight; they hadn't been able to stay awake to spring their pranks or jokes on us.

Rowen and I got changed and into bed, and I've only been on my computer to check my email; let Violet know we're home safely; and write up this journal entry. We've been having a little girl chat time too, since we couldn't do that in the car with Dillon and Cal; and while Rowen wasn't bouncing around tonight like I was; she's still really fired up and wired for sound.

For her, the snowboarding talent was incredible, but she's as excited about having Michael, Tim, and quite a few other boys around our age actually take serious notice of her for a change. She wants me to add that I was getting noticed by those boys too, but since we're not on the same side of the crossed-over line; that doesn't have nearly the same impact on me as it does on her. I am really glad that she's feeling so great about that – it's about time that some of the guys started noticing just how extraordinary my best friend is.

We're not ready to sleep yet, but I'm going to end this here; put my computer away; and get serious about winding down. It's going on one-thirty, and if Rowen needs to keep talking about boys for much longer; I may need to not dream about a lot of soft, fluffy(not cuddly) bunnies to have any hope of a peaceful few hours of sleep.

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

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Today is the second anniversary of the day Rowen and I found out that we were both Magi. We couldn't exactly celebrate the occasion around her parents, Patrick, and Scott; but we still shared a quiet, happy moment when I woke Rowen up after finishing my Tai Chi exercise.

It wasn't long after that when Patrick and Scott started doing their very best to make up for missing out on bugging Rowen and me last night, but even their antics couldn't keep us from having fun; and we were still fired up as we got ready for church and had breakfast. If I'd had time and opportunity to do it, I should have made up some memory-videos and pictures of Rowen's snowboarding; since the two younger boys refused to believe that she'd been as awesome as I assured them she had been. We suggested that they ask Michael, Tim, Lisa, Nora, or some of the other teens who had seen us on the slopes about it, but I don't know if they did that or not while we were at church.

Even with some bonus hair styling fun, we managed to be at the church early, and had to wait to meet up with Mom, Dad, and the twins. Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam barely made it before the service started, and I had extra, gentle hugs for Aunt Leanne after finding out that they were running behind because she'd been dealing with a tough bout of morning sickness. So far, that hadn't been too serious for her; and we were all hoping that her first trimester would be more like Aunt Deborah's than Mom's was with the twins.

Pastor Lewis was doing the sermon today, and though Rowen and I were in Sunday school with the rest of the kids and teens; we always knew when one of the Pastors were on a roll because our lessons would be finished long before the church service ended. That wasn't a problem today, since that just gave us extra time to work on getting everything ready for Easter. When we were eventually set free, Rowen and I met up with our parents, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam, and started making plans for the afternoon.

Dad had done all of his job work while I was away, so he was taking the day off. Aunt Leanne still wasn't feeling very good, so she and Mom decided to have lunch together; and then Uncle Adam was going to take Aunt Leanne home to relax and have a do-nothing rest of the day. The Emersons already had lunch plans, but they agreed to some play time with us after that, and dinner at our house, so by the time we left the church; we had our play day game plan. I needed to go home with Rowen first so I could grab my bags and snow gear. She helped me carry everything to my house, and I had everything put away or in my room by the time Mom and Dad had our soup and sandwiches lunch ready.

Aunt Leanne really wasn't feeling well, and barely ate anything. That was as tough to take as it had been with Mom, and I even missed having her tease me about Michael when she couldn't manage more than a couple of mild zingers while hearing about my snowboarding adventures. Uncle Adam took her home as soon as we were finished lunch, and I was drafted to help with the clean-up. We'd finished that, and had been taking a break in the living room for a while when Rowen came over again with her parents, brother, and Scott in tow.

It's been another nice day, and a bit warmer, so we decided to start our play afternoon with a trip to the toboggan hill for some sledding action. There were quite a few parents out playing with their kids this afternoon, and Ethan and Ehlana loved their first experience sliding down the hill on sleds with Mom, Dad, Rowen, or me. Patrick and Scott spent as much time trying to goad Rowen and I into snowball fights as they did tobogganing; and had both some of their friends and our classmates willing to help out with that mission. That was good for them, but not as good as having our Moms and Dads on our side was for Rowen and me. We played there for nearly an hour and a half before Ethan and Ehlana were ready to go home, and we were all ready for some hot drinks and Olde Bakery snacks.

We had our little break in the kitchen, and then went upstairs to my room and the lounge. Patrick and Scott talked Dad and Owen into a video game competition that Ethan went with them to watch while Rowen and I had a music practice in my room. Mom, Patricia, and Ehlana took turns trying to play the flute, saxophone, and keyboard with varying success; and that kept all of us entertained for most of the time we had left before the parents headed downstairs again to start making dinner.

That next hour was fairly challenging for Rowen and me. Patrick and Scott went into full goof mode while we were unsupervised; and had a non-stop repertoire of pranks and gags to throw at us. Ethan and Ehlana were playing normal toddlers, and that unfortunately included giggling a lot at the boys' antics; helping to egg them on to try even harder to bug us. Thankfully, the dinner bell eventually saved us; and we actually had a reasonably quiet, fun meal together. Rowen and her parents helped out with the cleanup, and then headed home for the night with Patrick and Scott; though Scott's parents would be reclaiming him soon.

It was quiet here on the home front after that. Mom and Dad both worked through a Magi lesson with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; we watched a little television; did the full bath and bedtime routine with the twins; and then I was set free to come up to my room for some Jacuzzi and study time. I finished my language lessons while I was in the tub, and finished a comparatively small archive assignment while doing my hair and getting ready for bed. That just left the usual nightly computer checks and this journal entry to do after I climbed into bed with Mandy, so I'm just about ready to call it a night and get some sleep.

We have two weeks – twelve days – to go until March Break, so we'll likely be busy at school this week. Uncle Adam's birthday is on Thursday, so that should be a fun day; but I've already been advised that we'll mostly be having a work weekend to make up for this weekend, and to get ready for March Break too. Compared to the last two days, that doesn't sound very exciting, but I'm sure we'll still manage to have a little fun here and there too.

That's all I have for now, and I really do need to get a little extra rest now, so...

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

Monday, March 4, 2013

Aunt Leanne has had her first really bad morning sickness day, and while she wasn't particularly interested in sharing the experience with her nieces and nephew; she was grateful for the support from Mom, Dad, Claire, and some of her friends.

Mom was there for her off and on all day, and dropped Ethan and Ehlana off at the daycare so she could do that. Other than some after school hugs, I let Mom take care of her, and helped out by taking care of Ethan and Ehlana; and helping out with cooking enough food so we could deliver dinner for two to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne too. Claire took care of the work Aunt Leanne had needed to get done at the office, and Mom had several helper bees so that she still managed to get nearly everything taken care of that was on her own to-do list for the day. Uncle Adam took over after work, and Mom spent some time working ahead in the office in case Aunt Leanne needs her again tomorrow.

While that was the top story for our family, our snowboarding trip made the top-five list on the school gossip network. Tim was responsible for sharing a few stories about how good Rowen and I were at snowboarding, and he even grudgingly conceded that we were better than he and Michael were. Michael, Lisa, and Nora didn't say much about us; though Michael did confirm Tim's assertions to some of the disbelievers among the other guys in our class. Rowen had a good day, and was smiling nearly all of the time as she again found herself being really noticed by guys in 'that' kind of way for the first time. Yes, I had some attention directed my way, but my reaction to that hasn't changed since Saturday, and while I'm really glad that Rowen had fun with it; all of those boys currently have girlfriends, and some of those girls were not impressed.

All of that should have added up to a tweeird zone day, but Rowen's excitement and happiness was infectious for me; and we just had fun with the whole thing and let our fellow students provide us with hours of free entertainment. There was some actual classwork going on today too; including one test, and one major project that most of us handed in on time. The countdown to March Break is on for both the teachers and students now; though only one side is thinking of that in terms of how much of their lessons plans still need to be covered in the now-nine school days left until the break.

I've already mentioned that Rowen and I took care of Ethan and Ehlana after school while Mom was busy with Aunt Leanne. It's been warmer today, but we've had some rain too; so we stayed indoors while entertaining my brother and sister. We started out with getting our homework out of the way; had a music practice that included some Magi-powered, toddler musical instrument playing; watched a bit of television; and had a long telepathic chat.

Dad came home a bit early, and we pitched in to make dinner together. The bonus dinner-for-two was so that Aunt Leanne wouldn't have to smell anything cooking at their house. When everything was ready, Rowen and I made the delivery before she went home from there; and Mom and I only stayed long enough to help Uncle Adam get the table set up before heading back to our place to have our own meal with Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana.

Since Mom and Dad both wanted to get work done in the office tonight, we skipped the usual Monday night Magi lessons, and I had Ethan and Ehlana in my room and the lounge again pretty much through until it was time for them to go to bed. We talked a bit about our future plans, and even took a little look to see if there was anything new or different that hadn't been revealed to us so far. It's a bit mind-boggling to think of all of the choices that go into shaping the future.

I won't start writing a sermon about that, but seeing what we do about our future leaves Ethan, Ehlana, and I in awe of a plan that's always pretty much on track despite human frailties and free will affecting those uncountable choices and decisions – whether they're earth-shaking or miniscule.

You're wondering if we did see anything new or different.

Yes. ;^)

If you're reading this far enough into my future; you may even know about some of those things in your present; but we won't be writing about anything in our journals that we haven't told Mom, Dad, and the others in our future plans group first. Keep reading; there will be an update on those plans coming soon.

We had some play time to go along with the more serious moments of our evening; including some iPad fun, another little music practice, and Ehlana did an experiment with her science lab that Ethan and I helped her with. Mom and Dad did the bedtime story and snack with us – or more accurately; we took that part of their bedtime routine to them in the office. After doing that and helping to tuck my brother and sister in for the night, I came back up to my room; got changed; cuddled in bed with Mandy; and got started on my studies and usual nightly computing.

It's now after one, and I'm pretty much done – in more ways than one. (Sorry, one of my language books tonight was all, fairly bad poetry.) Tomorrow is an after-school work day, but I'll change that up or work later if Aunt Leanne is still feeling sick. We have more tests coming up this week at school, but I don't exactly need to worry about them – my biggest problem is keeping up the 'normal' act when half of my classmates are stressed out. Anyway, it's time for me to spend a little time in dreamland, so...

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

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

There were two tests at school today; assignments to work on in other classes; Rowen and I worked our after-school jobs; and I helped Mom out with another double-dinner cooking session so we could deliver another meal to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne tonight. I'm starting out with that list because apparently, according to a few of my classmates, I was having too much fun today.

I've admitted lots of times that my 'normal tween' act isn't very good, or at least I don't think I'm handling my tween years very well so far; and I received some anecdotal, if not empirical, proof of that today. Rowen was having another happy day, but her brainiac bookworm reputation lets her get away with finding major test days fun; and she thought that the complaints directed my way were really funny. I'd try to be more like my best friend, but let's face it – I'd never be able to bottle up my hyper-active personality for very long even if I could use my Magi abilities to help me try to do that.

At least this kind of tween trouble doesn't have all the weird that goes along with the boy-girl drama that keeps popping up in my life no matter how much I try to avoid it.

It's Tuesday, so you can probably guess that it was our lunchtime music practice that led to the tweeird moments of the day. Just having Michael there with us was enough to irritate Lisa, and the fact that we were laughing and having fun both times she just happened to pass by the music room helped to take that irritation up a couple or three notches. That was all my fault too, and Rowen was just as amused about that as she was about the complaints about me being too happy before, during, and after our tests.

There isn't anything else to report from school, and my family business work mostly involved working through a bunch of fairly unexciting reports and proposals. The news from home was mostly about Aunt Leanne again today. She had another tough morning, and Mom was there to help her out again, but she pulled it together by lunchtime; and worked in the office all afternoon. We made dinner for them again because Mom didn't want Aunt Leanne's morning sickness to be set off again by the smells of raw or cooking meat; and that pretty much worked as planned. Aunt Leanne even managed to eat more than she'd been able to handle in total since Sunday.

Doctor Adam made sure that his wife had another quiet evening, and was personally making sure that happened. Back at our place, after delivering their food, Mom and I had dinner with Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we got started on another work night. The only difference to last night was that Mom took the time to do two Magi lessons – one for Ethan and Ehlana; and one with me after they went to bed for the night. We did both of those in the office, and I continued working on the family business while everyone else was busy with work, Magi lessons, or the iPad entertainment that kept Ethan and Ehlana busy when they weren't doing their lesson with Mom.

I came up to my room after helping to get Ethan and Ehlana tucked into bed, and there isn't much of anything to report from my archive reading or language studies. There were some interesting family email updates, and the one from Aunt Grace reminded me that I didn't even mention her day in Crystal Springs with Aunt Leanne on Saturday. I knew from Mom and Aunt Leanne that she'd picked out her gown and the bridal party dresses; taken care of a little wedding-related shopping while they were there; and had a fun day. Aunt Grace's email included jokes about needing to work out with her trainer for the next few weeks just to make up for the fast food she had with Aunt Leanne on the weekend; though she was at least glad that they'd waited until after the dress fitting before pigging out for the rest of the day.

While her version of the weekend report was fun, I was also glad to hear about her upcoming trip to spend the Easter weekend with Mark and his family in Seattle. They probably at least thought about meeting somewhere else so they could have a weekend with a little more alone time than they'll get to have in Seattle, but spending some extra time with his family before Mark makes the big move here will be good for all of them. I really love the warm fuzzies that come for a visit every time I hear about how great everything is turning out for Aunt Grace and Mark.

The rest of the email news included a baby update; March Break plans for my cousins in Woodvale and Granite Park; and some fashion news from Violet about what she was wearing to the Spring dance at school a week from Saturday. I haven't wanted to even think about the dance, let alone make multiple choices for what to wear, depending on what the weather will be like for the first weekend of Spring Break. I'm sure that the whole anniversary thing with Dillon makes this dance a big deal for Violet, but my fashion plan for that is to grab something out of the closet when it's time to get dressed and head over to the school.

Now that I'm thinking about scary things like school dances, though, now I'm going to need to spend some time not thinking about soft, comfy (not cuddly or cute) bunnies; so I need to wrap this up and get started on that.

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

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Life at home mostly revolved around Aunt Leanne again today. Mom helped her out this morning; they were both able to do a little work in the afternoon; and then there was a morning sickness relapse by late afternoon. Uncle Adam needed to be at the clinic after dinner, so Mom took care of Aunt Leanne then too while Dad and I took care of Ethan and Ehlana.

It was another busy test and work day at school, and there isn't really anything newsworthy to report from there. Since Mom was busy with Aunt Leanne after school, Rowen and I had Ethan and Ehlana with us for our play time. That included a little tobogganing, but the hills are getting very icy with the rain and warm-cold temperature changes; so sliding down the hill was a bit too much of an adventure for all of us, and getting back up the slippery hill with toddlers in tow on the sleds wasn't easy. Our hot chocolate break after getting home again was more successful, and then we had fun playing in the lounge until it was time for Rowen to go home; and for me to help Dad with making dinner while Ethan and Ehlana supervised.

Uncle Adam stopped in to get his take-out dinner order this time, and Mom came home to eat with us and have a little visit before heading back over to stay with Aunt Leanne. Dad and I took care of the kitchen clean-up, and then we juggled play and work time for the next few hours. While Dad got his work done, I played with Ethan and Ehlana in the office. We sat around the conference table and split our time between some experiments with their science lab and microscopes; and a little bonus Grade Ten project research and work.

When Dad took a break to have some play time with us too, he brought his guitar along; we went up to my room; and had a little jam session that included two Magi-powered toddler musicians. Ethan put a whole new spin on the term 'air drumming'. Maybe that's a Magi Master guy thing – I've certainly never considered using the elemental control of air to create percussion sounds. It's actually an interesting way to practice your control; though it's also a bit noisy in the confines of a shielded room. While Ethan was having fun with that, and Dad played guitar, Ehlana and I mostly played my keyboard. We all attempted some different air band instruments too, but Dad is better at playing his real guitar; it's easier to use our Magi power to play a digital keyboard; and creating and playing other instruments like trumpets or saxophones out of thin air is harder than it might sound – and ours definitely didn't sound that great tonight.

Our musical play time wrapped up when Mom got home again. We did the bedtime snack and story together; tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night; and I've been in my room since then. I started out with some Jacuzzi and archive study time, and continued with my language lessons after getting into bed and cuddling with Mandy. There was a family-business email I needed to deal with after that, but not much else worth mentioning from the rest of my nightly computer checks. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. We're having Uncle Adam's birthday dinner at the Inn, and will be staying there for game night. I have two more tests at school, and since Michael will likely join Rowen and I for our lunchtime music practice, between that and spending the evening at the Inn; I'm expecting a seventy-percent chance of tweeird in the afternoon, with the risk of more tween drama increasing to one hundred percent by sometime after dinner.

Oh well, I suppose two consecutive drama-free days is just too much to hope for when you're twelve. It's already late, and I should get what sleep I can to be ready for all of that, so...

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

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Happy 29th birthday, Uncle Adam!

The sun was out all day; the temperature warmed up; and Aunt Leanne got to have a day off from her morning sickness. She had some fun teasing Mom about timing her morning sickness around her husband's birthday better than Mom did while pregnant with the twins for Dad's birthday; and I have a feeling that it will be one of those jokes that will live on to be dragged out and dusted off now and then for years to come. Mom might have wished that she'd felt better that day, but she and I also got to find out how much our new family and friends really loved us when they all pitched in to help; so I wouldn't have changed anything about how everything had turned out. There's also that whole after-midnight, it's officially your birthday surprise that Mom started Dad's birthday out with that morning; though I don't really want to think about that any more than I want to think about the kinds of birthday surprises along those lines that Aunt Leanne likely had – or is still having – with Uncle Adam for his special day.

My day started out with Tai Chi and a normal school morning breakfast. I was running ahead of schedule, and met up with Rowen at her house. We were involved in a minor snowball fight that Patrick and a few other guys started while walking to the school, but managed to do that without having serious casualties or tween drama. I can't say the same for the rest of the day. There were several Grade Seven student casualties for both of our tests today, and though I wasn't the only one to get the bonus questions, I got razzed by some of the guys for being the first to provide those answers during the test post-mortems.

Lisa was particularly unhappy to again be reminded that she isn't getting the same kind of grades that Michael is; but that I am. She was even more annoyed with me after checking up on us during our lunchtime music practice – and not liking what she saw. Our afternoon test was in Computers, and by then, I was getting fired up about Uncle Adam's impending birthday dinner; so I even managed to finish my test before Rowen did today – early enough that I had my one hundred and four percent mark back before the end of class. That little news flash set off another round of razzing; a pair of grins from Rowen and Michael; and a frosty glare from Lisa that turned to ice when she noticed her boyfriend grinning at me. I'll guess that if Lisa knew that I could just as easily ace a forth or fifth-year college-level exam in just about any subject, she would not feel any better about me.

Moving along, while the rest of the afternoon was a bit frosty for me, it was nice to have warmer weather for the walk home. Rowen and I were still doing our normal Thursday work night, though I only worked in the office until it was time to get ready for our dinner at the Inn; and to help Mom with Ethan and Ehlana so that she – and they – could get ready too. Dad did a quick change and freshened up after getting home, and then we drove over to the Inn; meeting Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the rest of the dinner party guests there. Ethan, Ehlana, and I had Rowen, Patrick, Naomi, Michael, and Rebecca sitting with us, and yes, Michael sat next to me; again thanks to Ethan.

Miranda and Jacob had been invited too, and though they each took some time to sit down and eat with us; they both mostly worked too. There were other guests juggling work too. Uncle Adam's Mom was there for the entire party, but his Dad only caught the tail end of it after closing the Emporium for the night. Ditto that for Rowen's Dad; Naomi's Mom; both Hannah and Nathan Draper; and a few others. We started out with two 'adult' tables, and had three crowded groups by the time the dining room was being set up for game night.

We – the kids – were mostly on our own except for a little time with Uncle Adam when he was opening his gifts; and doing the birthday cake and song. March Break and Easter were our top two dinner chat topics with a side trip down snowboard memory lane that Aunt Leanne instigated during one of her visits to our table that were mostly so she could tease me; crack a joke or two; and continue her matchmaking campaign. Listening to Aunt Leanne tonight, you'd never know that Rowen and Tim were out there on the slopes too, and that Michael and I were never snowboarding alone; but Rowen seemed to think that Aunt Leanne's version of events didn't need facts to get in the way of the entertainment, and she reminded me that Michael and I had, in fact, been snowboarding together while conveniently skipping the fact that she and Tim had been right in front of us the entire time. Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi did way too much giggling over the whole thing; and Rebecca was just as amused as Rowen was.

I should be grateful that Aunt Leanne only had time for cameo visits with us while she was mostly busy with hosting the party; helping Uncle Adam have a happy birthday; and when she was trying her best to help him win the senior championship once the gaming started. There were jokes about Uncle Adam getting lucky on his birthday when they actually managed to with that championship, and I'll pretend that I don't know what Aunt Leanne meant by her comments about just how lucky Uncle Adam had been so far today – and still might be again before the night was over.

Getting back on track here, while Aunt Leanne was busy, that didn't keep her from getting in a few zingers and nudges during the gaming part of our evening, and since Lisa and Nora were there with Michael and Tim; her efforts were not universally appreciated. I was already in the tweeird zone for being in close proximity to Michael when Lisa got to the Inn while we both looked like we were having too much fun. Since we really had been having fun, even with Aunt Leanne's contributions; I couldn't really bring myself to being particularly worried about what Lisa or anyone else thought about it.

Ethan and Ehlana were having fun too; and their entertainment tonight included a dozen or more visits to see Michael while he was playing the different games with Lisa. Sometimes they'd want to sit on his lap or get picked up and carried around; while other times they just seemed to need random hugs – or kisses, in Ehlana's case. Lisa directed some suspicious looks at me, but I didn't need to fake my reaction to her unspoken accusation, and if my brother and sister have some ulterior motive; they aren't sharing that information with me. There weren't any signs that I saw to suggest that Aunt Leanne had recruited them as part of her master matchmaking plan, and it's not as if Michael was the only person in the room being hit by random acts of hugging from my adorable brother and sister.

Rowen and I managed a top-ten finish in the junior championship, and though that was good for us, it still earned me some more razzing for playing better with Michael; and also because we finished ahead of him and Lisa – yet one more reason for her to be annoyed with me. This week, Aunt Leanne volunteered me – and Mom and Dad – to help with the post-gaming clean-up because she couldn't stay for reasons we won't discuss. Rowen didn't stay, and neither did Tim, Nora, or any of the other tweens and teens except Michael and Lisa. Can you say awkward?

Ditto that for the goodnight hugs and kisses. It's not like I hugged or kissed Michael, but I'm apparently not supposed to share hugs and kisses with his parents, brother, sister, or Stephanie when his girlfriend is in the room with us. It had been a fun night, but by then, I was glad to climb into the back seat of the van and head for home. We did the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana right away, and then I came up to my room to get changed; in bed with Mandy; and started on my studying. I put my wards up so that I could kick things into a higher gear tonight while having a chat with Mandy. I should probably stop talking to her about the tweeird moments in my life, but her advice is usually entertaining while also being totally inappropriate for human application. I'm sure that Mom and Dad would have a problem if I tried taking her advice.

Wow, I don't want to be thinking along those lines when I fall asleep. Let's talk about anything else!

I worked on our Magi Project archive tonight, and that was mostly because I'd been noodling some ideas about things I'd sensed while we were snowboarding. It's too bad that we can't do scans of Magi and latent people while doing high-intensity sports. The results would likely be very interesting. Rowen wasn't the only tween or teen to really shine on Saturday, and though my little memory-tutorial helped some; most of her success was all her own doing and abilities. Memory-transfers could be a nice teaching tool sometimes, but I'm really interested in studying why there wasn't an obvious pattern to which members of our group excelled at skiing or snowboarding while others didn't. When I'm saying 'excelled', I mean it to be relative to each person's natural ability. I haven't really had any opportunity to study Magi or Latents in an environment where intangibles like fear play a significant role in performance. So far, my noodling has only come up with some ideas of which directions we could take for that kind of a study, and if more snowboarding will be involved; I'm definitely signing up to go on those trips.

The archive work was followed by my language lessons, and I've finished all of my nightly computer checks too, so once I finish this journal entry; that'll be it for tonight. It's only going on twelve-thirty, and the bad news is that I'm still too wound up to sleep. Maybe I'll try playing my keyboard for a while and see if that helps. Whatever happens, at least we only have one more school day to go until the weekend. We don't have anything other than the work day on Saturday planned, but a quiet weekend in would be a nice break before we gear up for the March Break and Easter holidays.

There we go again with bunnies cropping up in my thoughts at bedtime. I'm going to give that music practice a chance to help me sleep now, so...

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

Friday, March 8, 2013

Aunt Leanne had another off-and-on tough morning sickness day, so Mom spent time helping her this morning and later in the afternoon; including having Dad and I drop off another dinner for two shortly before Uncle Adam got home from the clinic.

Since Aunt Leanne wasn't feeling well, we cancelled dinner and a movie night, and Rowen and I had Ethan and Ehlana along for our after-school play time. With the temperature even warmer than yesterday, and the snow melting fast, it was a bit too messy to play at the park or go tobogganing, so we wandered around downtown instead; visited the falls; and did a little shopping before heading home to hang out in the lounge until Rowen needed to meet up with her parents at the computer store, and I needed to help Dad with making dinner again.

There isn't anything to report from school today – it was actually fairly quiet; with no significant tween drama. It's been a quiet night at home too since Mom got back from Aunt Leanne's. We had dinner; did a Magi lesson together after cleaning the kitchen; watched television for a while; and we all came up to bed early. I played music for a while before hopping into my Jacuzzi for a long soak. After finishing in the bathroom, I snuggled in bed with Mandy and have mostly been surfing the net on my computer since then; along with doing my usual nightly email, news, entertainment, and sport checks.

It isn't midnight yet, but I'm going to wrap this up and shoot for a little extra sleep. Mom and Dad have a very long to-do list for all three of us to get done tomorrow, so I expect to be busy for most of the day. That won't be very exciting, but I'm sure it'll be worth it to have the extra chores out of the way so we don't have to do them during March Break. Let's end this there – dreaming about March Break fun would be a nice change from those soft, fluffy hoppers that have regularly visited my subconscious lately.

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

Saturday, March 9, 2013

We worked all day, including several hours of outdoor chores that Dad and I took care of despite getting fairly wet while doing that work in the rain. It was after seven by the time we stopped for dinner, and it's only a little after nine now, but I'm clean again; warm; snuggled in bed with Mandy; and ready to crash, so...

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

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Happy 14th birthday, Martin!

We'd left a gift with Aunt Melissa for Martin when we were in Woodvale, and called while having breakfast to wish him a happy birthday; but I'm not sure whether Martin was awake enough to even remember that call later. He and Chris hadn't even gotten to bed until a couple of hours before we called after pulling an all-nighter gaming marathon with some of their buddies. There'd been girls at the party last night too, but for some reason, none of their parents were willing to authorize a boy-girl sleepover.

While my cousin probably went back to sleeping away another hour or five of his big day, we continued on with our normal Sunday morning routine. At church, practicing and getting ready for Easter was once again what most of the kids and teens did during Sunday school; and Rowen and I continued our work on props, decorations, and costumes.

Since Rowen and I hadn't spent any time together since Friday afternoon, she was set free after church to have lunch with us, and hang out with me for the afternoon until she needed to be home for family dinner plans. Mom and Dad both had work they wanted to do in the office after lunch, so Rowen and I had Ethan and Ehlana with us for most of the afternoon. We played outside for a while, but it wasn't as warm today, and there's a lot of slush and mud around right now that isn't much fun to play in; thanks to the combination of warmer weather, rain, and fast-melting snow.

We had fun with a music practice in my room that included more Magi-powered air drumming from Ethan that Rowen loved. Ehlana got the rest of us to have some science lab play time with her after that; we watched some cartoon shorts on television; and had a nice long telepathic chat about everything from Mom's birthday next weekend to Easter bunnies and holiday fun plans. Rowen and I both thought that she had to go home way too soon, but at least we're only five days away from March Break.

It's been another quiet night here at home. We had an early dinner, and then Mom and Dad both did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me. I came up to bed early, and even though I finished all of my usual school night studying; I'm going to be sleeping before midnight again with time to spare. That's probably a good thing, since I'm going to put in extra study time this week; and not do anything except homework and anything that comes up for the family business during our week off.

With Dad getting ready for his week in the city, and everything else we all have on the go; those of us who can enjoy the holiday are likely going to be ready for the down time by Friday. I'm ready for some down time right now, so...

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

Monday, March 11, 2013

The countdown to March Break has kicked up a few notches today at school. Holiday plans and the dance on Saturday night were the top stories today, but since there was a fair bit of tween and teen drama going along with most of the girl chat, Rowen and I tried to avoid some of the weird by doing our own thing at lunch; and staying away from the packs between classes. Since the temperature had dropped back down below freezing overnight again, and nobody felt like spending much time outdoors, it wasn't always easy to entirely escape from the girl chat or drama; but we did the best we could.

I'm sure that our teachers are just as ready for the week off as their students are, but that didn't translate into a break in the workload today. While we were busy, Rowen and I had fun too, since a big chunk of that work was on projects that were either due this week or during the week between March Break and Easter. I didn't want to risk adding to the tween drama today, so instead of escaping to the music room at lunchtime, we worked on some project homework in our 'home' classroom. That really just gave us less work to do after school, and gave us more time to play with Ethan and Ehlana once we did have our homework finished for the day.

It didn't really warm up much today, so we spent our after-school play time indoors. Ethan and Ehlana were with us for our music practice; we had a telepathic chat while we played; watched a little television; and wrapped up our fun time with some telekinetic video gaming. Rowen and I were drafted to help Mom in the kitchen after that, so we were kept busy with that while Ethan and Ehlana supervised and played on their iPads at the kitchen table. Rowen went over to the computer store after Dad and Aunt Leanne came home and took over our cook's helpers jobs, and after seeing her out; I sat at the table with the twins, and we kept our parents, aunt, and uncle entertained pretty much through until we'd finished the post-dinner clean-up and moved into the office for a major family business and future plans meeting.

The main reasons we were having a big meeting tonight were that Dad was going to be in the city next week, and we're now just two weeks away from our planned groundbreaking for both the lab and the first houses in the new section of town. That may not seem like a big deal when you think about that really just meaning that we'll be digging big holes and starting with basements, but while I haven't been involved in the daily work; there has been a lot going on to get ready for all of the construction that's going to be happening around here for the next ten years and more. Mom and Aunt Leanne have led and coordinated all of that, and they have everything from the expanded quarry and concrete capacity to heavy equipment and extra construction workers lined up and ready to go.

One of the great bonuses for Witch Falls is that we've made sure that it's our local companies that get as much of the new business as possible. For Ethan, Ehlana, and me, that's going to be especially cool for some families that are – or will be – very important to us. The Landry's are handling all of the big equipment, though they're taking care of the leasing or sales; not operating the equipment. Carter construction, Byrd Plumbing and Heating, and Witch Falls Electric and Light are all expanding in a big way this year to handle our projects; and those are just a few examples – nearly every business in town and in the Ridge River area will be affected.

This week, Mom and Aunt Leanne have a little trailer park on the way. It's going to be on the far east side of the new section of town so it won't be in the way of any construction over the next few years. Right now, they're bringing in enough trailers for the crews that will be starting in two weeks, and then we'll add more as needed over the next few months. The trailers aren't fancy mobile homes, but they're not portable bunk houses either. Aunt Leanne custom ordered the trailers, and each double unit has four bedrooms with private baths, and a common room with a small kitchenette. Aunt Leanne let us know that she'd also rented several houses and apartments for incoming workers that hadn't wanted to leave their families behind while they were here, and she'd be dealing with those move-ins over the next few weeks too.

Going over the work details for the next couple of weeks took a while, and we followed that up with a long look at the construction schedule for the next six months or so. There have been a lot of people involved in putting those schedules together, and the details are a bit mind-boggling. If my classmates were looking at all of that too, I'll guess that they'd suddenly find Grade Seven math and science a whole lot less daunting by comparison!

There were some non-construction future plans updates, and one new addition – we're going to build a wind-solar power farm, and make a few other changes around town that should nearly eliminate our occasional problems with power outages. That idea came from Ethan and Ehlana, and their main motivation for generating our own electricity is because they want to make sure that there won't ever be any problems with that at the lab. Yes, the place will have back-up systems, but the rest of us really loved their suggestion anyway, and after the most recent storm blackout; I'm sure the idea will be an easy sell to everyone else in town too – and another nice little opportunity for our family business.

By ten-thirty, we were ready to wrap up the meeting and do the bedtime story and snack with Ethan and Ehlana. I wasn't in my room until nearly eleven-thirty, and still wanted to get all of my usual studies and nightly computing done; so it's ended up being a very late night for me. I spent the first hour and a half working in the archives, and another hour and a quarter in full-immersion language studies. I was going to keep the email, news, entertainment, and sports checks to a minimum before getting to this journal report, but a couple of family business issues came up; and I spent another half hour dealing with them.

I'm pretty much just going to have enough time for a nap now before it'll be time to get going again, so that's it for tonight, folks!

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

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I've hit the wall tonight, so this is going to be very short and sweet.

We had a busy day at school; had too much fun with our lunchtime music practice and ended up having a tweeird moment or two; I worked in the office after school; had dinner with Mom, Dad, and the twins; and spent the evening doing Magi lessons with Mom and studying for three and a half hours.

Now I'm going to sleep for the next six hours or so and try to recharge.

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

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

It's starting to feel like the holiday is almost here now that we've finished our last Day One schedule classes for the week. (This is a Day Two Friday week.)

Dance fever seems to have hit most of the tweens and teens now, but I've been immune so far; and will hopefully be able to self-heal if I do catch it between now and Saturday. Rowen has a mild case of it, but she doesn't want a cure – she'd like to have a more serious case of it; if only 'Tommy' wasn't currently taken, and still pretty much oblivious to seeing her the same way he has pretty much since they first started school.

There really wasn't much to report from school. We're still getting extra work, and while everyone is still talking about the dance and March Break; there hasn't been any major news flashes. It started warming up again today, so Rowen and I spent part of our lunchtime outside, but it's going to be the next couple of days that are really going to be nice; so we decided to switch our work and play nights around so we could have a better outdoor play day.

Rowen had needed to get parental approval for that change, but they didn't have a problem with moving up the work they had planned for her on Thursday. Mom was working in the office anyway while Ethan and Ehlana were busy with some Grade Ten final exams; so we did the after-school snack there before I fired up my computer and got to work too.

We went with an easy-dinner night, and followed that up with more work in the office; separate Magi lessons for the twins and I; and then Mom and I did the full bath and bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana. That included a story and snack break with Dad in the office, and after my brother and sister were tucked in; I headed up to my room to get started on my studying while multi-tasking some Jacuzzi time.

I don't think that watching Ethan and Ehlana doing their Grade Ten tests had anything to do with it, but I've decided that I'm ready to move on to my next language study. There's a bit more that I want to wrap up tomorrow night before taking March Break off, but other than keeping brushed up on my Javanese and Malagasy, the same as I do for every other language I've learned; I'm ready to move on from the Polynesian/Malayo languages. Next up: Punjabi.

My archive 'homework' assignment from my lesson took about an hour to finish, and then I spent some time working on our Magi project archive. Though Mom went through the tween years too, she and Uncle Adam both think that I have a unique opportunity and perspective for observing and analyzing the Magi, Latents, and normal tweens and teens – especially since I can observe them all day at school. That includes studying my own development, and comparing that to my friends and classmates. I won't bore you with the details – if you're interested; feel free to hop over to that section of the archives – but I actually do seem to find out new things all the time right now in particular about how Magi develop through puberty – and the differences between the three groups.

Anyway, I didn't get around to my nightly computer checks until one o'clock, and it's heading toward one-thirty now, so I'm going to wrap this up; call it a night; and get some sleep.

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

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Doing back-to-back after-school work nights was so worth it so we could enjoy the great weather today!

Rowen and I even skipped music practice at lunch today so we could be outdoors instead – a decision that Lisa in particular seemed to be very happy about; since Michael spent that time with her, Tim, and Nora instead. That helped me to have a basically tweeird-free school day; though Aunt Leanne made sure that I didn't completely avoid that while we were at game night.

The nice weather also helped make the work and tests in our classes easier for most of us to deal with; though we always have at least a few classmates who get worked up about tests in subjects they have trouble with. We're still playing snow days catch-up, so we won't be getting to slack off tomorrow, but we don't have any more tests; the weather is supposed to be even nicer; and with everyone fired up about being hours away from the holiday, it should be a fun day no matter what our teachers throw at us.

Rowen and I thought about taking Ethan and Ehlana out to play after school, but decided not to do that so we could ride our bikes and hang out with some of our friends instead. Mom helped us out with that by assuring us – and the twins – that she and Alicia would take them out for some park play time too. We did a quick snack break together; Rowen and I did our homework in my room; and then we hopped on our bikes and headed out.

While I'm thinking about bikes, I want to mention that Rowen and I are both going to need to go bike shopping this spring, and move up a size or two. Maybe we'll do that the next time we're in Crystal Springs. I suppose that out-growing bikes isn't really a big deal, but since it is our primary source of play time transportation, and Spring is almost here; it's something that we think is important.

Getting back on track, we biked the path around the park; spent some time at the playground that included some fun with Ethan and Ehlana while they were there with Mom and Alicia; we biked around most of the rest of town, including the new section; picked up treats at the Emporium; and wrapped up our play time by wandering around by the falls until it was time for us to head home for dinner.

Rowen only stopped in at my house long enough to grab her computer bag, and then she needed to get home too; and I helped Mom in the kitchen after she left. The next couple of hours was fun as we cooked and ate an easy-dinner; cleaned up; and then went for a long walk first before going to the Inn for game night. Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Rowen joined us for the walk, and we especially had fun with a string of front porch visits as we went along that were a first for this year; and really made it feel like winter was almost over.

As I mentioned, Aunt Leanne made sure that I had some tweeirdness to go along with my game night fun. I'm fairly sure that Aunt Leanne hasn't caught the dance fever that's still rampaging through the tweens and teens in town, but she was definitely fired up tonight; and happily spent some quality time working on her not-so-subtle matchmaking mission with her two favorite tween targets.

Yes, Lisa was there for game night, and no, the fact that Michael's girlfriend is right there with him does not keep Aunt Leanne from teasing us; playing her little games; or nudging us together whenever she gets the chance. While they may not be hired or volunteer accomplices, Ethan and Ehlana did seem to be involved in a lot of those nudges. Every time I needed to chase down my brother or sister, I either found them with Michael; or we were each chasing one twin and met up that way. I don't think that the incidental contact from passing toddlers back and forth was random chance either; since Ethan and Ehlana were the instigators of most of those transfers when they'd reach out for hugs from Michael or me.

Okay, they probably are officially, if secretly, Aunt Leanne's matchmaking accomplices, but they're so cute about it; you just can't help but have fun with them.

Well, Michael and I can't help but have fun with it – Lisa does not find any of that funny or entertaining at all; and her annoyance level went up a notch or two with every hug, smile, and laugh. I don't like being responsible for upsetting someone, but all of the tween drama with Lisa really boils down to one little problem that I can't do anything about – how Michael feels about her; and me.

Dad needed to get home after the games were finished, so I was able to make a quick exit, and after helping Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed; she and I did a long Magi lesson that was probably going to be our last until after March Break. That kept me from getting started on my studying until eleven-thirty; and I started that out by getting the archive homework out of the way that Mom gave me to go along with the lesson.

Mom had gone to spend some time with her Jacuzzi after my lesson, and Dad stopped in to say goodnight to me on his way to bed – and to give me a little heads up about a birthday surprise that he and Aunt Leanne had planned. He wouldn't give me the details, but advised me that I'd need to give Mom her birthday present at breakfast in the morning; so I'll take a wild guess that means that we won't be together for her birthday on Sunday. Since we've been together for all of her birthdays since I was born, that feels a bit weird; but I'm sure that whatever they've planned for Mom will be great; and hopefully give her a fun break from all of her responsibilities around here.

That news flash didn't change my study plan, and I went back to work after Dad went downstairs again. My archive work took an hour and a half; I spent another hour wrapping up the last bit of work I wanted to do with my Javanese and Malagasy language studies; and then I only did a quick email and news check before writing up this journal entry. I really need to get to sleep now, and I can hardly wait to find out what Mom's big birthday surprise is going to be. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will make for a great start to our last school day before we start March Break!

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

Friday, March 15, 2013

Mom's big birthday surprise this morning was a sisters' four-day weekend away in sunny Florida!

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne came over in time for Tai Chi with us; she and Mom were sent to have showers and get ready for the day while Dad and Uncle Adam cooked breakfast; and Mom found out about the trip while we had breakfast – the first gift she opened before being given the rest of her gifts from Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and me. Aunt Leanne already had Mom's bag packed and in her car; and they left for the airport shortly after we finished eating.

That was a wild start to the day, and though I really wished that we could have gone to Florida with them, Dad will be doing a lot of work this weekend anyway; I have the dance and lots of other plans with Rowen; Violet's home for the week; and Mom really deserves a kid and work-free weekend away. Aunt Leanne joked with us about needing to do the trip now while she could still have some sun and fun in a bikini; but I'm sure she wasn't actually kidding about that. The girls' weekend away may also be a precedent that Rowen and I will really appreciate some day.

Once Mom and Aunt Leanne were on their way to the airport, I helped Dad and Uncle Adam with the kitchen clean-up; got ready for school; helped to get Ethan and Ehlana dressed and a bag ready to go for their day at KidZone. Rowen came over to get me for the walk to school, so she helped us with getting the twins into their car seats before we needed to get going; and Dad headed out to work via a drop-off stop at the daycare.

Compared to our early morning birthday entertainment, classes were fairly unexciting. Everyone was having fun as we counted down the last handful of hours to our long-awaited week off – especially whenever we could be outside to enjoy another warm day. Rowen and I ate our lunches while sitting on the bleaches next to the football field, but that was also where most of the tween and teen couples were hanging out too; so we wandered around the school yard after we'd finished eating; helped some younger kids have some fun at the playground; and wrapped up our time off with some double-dutch skipping rope turning for a group of girls in Patrick's class.

Our afternoon classes sped by – or dragged on endlessly; depending on your perspective. When we were set free, Rowen and I needed to meet up with Alicia; and then we walked over to KidZone to get Ethan and Ehlana. We made two more stops on the way home – the first to pick up bakery treats; and the second to have those treats with Dad, Claire, and the client who was meeting with Dad, but willing to join us for an Olde Bakery snack break. We went home from there, and dropped off our school bags.

With hours of warm weather just waiting for us to go outside again and enjoy; we headed over to the park next to play with Ethan and Ehlana at the playground. There were a lot of kids and teens at the park, so we needed to take turns on the swings, and get in lines for the slides and climbers. There were footballs and Frisbees being tossed around; a little soccer game on the go; some skipping rope action in the pavilion; and lots of kids riding their bikes on the paths. We stayed at the park until it was time to meet up with Dad at home, and then he and Alicia started working on cooking pizzas for dinner while Ethan and Ehlana supervised, and I went with Rowen over to her house to pack an overnight bag for our first March Break sleepover.

We were back and had Rowen's bag up in my room when the phone call came in from Mom and Aunt Leanne. They were in Florida and checked into their hotel; and called to talk with us before going out to dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. It was actually only a little warmer there than here this afternoon, but they're going to have much nicer weather than we're supposed to get for the next few days. They didn't have any travel problems; Aunt Leanne hasn't had any morning sickness issues so far; and she and Mom both sounded very happy. Their plans for tonight were to just hang out around the hotel, maybe catch a little entertainment there, and go to bed early so they'd be ready for some quality spa pampering tomorrow. For some reason, they think that will be more fun than a day at Disney or Universal – which could be another reason why kids and grown-up boys were not invited on the trip!

While Mom and Aunt Leanne were trying out a five-star restaurant, we were happily munching on thin crust, freshly cooked from frozen pizza. Alicia had dinner with us, and stayed to help with the cleanup before heading home. Violet was keeping Dad posted on her travel progress, but while Mom and Aunt Leanne hadn't had any problems getting to Florida; Violet had gotten into the middle of the Friday night and holiday travel crush around Crystal Springs. She wasn't expecting to get home until around eight o'clock; so Dad and I took Ethan and Ehlana out for some more play time.

I've already mentioned that Rowen and I want to get new bikes this year, and while we were walking to the park; Dad and I decided that a bike trailer would be nice to have for Ethan and Ehlana too so we could go riding with them this summer instead of walking whenever we took them to the park or school to play. He's going to take a look for one next week when he's in the city.

We went for a walk along the path to the falls and back when we first got to the park; had fun at the playground for a half hour or so; and then went for a walk along Witch Falls road to see what was going on there for the first evening of March Break. The stores all looked to be busier than usual for a Friday, and there were both March Break and Easter sales being advertised in the display windows of the usual stores. We picked up some welcome home treats for Violet at the Olde Bakery, but only went into one other store – and that was to have a little visit with Rowen's parents before we continued home to wait for Violet.

She pulled into the driveway at ten after eight, and Rowen and I had been sitting on the front porch steps with Ethan and Ehlana; so we were welcoming her home by the time she got out of the car and had a moment to stretch out the cramps; and before Dad made it out the front door. Though she was tired from a long day at school and about four and a half hours on the road; Violet was excited to be home. I'm sure that had more to do with getting to spend a lot of time with Dillon over the next week; starting as soon as he finished his shift at the Inn tonight. Most of the teens were working there tonight instead of Saturday night because of the dance tomorrow; and Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie were having dinner at the Inn again this year – along with a lot of the teen couples; including Michael, Lisa, Tim, Nora, and some of the other members of our Grade Seven couples club.

That's dangerously close to entering the tweeird zone, so let's move along. Rowen and I took Violets luggage up to her room on the third floor while she took her computer and book bags into the office and stayed on the main floor with Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. She needed to unpack and get some of her clothes hanging up, but we had our snack break and a chat in the kitchen first before she went upstairs to do that and freshen up and change before Dillon came over after he was finished at the Inn.

I thought that he might have Jake and Stephanie with him, but apparently he and Violet were interested in some alone time tonight. They didn't get an opportunity for that at first, but it really wasn't that long before Dad had Rowen and I help him to get Ethan and Ehlana off to bed; he sent us up to my room to get started on the movie-watching part of our sleepover; and he decided to go to bed early and do a little research reading so that Violet and Dillon could have the main floor to themselves.

Let's not think about what they're still doing in the living room. I should probably be afraid that Rowen and I agreed on watching the 'Cinderella Story' movies; though I'm telling myself that I'm into our mini-marathon for the music, dance, and laughs.

I am not crossing over!

So far, we've seen Hilary Duff off to Princeton with her prince, and Selena Gomez has just about finished dancing and singing her way into Drew Seeley's heart. We're going to attempt to find out if Lucy Hale can make beautiful music with Freddie Stroma; but may not stay awake long enough to see a third happy ending tonight.

And once again, I'm just watching these movies for the music, dancing, and comedy. Really!

Rowen wants me to add that she sees a certain modern-day similarity between these movies and my life; with just one thing missing in my fairy tale. And here I was thinking that with Aunt Leanne away for a long weekend that I'd be safe – silly me!

If I end up dreaming about Michael and I breaking out into spontaneous High School Musical-like duets tonight you are so going to be in trouble tomorrow morning, Rowen Emerson.

Now she's singing 'Start of Something New'. That's what I get for actually giving her that warning. I'm going to wrap this up; take a break between movies; fall asleep during the last one; and try my very best not to dream of soft, cuddly – I mean fluffy – bunnies.

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

Saturday, March 16, 2013

I am so glad that I didn't wake up singing Disney duets! You're off the hook, Rowen.

We did wake up to find that the weather forecast had not been wrong; and the temperature had dropped like a rock to near-freezing. That wasn't a big deal while Dad and I exercised and then had breakfast with Violet, Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana; but we would have been more comfortable doing our outdoor chores after that if it had still been warm out.

That work had to wait until Alicia came over to take care of Ethan and Ehlana. Rowen went home to meet up with her parents before going on to the computer store after helping with the kitchen clean-up and getting her bag packed and ready to go, and after she left; I got started on some house cleaning and laundry while Dad and Violet juggled hitting the showers and getting ready for the day too with taking care of the twins.

When Alicia made it over, she and Violet stayed inside and continued working on some of the usual Saturday morning chores while keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained, and Dad and I went outside to deal with the couple of hours of work that needed to be done there. It was cold and damp, and some of the jobs that need to be done as the snow melts in the spring are gross; but having a little Dad and daughter time was still mostly fun. There was more house work to do once we were inside again, and we were busy through until we stopped for lunch at one o'clock.

That was the end of the work part of the day for all of us except Dad. Alicia had the rest of the day off; and Uncle Adam came over to help Dad with Ethan and Ehlana for the afternoon and evening. Violet found out at lunchtime that Aunt Leanne had set up an appointment for her with Liz at the Salon, and she spent most of the afternoon getting ready for her dinner and dance date with Dillon. Rowen came over again after lunch, and though we were free to play all afternoon, we spent a couple of hours playing with Ethan and Ehlana before I needed to pack a bag for the post-dance sleepover that Rowen and I are doing at her house tonight; and we both needed to get ready for the dance too.

Getting ready for the dance before dinner was mostly because we were going to help Dad and Uncle Adam with Ethan and Ehlana again before, during, and after dinner until the dance started. Other than having my shower at home, Rowen and I did the full hair and dress-up routine at her house. I would have been happy to wear jeans, a nice sweater, and put my hair in a simple ponytail; but I knew that Rowen needed to get dressed up just in case 'Tommy' actually might happen to come up for air with his girlfriend long enough to notice that his shy, quiet, computer geek classmate is actually one of the most beautiful girls in our school. We both had to pick alternate dresses because of the colder weather, and Rowen wasn't happy about that; but I convinced her that shivering all night in spring dresses wouldn't be any fun. I think we mostly made up for that with the extra attention to her hair, a few diamonds from my jewelry box, and just a touch or two of makeup.

They're biased, but Dad, Uncle Adam, and Ethan were impressed when we got back there in time to help with Ethan and Ehlana while dinner was being cooked. Dad took pictures and sent them to Mom and Aunt Leanne; though they didn't get the pictures until later – and I didn't get the email grilling and jokes from Aunt Leanne until after the dance. Violet had already gone to meet up with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie by then before going on to the Inn. Dad had taken pictures of Violet to send to Mom and Aunt Leanne too before she left, and she looked as great for this dance as she had for the one two years ago when she and Dillon had been set up by Stephanie and Jake.

Dad had decided that he needed to cook 'real' food for at least one meal while Mom was away; possibly so he didn't get teased about the Sunday buffet at the Inn being the only non-frozen or canned food that he fed us all weekend. Uncle Adam helped him, and the chicken and veggies stir fry recipe was his too, but just in case there's some future jokes about it anyway; they had four witnesses to corroborate the fact that Dad did actually do most of the cooking; and all of the food was delicious.

It was raining lightly when it was time for us to go, so Uncle Adam gave Rowen and I a ride over to the school in Mom's minivan. Most of the single tweens and teens had skipped the Valentine's dance, but we were glad to see that there were some single girls for us to hang out with tonight – including Rebecca; though she didn't get there until nearly an hour after the doors opened because she'd been helping out at the Inn, and had needed to go home and get ready for the dance after the main dinner rush was over. She still hasn't gotten interested in any particular guy, but I can tell you that there were a few guys more than a little interested in her tonight.

Rowen and I feel a bit under-everything when we're hanging out with Rebecca. We're catching up a bit now, but she's still four inches taller than us; and looked a lot better in her dress tonight than we did in our dresses. While I mostly feel the same way Rowen does about that; it doesn't really bother me at all. That could be because I really like getting to hang out with Rebecca, but I'm also not worried about whether a certain guy will notice me at all anytime we're with her like Rowen is.

We had fun together; were on the dance floor for nearly every up-tempo song; and entertained ourselves with a little girl chat during most of the slow song sets. There weren't any Cinderella Story moments for any of us, but Jake took Rebecca out for a spin once; and I dodged what might have been a dance set-up when I saw Michael dancing with Stephanie then too; and noticed Dillon heading my way. That seemed like a very good time for Rowen and I to go for a walk; which she was happy to help me with – and so she could get a break from watching 'Tommy' while he was stuck like glue to his girlfriend while they were dancing.

After dodging that potential tweeirdness, I managed to successfully avoid any personal tween drama. I bumped into Michael once when he and Tim were on the way back from getting drinks for themselves and their dates and Rowen and I were going to get refills, and though we only brushed arms on the way past; that contact was enough for me to be hit with an empathic jolt even if I wasn't able to read how he was feeling from the look in his eyes and the little, wistful smile he directed my way.

Contrary to what Aunt Leanne and Rowen might think, knowing how Michael feels actually makes me less interested in crossing over and getting into the tween dating game. I wouldn't know how to handle a situation like he's in with Lisa any more than he does; though I guess it could never be quite the same for me anyway; since I didn't grow up with our classmates like he did. No matter how nice he tries to be, though, he's eventually going to need to tell Lisa that he doesn't feel the same way about her as she feels about him; and that'll be hard for both of them – especially since I'm fairly sure that Lisa has liked him a lot for a long time.

I hope I never have to deal with problems like that. Maybe that's one of the reasons Mom was never interested in dating even before losing her parents. She made it through Grades Seven and Eight without even going on one date; though I'm sure she'd tell me that was because she was even more of a bookworm than Rowen was when we first met, and didn't have any boys interested in her. I wonder if that theory would still hold up if she'd grown up in Witch Falls and gone to school with Dad.

Getting back to the dance recap, other than that little empathic moment, I was able to stay out of Michael's way, and Lisa seemed very happy about that. From what Rebecca told us; they'd had fun at the Inn too while having dinner with Tim and Nora, and I hope the rest of their night was good too. Rowen and I mostly had fun, and we even managed to entertain ourselves a little bit with her personal tweeird moments – like when we walked past 'Tommy' and his girlfriend when they were obliviously making out and didn't even notice us while we were on our way outside to catch our ride home with Rowen's Dad.

We started out our sleepover with a snack and dance story time with Rowen's parents, Patrick, and Scott. The two boys must have spent some time working up their plans to bug us for the rest of the night, and though some of their antics were entertaining, by the time they finally either fell asleep or decided that their mission had been accomplished; Rowen and I were both fairly annoyed with them.

It's past-time for us to be sleeping too, but Rowen needed some girl talk time; and that was hard to manage while Patrick and Scott were interrupting us every few minutes. All joking aside now, and despite how we deal with it in public, she really has a tough time feeling the way she does about 'Tommy' while he continues to be completely clueless. As usual, I don't feel like I'm able to help her as much as I should, and not even Aunt Leanne's emailed jokes and badgering about Michael managed to get more than a couple of half-hearted laughs from Rowen tonight. I wish I could tell her that her future is going to be so amazing that she'll look back and laugh at all of the private tween drama; but I can't tell her about that any more than I can tell anyone else what I see of their futures. Sometimes it really sucks to know some of the things that Ethan, Ehlana, and I know – even when they're really great things.

Rowen might like the dreams that would go along with some of the future I'm thinking about right now, but I don't need to use my Sight to know that I'll be desperately trying not to think about soft, fluffy bunnies again tonight.

I'm going to get started on doing that right now, so...

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

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Happy 35th Birthday, Mom!

I'm sure that just waking up in sunny Florida this morning instead of here, where we have snow on the ground, will make you and Aunt Leanne happy. Rowen and I think that Mother Nature has been very unfair to tease us with that beautiful start to our March Break; drop the temperature nearly fifty degrees in less than thirty-six hours; and then add some snow that we didn't even get to play in because the rain had turned it into a slushy mess by the time we went to church.

It felt strange not being with Mom to celebrate her birthday, and I didn't even get to talk to her until lunchtime. Dad, Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana had Uncle Adam over for breakfast, and they talked to Mom and Aunt Leanne before going to church; but we were running late getting to church, so I didn't even get that update until after Rowen and I got home via a stop at her house to pick up my overnight bag and computer; and pack another bag with everything she'd need for the next couple of days while we moved the holiday sleepovers back to my house.

My morning started out with a Tai Chi workout that Patrick and Scott attempted to mess up, but that didn't happen; and they also found out that you don't want to get too close to someone while they're working through the forms if you don't know where the hands and feet are going to be. One of Scott's attempts to jump in and scare me out of my rhythm sent him diving out of the way when he nearly jumped face-first into my left foot. Their antics had brought Rowen downstairs to find out what was going on, and when Scott saw that she'd witnessed that moment of un-cool; he and Patrick retreated upstairs to regroup while I finished my workout in peace; and Rowen went into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on to brew for her parents since she was up anyway.

Patrick and Scott were also the reason why we were nearly late for church; and that was because they spent most of the morning trying to drive Rowen and I crazy instead of helping with the breakfast cleanup and getting ready for church. The guys were on cleanup duty because Patricia, Rowen, and I cooked first, and got ready for church after breakfast. I'm not sure how Rowen's Dad kept losing track of his two helpers, but their disappearances probably just made the work go faster anyway. While they were AWOL from kitchen duty, we had to deal with everything from rubber snakes and spiders being slipped under the bathroom and bedroom doors while we were taking turns having showers and getting dressed to rampaging monster trucks on the ground and micro helicopters buzzing us from the air. Rowen and I were ready for a break from all of that when we got to church, but Patrick and Scott were disappointed that they hadn't been able to get us mad at them again; or that we'd mostly laughed off their pranks. They probably didn't like having micro-copters smell like Rowen's favorite perfume after she misted them or the lip gloss on the grill of Patrick's monster truck either.

We had another Easter work session during Sunday school, and pretty much have everything done except for the kids and teens who will have a few more practices for the music and skits between now and Easter Sunday. I already mentioned the stop at Rowen's house on the way home, and after carrying our things up to my room, we met up with Dad, Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana in the kitchen. I called Mom then, and we all talked with her and Aunt Leanne for about fifteen minutes.

They were definitely enjoying the warm and sun there, and glad that they were missing out on the snow and rain here. The spa day had been a hit; they'd dressed up and gone out to dinner; and had gone to see a show before ending their night with drinks in one of the hotel clubs before going back to their room. Today they were splitting their time between hanging out around the hotel pools and doing some shopping; and I'll guess that Dad and Uncle Adam wished they were poolside with their wives even more than all of us kids were wishing we could be there too – even if they weren't spending the day at Disney or Universal.

Mom assured us that she missed being together for her birthday; though not enough to trade the sun and fun with Aunt Leanne and come home early. When I finished the call with Mom, Rowen and I did story time with Dad, Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana while Dad and Violet made lunch; we ate; and then Rowen and I took care of the clean-up so that Dad could hide in the office and get started on the work he needed to get done before going to Crystal Springs in the morning.

With the off-and-on rain all afternoon, most of us stayed inside. Violet went to hang out with Dillon while he was on his afternoon break at the Inn, and she split her time here between helping Rowen and I with Ethan and Ehlana, and doing some of her own work in the office. Ethan and Ehlana wanted to have a music practice, which we did while Violet was out; we played with their science lab and microscopes; watched a movie in the lounge; and we all had a little afternoon nap in my bed that Mandy happily joined us for. We were doing the late buffet so that Dad could work longer, and so Uncle Adam's parents could go with us after they closed the Emporium for the night; so we had lots of time to get ready to go out; and since Violet was dressing up mostly for Dillon's benefit; Rowen, Ehlana, and I joined her to play dress-up and style our hair while Ethan opted to hang out in the office with Dad and play on his iPad.

Just for the record, it's possible that seeing me walk into the kitchen had absolutely nothing to do with why Michael nearly dropped a stack of plates; and I hugged him because I'd hugged everyone else in his family, so it would have been impolite to leave him out of the loop.

Okay, I don't actually believe that any more than Miranda, Rowen, or Stephanie did; but let's go with the fantasy anyway, okay?

I am not crossing over; I am not crossing over; I am not crossing over!

We had quite a few friends in the dining room for the late buffet, and Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I ended up sitting at a kids' table instead of with Dad, Violet, Uncle Adam, his parents, grandparents, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Rowen's parents. We had Patrick and Scott with us, though they didn't try causing us too much trouble; and Scott's sister, Lindsay, loved hanging out with us and helping Ehlana while we were eating.

There weren't any other tweeird moments for the rest of the time we were at the Inn; the food was great; and we all had fun for an hour and a half or so until it was time to head home; and for Rowen and I to take care of the bath and bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana while Dad finished his work in the office and got packed for his trip. We did the snack and story with him there after the twins were squeaky clean and in warm pajamas; and then he came upstairs to help us tuck them in before Rowen and I came up to my room and he went back to work. I won first shift in the Jacuzzi, so I did that next while Rowen watched some television and cuddled with Mandy. I'm doing this, and already finished the rest of my usual nightly computing, while she's having her soak in the tub; and we're planning on a comparatively early bedtime; depending on how long we end up chatting before falling asleep.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I will be up to see Dad off in the morning, and then Violet and Alicia will be in charge of us until Mom and Aunt Leanne get home sometime late tomorrow night. Rowen and I still have things we want to do while we're off this week, but we'll probably need to wing it for the next couple of days depending on the weather; anything Violet and Alicia want us to do; and any plans Mom might have for after she gets home.

For now, though, that's all I have. It's been a fun and occasionally weird start to the holiday; and I have a feeling that trend could continue for the rest of the week.

We'll see about that, but until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Not going to school this morning definitely made it really fell like March Break today, even if we didn't exactly get nice, warm spring weather.

I was awake as soon as I sensed Dad moving around the house, and had some time to help him with luggage and his work cases before needing to give Ethan and Ehlana a hand so they could spend some time with him too before he left for Crystal Springs. We talked with him while he had a quick breakfast and then Dad helped me get Ethan and Ehlana tucked into my bed with Rowen and Mandy. I went back downstairs to see him off with hugs and kisses; cleaned up the kitchen; and then I went back up to my room for a little extra nap time.

Sleeping in was an option, but I wasn't up again much later than normal. Ethan and Ehlana stayed in bed and entertained Rowen while I went across the hall and exercised. They got up too after I was done; Ethan and Ehlana moved on to give Violet her wake-up call; and Rowen and I got dressed first before joining them in Violet's room. I haven't exactly had a lot of parent-free time in my life, but other than making some of the morning decisions – like what to have for breakfast – it really wasn't that big of a deal to have Violet and Alicia in charge while Mom and Dad were both away.

We'd finished having breakfast and cleaning up by the time Alicia came over; and then Rowen and I were set free to do our own thing while she and Violet took care of Ethan and Ehlana and dealt with the usual morning work – like running a couple of loads of laundry. It was fairly cold outside, so Rowen and I had a long music practice in my room; played a video game for a while; and had Ethan and Ehlana with us for some fun time too so that Violet and Alicia could have a little break. Lunch was chicken strips and fries – twins' choice – and Rowen and I took care of the clean-up before grabbing our bikes and heading out for a little ride.

Since it still wasn't all that warm out, biking wasn't really much fun, so we only did a tour around the new section of town, mostly to check out the trailers that were still incoming and being set up to be ready for the construction workers who would be living there while working on the lab, houses, and other projects. After getting home again, we decided to take Ethan and Ehlana to the park for a while.

Rowen's laughing at me now that I've reached this part of my recap because we ended up having Michael with us for that playground play time. That happened because Ethan needed to go see Michael when we were walking by his house and he was outside doing some work with his Dad and Jake. Using his very best public toddler act, my adorable little brother got a temporary get-out-of-work pass for Michael from his parents with just a few hugs, kisses, and baby-talk words. Ethan might not have had an ulterior motive beyond getting to hang out with Michael, but I saw Miranda grinning at us as we left; and she wasn't just smiling because Michael looked so cute carrying Ethan on his shoulders.

Cut that out, Rowen! You know how I meant that 'cute' comment. Am I going to need to start writing my journals after you're asleep when we're doing sleepovers? Let's try to get back on track.

When we got to the park, Ethan and Ehlana wanted to start out on the swings, and kept Michael, Rowen, and I busy as we did that; ran around with them; and played on the slides, fort, and the rest of the equipment. When they were cold and ready to go home, Ethan and Ehlana brought Michael back with us for a hot chocolate and bakery treats snack break. Violet and Alicia joined us for that, and then they took over taking care of Ethan and Ehlana after Michael headed home again to get back to work with his father and brother.

Rowen and I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the lounge until it was time to help Violet and Alicia with making dinner. We were cooking for eight, because Violet and Alicia had invited their boyfriends to have dinner with us. I'd been used to having boyfriends sharing babysitting duties thanks to Isabelle and Andrew, and Dillon spent a lot of time at our house whenever Violet was home, but Rowen and I both thought it was a bit weird having Doug Warren here as Alicia's boyfriend instead of Jenny's older brother.

We made spaghetti, garlic toast with cheese, and a tray of assorted finger food appetizers; we ate in the dining room; and then Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were set free to play while the four teens cleaned the kitchen. Alicia and Doug left after that, and Violet and Dillon joined us in the lounge where we played for a couple of hours until it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to go to bed. Violet and Dillon took care of that, though Rowen and I were there for the bedtime story and to help tuck them in for the night.

Once they were off to sleep, Violet and Dillon went downstairs to watch a movie in the living room, and Rowen and I came back up to the lounge. We put a movie on too, but mostly sat and talked; surfed the web; and waited for Mom and Aunt Leanne to get home. I hadn't been home for the one phone call they'd made home while waiting for their first flight of the day, but I'd kept track of them while they were traveling, and knew when they were getting close to home; though Rowen and I didn't go downstairs and risk interrupting Violet and Dillon until we heard Aunt Leanne's car in the driveway. Ethan and Ehlana knew that she was home too, and Rowen and I picked them up on the way downstairs so they could get in on the welcome home hugs and kisses.

Uncle Adam had already come over by the time we were in the front hallway; he was helping Mom with her luggage; and Rowen and I helped him to carry everything up to her room after I got a couple of hugs to last me until we got downstairs again. Aunt Leanne in particular was wiped out by then, so getting their travel stories was going to have to wait. We had drinks in the kitchen and a little chat, but then Uncle Adam drove Aunt Leanne home to bed; Violet gave Dillon a ride home then too; and Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana and I helped Mom unpack a few things in her room.

Violet was back by the time Mom was ready to get some sleep, and while she spent a few minutes with Mom, Rowen and I put Ethan and Ehlana back to bed again before coming back up to my room. We picked up where we left off with our chat and internet surfing while winding down again from that last little blast of action. Ethan, Ehlana, and I would have all liked to have more time with Mom, but she really needs to get some sleep; and we can spend extra time with her for the rest of the week – if we can all find time for that between the work, play, and the lessons Mom needs to do with Violet while she's here.

We're not quite ready to sleep yet, but there isn't anything else to write about for today, so I'm going to finish this up; put my computer away; and hopefully be tired enough to sleep soon.

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

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

I really loved exercising with Mom this morning, and missed doing that with her as much this time as during the week she and Dad were on their honeymoon. That was also the only alone time we had for the rest of the day.

Ethan and Ehlana were up and ready to party by the time we were finished our Tai Chi; and Mom has pretty much been on the go since then. Violet, Rowen, and I helped her out with the twins while we all tag-teamed bathroom time; getting ready for the day; and cooking, eating, and cleaning up from breakfast. Rowen and I were set free again after the kitchen was cleaned and Alicia had come over to take care of Ethan and Ehlana, and we started out our play day with another music practice in my room while we waited for it to warm up at least a little bit outside.

After playing for an hour or so, we decided to do a little window shopping that included picking up some Olde Bakery treats and having our morning break with Rowen's mom and Dad at the computer store. We did another loop around the new section of town after that before going home to hang out with Ethan and Ehlana until lunchtime. Mom told us a few more travel stories while we ate, and then she and Violet were back to working in the office again while Rowen and I helped Alicia with the kitchen cleanup before heading outside again.

We hopped on our bikes; headed toward Quarry Road; and rode directly into the tweeird zone when Michael and Tim met up with us in front of Michael's house as they were about to go biking too. Okay, there really wasn't anything weird about that, and we all had fun riding together for over an hour; but I'm sure there will be some tween drama at some point once word gets back to Lisa and Nora that their boyfriends were hanging out with us for what ended up being nearly two hours including the snack break back at Michael's house with his parents, Rebecca, Jake, and Stephanie.

For the bike ride part of that, we were all going over to the park trails anyway, and Michael and Tim were going there to find out if any of the bike trails in the woods that had mostly been built up over years of riding and trail-blazing work by the boys around town. We soon found out that their favorite trails and jumps were still a muddy mess, so we ended up going for a ride out River Road; doing a loop up and around back to Quarry Road; and back south into town again. That had been Michael's suggestion, and though Tim had thought that Rowen and I would just slow them down; he soon found out that he couldn't out-race us even when he was trying his best to show off.

The snack break wouldn't have lasted very long, but Miranda and Stephanie worked together to keep Rowen and I from heading home right after we'd finished our drinks and snacks. While I knew exactly what they were doing, there wasn't anything I could really do about it; and Rowen and I had fun anyway, so I didn't really mind getting to spend that time with them.

When we did finally head back to my house, Rowen and I still had about an hour to hang out together before she needed to pack up and head home. We spent most of that time talking about our bike ride and visit at the Stone's house, and then I helped carry her bags home before going to help Mom with making another dinner for eight in the kitchen. This time we were having Dillon, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne over; and Mom was going with a veggie and rice casserole; a small ham with pineapple sauce; and scalloped potatoes. I mostly dealt with all of the veggies, so my work was done as soon as the two casserole dishes went into the oven. Aunt Leanne had come over by then, so I sat at the kitchen table with her, Ethan, Ehlana, and Violet and she started entertaining us with her version of their weekend away.

Most of those stories were fun, but I really don't want to think about the three times that my Mom and Aunt had guys trying to pick them up over the past few days. I know that they're young and beautiful, and without having Dad and Uncle Adam along, those kind of things are inevitable; but that doesn't change the fact that having guys hitting on my Mom is just weird.

While Aunt Leanne provided most of the dinner entertainment, she wanted to hear the weekend report from Violet and me too. She was terribly disappointed with my lack of interesting news from the dance, but had quite a bit to say about playing with Michael at the park and the bike ride and snack time today. Giving her that kind of material to run with was possibly even scarier than the Mom and Aunt pickup attempt stories.

We took our time having dinner, and there was Olde Bakery pie for dessert, but eventually Violet, Dillon, and I were put to work cleaning up while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana walked Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne home. Violet and Dillon were having Jake and Stephanie over to hang out for a few hours, and once they took over the living room; Mom, Ethan, Ehlana and I came up to the lounge to play for a couple of hours. The four teens are staying up late, but Mom and I were both ready for an early night, so once we had the twins tucked in for the night; we both went to bed too.

I've already wrapped up my nightly computer checks, and don't really have anything to report. In the sporting world, the NCAA March Madness basketball competition started today, but that really isn't a big deal here in Witch Falls; and I won't need to worry about knowing all of the facts and stats when we go back to school next Monday. If you're wondering why, try picturing Lee Landry playing basketball. When I try and do that, I see him standing alone at center court with the opposing team trying to shoot baskets from their side of the court; since they can't get past him without stepping out of bounds. I can't even come up with a visualization of him going vertical and doing a slam dunk that doesn't include smashed backboards and minor earthquakes.

Anyway, I've had enough fun for today; don't have anything else to report; and really want to get some extra sleep, so...

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

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Happy 10th birthday, Scott!

Having Patrick spend most of the day with his best friend, and doing a sleepover at the Faulkner's certainly helped to make it a happy day for Rowen and me; and we're having a blissfully quiet sleepover at her house while Patrick is away.

The rest of our day was fairly quiet too. My morning started out with Tai Chi with Mom; we had breakfast with Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then Rowen came over and we split the rest of our morning between hanging out in the lounge and my room, and playing outside for the last hour or so before lunchtime. Mom wanted to work in the office, so Alicia took care of the twins while Violet was spending some time with Dillon before he'd be busy at the Inn for the rest of the day and she'd be working in the office too. Rowen and I helped Alicia with making lunch for all of us, and then we took custody of Ethan and Ehlana for a couple of hours while Mom sent Alicia out to run some errands and have a break from babysitting.

We did a music practice in my room first, and then bundled up for a trip to the park. It was colder out today, and we didn't expect to be at the playground for very long, but after we'd been there for about fifteen minutes; Michael joined us there and was quickly drafted to be Ethan's personal playground equipment assistant and trainer. He may have made Ethan's day by spending his afternoon break from the Inn with us, but Rowen and Ehlana were entertained too – and not just because of the entertainment that Michael and Ethan provided us with their fun and games.

I'm sure you're right, Rowen, and it wasn't a coincidence that Michael came over to the park when we just happened to be there too. Yes, I had fun hanging out with Michael too, but stop trying to pull an 'Aunt Leanne' and twist it into something it isn't. You won't have any more luck getting me to cross over to your side of the line than she has or will.

Would you like to write this?

That was rhetorical, thanks anyway. You know that Ethan was really the one responsible for Michael's invitation to come back with us for hot chocolate and bakery snacks. I was just doing the asking for him while he was stuck playing normal toddler. I was surprised that Ehlana didn't get you to invite him first, but then maybe the three of you worked that out when I wasn't looking – I'm sure it wasn't another coincidence that you and Ehlana only left me with one option at the kitchen table when we did sit down with our drinks and snacks.

Nice try, but your empathic vibes are telling me something different than what you're implying; but not actually saying.

I'm glad that you're entertained by anything that even remotely involves Michael whenever he's even remotely anywhere near me, but I'm going to move on now and pretend that my best friend, brother, and sister have not become volunteers for Aunt Leanne's favorite junior matchmaking mission.

We had our break; Michael helped me with the cleanup before going back to the Inn; and Alicia took over watching Ethan and Ehlana after that while Rowen helped me pack an overnight bag for our sleepover. We had time to hang out in my room again for a while, and Dad was home from work before it was time for us to do a round of goodbye hugs and kisses and meet up with Rowen's Mom at the Emerson's house. We cooked dinner for four; had it ready for when Owen got home; and enjoyed having a rare meal with them that wasn't continually interrupted by the usual antics that Patrick and Scott unleashed whenever they were together and trying their best to gross us out or inflict their pranks and jokes on Rowen and me.

We followed that up with a music practice that felt more like a private recital for Rowen's parents; watched television together for an hour and a half after that; and then Rowen and I came up to her room for the rest of the night while her parents continued hanging out in the living room until they were ready to go to bed too. Our move upstairs was mostly so we could do a little tween-rated surfing; have some girl chat time; and make a few plans for the last couple of weekdays we have left of our holiday.

The weather forecast isn't exactly cooperating with our Spring Break hopes for warm, sunny play days – we could be getting snow, ice, and rain tomorrow depending on what the temperature is when the wet stuff reaches us; and even if we just get rain, it's going to be a few degrees colder than it was today. It will be cold on Friday too, but if the rain and snow moves through by morning; playing outside may be a chilly option. At least we have the Friday night dinner and a movie night to look forward too – and another sleepover at my house.

As for tomorrow and the rest of Friday, we'll probably just end up playing it by ear. I don't really have anything else for tonight's recap, so it's time to move on to some more absolutely pointless but entertaining electronic traveling and sightseeing along the information super-highway.

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

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The big news of the day is that Liz and Philip Seager have bought a house in the new part of town today. Aunt Leanne closed the deal with them this afternoon. The groundbreaking on the first houses doesn't start until Monday, but their house will be ready in time for them to move in by the end of July – and be settled in their new home before their baby is born sometime in September. While there had been riverfront lots available, they picked the one behind Rowen's house; which will put Naomi conveniently close to Ehlana and Ethan.

It's a good thing that there was a hot new story for the town gossip network, because it certainly wasn't warm outside today. We only ended up getting a dusting of snow and a spatter of rain now and then, but Rowen and I mostly stayed indoors all day. I was on my own for Tai Chi; we had breakfast with her parents; and then packed my things up and moved over to my house when Owen and Patricia headed out for the computer store. We had morning and afternoon play time with Ethan and Ehlana; and they conveniently had Naomi with them for a play afternoon while her parents were busy buying the house.

I don't actually have much else to include in tonight's journal. There was some music time; we played games with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi; watched a little television; and basically spent the day goofing around. Rowen went home in time to help her Mom with making dinner, and other than a pair of mini-celebrations about the Seager's new house when Naomi was picked up and again when Aunt Leanne stopped in with Dad after work; it's been a quiet evening for me. Since there was no game night, and Mom and Violet have been busy with work and lessons, I'm even going to be asleep early tonight too. Since Dad will be home tomorrow night, and we're sure to have a busy weekend; that's probably a good thing even if it is boring for a March Break holiday.

Lastly, just in case you're wondering, I didn't even see Michael today. Rowen teased me about wanting to stay inside to avoid running into him, and not because it was cold out. Aunt Leanne had a similar comment, and teased me about the park and snack time too, though she was thankfully more interested in passing on the new house sale details to Mom tonight. We'll see if that lasts during dinner and a movie night tomorrow – which I'm going to rest up for now, so...

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

Friday, March 22, 2013

Dad surprised Rowen and me when he got home from Crystal Springs and we found out that there were two matching, shiny new bikes in the back of the truck with our names on them. Since all of our parents were in on the surprise, we needed to distribute quite a few hugs and kisses, and that gave us an excuse to try the bikes out by riding over to Rowen's house to thank her Mom and Dad.

It was dark, and too cold to take them out for a real spin, but we are definitely going to need to find some time to do that this weekend regardless of the cold, snow, and rain that's in the forecast. I loved the bike that Mom bought me when we moved here, but I'll guess that Dad and Owen picked them out this time. They have a lot of chrome with just a pastel paint hint here and there to make them look like girl's bikes; dual suspension that we could already tell with just our little test ride is way more comfortable than I expected; twenty-one speeds with easy-to-use grip shifters; and a bunch of bells and whistles that girls don't really care about, but sounded impressive. Oh wait, there was one other detail we loved – they have aluminum frames; and are amazingly light even compared to our old, smaller bikes. Yes, I can guess how that sounds, but even Magi Masters can be just like any other twelve-year old kid when their parents do something awesome like this!

Mom and Dad didn't leave Ethan and Ehlana out of the loop for the surprise – they have a shiny new bike trailer; though it still needs to be assembled before we'll be able to try it out with them. They weren't quite as excited about the trailer-in-a-box as Rowen and I were about our bikes, but I'm sure they'll feel differently about that when they do get to go on their first ride.

I think I have that out of my system for now, so let's get the rest of the daily recap started.

Mom and I were up early for Tai Chi, and that was because of a combination of extra sleep and being down to hours until Dad would be home again. Violet didn't wake up until we nearly had breakfast ready, and she'd slept in because her evening had not ended nearly as early as ours had – she and Dillon are running out of time before she'll be heading back to Woodvale. We'd collected Ethan and Ehlana on our way to the kitchen, so they supervised while Mom and I cooked – again, mostly because Violet was only going to be home for less than three more days now.

Rowen came over when her parents went to work, and we spent most of the morning hanging out in my room and the lounge. Nothing newsworthy there, but Rowen's been reminding me since I started writing this that I need to include the recap of our afternoon outing with Ethan and Ehlana. She thinks that I intentionally suggested that we go to the school playground to avoid running into Michael; and thinks that it's hilarious that he met up with us at the school anyway while on his afternoon break. I sense faint traces of a set-up; but can't be positive of the source or sources.

Whatever the real reason might have been, Ethan was very happy to have Michael there to play with again; and we all had fun until we started getting cold and went in search of an afternoon snack and hot drinks break. I wouldn't doubt for a moment that Ethan and Ehlana were all for the plan to have that break in the dining room at the Inn, but I'm also sure that Rowen didn't really have the opportunity to actually get that request from either of the twins before suggesting it when we were leaving the playground.

No, Rowen, I don't believe that innocent expression you're attempting to pull off right now – possibly because you can't keep that silly grin off of your face long enough to make it work.

I knew that going there would guarantee that Michael and I would get teased by Miranda for sure; and possibly by Stephanie if she was there too; but I went anyway despite the near-certain risk. Miranda didn't disappoint, and kept everyone within hearing distance of her comments and jokes entertained for most of the half hour we were there. Michael made his escape back to the kitchen about ten seconds after Jake told him to stop chasing girls and get back to work; and Rowen and I took the twins home shortly after that.

No, Rowen, I won't forget to add the little news flash that you find so much more interesting than I do. According to Miranda, Michael has spent quite a bit more time hanging out with us than he's spent with Lisa this week. Pointing out that he spent a lot of that time playing with Ethan was not accepted as a mitigating factor; and I don't exactly have a viable defense for why he might possibly want to choose playing with Ethan when there are other toddlers he could entertain instead if he felt the need – or cousins like Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia Bassett. For me, all that news tells me is that Lisa is not going to be very happy with me when she finds out – if she hasn't already. Things could be a little frosty for me at Sunday school and again next week.

Getting back on track, after dropping Ethan and Ehlana off at home, we went over to Rowen's house to pack her bag for the sleepover, and then spent the rest of the afternoon at my house. We helped Mom and Aunt Leanne with making dinner while Violet kept working in the office and Alicia went home; and had everything ready to go by the time Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Uncle Adam came over after the clinic was closed for the night. Aunt Deborah is at about seven and a half months now, and getting to the stage where she's ready to get the whole pregnancy thing done with. She'll be finished working at the clinic four weeks from today, unless the baby decides to arrive early, and though everything with her pregnancy is still going nearly perfectly; she was definitely tired out tonight after a long day at work.

Having a nap after dinner was an option, and Aunt Deborah took advantage of her 'expecting mother' dinner clean-up exemption to have a little nap in the living room. Aunt Leanne could have done that too, but she was having too much fun supervising from the kitchen table with Ethan and Ehlana while the rest of us worked. She'd been happy to have even more material from our afternoon adventures to work with while teasing me during dinner; and the jokes and comments continued off and on all evening – including suggestions that Dad and Owen took being chased by boys into consideration when picking out our new bikes.

Dad didn't exactly deny that when he assured us that being able to outrun guys hadn't been 'a determining factor' in their choice.

I'd be okay with dreaming about racing my new bike, but not while being chased by any guys – or a specific boy, Rowen – so let's continue with the recap. The new bike test and break while Dad's truck was unloaded and everyone got drink and snack refills took over a half hour; and then we went back to watching the movie in progress. Aunt Deborah needed to be taken home to bed after that; Violet went to meet up with Dillon at the Inn and go home for the rest of the evening with him; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne stayed to help with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story and to have a little chat with Mom and Dad after that while Rowen and I came up to my room after helping out with the post-movie clean-up.

We took turns in the Jacuzzi first, and have been watching a movie since I finished in the bathroom. Rowen's on a teen chick flick kick; and tonight we're watching the Center Stage movies – if we manage to stay awake for them. That isn't keeping us from surfing on our computers; chatting telepathically with Mandy; and in Rowen's case – carrying on with some self-entertaining teasing directed mostly at me. Yes, she's mostly entertaining me too, but then I'm not sure it would be possible for me to be annoyed about anything tonight after the big bike surprise.

While attempting to move away from that topic may be futile in the real world, I can report that there wasn't anything newsworthy in my email inbox tonight. NCAA basketball continues to be the top sport topic – except that it isn't here in Witch Falls. Sometimes the news and entertainment information is filled with nothing but bad news and scandals, but it's been too nice of a day to go there; and there isn't anything critical happening that will mess up the rest of our March Break, so if you're really interested in today's global current events; check out that section of the archives. I wonder if in your future you'll think that our current world leaders are as crazy as I usually do.

Rowen and I both have a busy day tomorrow, and though we're not ready to crash yet. Rowen is currently having fun with a YouTube search on 'Cassie and Michael', and wants me to wrap this up so she can share her favorite results from that search with me. Since I have pretty much covered the highlights from today, I don't really have any excuse not to do that with her, so...

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

Saturday, March 23, 2013

This has been one of those very strange days.

Having Dad home again always makes Tai Chi more fun; and that made for a great start to the day. Doing the full country breakfast was good too, and Mom went over the work assignments with us while we ate. For me, after helping Rowen to get her things back home where she was going to be helping her Mom; job one was to go with Dad and Aunt Leanne over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to get it ready for their return home tomorrow. We couldn't do much of the outdoor work that Dad would have liked to get done if the weather had been nicer, but we did a quick once-through of dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, and bed-making. That only took us a bit over an hour to get done, and then Dad and I went home again to work there while Aunt Leanne went grocery shopping.

Alicia wasn't working with Mom today because she and Erin were babysitting tonight instead. Violet had been helping Mom while we were gone, but shortly after we got back, she went to spend a little time with Dillon before he'd be working at the Inn. Getting ready for incoming kids tonight was my next assignment; and the babysitting had morphed into another big sleepover event. I needed to get the extra beds in Ethan's and Ehlana's rooms ready for Aiden and Naomi; two second-floor guest rooms ready for the guys; and the two extra bedrooms on the third floor set-up for the girls. Add in three bathrooms to clean, and that kept me busy through until we stopped to have a late lunch at a bit after one.

Cue up strange moment of the day number one.

Mom took me shopping at Palmer's and Taylor Shoes. It was not a coincidence that Rowen and her Mom just happened to be available to go along. While getting new dresses and shoes for Easter was the advertised reason for the little mother and daughter outing, the weird came when Rowen and I found out that our Moms had decided that we also needed to shop for our first 'real' bras.

Rowen was thrilled about reaching that little development milestone; I wasn't nearly as excited; and we were both a little shy about going through the fitting process with Abby for the first time. Choosing a new underwear wardrobe continued the weird for me, but I am really, really, glad that Aunt Leanne was not along to offer her advice. That would have likely escalated the weird to ultra-scary! Even without her there, I was having a little trouble dealing with the transition from plain and simple to lacey or satiny bra and panty sets that made me look and feel a lot different – and emotionally uncomfortable.

We'd needed to do that first before shopping for dresses, and while that wasn't nearly as weird as the bra and underwear shopping had been, I was nearly as uncomfortable to discover that we were apparently ready for the next level in dresses too. I love dressing up and looking my best as much as the next girl, but looking in the mirror and seeing the same 'wow' factor that I see in Mom or Aunt Leanne when they're dressed up, if not quite to that level yet, was high on the weird scale too.

I didn't feel that way at all about seeing Rowen in the dresses she picked out, and while Tommy does have a girlfriend, if he – and every other guy our age – doesn't notice her next weekend in a big way; then he seriously needs to get his eyes tested. Mom and Patricia seemed to find the entire visit with Abby entertaining, and the fact that Rowen and I were practically the opposites of our usual selves may have had a lot to do with why they seemed to be amused so much of the time. Between the four of us, we picked out a total of eleven new dresses, and Abby was a happy camper by the time we paid for everything and moved on to Taylor's to pick up new shoes to go with the dresses. That wasn't as weird for me, though Rowen and I moved up a level or two with our choices of dress shoes too; and the new footwear definitely matches our dresses.

After splitting up and going home, I was only at the house long enough to put my new clothes away before going over to Rowen's to help her pack again for our second sleepover in a row – and the last one of our March Break. it had been raining off and on by then, so we waited for a break to make the dash back to my house; and we were there in time to take over watching Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad got ready for their date night with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and quite a few of their collective friends.

The next couple of hours were fairly standard for our end of a parents' date night. Alicia and Erin came over in time to handle the kid incoming. Philip brought Naomi over first, and over the next half hour, Aiden, Patrick, Scott, and Lindsay were dropped off by one or both parents. Aunt Leanne was a designated driver, but Mom and Dad went to pick them up so she'd have the extra seating in the minivan for driving their friends home from Sheldon's whenever the party started wrapping up for the night. Violet was staying to help Alicia and Erin with our pizza-making dinner party, but then she was going to be staying overnight at Dillon's house; and planned on hanging out with him, Jake, and Stephanie at the Inn while they finished up their work for the night.

Making our personal pizzas was fun, even with some goofing around by Patrick and Scott; and we made it through dinner and the clean-up without any major problems. The second round of weird didn't start until the rest of our overnight guests arrived. Miranda and Jacob were two of the winners of a kid-free night, and they dropped Rebecca, Michael, and Tim off on their way home from the Inn before getting ready to meet up with everyone else at Sheldon's.

There really isn't an easy way for me to write this, so I'll just say that my old training bras were, well, holding things in closer to my chest than the new bras do. I didn't need to sense anything empathically to know that Michael noticed the change. I should add that Rowen's dealing with a similar change, and that Michael wasn't the only guy in the house to notice both of us. The really weird part of that, at least when Michael and Tim first got here, was that I was trying to be my normal, fired-up self; and Rowen was back to being even a bit more shy than usual.

The lounge and my room was kid central. Patrick and Scott had already taken over the lounge to play video games; and they dragged Michael and Tim into doing that with them for a while. Rebecca was again helping Alicia and Erin as an unofficial junior babysitter; and we all played with Lindsay and the four younger kids. That included some music time, and Michael joined us for a while; playing my saxophone while I played my keyboard with some rotating help from Lindsay, Naomi, and Ehlana.

Alicia and Erin had Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden tucked in and possibly off to sleep by nine-thirty. They cut Patrick and Scott off from their gaming at ten-thirty; and didn't really have them in their second-floor room for the night at eleven. Lindsay had fallen asleep before then; and they'd moved her into the bedroom across the hall from the lounge. The top weirdness of my day started shortly after eleven when Alicia, Erin, and Rebecca all decided to go downstairs to watch a movie in the living room; leaving Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me on our own in the lounge.

I don't really want to know what they were laughing about as they went downstairs, but I can probably guess.

So there we were, just a couple of hours ago, just hanging out in the lounge. My emotions were already all out of whack from our afternoon shopping adventure, and I was far too acutely aware of how my new underwear felt under my soft, cashmere sweater and jeans without having to think about how Michael was feeling about me too. Three out of four of us voted to watch a movie, and I voted to be scared. Why? Because I've been having fun while feeling really uncomfortable too.

And before you think it; no, I am not crossing over!

We picked an action-comedy; Michael and Tim added bonus entertainment when they needed to deal with Patrick and Scott trying to spy on us and attempt a few pranks; and while we haven't really spent time together like we were doing tonight, I'm sure that Michael and Tim had as much fun as Rowen and I did. The uncomfortable side of that couple of hours came from the fact that we were in my lounge, and, except for the interruptions from Patrick and Scott, mostly alone with guys that both have girlfriends. We weren't doing anything to really feel uncomfortable about, but I was in the tweeird zone for sure anyway. Add in the ongoing issue I was having with my reaction to wearing the new underwear, and I had to keep resisting the urge to move as far away from Michael or Tim as possible and still watch the movie – not that we were cuddling on the sofa or anything like that either.

No, Rowen, I do not wish that I was cuddling with Michael now even though we are still warming up from being outside – and that's not nearly as funny as you seem to think it is. Okay, maybe it is that funny, but I am not laughing.

Going outside was Michael's idea, and Alicia and Erin gave us their blessing when we told them we wanted to shovel the driveway and sidewalks before Mom and Dad got home from the pub. That seemed like a great idea, and we had a blast doing the work together right up until the time that Aunt Leanne pulled the minivan into the driveway – and caught us in the middle of a post-shoveling snowball fight. I'm beginning to wonder if she recruited Mother Nature for her matchmaking too, since their timing getting home couldn't have been worse for me or better for them from an entertainment perspective.

That's right; Cassie Proctor was involved in another snow incident with Michael. Nobody cared that Michael had slipped and fallen while dodging a snowball that I hadn't even thrown at him, or that I'd only landed on him because he'd pulled me off of my feet when I tried to help him up. That was bad enough; the teasing was worse; and I don't even want to think about how that new, lacey underwear was making me feel while I was lying there despite the fact that Michael and I were both bundled up in our winter coats, gloves, and hats.

There hadn't been a lot of snow, and it hadn't taken long to clear the driveway and sidewalks. The fact that it was late kept Aunt Leanne from teasing me too much about catching Michael and me in the snow, but she had a little time for a few zingers while she waited to give Alicia and Erin a ride to Alicia's house, and Dad, Michael, and Tim went with Uncle Adam to his place to get their driveway and sidewalks cleared.

It was heading toward two o'clock by the time we were all inside again. Mom and Dad went straight to bed then, and so did Rebecca, but my best friend in the whole world decided that she hadn't had enough fun yet; and suggested that we – and Michael and Tim – should warm up with cups of hot chocolate first before splitting up and going to bed. Add in Olde Bakery snacks, and that was a recipe for another half hour or so of tweeirdtainment – at least from my perspective. Going up the back stairs after that reminded me way too much of stories from Dad and Aunt Leanne from when they were teens; and I'm not going to comment on why Rowen was grinning the way she was when we said goodnight to Michael and Tim on the second floor before continuing on up to my room.

Okay, I have two comments about that:

1. He has a girlfriend.

2. I am not crossing over!!!

Moving on, but not really; getting changed and ready for bed felt weird tonight too. That was definitely a combination of the new underwear, and the fact that Michael and Tim were literally just a handful of feet away while we were getting changed – even though they were below us and there was a solid floor and ceiling between us. Having scenes involving Superman-like x-ray vision playing in my mind did not help.

I'm going to need to not dream about bunnies and puppies tonight - soft, cute, and cuddly bunnies and puppies.

So we haven't really been in bed that long; and I've been working on this most of the time while Rowen's been having fun teasing me. Though we're alone, and all is quiet in the house; the tweeird continues for me. Now it's the absence of that new lacey bra that feels strange; along with the inescapable realization that I really liked the way it feels to wear a real bra – even with all of the emotional turbulence I've had today.

Rowen Emerson, that is so wrong! Here are two more comments for you:

1. You should not be messing up a perfectly good dream-catching technique by telling me that Michael might be dreaming about auburn-haired Playboy bunnies with emerald-green eyes.

2. I AM NOT CROSSING OVER!

With that said, I'm going to wrap this up, snuggle with Mandy, and possibly stare at the ceiling for however long it takes to pass out for a couple of hours.

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

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Welcome home, Grandma and Grandpa!

Getting to have dinner with them at the Inn, and spending a few hours together was a great way to wrap up the March Break holiday, but let's recap the rest of the day first.

Mom, Dad, and I had agreed to skip Tai Chi this morning in favor of a little extra sleep. I actually did manage to get a few hours of down time, though it didn't really feel like more than a cat nap when we first woke up. The crazy Sunday morning rush kicked in almost immediately. I helped Mom and Dad with four toddlers, and then Rowen and Rebecca helped Mom with them – and with Lindsay – while Dad and I headed outside for another round of shoveling. There was maybe another inch or so of the white stuff to get off the driveway, sidewalks, van, and truck; but it didn't take all that long to get everything done – especially after Michael joined in to help us.

Tim, Patrick, and Scott were the last to wake up, and the two younger boys had needed some encouragement that Rowen and I let Ethan and Aiden provide for them with a little constructive pouncing. Mom had the breakfast cooking well underway by the time Dad, Michael, and I got back inside. The usual juggling act continued from there, and my part of the circus included helping Mom with the rest of the cooking; eating quickly so I could take a turn having a shower and getting ready for church; and taking a turn or two watching Ethan, Ehlana, and the other younger kids. Somehow, we all managed to be ready to go on time; and then Mom and Dad both drove loads of kids over to the church after Naomi and Aiden were each picked up by their parents first. Dad had four out of five of the boys with him, and I was very happy that Rowen did not have any entertainment opportunities that might have happened if Michael and Tim had been in the minivan with us.

It's Palm Sunday, so we – the kids and teens – were in the sanctuary for more of the service than usual before being sent off to Sunday school. The teen praise team helped out with some of the music; some of the kids and teens were involved with the Palm Sunday story skits; and once we were in our Sunday school classes, we split our time between a bible lesson about Palm Sunday and more Easter weekend practices for the kids and teens involved in some or all of the services next weekend. There was lots of time to get everything done because today's service was more than an hour and a half long.

Rowen isn't here tonight as I write this, but she'd be reminding me that I should back up and mention that all was not well in the land of tween when she and I walked into the sanctuary with Rebecca, Michael, Tim, and the remainder of our little sleepover gang. We stopped to wait just inside the doors for Mom and Dad to join us, but Lisa and Nora had been waiting for Michael and Tim; and neither of them looked very impressed to see their boyfriends hanging out with us. The whole sleepover news flash went over like a ton of bricks too, so I'll guess that any details they hear about will just make things worse.

Tim tried to help mitigate the potential girlfriend problem by immediately going to hang out with Nora and sit with her family, but Michael had Ethan in his arms, and didn't even try to pass him off to me after Lisa joined us. They eventually went to sit with Rebecca and his parents after Mom and Dad caught up with us, but Lisa didn't look at all happy for the rest of the morning.

And before I move on; new underwear day two was only a little less weird than it was yesterday.

It took a while to get home after the service ended. Nearly everyone had driven, and that meant a line-up in front of the church that was mostly to keep the girls from needing to navigate slippery sidewalks in dress shoes. Mom and Dad only had Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen and me to take home with them, and they invited Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne to have lunch with us. Rowen's parents were working at the store again for the last day of the holiday weekend; so she was spending the rest of the day with me until after the buffet dinner at the Inn. Violet was home for lunch too, but she didn't get home until after doing the goodbyes with Dillon and dropping him off at the Inn.

I was hoping that her sleepover at Dillon's house would be of more interest to Aunt Leanne than grilling me about everything that didn't happen last night with Michael and Tim; but she was happy to multi-task. Having Dad, Uncle Adam, and Ethan there may have saved me from getting teased about the parts of our shopping trip that Aunt Leanne was most interested in – that, and the girls' rules that prohibit her from gossiping about those back room purchases. She had more than enough material to use without that, though, and even though I still mostly had fun despite being one of the main entertainment targets; I was really glad when lunch was over and Rowen and I could escape to my room for a while.

Violet needed to pack up and head home then – especially since she was in for a messy drive home; but we let her have that time with Mom and Aunt Leanne while Dad and Uncle Adam took care of Ethan and Ehlana. She left for Woodvale by a quarter to two; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne headed over to their place then too.

I was thinking about having a nap right about then, and Ethan, Ehlana, and Mom did go and do that, but Rowen and I ended up going for a slushy little bike ride instead.

That change in plans happened because Michael came over to pick up the overnight bags that he and Rebecca had left here so they wouldn't need to take them to the Inn from the church. He had Tim with him, and they were going to goof around on their bikes while Michael was on his afternoon break. Rowen was responsible for getting us invited to go riding too, but I'll admit that I was just as enthusiastic as she was about showing off our new bikes and taking them out for a spin. We froze our butts off doing that, but had a total blast until a band of rain rolled through and put an end to our ride. Being cold and damp by the time we got home gave Rowen yet another excuse to keep hanging out with Michael and Tim; and Ethan and Ehlana were happy to help her out with getting them to stay for an afternoon hot chocolate and bakery snack break that stretched out until Michael really needed to hurry back to the Inn.

Grandma and Grandpa were delayed a bit by the weather, so our dinner plans were pushed back to the late buffet. That gave Rowen and I time to have showers and clean up from our bike ride; play dress up; and spend some extra time doing our hair in braids and curls. Mom and Dad drove us over to Grandma and Grandpa's house when they were nearly home, and we were there to help them upload the van and get everything inside. They needed a little time to freshen up before we all went over to the Inn, so we didn't get there until nearly a half-hour after the late buffet started.

That change in plans also made it possible for Rowen's parents and brother to join us for dinner; and there were quite a few store owners and their families celebrating the end of a busy March Break shopping week by having dinner there too after closing their shops and stores for the day. Since we hadn't seen Grandma and Grandpa in so long, Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and I got to sit at the double table that had been pushed together for us with them, Mom and Dad, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah.

Grandpa provided most of the dinner entertainment with his tall – I mean travel – tales. Ethan and Ehlana particularly enjoyed the improbable stories about their run-ins with Hobbits in New Zealand; Tasmanian Devils in Tasmania; and unbelievably gigantic whales while scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef. I was happy to sit back, enjoy the stories, and try not to give Aunt Leanne any opportunities to tease me or play matchmaker.

I was mostly successful in that mission right up until I made the fateful decision to go into the kitchen to make sure Dillon was doing okay after having to say goodbye to Violet; and to share a round of goodnight hugs with Miranda, Jacob, and the rest of my friends. It's a good thing that we were one of the last groups of customers leaving the Inn by then; and that Michael wouldn't have to get teased for long before he'd be able to escape and go home.

There's no way I could sit here now and write that I wasn't thrilled with his reaction to seeing me tonight. I'd already hugged Stephanie, Jake, and Dillon by the time he walked into the main kitchen from the back room, and while he wasn't at risk of dropping dishes or anything; he did stop dead in his tracks and lose track of several long moments while staring at me. That earned him a hug; which ended up being at least as tweeird for me as it probably was for him.

Note to me – for the next however long it takes, use extreme caution when choosing hugging targets. Tonight's lesson came courtesy of the combination of new underwear, satin shirt, and another cashmere sweater that combined to make that hug with Michael very pleasantly uncomfortable.

I am not crossing over! Repeat as often as necessary!

Since Michael was still more than a little dazed and unresponsive by the time I'd finished the rest of the hugs with his parents and Rebecca, I wasn't surprised when Miranda had to pass that little news flash on to my family; and she and Aunt Leanne spent a few minutes teasing me about it before we headed home. Regardless of the tweeird factor, that little memory was worth getting teased over; so I just went along with it and had fun too.

Grandma and Grandpa were tired, but still used to a different time zone, so they came home with us so we could talk with them for another hour or so; and do the bedtime story with Ethan and Ehlana. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne stopped in too, and Aunt Leanne had time for a little bonus teasing directed my way while we made up hot drinks for everyone before moving into the living room. it was wind down time after that, and though I'd thought about starting my usual nightly studies after coming up to bed, the lack of sleep from last night has caught up with me; and I don't have a few more hours of play time left in me.

When I think about it, this entire week has had a lot of strange moments mixed in with all of the fun. We didn't get anything even remotely close to the warm Spring weather we'd been hoping for a week ago Friday when it had been so beautiful, but we've still managed to have a really great holiday anyway. I'm probably in the minority of kids and teens who are excited about going back to school in the morning, but then we only have a four day week anyway before the Easter holiday; and there's sure to be a lot of holiday themed fun to go along with the regular work.

There could be some tween drama in my immediate future too, but I'm really not all that worried about it even though I wish that Lisa wasn't upset with me – or with Michael because of me. I'm too tired to think about that tonight; and might even be exhausted enough that I won't be kept awake thinking about that hug with Michael either.

I am not crossing over; and I will not dream of cute, cuddly boys – BUNNIES!

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

Monday, March 25, 2013

There is a lot to write about today, but I'll start with the top news in town – the groundbreaking for the lab; and for the first houses in the news subdivision.

We didn't exactly have a beautiful Spring day for those big events, and the original plan had not included plowing away snow and slush before starting the digs; but it was still exciting – even for those of us who were busy and school or work, and didn't actually get to see any of the action until after school. There was a little ceremony for the lab groundbreaking that Mom took Ethan and Ehlana over for; and Uncle Adam was there as the representative of the company. Aunt Leanne was there too, since her real estate business dealt with all of the land purchases and sales; but Dad had meetings in the office to deal with, and only a few people even knew that he'd been much more involved in the projects than just dealing with the legal side of the property contracts.

Ethan and Ehlana were fired up all day; and kept Mom busy trying to keep up with them. I understand why they're so excited, but on the other hand, the lab project is going to be nothing more than a very big, deep hole in the ground for months before we'll see anything built above ground. They're keeping up with every detail practically as the work is happening, but I'll probably just get updates from them and during our future plans meetings.

Moving on to my school day news, the top Grade Seven story isn't actually a story yet; but will be one anytime now. It's a little disturbing for me, because I have someone who thinks that she hates me right now. Lisa doesn't really hate me, but she is hurt, mad, and jealous; and it's a lot easier for her to focus all of that on me instead of Michael. Being an ultra-sensitive empath can be tough; and today was definitely one of those difficult days. I wish I could help both of them, but I'm the last person Lisa would want a shoulder to cry on from; and I have no idea how to help Michael without making things worse for Lisa.

If everyone and everything seemed to be conspiring to push me over 'the line' last week; the tween drama today went a long way toward convincing me that staying safely where I am right now is the smart decision.

Moving along, it's been cold all day with a mixed bag of wet snow and drizzle that didn't make playing outside a particularly interesting option. Rowen and I still hopped on our new bikes and did a quick ride around to check out the action at the lab and behind her house and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam's place. The first day of work was already winding down by then, and there wasn't much to actually see except all of the equipment and some holes in the ground; but it was still exciting. Rowen isn't sure how she's feeling about having back-yard neighbors instead of open fields beyond her back yard, but she does think it's cool that the Seagers bought that house. Getting to watch those houses being built will be cool too; though the noise might get annoying sometimes.

Since we didn't want to ride our new bikes or play outside in the cold today, after doing our little construction sightseeing tour, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the lounge; doing our homework; playing music; and having a little chat with Ethan and Ehlana. Rowen went over to the computer store shortly after Dad got home, and I helped to make dinner after she left while Ethan and Ehlana supervised, and we all gave Dad the daily recap.

That reminds me to mention there was something else weird going on at school today. Some of the high school boys were wearing pajama pants today – and by some, I mean a quarter or more of them. Yes, that is only ten or twelve guys out of forty-something, but that was enough to get everyone's attention. I haven't heard the real reason why they decided to do this, or who instigated it. There were jokes filtering down to the lower grades that it was a ploy to try and get the high school girls to wear their pajamas and nighties to school too. Jacob and Dillon were not part of that trend-setting group, but we'll see if they join in before this little episode of goofiness runs its course.

Considering my earlier comment about being glad that I haven't crossed over yet, suggesting that it would be fun to see Jake Stone wearing his pajama pants to school too – or in whatever he does wear to bed, as Rowen suggested to me – is probably wrong; but we couldn't have been the only girls thinking that today!

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne all came over after dinner mostly to have the first future plans meeting that Grandma and Grandpa could attend since in nearly three months; and to continue catching up with them on what we'd all been doing while they were away. For the future plans part of the night, we mostly went over the construction schedule for the next couple of months; continued work on some of our mid-term projects; and brought Grandma and Grandpa up to speed with the latest news on the overall plan. They had some new suggestions for ways that we could support new or expanding local businesses beyond what we're already doing with construction-related companies; and they're right about some of the things we'll need in a growing town. Maybe that's something I'll get involved with – especially when it comes to having more shopping options!

We spent an hour and a half working, and then moved into the living room for drinks, snacks, and an extended bedtime story-share before Ethan and Ehlana were tucked into bed by our grandparents. I came up to bed then too. While it had already been a long, busy day by then, I wanted to get started on my next language study; and began my nightly computing with that. Punjabi is one of the Indo-Iranian languages, and while knowing the language will be helpful for our family business interests in Pakistan, India, and elsewhere, I actually chose to study it next because it connects Indo-Iranian and Aryan languages with tonal languages; so it will help me learn many other languages once I've mastered it. Since almost nobody else who might read this in the future will be interested in languages like I am; I'll leave that little lesson right there, and move on.

I worked on my first Punjabi lessons for nearly two hours; added another hour of work in the archives; and wrapped up with my usual nightly computing before getting around to this archive update. It's past two now; I've had enough fun for one day; and that's all I have to report anyway, so...

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

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Guys wearing pajama pants is now officially a fad at school; and quite a few of the boys in Grade Seven and Eight jumped onboard. I have no idea why, but Jake and Dillon were wearing pajama pants too; and Michael and Tim were following Jake's lead. Since it was another cold day, I think they're all a bit crazy, but I also agree with the majority of girls at school who think that Jake Stone looks really great in the hospital scrubs he was wearing.

I am not commenting on how any of the guys in my class looked in their pajama pants, other than to suggest that one of the guys was incredibly brave to wear his superhero jammies. If you're reading this in some decades-distant future, and know both that story and the identity of the guy; I'll guess that his future self regrets the youthful indiscretion.

There isn't a lot else to report from school. Michael and Lisa are still quietly having problems that they're mostly still keeping between them; since there isn't a peep about them on the school grapevine. Michael joined Rowen and me for our lunchtime music practice; and I think that escaping into the music for a while helped; though he wasn't having as much fun with it as he usually does. I knew there had been more of a shift in his relationship with Lisa when she didn't even check up on us once while we practiced; and while I was still getting the cold shoulder from her today, it wasn't either better or worse because Michael spent that time with me. A joke at the start of our first afternoon class about Michael spending his lunchtime all alone in the music room with two girls while in his pajamas didn't even register the reaction the guy making the joke had hoped for from Lisa; and I wished even more that I could help her. Hopefully, her best friends will be able to do that instead.

Since it was another cold day with a snowy-slushy mess on the ground; Rowen and I didn't mind getting back to our usual Tuesday after-school jobs. I haven't mentioned Aunt Leanne's morning sickness problems since before she took Mom on their weekend away in Florida, mostly because she's only had minor issues in the mornings since her last batch of tough days; but today wasn't a good one for her, and Mom spent parts of the day helping her while she was sick. That included most of the time between when Alicia and I got home after school and dinnertime. While I worked in the office; Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana; and Mom went over to be with Aunt Leanne at her place.

That was something that was different now that Grandma and Grandpa were home. Aunt Leanne had extra parental support, and if she needed Mom; Ethan and Ehlana had an extra babysitting option during the school day. While Aunt Leanne had wanted Mom with her through the worst moments of the day, Grandma helped her too; and she and Grandpa took care of cooking and delivering dinner for four that they shared with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne while Mom came home to have dinner with Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and me.

Aunt Leanne probably should have taken the night off, but they'd set up a wedding plans meeting, and the only change they made was to have it at her house. Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Deborah were all there for that for an hour or so after dinner, and then Mom came home again so that she could do some Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before bedtime. Just in case I didn't have enough on the go, my lesson came with a big archive assignment; so I had a lot to work on after coming up to my room for the night.

Tonight, I started with the archive homework before moving on to studying the first of three scripts that are used to write Punjabi, but my mind wasn't totally on my work tonight; and I also took a little break between the archive and language work for a little therapeutic music practice on my keyboard. It's late, and I don't really want to go into the details, but I'm having a tough time dealing with the empathic stress at school with Michael and Lisa. It's a pointless exercise, but I'm also wondering if things between them would have been different if Mom and I had never moved here – something I'm sure Lisa is wondering too. The Sight doesn't allow me to look back and then forward into 'what might have been' futures, and even if that was possible, I'm sure the same rules would apply; and I'd just see all of the possible choices and outcomes from that point onward. I can't help how I'm feeling right now, and knowing what I do about the future doesn't make things any easier – especially since, as I've mentioned before, Ethan, Ehlana, and I don't get to have all of the details; and I know almost nothing at all about Lisa's future.

Wow, that ended up being a lot for 'not going into the details'. I think I'll just wrap this up; cuddle with Mandy; and stare vacantly at nothing while I wait for my brain to shut down enough to get some sleep.

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

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Happy 2nd birthday, Jayden!

He wasn't particularly interested in the phone call with us this morning, but Jaimie and Kaitlyn entertained us for a while before we sat down to have breakfast; and it sounded like they were having a good morning and start to their little brother's big day.

That helped to make for a fun start to the day, and the ongoing entertainment from the pajama pants boys at school helped to offset the continuing empathic problems I'm having whenever I'm anywhere near either Michael or Lisa. They were 'together' today, particularly when they were hanging out with the couples club at lunch; but then they weren't really together either.

There were more than a few tweeird moments today too, with the first being just about everything surrounding gym class. Maybe I was just oblivious on Monday, but Rowen and I definitely noticed that we were getting second and third looks from the other girls in the locker room while getting changed before and after class; and we were getting some attention from the boys during class too. That's right, the new underwear change apparently affects nearly every aspect of our lives; and while Rowen is as shy as always at school, and especially in the locker room; I know that she's secretly thrilled by the attention. I'm mostly just weirded out by all of it.

Since we're going there now anyway, I'll also mention that there is some weirdness at home too; though that's all entirely my problem. Seeing Mom's bras drying in the laundry room has never bothered me. My training bras were dryer-safe; and not a problem. Now that my new bras need to be hand-washed and hung to dry; I'm a little freaked out about having my underwear on semi-public display. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but not anytime soon; and I've suddenly become extremely conscientious about getting my clean laundry up to my room and put away.

Getting back on topic, the extra attention made gym class totally tweeird, and that affected me enough that I hit four three-point baskets in a row before Rowen nudged me and whispered a reminder that we weren't playing in the WNBA; and the last thing I'd wanted right then was more attention from either the boys or girls. Tweeird Zone moment number two, if you're counting by overall scenes, came during music class. Today, Michael was wearing hospital scrub-style pajama pants, and we both found out that they are very thin compared to the jeans or khakis he usually wears; the contact between us while we were playing our saxophones had an effect on him; and those hospital scrubs are not capable of hiding the observable reactions, if you catch my drift. For once, I was one of the first students out of that class; and he was one of the last after apparently needing to fix a couple of things before putting his, um, instrument away. I know, but that was the joke Rowen whispered to me when she caught up to me, and while I was a bit mortified that she'd noticed too; we were both laughing about it – that – the joke! – for the rest of the afternoon.

While it was an after-school play day, our first order of business once we'd been set free from Spanish class was to head over to the salon for the Easter hair appointments our Moms had booked for us with Liz. Vicky and Liz were booked solid pretty much all week, so Liz didn't have time to play with our hair like she does sometimes, but while I just went with getting my bangs trimmed and less than an inch off the back to even things up; Rowen let Liz change up her hair style a bit, and they used up the extra time that I hadn't needed to do that. They were both happy with the results, and I think Rowen's new look is awesome.

We were just getting ready to head home from the salon when tweeird scene number three popped up; though this time, it was Rowen who entered the tweeird zone while I was just there to witness it. 'Tommy' walked into the shop with his girlfriend while we were paying our bill. They both did a double-take when they saw Rowen, though Tommy managed to recover from the wide-eyed open-mouthed reaction before it was noticed by the wrong girl; and he dodged some potential tween trouble of his own. The little chat we had with them before leaving was awkward, and Rowen had gone into full shy mode, but once we were out of sight of the salon windows; I hugged her enthusiastically, and she did a little happy dance before we hurried home to get our homework done and hopefully still have a little time to play before dinner.

We ended up just hanging out in the lounge and my room, and after getting our homework done; we played a little music, and had a little telepathic chat with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom was busy. The rest of the evening has been fairly quiet. Mom did separate Magi lessons – one with Ethan and Ehlana while Dad and I took care of the kitchen clean-up; and mine right after that while the twins played with their science lab on the conference table in the office. It was a full bath and bed routine night for them, and I helped Mom with that; spent some quality time in my Jacuzzi once they were tucked in; and buzzed through my language and archive studies with a little time-phase help. I made an exception for that tonight mostly because I feel the need for more than four or five hours of sleep. We only have one more school day before the Easter weekend, and even though we aren't going to have a house full of guests; we still have a lot going on just with the extra church services and family fun.

I probably shouldn't waste any of that extra nap time, so...

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

Thursday, March 28, 2013

The big news buzzing around town this afternoon is that Aunt Leanne sold another new house today – this one to Hannah and Nathan Draper; possibly a combination gift from the Easter Bunny and early, new baby gift. They picked one of the first few houses that are going to be built along the river; and have one of the two lots that edge the first bend in the river that used to be just outside of town. With all of the construction going on over there for the next few years, there will be a lot of noise to deal with; but they're going to have one of the nicest spots in the entire new section of town; and they'll be at the bakery during most of the construction work hours anyway.

While the next news story didn't escape onto the town grapevine, Ethan and Ehlana 'graduated' from Grade Ten today. I honestly hadn't thought about it, but their original schedule to be done before March Break was changed when Mom and Aunt Leanne headed to Florida. Then we were on March Break last week; Mom was busy with the future plans work, including the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday; and everything else they all had on the go; so they didn't get the last bit of work done until today. I'm sure they'll still manage to finish Grade Eleven by the time we're out of school in June; and be finished high school by Christmas. I've been there, done that, and it's still amazing to watch them go through all of that work so quickly!

Compared to those stories, I don't really have much to report from school. The weather is finally warming up again; though we're not starting this holiday out with the kind of day we had on the Friday before March Break. It was nice enough that Rowen and I could take our new bikes out for a little spin after school without totally freezing our butts off; and we rode around the new section of town to check out the action there; checked out the even bigger and deeper hole in the ground at the lab construction site; and rode around the trail at the park before heading back to my house again.

We were supposed to have a work night, but Rowen switched her shift to help her parents on Saturday morning instead – mostly because that would be a busier day for them with last-minute Easter gift shopping and holiday weekend visitors. Having a sleepover tonight worked out better too, so we got parental approval for that; and had Rowen's bags packed and moved over to my house before taking a break in our play time to help Mom with making dinner.

The rest of the evening has been fairly quiet for us. Violet got home at a little after seven, but didn't really spend much time with us before going out again to spend the evening with Dillon. Mom and Dad worked in the office to try and get as much done as they could so they'd be able to take as much of the rest of the weekend off as possible. Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana out for a walk and a bit of play time at the park; and then we played in my room and the lounge. Our little Magi-assisted music practices with the twins are always fun, and we followed that up with a movie and telepathic chat before it was time for them to go to bed.

Rowen and I started a second movie after they went to bed, and we've been chatting with Mandy; surfing the web; and just taking it easy. Since we have church in the morning, we're going to bed once the movie is done; and that's pretty much everything I have to report for today, so...

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

Friday, March 29, 2013

It always seems appropriate to me when we get rain on Good Friday morning. We only had a sprinkle or two of it this morning, but I woke up to see a spatter or raindrops on my window. I left Rowen asleep while exercising with Mom and Dad; and then went to do her wake-up call while they returned to the second floor to take care of Ethan and Ehlana. Once I had Rowen up and moving, we went next door to have a fun little visit with Violet; and then all three of us got ready for church before meeting Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana in the kitchen for breakfast.

Mom put us on the clean-up and toddler-sitting crew after we'd finished eating while she and Dad took their turn to get ready for church. By the time they were ready to go, Dillon had come over to meet up with Violet; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had stopped in on their way to collect us; and we all walked to church together. The Good Friday service was as somber and solemn as the occasion. There were very few changes from the last two years; and there was a nearly-silent recessional at the end of the service, with no greet the pastors line afterward. Knowing about the Easter stories in the Magi archives has given Pastor Martha a whole new perspective on Easter, and while she can't exactly use any of that information in her sermons, you should think about reading the archive journal she's begun keeping. Mom thought that an archive from the perspective of an ordained minister Magi would be as unique as the one Uncle Adam is keeping; and I think it's a brilliant idea too.

Since the service wasn't very long, and there wasn't any visiting going on, we were home again by eleven o'clock. Rowen packed up and went home to have lunch with her parents and brother, and after I got changed, Dad and I went outside to get bikes ready for him and Mom; and hook up Ethan and Ehlana's new trailer to his bike so we could go for a ride after lunch. Violet and Dillon had lunch with us, but then they were doing their own thing for the afternoon; having dinner with his parents; and spending another evening together at his house.

We had fun at lunchtime, but I really loved getting to spend a few hours playing with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana this afternoon. Rowen came biking with us, and we rode around most of the town, including the new section, before going over to the park to ride the trail and have a little playground time with Ethan and Ehlana. There were a lot of families at the park, and that part of our ride was slow because of the traffic on the path – particularly the river section to the falls. We also had a bigger group because Michael and Tim met up with us while we were riding along Quarry Road near the school; and they decided to ride with us for a while.

Okay, Rowen; I can practically hear you thinking it all the way from over at your house – it was Michael's idea to ride with us; and Tim went along because that's what best friends do for their buddies. My best buddy had way too much fun with that entire scene, though she did at least wait until we were alone after getting home again to razz me about it.

We each had family dinner plans, so we didn't have a lot of time to hang out together after getting back from our ride and play time. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were having dinner with his family, so we got to have Grandma and Grandpa with us tonight. That gave us more time for Grandpa's travel stories, and we had a quiet, relaxing dinner and evening together until Grandma and Grandpa went home after tucking Ethan and Ehlana in for the night.

It feels strange to be doing this on a holiday weekend, but once I finish writing this, I'm going to sleep; and it's barely after ten o'clock! I'm not doing any bedtime studying, and the only email news from around the family was from Aunt Grace. She was just letting me know that she'd arrived in Seattle safely and was enjoying her visit with Mark and his family so far. This trip, and the one she's planning for the Memorial Day weekend, is as much about getting ready for their wedding as getting to know Mark's family better; and from what Aunt Grace wrote, it sounds like her Saturday is going to be all about working on the wedding. Fortunately for her, that will include a lot of shopping and fun too.

Anyway, that's really all I have for today. Since Rowen's working at the store in the morning, and we only have Violet home with us this weekend, I'll be doing some house and yard work in the morning. I hope Mom and Dad are ready to work with me – that can be a bit scary when I'm fully charged, like I will be after getting a full night of sleep like I'm about to do now.

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

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Happy 18th birthday, Jake!

I wouldn't have 'officially' been allowed to know about him anyway, but this will not be an extra-special birthday for Jake anyway; and he will not be having 'the talk' that every Magi teen is most excited about when they finally turn eighteen.

Before you wonder if that little news flash affects my little crush on Jake, don't forget that it isn't news for me – I've known who nearly all of the Magi are since the summer before last. The exemption Rowen and I gave him when we were nine and ten still applies, and even if she knew he wasn't a Magi too; Rowen wouldn't want to change that any more than I do.

I wasn't involved in Jake's birthday celebrations at all – in fact, I didn't even see him around town today; and sent my happy birthday wishes to him through Violet, Michael, and an e-card and email that I sent first thing this morning. Though Mom and Dad hadn't planned on a big house and yard work day, we had a fairly nice weather morning; so Dad and I spent some extra time working in the yard and cleaning up the storage barn. That included cleaning up a few canoes in the hope that we'd have some warmer weather soon so we could enjoy some play time on the river soon. I worked on the porches, paths, and sidewalks; helped with cleaning up some downed branches; and we washed the truck, van, and Violet's car.

While we were doing that, Mom, Violet, and Alicia were busy with housework and doing a little running round town. Violet was able to hang out with Mom because Dillon was working the breakfast and lunch shifts at the Inn so that he'd have the evening off for Jake's party. They were able to do a short lesson too while Alicia took Ethan and Ehlana out for a little play time at the park; but even that was just some Magi-assisted cleaning.

Violet, Alicia, and I were all set free after lunch today, and I hopped on my bike and headed over to meet up with Rowen at the computer store. They'd had a busy morning, and Rowen was just finishing her lunch when I got there, so we had time for a little visit with her Mom while they both ate and then we were off and riding. That's when we met up with Michael. He was starting an extended afternoon break since he'd be helping out at the Inn tonight while all of the older teens were celebrating Jake's birthday. I strongly suspect it wasn't a coincidence that he was on his way to meet up with Tim at Landry's at the same time that Rowen and I were getting started on our play afternoon. What I don't know is who tipped him off; though Tim's look of surprise at seeing Rowen and me with Michael when he joined us outside looked very suspicious; and so did the grins that he tried not to let me see.

So now we get to the tweeird part of the day. Going for another bike ride together was fun – right up until the first band of the forecasted rain moved through while we were still about a half-mile north of town. We were all fairly damp by the time we got back to town, and Rowen was nice enough to invite the guys to come home with us so we could warm up, get dried off, and have a snack break together. I don't even want to think about Tim's jokes about her suggestion being better than doing that at his house, Michael's, or Rowen's where there were no parental units around. I'm sure he would be right about that kind of story being a hit on the town gossip network, but the tweeird zone that was my house for the next hour or so will be a very entertaining story too – if it gets out.

First of all, we were more than 'damp' when we walked into the house, and that already felt weird before Mom ordered us to lose the wet shoes and clothes and get changed. I'm so glad she at least let Rowen and I go up to my room, and sent Michael and Tim into one of the guest bedrooms on the second floor to do that. Dad was recruited to get dry clothes that Michael and Tim could wear while their clothes were dried. The temporary fashion ensembles he came up with for them weren't likely going to be anything that might become the next fad at school, but at least they were warm; and I was grateful that Dad hadn't tried to give them any of my track pants or workout clothes to wear despite the fact that they would have fit better.

Laugh all you want, but I'm in Grade Seven, and have no doubt about whether there would be jokes making the rounds about having not one, but two boys getting into my pants – especially since Tim is often a primary source of those kinds of jokes.

The tweeird continued as soon as Rowen and I met up with Michael and Tim in the kitchen. I was immediately positive that I shouldn't have picked one of my soft, warm, fuzzy sweaters to wear even if it was warm and one of my favorites. Michael's jaw would have hit the floor if the table hadn't been in the way; and I don't think anybody in the room missed his reaction to seeing me. Ehlana was sitting in his lap; and she giggled and hugged him enthusiastically.

Rowen and I had needed longer to get changed and downstairs again, mostly because we'd needed to deal with our wet hair. Maybe it was the change from wind-blown and wet that made such an impression, but I was wishing that I'd picked something else to wear while Rowen was quite happy about the reactions from both Michael and Tim; and the rest of my family thought the whole scene was cute and entertaining. Mom already had hot chocolate ready, and she'd warmed up an apple pie in the oven; so Rowen and I were directed to sit down at the table right away. Ehlana made sure that I sat next to Michael, and climbed from his lap into mine for a hug and cuddle.

That little move wasn't the only one used to nudge Michael and I together over the next hour or so while he and Tim waited for their clothes. I'm sure that Mom wasn't making excuses about washing their clothes because she didn't want the dirt in her dryer, but it did make for a convenient excuse to keep the two boys hanging around for longer than they would have if she hadn't thrown their jeans and sweaters in to wash too. We had time for our snack; Ehlana and Ethan wanted us to play music after that; and we played video games for the rest of the time. The rest of the tweeird included Ehlana getting Michael to sit with her next to me on my keyboard bench while I played; and getting me to sit next to him on the sectional sofa while he and Tim played video games, she sat on my lap, and Ethan sat in his and tried to use the game controller.

I am not crossing over, but I had fun despite the tweeird; it felt way too good sitting there with Michael and the twins; and he is so great with them that it's no wonder that Ethan and Ehlana love him so much.

I'm sure that timing the clothes being dried and ready to go when Michael needed to be back to the Inn was not completely a coincidence, and it was probably another pair of nudges that led to me being in the lounge on my own when Michael just happened to be sent upstairs to help me with carrying the glasses and bowls we'd used while playing video games down to the kitchen to be cleaned. Nice try, but nothing happened for the couple of minutes we were alone. I'm sure that Aunt Leanne will want to tell me how disappointing that news will be for her, but I'm sure she'll survive. The goodbye hugs that Ethan and Ehlana had for Michael were spontaneous – even if they might have had ulterior motives too when getting him to pass each of them off to me instead of just getting set down again, but that was their last nudge opportunity before he and Tim left.

Dad gave them a ride to the Inn and shop, and once they'd left; Rowen and I went back up to my room so we could chat and hang out there for the last hour or so we had left before she needed to be home. She'd needed to tease me about Michael too, but the tweeird was over for the day, and we had fun; played with Mandy; and watched some music videos until it was time for her to go too. It's been another quiet night since then. With a big food day ahead tomorrow, we just had a light dinner. I was on the clean-up crew, and after that, we had a couple of hours of play time; Ethan and Ehlana did the full bath and bedtime routine; and I spent some quality time with my Jacuzzi after they were tucked in for the night.

Mom, Dad, and I played Easter Bunny after that. There are Easter Bunny footprints all over the house now; eggs and surprises tucked in here and there along those footprint trails; and six Easter baskets waiting to be 'found' on the dining room table. That was a lot of fun, but we're all going to need to be up early to have time to have time to play that little game with Ethan and Ehlana and still have time to get ready for the sunrise service at church. Violet's still at Jake's party, and will likely be late – and tired when she does get her early morning wake-up call - but I've skipped all of my usual nightly computing except for checking my email and writing this journal entry. Since I won't get that birthday party update until tomorrow sometime, that's all the news for today anyway, so I'm going to wrap this up too; cuddle with Mandy; and get some sleep. Dreaming about bunnies will be easy tonight – yummy, dark chocolate, Olde Bakery Easter Bunnies!

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

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

This has been my favorite Easter ever so far. The rain had moved on overnight, and though the sun wasn't up yet when I got out of bed, the sky showed all the promise of the beautiful spring day that should be part of every Easter celebration. We had a blast playing with Ethan and Ehlana this morning; following bunny footprints; discovering all of the treats and surprises; and getting to find out what the Easter Bunny had left for us in our baskets.

We needed to kick it into high gear after that. Violet needed to pack to head home; we all needed to get ready for church; and we tag-teamed taking care of Ethan and Ehlana. Violet drove over to the church because she was leaving for home from there; and she probably stopped in to get Dillon on her way there. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were walking to church, and they collected us along the way. I had been so busy getting ready for church that I hadn't really thought much about how I looked in my new dress until Aunt Leanne nudged me and whispered a 'way to go, girl' – her comment brought on by Michael's reaction to seeing me when we met up with the Stone family in front of their house. That comment, and seeing the expression on Michael's face immediately reminded me that my new outfit had moved me up a couple of notches from 'little girl cute' – maybe three notches. That felt really good, weird, and uncomfortable all at the same time.

Fortunately, there were hugs and kisses to share, along with Happy Easter and belated Happy Birthday wishes to exchange; so I didn't have time to think about that too much. Yes, I hugged Michael too – just as I hugged Jake, Rebecca, and their parents. I'll pretend that I didn't see Aunt Leanne's smug little grin; and I've been trying all day not to think about how that particular hug felt. We'd needed to keep moving to get to the sunrise service on time, but junior matchmakers Ethan and Ehlana made sure that Michael stayed close to me – getting us to take turns holding their hands and doing the walk-swing with each of them.

I temporarily entered the tweeird zone when we were still about half a block away from the church. Lisa had been waiting outside for Michael, but changed her mind about that when she caught sight of us smiling, laughing, and swinging Ehlana between us as we walked. Her once-over look at me was all I needed to see to know that she had a much different opinion of how I looked today than Michael had, and though I wish she hadn't felt that way; it was a big compliment too – in a silent, cold-shoulder, back-handed kind of way. Michael let out a soft, sad sigh while we both watched her walk away, and I let go of Ehlana's hand long enough to reach over and squeeze his arm; wishing as always that I could do more to help both of them. While there wasn't anything I could do without making things worse, Ehlana had not trouble helping out by getting Michael to pick her up so she could give him a hug and kiss.

When we got into the sanctuary, we split up to go sit in our usual places; though Michael went to sit with Lisa instead of with his family. The Easter present he handed her seemed to help smooth things over a little; but not by very much. The teen-led service was up-beat, enthusiastic, and joyful. I was totally sucked into the experience, and pretty much tried not to think about anything else going on around me – not that I missed any of it. Our family had tickets for the first sitting of the pancake breakfast; mostly because Violet needed to head back to Woodvale in time for the Rice family Easter dinner. Dillon joined us for that, though he had helped out in the kitchen before we sat down to eat; and would be helping out for the rest of the morning too. I got to have Rowen with me too, though the rest of her family was going to the second sitting instead.

There were nearly three hours between the end of the sunrise service and the start of the delayed regular Sunday service. After having breakfast, we – my family, Rowen, and Dillon – had time to say goodbye to Violet and see her off, and then, after Dillon went to work in the kitchen again; the rest of us went for a walk. Since some of us were wearing dress shoes that were not made for long walks, we took our time, and didn't really go that far. Uncle Adam made a little side trip up to his house to check on the turkey in the oven; but caught up with us again before we got back to the church. We were sitting in the sanctuary again with nearly a half-hour to go before the service would be starting; but there was music to listen to, and a long line of little cameo visits with our neighbors and friends as the sanctuary filled up again.

The teens had some encore performances from the sunrise service that were part of the second service, but the Pastors led us through the Easter story again. There was only Sunday school or daycare for the youngest kids, so Pastor Lewis had a full house for his Easter message; and he enthusiastically entertained us until nearly twelve-thirty. Uncle Adam needed to get home and back to his Easter dinner cooking in progress, but the rest of us spent the next half hour sharing some more Easter best wishes with our friends while making our way out of the church in the slow-moving, greet the pastors line.

Rowen and I needed to split up to go and get changed, but then we had some time to play together while the parents were busy with getting ready for their respective family dinner plans. Mom and Dad had contributions for the collective family dinner we were having at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's, but we carried all of that food down to their house after getting changed; and they were going to be helping out with the work there while I got to play. Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park with us; and there were a lot of kids and teens hanging out there for the afternoon. That included Michael, Lisa, Tim, and Nora, but other than stopping for a minute when Ethan and Ehlana ran over to them to get hugs from Michael; they didn't hang out anywhere near us the entire time we were there.

Unfortunately for Michael and Tim, they didn't really do anything except hang around with some of the other tween couples at the pavilion and do nothing – mostly because the park lawns and paths were pretty soft and messy because of the rain yesterday and overnight; and most of the girls didn't want to get dirty. Rowen and I didn't have that problem; and we had fun running around the playground with Ethan, Ehlana, and the other little kids. That did mean leaving early enough to stop in at home so we could get cleaned up and changed; but that didn't take long; and we were back at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's with an hour to go before dinner.

Rowen only stopped in long enough to have a little drink and light snack break before going home again; and while the grandparents let Ethan and Ehlana entertain them in the living room; I joined the dinner work crew in the kitchen. Not having our collective extended families home for the long weekend allowed us to invite more of our home town family to have dinner with us today. Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah invited his parents, Liz, Philip, and Naomi – which made Ehlana and Ethan very happy. The rest of our guests tonight were mostly older cousins from Grandma's family; the Carrington's; and the Johnson's.

While I'm thinking about Grandma's family, let's take a little side trip; since I haven't written anything about that side of my family in my journal before.

Grandma's maiden name was Howard. Her family was one of the poorer in town when she was growing up, and marrying Shawn Proctor had caused quite a stir with that side of her family. Moving that many steps up the social ladder back then was quite unusual. My adopted great-grandmother had been the only Magi in the Howard family until Grandma was born; and that had been the case for her mother too – marrying into a non-Magi family. Their gifts had been ultimately inherited from distant Byrd and Palmer ancestors.

It's not really surprising that her rise in social status affected her relationship with her cousins, though just the fact that she didn't have any cousins close in age to her either made a difference too. They obviously don't know about her Magi abilities either, but while that made her acceptance into Grandpa's 'world' easier; I don't think it affected how either of them felt and acted around the Howard family. They mostly just didn't have much in common when they were younger with cousins who were ten or more years older – or younger – than they were.

I'm in that same situation with that side of our family, and though I know all of my Howard adopted cousins; I'm not close to any of them; and the young adults closest to me in age haven't started families yet. Maybe that will be different for Ethan and Ehlana, but there hasn't been anything we've seen in our future to give us any hints about that one way or the other. I can tell you that my brother and sister totally charmed Grandma's older cousins today. Then again, I haven't seen anyone yet who hasn't felt that way about them – after all, they are absolutely adorable!

Moving back to the daily recap, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and I were the only kids at dinner. The cousins that grandma had invited were contemporaries of Grandma and Grandpa Johnson; and the youngest Carrington and Johnson cousins were in their late forties. All of them had been invited because they were on their own while their closer relatives were busy with the in-law sides of their own families – pretty much like our families were this weekend. We sat down for dinner at five-thirty, and I mostly helped out with Naomi and the twins. Liz and Aunt Leanne were the closest women to us, and we talked with them a bit too, but all of the adults mostly carried on their own 'grown-up' conversations while we ate; and three out of four of us were stuck playing normal toddler, so our conversation was very limited.

The food was awesome; the Olde Bakery desserts were as amazing as always; and the twins, Naomi, and I had fun; but I was actually glad to get up and join the clean-up crew when we started on that at a bit after seven. The grandparents were in charge of the kids, and they all went out for a walk that was going to include walking some of the cousins to their homes. Some of the other guests went home then too, but out of the younger adults; only the pregnant women – Aunt Deborah, Aunt Leanne, and Liz – were given work crew passes; and two out of three of them helped out at least a little anyway. By then, Aunt Deborah was exhausted; she was ordered into the living room; and ended up having a nap while we worked.

You know it's been a long day when I start getting tired, and I was getting there fast by the time we had the dining room and kitchen spotless again. Dad still had a bit of work to get done in the office, so he and Mom took Ethan, Ehlana, and I home then; and it didn't look like it would be very much longer before Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne would have the house to themselves again.

While Dad worked, Mom did a short Magi lesson with Ethan and Ehlana; we gave them baths; got them ready for bed; and stopped in the office to do their bedtime story with Dad. We skipped the bedtime snack that none of us needed or wanted, and after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night; Mom did a different Magi lesson with me in the office before sending me up to bed too.

She and Dad are in bed now too, and they're not sleeping any more than I am; but let's not go there. I've been doing my usual school night studying and nightly computing for the past couple of hours, and though there was more than I wanted to do tonight; I've hit the wall and need to get some sleep. The email news included a kid-rated recap of Aunt Grace's weekend with Mark and his family; it sounds like they all had fun; and I'm glad that her trip home was safe and uneventful. Violet let me know that her drive back to Woodvale had been fine too; and she and Dawn had both sent me Rice family Easter reports. I know that Violet would have rather spent the day with Dillon, but the good news is that they'll be finished high school in just eleven more weeks; and won't ever need to spend weeks apart again. They'll only have one holiday weekend between now and then, but I'm sure they'll get together every two or three weeks for visits – even if it's only a few hours together in Crystal Springs.

Anyway, that's it for tonight, and I'm seriously ready to pass out now, so...

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

April 2013

Monday, April 1, 2013

The first April Fool's Day joke was waking up to winter after having such a beautiful Spring Easter Sunday. It was freezing out – literally – and while we didn't get any rain or snow; it was a dull, chilly start to the month and morning.

The weather may have put a damper on the joke enthusiasts at school; though holiday weekend food and Easter candy overload could have been contributing factors too. Rowen and I only had to deal directly with one prankster, and Patrick's attempts to spring his little gags on us on the way to school were not particularly successful – though he seemed happy enough just to get the laughs from us and some of the other kids and teens around us at the time. I'm glad we didn't have any problems with that in class – my hugs just don't have the same effect on the Grade Seven boys anymore; and seem to get me into trouble more often than not these days.

We're starting an eight-week stretch between holiday weekends today, and our teachers weren't playing a joke on us when they started right in on what will be a big work push between now and Memorial Day. The weather seemed appropriate for that too, at least from the perspective of some of our classmates; but Rowen and I both had a pretty good day even with the wintry weather and extra school work. A little Magi power assistance let us get the homework out of the way quickly after we got back to my house, and then we stayed inside and played with Ethan, Ehlana, and Mandy; none of us interested in going to the park or anywhere else outside. The sun came out from behind the clouds, and it warmed up a few degrees above freezing, but compared to the last few days; it was just too cold for us. We had another music practice time that Ethan and Ehlana used a little telekinesis and elemental manipulation for so they could play too. Ethan wanted to play video games for a while after that, so we tried out a new game he'd gotten for Easter until it was time for Rowen to go home and for me to help Mom with making dinner.

The rest of the evening has pretty much been standard school and work night action – Magi lessons; Dad's work in the office; Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine without the bath; and my nightly bedtime computing and studies. We didn't exactly get a spring-like start to April, but it is supposed to warm back up again over the next few days; and I really hope we've just about seen the last of the white fluffy stuff until next winter. For right now, though, one last, short winter's nap is all I'm interested in doing, so...

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

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The slow warm-up back into spring started today, though it didn't really feel like that first thing this morning.

We've pretty much had a no news day, though Rowen would be telling me that having Michael skip our lunchtime music practice was newsworthy. We heard enough hints to know that he and Lisa spent most of the lunch break on their own, and it looked like they were doing their own thing after school too; so I'm sure they had more important things to deal with right now.

The post-Easter new project assignments continued today, and we had lots of homework by the end of the day, but it was a work night for Rowen and I; so I was on my own for that today. I did a quick snack break with Mom, Alicia, Ethan, and Ehlana, and then went into the office to set up my computer and get to work. Ethan and Ehlana helped me out by getting Alicia to take them out for a walk; and that allowed me to kick my work into Magi-gear while they were gone. There are times when my family business work feels strange, and though I haven't done anything Easter-related in over a month, it still really felt strange today to be working on projects that were geared toward summer and even back-to-school plans.

Mom let me work through until dinner was ready, though I traded that for being on the kitchen clean-up crew with Dad after we ate. Mom used that time to do Ethan and Ehlana's Magi lesson, and then we had a couple of hours of family play time that included a short walk; a visit with Grandma and Grandpa at their house; and some toddler-rated Jacuzzi time. We followed that up with a lengthy bedtime snack and story break, and once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in, Mom did my Magi lesson with me while Dad went to get the little bit of work he'd brought home with him done. I came up to my room for the rest of the night after my lesson, and Mom went to convince Dad that he'd have much more fun with some non-toddler – or tween – rated Jacuzzi action than he would working in the office half the night. I'm so glad that I've had lots of archive and language studying to keep me busy – and not thinking about that sort of thing!

It's supposed to be a little warmer again tomorrow; Rowen and I have an after-school play day to look forward to; and we're doing a dinner at the Inn for her father's birthday. That should all make for a really great day; and I'm going to wrap this up so I can get some rest and be ready for the fun, so...

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

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Happy 33rd birthday, Owen!

I got ready for school early this morning so I'd have time to meet up with Rowen at her house and give Owen his birthday present then instead of waiting until we went out to dinner at the Inn. They were still having a special birthday breakfast when I got there, and we had time, so I got to have a little visit with Rowen, her parents, and brother while they ate; and then I helped with the clean-up too before Rowen, Patrick, and I needed to get to school.

While Owen's birthday was the top Emerson family news today, Rowen and I found out just before classes started that the story topping the Grade Seven grapevine was that Michael and Lisa had broken up. The official word was that they'd mutually agreed to the split, and the fact that they were both sad and upset all day seemed to back that up. Neither of them was talking about it in public, and if they were confiding in their best friends; those conversations stayed private. I wasn't anywhere close to Michael until music class, so it wasn't until then that I knew anything more.

He was really having a tough time dealing with his first 'real' break-up. Vanessa and her friends would say this is his second, but he never really thought he was dating Vanessa in the first place; and never considered her his girlfriend. Today, I could sense the sadness, and that was mixed in with a healthy dose of guilt for finally coming out and admitting to Lisa how he felt about her. Lisa may have agreed that she didn't want to date someone who didn't love her the way she loved him, but Michael knew it was his fault; and he really hated hurting Lisa – especially since they'd been friends since they were toddlers playing together in the Sunday morning nursery at church.

Michael hadn't wanted to hang out with anyone at lunch, and had gone for a solitary walk outside instead. After school, he went straight over to the Inn instead of hanging out with the couples club for a while like he normally would; though I guess he won't be interested in doing that again anytime soon. Lisa had her best friends with her both at lunch time and after school, and while I tried to stay completely out of her way; the occasional looks she directed my way were even frostier than usual; and I didn't need to use my empathy to know that she was directing a lot of the blame for how things turned out with Michael toward me.

If that would take some of the heat off of Michael; she can blame everything on me.

With that going on today, I wasn't feeling much like playing after school, but after getting our homework done, Rowen and I went for a long bike ride that gave us lots of time to chat; and I felt better by the time we got back to town and needed to split up so we could get ready for the dinner at the Inn. Mom, Ehlana, and I had some hair and dress-up play time while Dad and Ethan had a little father-son time. We walked to the Inn, and got there about ten minutes before the guest of honor and his family arrived. That gave me time to wander back into the kitchen to distribute some hugs with Jacob, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca. Michael wasn't in the main kitchen, and the vibes I was getting in particular from Rebecca and Stephanie told me that he was still having a tough time; so I went looking for him in the back rooms after asking Rebecca where I could find him.

What happened next would normally be classified as deep in the tweeird zone, but today, it was just me helping a friend who needed me. Michael was sitting at the table in the back room, leaning on his elbows, and staring vacantly at his computer screen. He didn't even notice me until I pulled one of the chairs close to him and sat down. He took one look at me, lost it, and the next thing I knew; he was holding on to me for dear life; and I was hugging him back and doing what I could to comfort him.

Stephanie came into the room a few minutes later, but stopped just a couple of steps inside the doorway; we exchanged a look that told her everything she needed to know; and she left again. Since nobody else bothered us, I'm sure she made sure that we were left alone.

It took a while before Michael was ready to let go of me, and then we just sat close together; I held his hand; and we talked about everything that he'd needed to say, but hadn't been able to do that with anyone else. My contribution was mostly listening and understanding, though when he'd talked himself out; I did manage to get a couple of sad smiles out of him by suggesting some friend-recovery ideas that might help both him and Lisa to deal with the awkward stage that is a problem with nearly every post-dating friendship in a small town.

Don't make a big deal of this, but once I was sure he'd be okay, I hugged and kissed Michael before letting him get back to what had so far been an unsuccessful attempt at doing his homework. The birthday dinner was already in progress by the time I got back to the dining room, but Mom had ordered my food for me, and Stephanie assured me that she'd bring it right out for me when she hugged me before I sat down at the kids' table next to Rowen. Mom basically knew what had been going on through our connection, but giving Rowen the update had to wait until later. Miranda had a warm, hug-from-behind that she shared with me shortly before Stephanie returned with my meal; and there were more hugs directed my way on a regular basis for the rest of the time we were at the Inn.

Since I'd started eating late, Rowen, Patrick, Ethan, and Ehlana were all closer to being finished than starting; and I'm fairly sure that Owen was invited to open his birthday gifts before we had cake and ice cream to give me time to enjoy my food without needing to rush it. Everyone in the dining room joined in for the birthday song, and since it wasn't really all that busy at the Inn; there was enough cake for everyone who wanted a piece to have some.

The post-dinner party wrap up took a while, and I took that opportunity to check in on Michael again just to make sure he really was doing at least a little better. Yes, I had another hug for him; but again, don't make that into something it wasn't. He's still sad, hurting, and feeling guilty; but I was able to help a little, and that's all that matters to me.

When we left the Inn, Rowen, Patrick, and their parents were all surprised with the news that Owen and Patricia were being given one last birthday gift – a kid-free night. I went home with Rowen to help her pack an overnight bag and get her flute, computer, and school gear; and then we had more hugs and kisses for her parents before taking Patrick in tow and heading over to my house. Dad needed to get some work done, but once we had Patrick set up in the room across the hall from my lounge, and Rowen's things in my room; we had time to play before Ethan and Ehlana would need to go to bed. Patrick wanted to play video games, so Rowen and I took turns competing against him. I had Ethan helping me while Ehlana happily cuddled in Rowen's lap; and I was again reminded that Patrick could actually be fun to hang around with when he wasn't hanging out with Scott and they were busy spending all of their time trying out their latest pranks and jokes.

Mom came up to the lounge to get Ethan and Ehlana when it was time to get their usual non-bath night bedtime routine started, and Rowen and I took a break from the gaming to help her with that. Patrick only stopped long enough to get in on the bedtime snack, but then he was only allowed another half-hour or so of gaming after that little intermission before Mom ordered all of us to go to bed. I don't know if Patrick decided that he couldn't possibly face the guys at school in the morning and admit that he'd been a perfect angel tonight, but there was some reason why he needed to bug us while Rowen and I got ready for bed. One close call was all either of us needed to get us to take turns getting changed in my bathroom instead of the bedroom; though I doubt Patrick realized how close he came to seeing me without my shirt on during his first attempt to scare us by sneaking in through the lounge.

He eventually did go to sleep, and Rowen and I were able to have a nice long girl chat that was mostly about what had happened with Michael and Lisa; and everything that had happened at the Inn tonight. I'm sure that Rowen had some thoughts about why I was the one person Michael felt safe enough with to share all of that with, but she kept those thoughts to herself tonight. I've been doing a little studying while we talk too, but didn't get all that much done. We've been winding down our chat for a while, and I switched to getting this, and my usual nightly computer checks, done once I saw that Rowen was running out of steam and ready to call it a night. I'm not sure whether I'll be getting off to sleep anytime soon, but I'm going to put my computer away now, turn out the lights, and at least let Rowen get some quality down time.

If Rowen wasn't taking it easy on me tonight, I'm sure she'd have a theory to explain why I'm wound up tonight, and you're probably thinking the same thing – that I'm crossing over and don't want to admit it.

You'd all be wrong about that – I'm not crossing over.

What is going to keep me awake is the fact that everything that's happened tonight has made me love Michael – and Miranda, Stephanie, and the rest of his family – more than ever before. I know Mom and I have lived in our new home for nearly three years now, but after spending so many years on our own, with nobody we could trust enough to love like we can love our family and friends here, and nobody to love us back like that; moments like this are exhilarating, heart-warming, and more than I'd ever been able to hope or dream about for us.

This would normally be the time when I write about not dreaming of bunnies or puppies, but for tonight; I'm okay with dreaming about how wonderful and amazing my reality here in Witch Falls is – even if it will be a while before I get around to doing that.

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

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Congratulations, Hannah, Nathan, and Aiden – it's a girl!

Hailey Anne Draper was born at ten after eight this evening; weighed in at six pounds, nine ounces; and looks just like her beautiful Mommy. Ethan, Ehlana, and I know that she'll have the same blue eyes as her father and brother; but it'll be a while before everyone else finds out about that. Hannah went into labor shortly after opening the bakery this morning; and news of Hailey's arrival reached the Inn while we were there for game night.

Before I get to the rest of that story, though, let's back up and recap the rest of what's been another one of those tweeird zone days for me.

It actually feels like Spring again, though not quite warm enough in the early morning to take our Tai Chi out by the river yet. I really hope it won't be much longer before we can do that! We had a standard school and work day breakfast, and I was ready to go early enough to meet up with Rowen at her house before going on to school. While we were getting to enjoy a nice weather day, it was considerably colder for me in every class today. There wasn't a peep on the school grapevine that had anything to do with Michael and me, but I knew that something had gotten Lisa fired up in a bad way; and she was empathically screaming at me pretty much right from the first time she saw me this morning.

Lisa was momentarily diverted when she came into first class with her friends and found a little treat gift on her desk, but that didn't distract her for long; and I was on the receiving end of icy glares and frowns all the way through until lunchtime. I was ready to escape all of that by then; ate my lunch in record time; and headed for the music room ahead of Rowen while she finished eating. Michael came with Rowen, and we were apparently witnessed by someone looking too chummy and happy; because Lisa met up with Rowen and me on our way to Social Studies, and wanted to have a little talk with me.

While Stephanie was probably the only person who knew what had happened last night with Michael and me, Lisa had gotten the news flash that I'd spent some do-not-disturb alone time with him at the Inn; and as soon as Rowen left us alone; she hit me with the full 'I hope you're happy – didn't take you long to steal my boyfriend' rant.

Just as a momentary aside; do all Magi Masters suck at being tweens? There really isn't much of anything written about dealing with 'normal' tween and teen life, but there's no doubt in my mind that I don't do tween very well at all.

Keeping all of the secrets I have is one thing, but I don't like lying. Unfortunately, Lisa alternated between accepting anything that could be twisted to fit her theory; doubting anything that didn't; and accusing me of flat-out lying to her half the time. Trying to remind her that I hadn't even crossed over and wasn't interested in dating any boys earned a derisive laugh and a comment that I won't repeat here. She was all too happy to believe me when I agreed with her assertion that I did, in fact, love Michael; but then she instantly flipped back to disbelief when I told her that had nothing to do with the fact that I still don't want to date him – or any other boy. The rest of the details of our little chat should probably be left unreported. Lisa really is nice, but she's hurt; needs to be angry at someone; and just totally lost it for a while.

We were late getting to class, and needless to say, we didn't end that tweeird zone moment with a hug, but getting that out of her system did at least seem to drain some of the anger out of Lisa; and she pretty much ignored me for the rest of the afternoon. Not having the glares and frowns was better, and the empathic vibes were only a problem if I was close enough to her – which I tried hard not to be whenever possible.

Rowen and I were tempted to skip work after school so we could enjoy the nice weather, but decided against that; and I went home to work in the office after stopping in for a short visit with her parents at the computer store. Alicia took Ethan and Ehlana to the park to play, so I was able to kick things up into Magi-gear while they were gone; and had everything I wanted to get done finished in time to help Mom with making dinner. Since Uncle Adam was busy at the clinic, Aunt Leanne had dinner with us too, and after cleaning up, we went for a walk; collected Grandma and Grandpa along the way; and eventually ended up at the Inn for game night.

I was not surprised to find out that Lisa wasn't there tonight, but two of her friends were; and I was really glad that nobody tried to pair me up with Michael. Rebecca partnered with him instead; and they had fun together – something he needed as much as anything else right now. Some of that fun happened when Rowen and I were competing directly against them, and Michael and I were being watched closely anytime we were near each other; so I probably wasn't the only one feeling like I was in the tweeird zone now and then all evening. There was no doubt that a full report would be sent to Lisa once her friends were home again, and though we didn't give them anything 'good' that they might have been hoping for; I expect that a little reporter bias will make sure that Lisa gets whatever nuggets she needs to stay mad at me for a while longer.

Getting back to the news about Hailey's birth, we officially got the news via a text message from Aunt Deborah, but Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I new through our link with Uncle Adam. Dad and Aunt Leanne can't sense some of the tiniest changes in our link, and we only felt something this time because Hailey is as special as her big brother is; and she kept the people who were there protecting her very busy while she was being born. The gaming in the dining room didn't stop, but we did have a rolling mini birthday celebration for the newest member of our town and her happy family.

While having a member of my family on the winning team for the game night Championship wasn't as exciting as having a new baby was for the Drapers; that was still fun for us too. Miranda had taken advantage of Aunt Leanne's temporary single status to partner with her, and not only did they win, but I got the added bonus of having Aunt Leanne distracted enough with trying to get that win for Miranda that she didn't even try to play matchmaker with me tonight.

We left the Inn right after the games were over and stopped in at the clinic on our way home. I didn't expect to get to meet Hailey then, and we didn't, but Ethan and Ehlana got to spend a little time with Aiden; and Aunt Leanne was staying to help Uncle Adam and Aunt Deborah – especially since Aunt Deborah was getting so close to her own due date; and had been on her feet way too long today already. I'll take a wild guess that Aunt Leanne is going to have a long night, and probably take the day off from work tomorrow if she can.

Mom and Dad offered to bring Aiden home with us tonight, and I think he would have liked to do that, but he was spending the night with Hannah's parents instead, so we were on our own when we walked home from there. Since the twins weren't exactly ready to sleep, Mom did a Magi lesson with all three of us while Dad took care of some work in the office before I helped her get them ready for bed and tucked in for the night. I've been in my room since then, and it's pretty much just been a standard study and computing night with just a little keyboard music time thrown in to help me wind down a bit.

My end-of-lunchtime conversation with Lisa is the main reason I'm not ready to sleep. I really can't be mad at her, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't hurt by a lot of the things she said, and now that I've had time to think about it more; it's actually shocking to see and hear the dark side let loose when it's coming from someone as kind and nice as Lisa. I pretty much never think about it, but that kind of thing basically never happens in public in Witch Falls, and this was the first time I'd been on the receiving end of a private rant like that since moving here. I'm sure that part of the reason for that is because Magi of the Light need to be trained from birth to keep as tight a control over our darker emotions to make sure we don't lose control of our power; and it's scary to think about what might happen if I ever lost it like Lisa did today.

I definitely don't like what I can imagine in a scene like that, so I'll just need to make sure that never happens.

It's past-time for me to be sleeping, and though it will still be a while before I'm ready to pass out for a while; that's all I have for my journal tonight, so...

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

Friday, April 5, 2013

I love the weekends as much as any kid or teen, but this was also one of those 'thank God it's Friday' weeks too; and I was so ready to have a couple of days off when we were set free from last class today.

While Lisa didn't have anything at all to say to me today, there was still ice in the air that put a chill on an otherwise nice Spring day – at least for me. When you're a member of a small, small-town class, I'm finding out that it can really make the tween drama tough to deal with – especially when three or four out of eleven girls feel the need to pick sides. Rowen didn't choose to pick a side, but apparently being best friends with me was enough to have her allegiance declared for her. More than half the guys either tried to stay out of it completely or stood with their girlfriends and kept their mouths shut. That made for an occasionally tweeird day at school, though I mostly tried to just focus on my work and keep a low profile.

After school, Rowen and I had our snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; got our homework out of the way; and then grabbed our new bikes with plans to enjoy the warm weather with a nice long ride. When we got to the park, we stopped to join the group of kids, tweens, and teens that were gathered around Tim and admiring the new mountain bike that his Mom had apparently picked up for him earlier this week while doing a rush parts run in Crystal Springs. Rowen and I had gone through that to a lesser extent after getting our bikes, but Tim's new toy was three or four steps up on the cool scale from ours; and it really is an awesome bike.

Nora was hanging out with Tim and Michael; and I was mildly back into the tweeird zone when Michael invited Rowen and I to go riding with them. That didn't have anything to do with Lisa this time – it was because Rowen and I both like trail riding, even if it gets a bit messy on the dirt trails that nearly every guy in town has helped to make in the woods at the park over the years; and Nora did not want to do that at all. Rowen and I were able to impress Michael, Tim, and some of the other guys who were out riding the trails too by keeping up with them, and doing all of the little jumps too instead of using the ride-arounds that were there for the younger kids. Tim did eventually catch on that Nora wasn't having fun playing in the woods; and we took our ride out on the road. We checked out the construction site for the lab and rode a mile or so out River Road; then came back into town and did a loop of the new section of town before Rowen and I decided to move on and spend a little time with Ethan and Ehlana before dinner.

We dropped our bikes off at home; picked them up; and went to the park playground until we needed to be home again in time for a late dinner that Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah all joined us for. Sitting down to eat had needed to wait until after Hannah and Nathan were settled in at home with Hailey, and though Mom and baby were doing fine; they'd both needed a little extra attention and recovery time today after a long, tough labor yesterday. Half of our dinner guests were exhausted by then, and the movie part of our Friday night dinner and a movie was cancelled. While the aunts and uncles were sent home, Rowen and I helped Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa with the kitchen clean-up; and then we all took Ethan and Ehlana out for a walk. We stopped at Rowen's house so she could grab a few things for our sleepover; followed that up with some play time at the school playground; walked Grandma and Grandpa home after that; and collected Rowen's parents and brother from the computer store on our way home so they could join us for a little after-work bedtime snack visit.

We had fun doing that, but it wasn't long before Rowen's parents wanted to head home and get some sleep – they're always really busy during tax deadline time; and Tax Day is only a bit more than a week away now. Rowen and I helped get Ethan and Ehlana to bed after her parents and brother left, and then we came up to the lounge to end our night with a little girl chat and movie time with Mandy.

Rowen didn't tease me about Michael at all tonight – or at least she didn't in a matchmaking sort of way, but we did talk about him and Lisa; tween boys and girls in general; and a bit about 'Tommy' and his girlfriend too. Even though I'm still running into too much tween drama for my liking, there was no chance that Rowen could convince me I'd have been better off crossing over to her side of the line. She still thinks I should join her and make the big jump to that next level, but conceded that I'd been given lots of good examples this week for why I shouldn't want to have anything to do with the whole tween dating scene.

We talked about how I should deal with the whole mess with Lisa, since it really isn't fun having about a third of our classmates either mad at me or at least ignoring me to keep the peace with their girlfriends or closest buddies. Mom probably won't home school me for the rest of the school year while the whole thing blows over, and while a week or two of daily Olde Bakery treats bribery for all of our classmates likely would work; it just doesn't seem right to do that. I am sure that I won't be going back to handling the tween drama like I was before – there is way too much fun to look forward to this Spring and Summer to be trying to bottle up my normal, fired-up self. Since that fun will likely include some time hanging out with Michael and Tim – especially since we all really love bike riding, and three out of four of us like our lunchtime music practices, I hope Lisa will get over being mad sooner rather than later; but I'm not holding my breath on that happening.

Rowen needed to do a little venting about 'Tommy' too. She was particularly annoyed this afternoon when the guys were all impressed with our trail riding. Yes, as I mentioned earlier, she loved the attention, but isn't happy that the guys still barely notice that she is, in fact, a girl; and she's beginning to wonder if she'll ever be able to shake her brainiac bookworm image with 'Tommy' or any other guy at school. I didn't have any more answers for her about that than I have for my own tween problems, but if nothing changes between now and summertime; I am sure that all of the guys around our age will definitely notice that she's a girl when we start wearing swimsuits, tees and shorts, and sundresses this year.

Our movie is nearly over now, and Rowen and I are both ready to get some sleep, so I'm going to wrap this up; watch the rest of the show; and then call it a night.

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

Saturday, April 6, 2013

We finally had a warm enough morning to go outside for Tai Chi by the river for the first time this spring! It took a little extra work to do that, including dressing warmly enough and getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for some outdoor time; but it was worth the extra effort.

Rowen watched the twins while Mom, Dad, and I exercised, and then she and I were set free after we went inside so we could get ready for the day. Mom took care of Ethan and Ehlana while we did that; and Dad cooked up pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast. We ate, and Rowen kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained again while I helped Mom with the cleanup and Dad took his turn to grab a shower and get dressed; and then he and I went outside to get started on our first big spring cleanup day. Rowen headed home then to meet up with her parents before going on to the store with them, and Mom and Alicia were kept busy with the usual Saturday morning housework and twin control.

Dad and I had to dodge a few sprinkles of rain at first, but we just worked in the storage barn while those short little showers moved through. The barn needed a good once-over first, and then we cleaned and tuned up some canoes and bikes. While the lawns were still damp from the rain, we also washed the truck and van; swept the porches, sidewalks, and driveway; and cleaned the front and back windows and doors. That kept us busy until lunchtime, and after stopping for a soup and sandwiches meal; we all spent most of the afternoon outside. That meant some quality play time at the park for Alicia, Ethan, and Ehlana, and yard work for Mom, Dad, and me. I was in charge of the lawns – gathering downed branches; raking up everything else that had decided to come and spend the winter in our yard since our last fall clean-up; and bagging it all up. A lot of that work was fairly gross, and had me wishing that I could apply a little Magi power to the job, but compared to the garden work that Mom was stuck with; I got off lucky. Dad's jobs weren't always messier, but nearly all of his jobs were harder work than anything Mom or I were doing.

The work needed to get done, and I was happy to help, but I would have really liked to be able to enjoy one of the nicest weekend days we've had so far this year. Ethan and Ehlana certainly had fun hanging out at the park with Alicia this afternoon, and I spent a fair bit of time while I worked thinking about how much fun it would have been to be out canoeing or biking with Rowen this afternoon instead of being up to my knees and elbows in piles of gross, wet leaves and the rest of the gook I was dealing with. Rowen stopped in to see me once, but that was just on her way home from the computer store; and her parents had given her bonus chores too after finding out that I'd been drafted for an all-day work crew.

One good thing about working all day is that I didn't have any tween drama in my life for the first time in what feels like weeks; though I didn't actually think about that at all until I was soaking in my Jacuzzi a little while ago. By the time we stopped for the day and had dinner, I wasn't really thinking about much of anything except the need for that Jacuzzi time and going to bed early. Mom and Dad were feeling the same way, but Ethan and Ehlana needed to have a little fun time with us first, so after cleaning up from dinner, we went for a walk; had little visits with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne and Grandma and Grandpa at their houses; played at the school playground; and watched a little television together after getting home before they were ready to go to bed for the night.

I spent more than an hour in my bathroom after that, and then I played my keyboard for a little while before climbing into bed and cuddling with Mandy. There isn't anything particularly exciting to report from my usual nightly computing checks, and nothing else newsworthy from around town either; so I guess that's it for tonight.

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

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Two days in a row for Tai Chi by the river! We needed to dress warmly again; Ethan and Ehlana entertained themselves while Mom, Dad, and I exercised; and then we took turns getting ready for church and doing the pre and post-breakfast work. This time, Mom and I cooked and Dad took care of the cleanup. We were ready for church early, and ended up walking there without any of the usual company. For Ethan, Ehlana, and me, the highlight of the morning was getting to meet Hailey Draper for the first time before the church service started. Ethan and Ehlana played with Aiden too while Mom and Dad were busy with his parents; and it was nice getting to do that with them – especially since it was non-stop action around the Draper family after the service. It seemed a lot quieter in the sanctuary and at Sunday school today after all of the action last weekend, and though Lisa and her friends still weren't talking to me today, there wasn't really any major tween drama to deal with. I don't think that the Pastors necessarily do it intentionally, but the service today was barely over an hour long; so that felt a lot different than last week too being set free by shortly after ten-thirty.

We didn't really get home all that early, since we spent more time chatting with our friends and neighbors after church. By the time we started our walk home, we had lunch plans with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Rowen and her family. Rowen's parents weren't opening the store today, but they were going to be there doing some tax software tutorials for a couple of their customers; and her Mom was particularly grateful for the lunch invitation. Rowen pretended to complain about it, but she really didn't mind being the family contribution to the post-lunch work crew when Patricia and Owen needed to get over to the computer store.

After helping with the clean-up, Rowen and I were set free to play; and we started out our afternoon adventures with a canoe ride to the falls and back. While we had beautiful weather, the water was still very cold, and that was the main reason we stayed in town instead of paddling toward the whirlpool – help would be near if we ended up going for an unintentional swim. We went biking at the park after that; spent some time at the playground with Ethan and Ehlana when Mom took them there for some outdoor fun while Dad was busy working in the office; and only crossed paths with Michael once when he stopped by to play with Ethan and Ehlana too for a few minutes while on his afternoon break from the Inn. There wasn't anything tweeird to report about that, and I managed to have two days in a row with no T-zone drama!

That's pretty much all I have for today. Rowen and I split up when it was time to head home for dinner, and we were both indoors, warm, and dry, when it started raining. It's been raining fairly steadily since then, but we didn't have any outdoor plans after that anyway; and the rest of my evening was a fairly standard school-night Sunday – though I am going to be getting to sleep a bit earlier than usual. We had dinner for five; Ethan, Ehlana, and I had our Magi lessons with Mom; there was some play time with Mom and Dad; and then I got an early start to my bedtime routine while Mom and Dad took care of getting the twins through their baths and into bed for the night.

I multi-tasked my language studies and Jacuzzi time, and started my archive homework while doing my hair and getting ready for bed, so I had most of my work finished before even climbing into bed with Mandy. There isn't anything to report from around the family tonight – it seems as though everyone was taking a break after a busy Easter weekend – or catching up on work. Getting a little extra sleep tonight is my top priority right now, and since that really is all I have to write about...

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

Monday, April 8, 2013

It was warm enough this morning that we could have exercised by the river, and the rain had stopped; but the ground was really wet, so we stayed in for Tai Chi.

Though it stayed cloudy for most of the day, it was still nice and warm; and Rowen and I spent as much time outdoors as we could today. At school, I wanted to escape the ongoing tween drama whenever possible, so we ate our lunch outside and didn't do anything that put us in the general vicinity of Lisa or her friends. There was one unexpected surprise today too when we were both given invitations to Gil's thirteenth birthday party on Friday. Lisa didn't look happy about that when she saw that we'd been included, but since Gil invited everyone else in our class; he probably just didn't want to exclude us – even if that would have been in his best interest. He earned some bonus friendship points from us for doing that, though I also expect to be in the tweeird zone while we're at his party.

I didn't have to wait until Friday to spend some quality time in the T-zone, though Rowen and I had fun; and the after-school tween issues I was dealing with mostly just went a long way toward helping me to get over feeling sorry for Lisa. Being followed and spied on for a couple of hours will do that to you.

Rowen and I did our homework first, and I wasn't particularly surprised that Michael, Tim, and Nora just happened to be getting ready for a bike ride just as we were heading out to do the same. Nora convinced the boys that they really didn't want to go mucking through the woods today after all of the rain last night, so we did a construction tour, and then went for a ride in the country north on Quarry Road and along the roads to the northwest of town. We'd picked up a group of followers while making the loop around the new section of town, and Lisa and her friends kept within sight of us for the rest of the ride. That was enough weird, but going riding with Nora was a close second.

First of all, she doesn't really like biking for fun. Nora and Vanessa both belong to the group of girls at our school that are hyper-fashion conscious. Biking is not conducive to keeping perfect hair and clothes at all times – it's an unfortunate, small-town transportation necessity for kids and teens that they would normally only use when going somewhere that was too far to walk or if car rides were unavailable. Michael and Tim, on the other hand, love to ride, race, and show off on their bikes. Rowen and I are still getting used to our new bikes, but then so is Tim; and four out of five of us were having a blast with little races and trying to do the standard bike tricks as we rode. Nora did not race; and she definitely didn't want to get hot and sweaty by trying to do catwalks, jumps, slides, spins, or any other tricks. She needed to use the bathroom at Michael's house to fix her 'helmet hair' the moment we got back to his place after our ride; though Rowen and I didn't stick around to find out whether she was successful in repairing the damage or not.

Rowen would have stayed longer, but I wanted to escape before Miranda could have a chance to give us a snack invitation we couldn't refuse, and we were already riding toward my house by the time Lisa and her friends slowly biked past Riverview Drive. We spent the last bit of play time we had left in the back yard with Ethan and Ehlana until Rowen needed to meet up with her parents at the computer store. Dad cooked up some burgers and hot dogs on the grill for dinner, and Mom threw a couple of easy side dishes together. We were going to eat at the patio table on the back porch, but it started to rain just as Dad was finishing up at the grill; so we went inside after that, and had another rain night in.

The rest of my night has pretty much been a repeat of last night, including the play time with Ethan, Ehlana, and the parents; Magi lesson; Jacuzzi time; and studying. I added in a keyboard practice, and my bedtime is going to be more than an hour and a half later than last night; but I've gotten a lot done, and I've been having fun too. Rowen and I aren't working tomorrow – at least we aren't working at our jobs. It's Patrick's tenth birthday, and we've been recruited to join the work crew for his party. Now that I'm thinking about the fact that we'll be dealing with Patrick, Scott, and a whole gang of their nine and ten-year old buddies for four or five hours starting right after school, I'm seriously wishing I'd gone to sleep early.

Before I wrap this up and try to get some rest, there is a bit of family news to report tonight. Mom and Aunt Leanne are working on a weekend trip to Granite Park for us that will mostly be so they can work on the wedding with Aunt Grace, Aunt Mercy, and Aunt Alison. That will tentatively be for the last weekend in April; and I'm really excited about getting to finally have a real first visit there since we didn't even get to see their homes when we went to see Jayden after he was born. It seems strange to think about it, but this will probably be the only time I'll go to Granite Park while it's still Aunt Grace's home town.

Violet sent me an email to let me know that she was going to be meeting Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie in Crystal Springs for Dillon's birthday next week; mostly in case I needed anything picked up that she could send back for me with Stephanie. I thought she might be coming home again this weekend, but I guess they're both too busy to do that. The last bit of family news came from Kevin and Elaine Johnson, and was mostly a baby update for Robyn that included new pictures and a couple of stories. It's going to be great to finally get to meet Robyn when they're here for the Memorial Day weekend, though it's hard to believe that she'll be nearly three months old by then.

I guess that's about it for tonight, and I really should get as much sleep as I still can, so...

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

P.S. Though it won't be a big story around town tomorrow – or at school – the Louisville Cardinals won the NCAA basketball championship tonight; beating the Michigan Wolverines. I took a minute to memorize the stats highlights on the off chance that someone actually wanted to talk about it at school tomorrow; but don't really expect to need the information.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Happy 10th birthday, Patrick!

After helping Rowen and her parents with Patrick's birthday party tonight, I'm not sure what's scarier – crossing over or a gang of nine and ten-year old boys in full weird mode. The gang of boys probably gets the slight edge today, but since there was more tween drama for me to deal with at school today; it's a close call. I do have to wonder if the all-day rain, and the humidity that came with it, had anything to do with why the weird and tweeird levels were running so high.

My morning started out normally with Tai Chi and a standard work and school day breakfast. I went over to Rowen's house early so that I could wish Patrick a happy birthday, and we could give him at least one 'cool' present to help get his big day off to a good start. We'd ordered him an outdoor-size R-C helicopter, and if the hugs and smiles were any indication; I'd say our gift choice was a hit – though I'm also sure he'd never admit to voluntarily giving us those hugs to his buddies or anywhere else in public. With all of the rain, he wasn't able to take it out for a spin before we needed to get to school, but he did take it out onto the back porch; get it to hover; and move it around a little before putting it away in his room. Rowen's parents went to work early so they could drop us off at school on the way there, and I pretty much immediately entered the tweeird zone within minutes of walking into the school.

The reason for getting a rare ride to school is irrelevant when you're basically dry and comfortable, and the girls who want to be mad at you aren't. I was really tempted to point out that they could have stayed dry too if they weren't too cool to wear rain gear; but managing to control that little urge didn't keep me from sliding into deeper tween trouble for the rest of the day. Maybe it really was the weather affecting everyone, because I've generally been fired up all day despite the weirdness, and from my perspective, nothing happened to justify having anyone mad at me over anything.

The test and project marks we all got back today were the same as always for me, but I fell further into the doghouse with Lisa every time Michael, Rowen, and I were announced as the only three recipients of one hundred percent scores. With everyone staying indoors at lunchtime because of the rain, we weren't alone in the music room today, and the extra musicians included Lisa and her two best friends. You'd think from their reaction to seeing Michael and I practicing that we'd spent the whole time making out instead of playing music and having fun.

Please don't take that mental picture anywhere it wasn't meant to go – I am not crossing over!

Getting back to the school recap, not even a mid-afternoon appearance of her daily anonymous gifts was able to turn Lisa's mood around, and by the time we were set free after last class; I was surprised that it wasn't snowing around me instead of raining. Rowen and I definitely didn't hang around and wait to hear any more of the nasties that had been directed my way; and headed for my house first so I could pack an overnight bag and have a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana before moving on to Rowen's place for the rest of the night. I wonder if Lisa and her friends would still have said some of the things they did today if they knew that I was able to hear pretty much everything they said whenever I was in the same room or area – even when I'm not paying any attention to them at all. Today was definitely full of examples for why having some of my abilities is sometimes not very nice at all.

The transition to birthday party helper mode put a welcome end to the tweeird for the day, and while Patrick and his buddies tested the limits of our patience over and over again tonight, Rowen and I managed to have quite a bit of fun too – especially when we were helping and hanging out with her parents. The party was already starting by the time Rowen and I got there. As normal, most of the 'country kids' had come home with Patrick straight from school; and they were already playing video games in the living room when we joined Patricia in the kitchen and were put to work on getting everything ready for Patrick's birthday dinner for twenty-two.

While we mostly tried to stay out of the way of Patrick and his buddies, Rowen and I did need to make occasional forays into the living room to deliver snacks and drinks. Bowls full of munchies don't stand a chance against a pack of boys, and being anywhere near that action was like watching a scene from just about any B-grade monster-swarm or pack movie. That was bad enough, but Patrick and Scott in particular needed to impress their friends by razzing us and dragging out their full arsenal of pranks and jokes – and their pals were more than happy to help them out whenever possible.

There was a reprieve from that during dinner; mostly because Rowen's parents had invited some family to the party too, and the boys had to tone it down a bit while Patrick's grandparents and cousins were here. Rowen and I didn't really get much of a break from the work during dinner, since we helped Patricia with running back and forth between the dining room and kitchen with more food or drinks one way and empty dishes the other. The snacks didn't appear to do anything to diminish the appetites of any of the boys, and it was nearly as scary watching them demolish nearly every scrap of food and still have no trouble demolishing two Olde Bakery cakes and mounds of ice cream.

While his new helicopter was still one of his favorite gifts of the day, the new mountain bike that Patricia and Owen game him tonight was Patrick's top birthday gift of the year. I'm sure that our new bikes had a lot to do with why he wanted to switch from his old BMX bike to a full-suspension mountain bike like ours, but his new bike was enough different, and guy-cool enough to make sure that he didn't have to worry about getting razzed about it by his buddies. If the admiring looks and comments are any indication, there's a good chance that he won't be the only guy making that switch this year. The rain didn't really stop at all, but Patrick still took his new bike out for a spin after dinner during a little break when it was just sprinkling lightly. He still couldn't take his new helicopter out even into the lighter rain, but he did do another back porch demonstration for his buddies before they returned to their video gaming competition in the living room.

Rowen had never needed or wanted a separate play room, but while we worked with her parents in the kitchen after dinner; they were seriously considering doing a third floor game room like Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne have at their house for Patrick to hang out in with his friends. I liked Rowen's suggestion for putting that game room in their storage barn instead, but while her parents thought that was funny; they weren't interested in the major expense that would be involved in turning the old hayloft area of the old barn into a year-round, livable space. Whether they do eventually convert one of the guest bedrooms or not, after tonight; Rowen is seriously considering soundproofing her own room.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Owen needed to go back to the computer store. They weren't open tonight, but he was again helping some of their customers with their tax software issues. Rowen and I had a little free time then to hide in her room; do our homework; and have a little music practice. We didn't completely escape from getting bugged while we were doing that, since Patrick, Scott, and a few of their buddies made a couple of special visits to us when it wasn't their turn to play video games just to keep themselves entertained.

Sometimes their antics were funny, and the rest of the time, we just tried to deal with them and remember that little brothers only have one birthday a year. Patricia timed the bedtime snack to coincide with Owen's return home, and then we all worked together to get through that, and attempt to get ten boys off to bed when they were all on sugar and snack overload and in the mood to keep the party going. Getting them split up into separate rooms didn't really even help all that much – they just went into stealth mode and coordinated their actions through iPods or computer messages. That's what Rowen's parents get for raising their kids in a full-immersion computer store environment. The pranks and gags from then on have been quieter, but all of the guys wanted to take their turns trying to scare us, spy on us, or play their little practical jokes; so Rowen and I dealt with that until her mother put her foot down about three-quarters of an hour ago and ended their fun for the night.

I haven't been able to do any of my usual bedtime studying tonight for obvious reasons, but I have been able to do the rest of my nightly computer checks and deal with a couple of work-related email while Rowen and I have been having a little bedtime girl chat and she's been surfing for YouTube videos on 'my annoying little brother' rants. We're just about ready to call it a night – it's going to be crazy around here in the morning; and we're on the breakfast for fourteen work crew. I may get up even earlier than usual just so I can hopefully avoid any bathroom pranks when I grab a shower after Tai Chi; since I'm sure that the boys will use their favorite creepy-crawlies on us again in the morning if the get the chance to do that. Rowen and I are both doing a work make-up day tomorrow, but after today's action; we're both going to be ready for a quiet night or two if we can swing it – especially since we'll have Gil's birthday party to deal with on Friday.

Suddenly, I'm feeling the need to not dream of soft, fluffy bunnies.

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

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Getting up early this morning allowed me to avoid problems with Patrick, Scott, and their buddies while I exercised and had a shower, but they more than made up for that reprieve for the couple of hours that Rowen and I did need to deal with them while helping her parents with breakfast for fourteen; and the big clean-up that followed. We did not get a ride to school today, but since we were walking there with ten younger boys who were all still in full goof mode; Rowen and I were prepared with changes of clothes; and we were looking too happy and dry when we walked into our first class this morning. That went over about as well as it had yesterday with certain classmates, but since we had gotten fairly wet thanks mostly to getting splashed regularly by the boys whenever we were near any puddle; I'm glad we came prepared. We were mostly happy to be free of Patrick and his buddies, and after everything we'd been dealing with this morning; I honestly didn't care what Lisa or anyone else thought about me.

That pretty much describes how I felt about the rest of the tween drama in my life today – I didn't care. Rowen and I had fun in our classes this morning; our lunchtime entertainment included a bonus lunchtime music practice that Michael joined us for again; and it almost felt like we played all afternoon from then until I got home and starting working in the office. Being too happy, and having too much fun kept Lisa mad at me, but I'm finding that easier to take every day; and she will eventually have to get over being mad at me.

I don't really want to think or write about that anymore tonight, and I'm about ready to crash and get some sleep after playing catch up on the work I didn't get done last night. Mom let me work in the office until dinner was ready; we ate; I helped clean up; she did lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; and I've been working in my room since coming up to bed after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night. It's taken me more than four hours to get back on schedule for my studies, but with that party on Friday night, and game night tomorrow night; I needed to put the extra time in tonight.

That's all I've got for now – in more ways than one – so...

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

Thursday, April 11, 2013

I'm tired; it's been a long day; and this is going to be a very short report.

Ongoing tween drama – check.

Lunchtime music fun with Rowen and Michael – check.

Work night in the office – check.

Ex-girlfriend assigned spies at game night to watch Michael and me do absolutely nothing – check.

Magi lesson with Mom – check.

Late night study session in bed – check.

That's it; I'm going to attempt ignoring everything that's on my mind right now; and crash for a handful of hours, so...

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

Friday, April 12, 2013

Happy 13th birthday, Gil!

My goal for today was to try and have fun; dodge as much of the tween drama as I possibly could; and survive Gil's birthday party without causing any more problems for Michael or me with Lisa and her friends. Thankfully, I mostly managed to do all of the above.

Getting a nicer day with lots of sunshine helped to improve everyone's mood, though for our class; having a Friday night party to look forward to helped a lot too. We had an uneventful, standard school and work morning at home, and I went to meet up with Rowen at her house mostly so I could drop off the overnight bag I'd need for the post-party sleepover we've been having since getting back from Gil's home. Patrick needed to ride his new bike to school, so we were on our own for the walk there; and we managed to avoid pretty much any tween issues until gym class.

I'd like to put all of the blame for ending up in the tweeird zone on Tim, since he thought that it was really funny to choose Michael for his first team pick, and then make me his second choice. Unfortunately, I also have that little problem about liking to win a lot; so I have to take some of the blame too. While Tim thought he was being funny, Lisa – and the half of our classmates who are staying on her good side – was not amused. Her mood for the rest of that class was inversely correlated to my scoring, and not only did Tim's team win big; but I was the top scorer, and Michael was a close second.

That isn't something I'm trying to brag about, and Lisa really shouldn't get upset because while she's as fit and healthy as I am, she is also not as competitive; doesn't love playing sports the way I do; and I have some advantages that don't even include any of my special abilities. Yes, I could tone it down even more than I already need to, and I will have to do that once the boys all start getting significantly taller and stronger than me; but that won't be a problem until next year – or maybe in Grade Nine.

Oh, and though Tim was happy with the win, and joked about picking Michael and me in the wrong order; I don't think he expected that Rowen would be the third top scorer – and she earned the most points for her team. Why do our classmates always seem to forget that Rowen's had an A+ in Phys-Ed every year too? Just because she's not as fired up all the time as I am doesn't mean she isn't just as competitive in her own, quiet way.

Moving along, though it wasn't really all that warm outside yet, Rowen and I went for a walk after having our lunch; mostly so I could get away from the drama for a while – and some of the ongoing jokes that Tim and some of the other guys were still directing my way. Next up for tweeird time was music class. Not only did Michael and I have too much fun, but one of the songs we're learning has a small saxophone duet in it; and we were in for more jokes because of how great we sounded playing it. I'm sure it isn't necessary to mention that certain members of our class were not happy about our musicality or amused by the jokes.

I was really happy to have a bit of a reprieve while Rowen and I went back to her house to get ready for Gil's party. I'm sure I've mentioned that I like dressing up as much as the next girl, and though Rowen wanted to get dressed up for a specific reason; we both had fun getting ready and looking our best. We're getting better at timing our arrival too, and about half of Gil's guests were there when we made it to his house. Party central was in the family room, though once everyone was there; we needed to spread out to the living room and kitchen to have room for everyone.

As usual for the 'guy' parties, video gaming was a major part of the entertainment plan, and the girls mostly either hung out with their boyfriends; got together in little girl groups to chat; and pretended to be impressed with everything the guys were trying to do to show off. With nearly half of my classmates politely staying clear of me, it was tough to stay out of the tweeird zone; but Rowen and I managed to have fun anyway – partly because Gil's younger sister, Bethany, was thrilled when we actually made an effort to spend some time with her. Beth is ten 'going on eleven', and while I can guess that she frequently annoys Gil as much as Patrick gets on Rowen's nerves; she kept us very entertained with her running commentary and jokes about her big brother; tweens in general; and what she thought about tween couples and romance.

The displays of tween romance weren't too scary during the first few hours of the party, with the one couple that was the exception being the pair that annoyed Rowen the most all night. That was a good enough reason to spend as much time as we could anywhere except where 'Tommy' and his girlfriend were hanging out; and the other was that I was keeping my distance from Michael to avoid adding any fuel to my personal tween drama fire. We were mostly able to do that in part, again, thanks to Beth; since she'd pretty much become our shadow for the night by the time we sat down for dinner.

Birthday party meals for tweens and teens are always a potential reputation risk for both the parents and their children, but if the fact that the boys pretty much demolished every scrap of food on the table is any indication; I'd say that Gil and his parents scored top marks tonight. The homemade cakes were a hit too, and so were Gil's birthday gifts – especially the new video games and movies that helped provide the entertainment for the rest of the night.

The tweeird level started rising steadily after dinner, first from the guys kicking their showing off antics into the next gear, and then when quite a few of the couples moved into the living room to watch movies while the gaming continued in the family room. Rowen and I still had Bethany with us when we attempted to join the movie-watching group, but while she was having fun giggling and whispering a running commentary about the action going on in the darkened room; Rowen was definitely not having fun watching Tommy and his girlfriend happily making out while sitting together in one of the recliners.

Michael was with the guys playing video games in the family room, and he was being watched closely by Lisa as she sat and talked with the other girls who were hanging out there either to keep her company or because their own boyfriends had picked gaming over movies and cuddling.

Rowen's telling me to write about Michael's reaction anytime I was around, but I really don't want to go there; and if anything, the other girls paid more attention to how we both looked than any of the guys did. Most of that attention wasn't appreciative, though we did get a few compliments from some of our friends like Sally and Gretchen. Though I was still keeping my distance from Michael, we stayed in the family room for a while; went for a little walk with Bethany when we were all ready for a little break from the action; and spent some time hanging out with Gil's parents and sister in the kitchen when they were working on snack and drink refills during the movie intermission.

There isn't much else to report from the party. Rowen and I headed home during the intermission between the second and third movie. We were the first 'kids' to leave, but we'd long since hit our tweeird zone limit by then. Unfortunately, we traded that in for an hour and a half or so of regular younger brother and sidekick intrusions into what we'd hoped would be some quiet girl-chat time.

Patrick and Scott were in fine form tonight, but Rowen was not in the mood to put up with their antics; and while the boys thought that they were having a blast; it was all I could do to keep Rowen from breaking down into tears from dealing with that after having to hang around and watch the guy she loves making out with his girlfriend all night while continuing to be oblivious to her. While he's usually as dense as any other boy, I think Patrick actually figured that out eventually, and though they're still awake; it's been more than a half hour since the last time they were in Rowen's room trying to bug us.

We've pretty much finished the post-mortem on the party, and though Rowen has tried to tease me a bit about Michael, her heart really isn't in it tonight; and I think she's just ready to crash for a few hours and not think about 'Tommy' for a while. Since we'll both be working in the morning, we really should get some sleep, but even though I'm going to wrap this up and turn my computer off; I don't actually expect to be sleeping anytime soon. Yes, we mostly had a pretty good day despite our respective tween troubles, but I'd really like to be able to play with all of our friends again without the problems. It would be nice if Rowen could have what she wants most right now too – even if I think she's a bit crazy to want to be in the tween dating game at all. Finally, I wish that Michael and I could just be friends and do the things we both like to do together without any of the tween drama. In a way, it's funny that he couldn't hang out and play with me when I first moved here because girls were gross and had germs, cooties, and worse; and now that everyone in our class except me has crossed over; he apparently can't just be friends with me either unless we're dating each other, or we both are dating someone else.

Other than continuing to be sure that I do not want to cross over, I don't expect to come up with any answers that will solve all of my problems – or Rowen's – but it's time to call it a night and at least pretend to go to sleep, so...

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

Saturday, April 13, 2013

I'm having my second sleepover in a row tonight – this time at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house while Ethan and Ehlana are spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa. Let's not go into what Mom and Dad are doing with their kid-free night; though I am glad that they're getting some alone time ahead of Dad's trip to Crystal Springs next week.

It's been an interesting day that, for me, started with Tai Chi for one at Rowen's house. I had a secret admirer watching me while I exercised, though I'm sure he doesn't know that I was aware he was there. At least I didn't have both boys trying to mess up my workout, though they got right into goof mode as soon as they saw that Rowen and I were in good moods this morning. Fortunately for us, Rowen's parents needed to get to the computer store early, and we were all kept busy between getting ready for the day; having breakfast; and cleaning up before I headed home and everyone else went to the store.

I found out about the sleepover plans for tonight while doing the Friday recaps with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. They all had a fun, busy day too; and though I guess I wouldn't trade going to Gil's party for what they were doing instead; it would have been nice not to have any of the tween drama. It was barely above freezing when Dad and I went outside to get started on our chores, but it warmed up a little every hour; and at least we had some sunshine to enjoy. We worked outside until noon, and then I had a quick shower before moving on to clean my rooms until we stopped for lunch at a bit after one. Mom set me free after that, so I grabbed my bike and went to meet up with Rowen at the computer store.

She'd already been done work by then and had gone home to get her own bike; so we were ready to ride right away. I wasn't surprised to see Michael and Tim over at Landry Automotive just getting ready to go for a ride too. As usual, Rowen and Tim found a lot of entertainment value out of our 'chance' meeting, though I'm not complaining because we had fun going for that ride. We started out with another construction site tour, and then pushed the limits of Michael's break time by doing something I hadn't done before – riding out to the next-nearest bridge crossing the Ridge River to the west of town. We went out there on the North side of the river, and came back on Witch Falls Road through the valley.

When Rowen talked me into having our post-ride snack break at the Inn, I was suspicious, but thought we might be safe; since Michael needed to be back at work to help get ready for the dinner rush. I should've trusted my first instinct, because before I knew it; Tim accepted an invitation too, and Miranda instantly went from starting to tease Michael about being late to deciding that he could have a little extra time off to join us for our break while he cooled off from our ride. For the next half hour, Michael and I did absolutely nothing, yet managed to entertain our best friends; his family; and pretty much everyone else at the Inn. I did get to have an Olde Bakery double-chocolate square, and most of the teasing was funny too, but that whole scene has already made the town grapevine news network; and I predict more tween drama in my future by tomorrow or Monday.

After leaving the Inn, Rowen and I went home; spent some time playing with Ethan and Ehlana; and then I needed to pack my bag and head over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's while Mom and Dad got the twins ready for their sleepover. Grandma and Grandpa were picking them up by the time I was ready to go, and Rowen walked with them as far as the computer store when they left while I went over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's place.

Not only had Aunt Leanne already heard about my bike ride and snack break at the Inn, but she had the added news that one of Michael's cousins had gone into labor; and Jacob's parents were about to be great-grandparents for the first time very soon. Those news stories gave her lots of material to tease me with – including suggestions that I could invite Michael and Rebecca to stay at my house if their parents needed to go and spend a couple of days with Jacob's family like she expected them to do on their days off on Monday and Tuesday.

I'm really glad that Aunt Leanne's teasing was more than offset by a really great meal that Uncle Adam cooked for us; more Olde Bakery treats; a movie and a makeover night; and some bedtime girl chat that included a little more teasing, but also some serious talk about the tween drama I'm dealing with. Aunt Leanne had some suggestions for me, and I might even try a couple of them to see if they help.

That won't include crossing over, or any of your ideas that required up close and personal time with Michael, Aunt Leanne – and by the time you get to read this; you'll know that I didn't do any of those things, so stop grinning like that.

Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam went to bed about an hour ago, and I've mostly just been surfing the net on my computer since we wrapped up our girl chat. We've had a little rain tonight, and there's more in the forecast for tomorrow, but it's supposed to be really warm too; and I'm hoping that we'll get some outdoor play time tomorrow afternoon before the rain moves in again. We definitely seem to be getting more than our fair share of April showers this year. I should probably finish this up and get some sleep, but I seem to be having problems winding down nearly every night lately. I'm sure that Aunt Leanne and Rowen would both have the same explanation for that, and they may be partly right if you include worrying about the tween drama; but there's more than that going on – and it's happening on more than just an emotional level. I really wish there were better archive records about the tween years for Magi Masters, though that might not have helped anyway; since all of this seems to be different for me than it was for Mom. If I do ever figure it all out, I'll let you know, but for now, I'm going to at least make an attempt to get some sleep.

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

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Congratulations, Stone family – it's a boy!

Though Jacob and Miranda haven't been able to spend much time with Jacob's side of the family since his parents moved to Garden City to be closer to his sister and her family; they're both very excited about the arrival of their first grand-nephew.

You're probably wondering why I'm even mentioning this, since I haven't even actually met Michael's cousins – though I have seen them around before on some of their visits. It's news for me because my darling Aunt Leanne was right about Jacob and Miranda going to Garden City on Monday and Tuesday; and she happily volunteered herself – and Mom – to help out with anything Jake, Rebecca, and Michael might need while their parents were away. Her emphasis on helping Michael was not lost on anyone; and since Dad was going to be in the city anyway, Mom was immediately hired as parental back-up while Jacob and Miranda are out of town. Since they could have gotten that support just as easily from Miranda's side of the family; I don't have to guess at why Miranda and Aunt Leanne were both so happy to have Mom doing that instead.

I don't want to go to sleep thinking about what Aunt Leanne will come up with over the next couple of days to move her matchmaking plans along; so let's get started on the rest of the daily report.

Though it wasn't really quite warm enough for it, Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and I went out by the river for Tai Chi this morning. We went with a light breakfast, and then Aunt Leanne entertained herself by playing dress-up with me – including doing the full hair styling and adding a touch or two of makeup. We still managed to get to church on time, and she was very happy when the primary goal of her efforts was achieved. Let's not go there either – she totally took advantage of knowing that I love playing dress-up as much as she does; and what girl wouldn't melt at getting that kind of reaction from a boy – even a girl who hasn't crossed over yet?

I'd like to report that there wasn't any more tween drama than that today, but I wasn't that lucky. Lisa had heard about our snack break at the Inn by the time we went to Sunday school, so I was getting the cold shoulder for that instead of the thaw I'd hoped for after staying out of trouble at Gil's party. Michael's frequent glances in my direction didn't help; and neither did a couple of jokes Tim directed my way. Trading that scene for the one after church where my aunt was volunteering my Mom for surrogate parent wasn't an improvement; but having lunch outdoors after getting home definitely helped to get the fun going again for all of us. Mom and Dad invited their kid sleepover babysitters to have lunch with us, and we had Rowen, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah with us too. Since Monday is tax day, Rowen's parents were at the computer store for most of the rest of the day; so Rowen was free to hang out with me until after dinner.

We managed to have lunch and get some play time at the park with Ethan and Ehlana before it started raining. The rest of our afternoon included some music time; a movie in the lounge; and a little science lab action before we needed to get ready for dinner at the Inn. Rowen, Ehlana, and I dressed up again, and Mom and Dad had us in the dining room at the Inn nearly ten minutes before we were supposed to be meeting Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of our group. I did not use the extra time for a visit to the kitchen, though Rowen tried her best to get me to do that. I almost managed to avoid any tweeird zone moments, but Aunt Leanne caught me again after dinner by reminding me that Jacob and Miranda would be going away for a couple of days; and I really should say goodbye to Jacob.

Yeah, I know that nothing is likely going to happen to them, but ever since Mom and Dad's plane accident, I don't take that kind of thing for granted anymore; and Aunt Leanne knows it. She was also likely sure that I wouldn't do a round of hugs and exclude Michael – which I didn't. He was already getting razzed about it before I'd left the kitchen; and I'm sure that'll be one more story that reaches Lisa by tomorrow morning.

Aunt Leanne didn't get much of a chance to tease me about that, since she and Uncle Adam had other plans for the evening, and Dad needed to get home and back to his work; but Rowen was happy to make up for that while we hung out together in my room and the lounge until her parents picked her up on their way home from the store. Mom did a Magi lesson with us – and with Ethan and Ehlana; we had another music practice; and played some video games before doing the bedtime snack for the twins that Mom, Dad, Patricia, Owen, and Patrick all joined us for.

I came up to my room after Rowen left while Mom and Dad put Ethan and Ehlana to bed. Some quality Jacuzzi time was first on my bedtime to-do list; and I've been doing the full school night studying and nightly computing since climbing into bed with Mandy. It's heading toward two o'clock now, and even Mom and Dad have been asleep now for a while. I need to get some sleep too – it's going to be busy just with the extra work Mom and I will have with taking care of Ethan and Ehlana while Dad's away. Add in a few birthdays – including Dillon's eighteenth; tax day tomorrow; and everything else we've got going on this week, and I'm going to need to get some rest whenever I can. There isn't anything else to add, and right now seems to be a very good time to at least attempt to get some sleep, so...

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

Monday, April 15, 2013

Before I begin my recap for today, the big news story around the world today is the explosions near the finish line at the Boston marathon. By the time you're reading this some day in the future, you'll know much more about what happened there than anyone does right now, so I won't write about what is mostly just rumors right now; but my thoughts and prayers do go out to the victims and their families and friends.

***

We're halfway through April – and just started the second half a little more than an hour ago as I'm writing this.

It only felt like I'd had a nap when I got up to see Dad off on his trip to Crystal Springs. Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana all got up too, and we were able to spend about twenty minutes with Dad while he had breakfast. Once he was on the road, we all cuddled in Mom's bed and had another nap before getting the rest of our regular school day started. Tai Chi was indoors; Mom and I took turns having showers while watching Ethan and Ehlana; we had breakfast; and then I went to meet up with Rowen and walk to school.

Even in a little town like ours, tax day is a big deal for anyone wanting to wait as long as possible to send more money to the government; and Rowen's parents expected to be busy all day and half the night; and they'd already left for the store by the time I got to their house. I should mention that they actually don't make much money with the work they're doing right now – helping their customers use the tax software they sell is just one of the things they do because their friends and neighbors need them. I'm sure they're given some thank-you gifts too, but it's doing things like this that explain why virtually every piece of computer hardware and software in the entire Ridge River District comes from their store.

Rowen was ready to go, but we had to wait for Patrick before heading to school. Let's just say that he was being a typical little brother after Owen and Patricia had left, and leave it at that. We met up with Rebecca and Michael on the way to school, and found out then that Miranda and Jacob had left for Garden City not long after Dad had left for Crystal Springs. I must really suck at being a tween, because every other teen and tween we talked with while Rowen and I were with Rebecca and Michael wanted to know when the all-night party at their house was starting; and that thought hadn't even remotely crossed my mind. The news that there wasn't going to be a parent-free party was met with universal disappointment even if it wasn't actually unexpected. Jake and Stephanie are two of the most popular teens in town, but they definitely don't have party-animal reputations.

The rest of my morning was a mix of normal and tweeird. Lisa not-very-happily provided most of the tweeird, and she was even less thrilled to find out that some of our classmates are getting tired of the drama; and are starting to talk to me again. Add in another round of birthday invitations that Rowen and I were included in for Brock's party on Saturday night – his first boy-girl party; and I practically felt frost-bitten by lunchtime. That was enough of a reason for Rowen and I to spend most of our noon break doing our own thing; which for today included a walk and some play time with a group of younger girls at the playground. That never earns us any 'cool' points with our classmates, but we have fun; and playing like that now and then does make us popular with all of the younger girls.

I don't have much to report from the rest of the school day, but I was in the tweeird zone immediately after last class when Michael advised me that he, Rebecca, and Jake would all be checking in with my Mom on the way home from school; and he and Tim walked home with Rowen and me. The tweeird came from having shadows following about a block behind us; and I could practically feel the icy glare hitting me in the back of the head. Things should have gone downhill from there, but I ended up having too much fun to care about the downside from spending what ended up being the rest of the afternoon and a big chunk of the evening with Michael, Tim, and Rowen; and about half of that time with Rebecca too.

Aunt Leanne's hand was definitely in on the after-school plan that started with Ethan and Ehlana using their very best toddler act to get Michael, Rebecca, and Tim to stay for our snack break. I'm sure that the fresh-today Olde Bakery treats were part of the plan too; and they worked like a charm. After that, the five of us ended up doing our homework together in the lounge, and then four out of five of us went biking until dinnertime – a dinner that Jake, Stephanie, Michael, and Rebecca had already been set-up to have with us; and that Rowen and Tim were invited to stay for by the time we went out for our ride.

We were back into the tweeird zone shortly after leaving the house when we again found ourselves being followed as we first went to get Michael's and Tim's bikes; and then started our ride with another construction site tour. That's getting more interesting in the new section of town now that there are more than just holes in the ground for the first batch of houses being built. I'd guess that nearly every kid and even a lot of the teens make regular visits to see what's going on there – and over at the lab site too.

Since Rowen and I had needed to do our homework at 'normal' speed, we didn't actually have that long to ride; but Michael and Tim wanted to hit some of the drier trails in the woods at the park; and we had a blast racing and chasing each other around the three trails that weren't complete mud pits from the weekend rain. That didn't go over well with the girls who were keeping an eye on us, but like I already mentioned; I was having too much fun to really care about that at all.

Jake, Rebecca, and Stephanie were all at the house by the time we got home again, and we really only had enough time for a little chat and to get cleaned up before the food was ready; and we all moved into the dining room to sit down and eat. I don't think that everyone was in on the conspiracy, but it wasn't a surprise that I ended up sitting in the chair between Michael and Ehlana, while he was next to Ethan; and Ehlana had Rebecca sitting next to her too. Jake, Stephanie, Tim, and Rowen all looked way too amused from where they sat in the four chairs directly across from us.

I didn't need to ask Mom later if she was in on the matchmaking plan – she'd cooked one of my favorite chicken dishes and the bacon and cheese mashed potatoes for dinner. First of all, we usually only have my favorite mashed potatoes when Dad makes them for me; Michael wasn't the only person at the table to have second or third helpings; and it wasn't necessary to use that as a launching pad to talk about things that Michael and I both love.

We did have other things to talk about while we ate. Mom got Jake and Stephanie to tell us about their college plans – they'd received all of their acceptance letters; and were pretty sure which schools they were going to pick. They talked about their plans for Dillon's birthday tomorrow, and that led directly to another dinner invitation for Rebecca and Michael with us; since they were going to be in Crystal Springs with Dillon and Violet for the evening.

Since Mom had done most of the cooking, we had an all-tween and teen clean-up crew. That was probably too much fun; and more than a little scary just how great it was to do that together. It reminded me a lot of all of the times I used to spend in the kitchen at the Inn with Rebecca, Michael, and everyone else. It certainly had me thinking about stopping in to hang out with them again once in a while. I expected that once we'd finished cleaning the kitchen that everyone except Rowen would be heading out, but Jake and Stephanie were hoping to have a few hours of alone time; and I invited Rebecca and Michael to stay so they could do that. Tim stayed too; and we started out the rest of our evening by taking Ethan and Ehlana for a walk to the park.

When we got home again, we went up to my room and the lounge; had a little music time that was mostly for Ethan and Ehlana; and then Michael, Tim, and Ethan mostly entertained us with some video gaming while Rebecca, Rowen, Ehlana, and I watched, talked, and surfed the net on two computers. Rowen needed to leave at nine-thirty so she could go around to the computer store; collect Patrick; and take him home for the night while their parents finished up getting a pair of tax returns done and sent off before midnight. Rebecca, Michael, and Tim went home then too, and then I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed and tucked in. My little brother and sister were very pleased with themselves; and spent some time pointing out to me just how much fun it had been tonight to hang out with Michael – and Rebecca, Rowen, and Tim.

Yes, I had a lot of fun; but I'm still not crossing over!

By the time they were in bed, I was ready for another visit with my Jacuzzi, and Mom thought that was such a good idea; she went to have a bath then too. I finished my language studying while soaking in the tub, and I've mostly been working in the archives since climbing into bed with Mandy. Some of that work included some updates for the Magi Project that were mostly things I observed at the party on Friday night and have been thinking about since then. Some of those musings are written in the Master's language; mostly so Mom can decide what should or shouldn't be given wider access – even for Uncle Adam. There are times when I need to be very careful with the ideas I come up with. For instance, just because I think there may actually be several ways to help Latents access their Magi power doesn't mean that we should; that they could all handle their new abilities nearly as well as Violet has; or if we could collectively handle everything that would go along with doing that – like training so many new Magi.

While it's mostly been fun all day, I'm getting tired; and need to get at least a bit more sleep than I did last night – especially since I'm pretty much guaranteed to have more tween drama to deal with at school. I'll worry about that in the morning, but for now; it's time to try not to think about cute and cuddly – I mean soft and fuzzy – bunnies.

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

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Happy 18th birthday, Dillon!

Before I get into the daily report, I've been thinking about what it must be like for the Magi teens on their eighteenth birthdays ever since seeing Dillon this morning; and giving him his gift and a big hug.

In most cases, I'm sure that the first thing they want to know is about which of their friends are Magi too. They'd need to wait to find that out for younger friends, but since the average number of Magi in each grade is two; finding out those answers might mostly be disappointing – even while everything else they get to learn is very exciting.

If you're reading this, then you know I'm thinking about that because of Dillon. I'll never get to know what that feels like because my best friend is a Magi, and we already know about each other. He didn't let anything show at all about how he was feeling, but I could sense what was going on with him while sharing that birthday hug with him. He hasn't found out about Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me yet, or I would have sensed that too, but that won't change anything between us until after Violet's birthday in June. That's something that I'm sure he'll be thinking about a lot for the next couple of months, and though I really wish I could help him out with that; the council has been very clear about sticking to this rule, and I can't. That part of Violet's upcoming birthday story is going to make for a really great start to the summer holidays, though!

Thinking about that kind of stuff now is much better than thinking about certain parts of my day – or at least it's safer for me.

Tai Chi with Mom this morning was a good start to the day, and doing the birthday gift and hug thing with Dillon was fun even though Stephanie, Jake, and some of their friends teased me about the hug. The morning went from fun to tweeird before Rowen and I got to first class. That started with finding out that Nora was mad after finding out that Tim had spent the afternoon and evening at my house. Her anger was mostly directed at Tim, but she got over it fairly quickly when she realized that he really had no clue why she was upset about him hanging out with Michael like he normally would on one of Michael's days off from the Inn. Tim's reaction really annoyed Rowen. She'd never try to steal anyone's boyfriend anyway, and is too shy to chase after any boys at all, but the fact that Tim couldn't even comprehend why his girlfriend might be mad about him and Michael hanging out with us just proved to her that the guys in our class don't really even see her as a girl at all.

While Tim and Nora had quickly made up, I wasn't that lucky when it came to how Lisa felt about Michael hanging out with me. I have no idea how long she can stay mad, or keep getting upset every time Michael and I are even mentioned in the same sentence; but there's no sign so far that she's getting close to her limit. I can tell you that Michael and I are both getting tired of being followed and watched like we were again today. That didn't keep us from having fun anyway during our lunchtime music practice, and gave us some incentive to do a little bike racing after school that will probably be taken completely the wrong way by the time that news hits the grapevine at school tomorrow.

I guess that brings me to the best part of my day – which is also what I don't want to be thinking about tonight.

Michael and I were on our own when he came home with me after school. Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon were all busy getting ready for their evening in Crystal Springs with Violet; Rebecca went to do her homework with Jenny; Rowen was working at the computer store; and Tim was going to be busy with Nora – probably making out while making up; and not getting their homework done. Let's not go there either. We had our snack break with Mom, Alicia, Ethan, and Ehlana, but then they were all conveniently busy; and Michael and I were left completely alone while doing our homework in the lounge. That was scary because we really work well together; had a lot of fun; and it was way too uncomfortable in an exciting way to be alone in my room with Michael.

I am not crossing over! Repeat as often as needed, Proctor!

The bike ride, and race to lose the group of girls that were shadowing us was next; and that was extremely fun even though we both know that being AWOL for about three-quarters of an hour will come back to haunt us tomorrow. Just in case you're thinking the same thing that most of our friends might be tomorrow; nothing happened. We lost Lisa and her friends by hiding while they passed after putting some distance and a couple of turns between us, and once they were out of sight and hearing; we back-tracked and went for the rest of our ride in a different direction. I can tell you that they were not amused when we passed them on our way back to my house when we needed to be home for dinner.

We were there ahead of Rebecca, but she joined us in time to hear all about our little biking adventure. With just the six of us, we were able to have dinner at the kitchen table. I didn't even bother to try and avoid the seating set-up – Ethan and Ehlana had already strategically placed the chairs with their booster seats; and it would have been obvious why I moved things around if I'd tried to do that right before we sat down to eat. While they'd set us up to sit next to each other again, tonight we were at one corner of the table, and Ethan and Ehlana had entirely too much fun every time Michael and I either bumped into each other with knees, feet, or legs under the table; or brushed hands together while eating or passing dishes around.

Ethan and Ehlana also conveniently needed Rebecca to play with them after dinner; Mom had cooked; and that left Michael and me on our own to do the kitchen clean-up. That was another uncomfortably exciting and fun time too; and having thoughts about what Mom, Miranda, and Aunt Leanne all thought about kitchen time with their favorite guys did not help me deal with that at all.

I am not crossing over; I am not crossing over...

While Miranda and Jacob had been on the way home for hours already by then, we still had a couple of hours to hang out together after finishing the clean-up. Michael and I did at least have Rebecca, Ethan, and Ehlana with us when we went up to my room and the lounge again, but they mostly played in the lounge while we had a little music practice before joining them so that Michael and Ethan could play video games. It's fun, amazing, and scary how great our music is too, whether we're playing a saxophone duet or I'm playing my keyboard and accompanying Michael instead.

Playing toddler-rated video games was fun for all of us too. I helped Ethan; Rebecca played with Ehlana; and we took turns competing against Michael. I'm not sure which was funnier – watching Michael losing matches on purpose to my brother and sister; or knowing that they could win every game if they weren't happily playing 'normal toddler'. Our gaming session wrapped up when Jacob and Miranda got home, but my fun wasn't quite over yet.

While Mom invited Jacob and Miranda over for our bedtime snack, they first had a little surprise for Michael and Rebecca – a pair of shiny new bikes. We were getting some light rain showers then, and though Rebecca did like her new bike; she didn't want to go riding in the rain. I'll use that as the excuse for why I went riding with Michael instead even though I wouldn't have turned him down when he asked me to go along even if she had gone too. Since Rebecca's new bike was a completely different brand and style, Michael and I didn't have to guess why his new bike just happened to be the guy version of my bike – with the only differences being the paint job and a slightly different shape to the frame. That'll be one more little news flash that will annoy Lisa; but then going for a ride after dark in the rain probably won't go over very well either.

Note to me for the future – if you're going to go riding in the rain, wear a jacket, or anything else that won't be quite so uncomfortable when it gets wet – and I'm not talking about feeling cold and damp; if you know what I mean. Changing into one of my favorite soft, warm sweaters seemed like a good idea too right up until it was time for the goodnight hugs and kisses when Jacob and Miranda were ready to take Rebecca and Michael home after our bedtime snack and story time. I'm not sure whether I'm more uncomfortable about Michael's reaction to seeing me in a wet shirt or the empathic jolt I got when including him in the round of goodnight hugs.

I am not crossing over...

That was the end of the tweeird tonight. Once we were on our own again, Mom and I put Ethan and Ehlana to bed; she did a short Magi lesson with me; and then we both played catch-up on our family business work for a couple of hours. The Boston marathon bomb attack yesterday, and the big earthquake in Iran today were the top stories in the news, and while there wasn't anything specific we could do right now through the family business or our charities in Boston; we were able to get a few things done to help out in Iran. There will be things we can do to help in Boston too, but there is already more than enough help on the ground there for the immediate needs of the victims and their families.

While we're on that topic, I'm sure that some future Magi readers of my journals who know that Ethan, Ehlana, and I have a particular talent for the Sight – especially when we work together – are wondering why we don't see things like this happening. There are lots of archive writings about the Sight talent, but the short answer is that it's impossible to keep track of everything that could or might happen in the world. Let's that the Boston bombing for an example. Using our Sight, and focusing it specifically on the marathon, we might have been able to 'see' the bombs. We also would have seen all other possible outcomes that might have happened instead. There would be no real way of knowing which possible future would be the actual one, and even if we could know that; we'd have the problem of how we could possibly do something about it. The bottom line is that it just isn't possible for us to use our gifts to stop every bad thing that happens in the world, and trying to do that is one of the things that can lead someone with the Sight into madness. I'm sure that every Magi wishes we could do more, but we have to accept our limitations even as we try to do the best we can – which is what Mom and I were doing tonight with our family business and charities.

When she was ready to call it a night, I came up to my room and got ready for bed too. I still had all of my regular bedtime studying to get done; and have been working on that since climbing into bed with Mandy. The language and archive work hasn't completely kept me from thinking about how much fun it was to hang out with Michael tonight. Other than those uncomfortable moments, the few junior matchmaking interventions, and a little teasing that mostly came from Miranda; this was exactly how I'd like things to be with Michael and me – if only we could do that without the tween drama at school or having other people constantly trying to push us toward being more than just friends.

I'm as sure that I won't get what I want right now when it comes to my friendship with Michael as I am that I'll be fervently trying not to think of soft, fuzzy bunnies while getting to sleep tonight.

I am not crossing over, I am not crossing over, I am not crossing over.

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

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The only news to report from around town and with my family is that Violet and Dillon have picked the college they'll be going to in August – Kansas State. Dillon's going to take bio-engineering, and Violet is going into the business program. Ethan, Ehlana, and I are all happy to see that part of our future plan working out exactly as we hoped and expected. They won't know this until next year sometime, but their college years summer jobs are going to be very cool. Jake and Stephanie have officially confirmed the schools that they'll be going to in New York too, but they'd already unofficially told us about their choices on Monday. The toughest part for them is that they won't be going to the same school, but I'm sure they'll work it out so they see each other every day somehow.

While that news was exiting, I don't really have much else to write about tonight. It's probably more accurate to say that there isn't much that I want to write about; mostly because I've hit the wall tonight. I'm tired; haven't gotten enough sleep over the last few days; and I'm worn out from too much tween drama at school. We've had rain all day, so I wasn't even able to escape the tweeird zone at lunchtime – especially since we had company in the music room starting about a minute after Michael joined Rowen and I for a bonus, rainy day practice. I escaped that early only to wind up in another little chat with Lisa that pretty much just left me about as mad as I've ever been at anyone who wasn't a Dark Magi trying to abduct me or kill any of the people I love the most.

I get that Lisa's still hurting, and can understand why she needs to be mad at me. Saying nasty things to me and about me is annoying, but I can deal with that. She crossed the line today by pulling the 'like mother, like daughter' card; and flat-out telling me that we're just a couple of lowlife gold-diggers. It took Lisa about five seconds to realize she'd gone too far, and may already regret saying that to me. I managed to keep my retort to her comment polite before walking away from her; but I'm also sure that Lisa found my quiet, controlled version of mad more than a little scary – she didn't even look at me again for the rest of the afternoon.

So much for not wanting to write about my day. I guess I needed to get that off of my chest.

Getting a solid night of sleep is something I really need too, so let's wrap this up. Rowen and I mostly stayed in my room and the lounge after school. We did our homework; played with Ethan and Ehlana; had a music practice; and I did a little venting that didn't really make me feel much better at all. Rowen went home in time for dinner, and Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I have had a quiet evening. We all went to bed early, and I've only done about half of my usual bedtime studying. That's all I've got, and I really am ready to crash, so...

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

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Happy 46th birthday, Jacob!

The business owners in town often don't really get to celebrate their birthdays, but Jacob and Miranda might have the toughest time with that; since they can't even go out to dinner or anything unless their big day happens to fall on a day off or holiday. Jacob did get to have a bit of a party during game night, but that really wasn't much more than a birthday cake as part of the snacks and getting to open a few gifts from his friends.

Before I get to that, let's do a quick review of the rest of my day first.

The big story for me might be that Lisa completely left me alone today. I'm fairly sure that is completely because of what she said to me yesterday, and that'll be a very weird turn of events if those insults wind up being what helps her get over being mad at me. For now, it's enough for me not to have those icy glares; I didn't hear even one nasty, whispered comment; and nobody followed me around – not even when Michael joined Rowen and me for our lunchtime music practice; and there weren't any of Lisa's friends at game night either.

While I'm thinking and writing about this, I'd like to mention that I did think about just leaving yesterday's incident out of my journal. If you're reading this in the future, you know that everyone in our town keeps moments like this private. It's one thing to publically be mad at someone, and another to talk about something like this when it was really just a thoughtless, heat-of-the-moment mistake. By the time this is available to other Magi to read, it'll be long past, and I trust that you will allow it to stay there; but I decided to include it just to record an instance that shows that things like this do happen here in Witch Falls. I love the fact that we all strive to have a nicer, better place to live with our families and friends, but I think it's just as important to know that we're not perfect either.

If we were, I wouldn't suck so much at being a tween! ;^)

Moving along, the change in the atmosphere at school helped make for a really good day for me; though the extra sleep last night helped too. Rowen and I were both working after school, and I mostly played with summer-themed projects and plans straight through until Mom had me stop to have dinner. It's been another rainy day, so Mom drove us to the Inn in the minivan; and we were there in time to help out with getting everything set up for the games. We also had a pair of birthday gifts for Jacob – one from all of us; and one that I'd picked up for him. Don't make a big deal of that – I love Miranda and Jacob because they made Mom and I feel like we were home practically from the moment we me them; and for everything else they've done for us since then.

Miranda was going to have a tough choice tonight – stick with her usual game night partner on his birthday or have Mom on her team like she usually does when Dad's in the city. It would be a great birthday story to report that Jacob won the senior championship tonight, but that didn't happen; and he made the team decision for Miranda so that she didn't have to choose. The good news for Jacob is that Miranda and Mom did win tonight; and he received some celebration promises from his wife that I don't need to write about here.

Rowen and I had a lot of fun playing games, and for me, that was mostly because I didn't feel like I needed to be watching my back any time I was anywhere near Michael; or actually having fun hanging out with him and Rebecca. They had a pretty good gaming night too, and came in third for the junior competition. Mom took Ethan and Ehlana home right after the games were over, but Rowen and I stayed to help Jake and Stephanie with the clean-up while they sent Jacob and Miranda home then too. Yes, Michael and Rebecca stayed too; we walked home together; and all of my friends got goodnight hugs from me as we split up first at the Stone's house, and when I hugged Rowen before she left me to run the rest of the way to her home from mine. Let's skip the Michael-teasing she had for me between those two moments, and not just because her insistence that Michael's hug had been longer than the ones for Jake, Stephanie, or Rebecca was totally untrue.

By the time I got inside, Mom pretty much had Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed, but we did a little Magi lesson with them, and she did another lesson with me before I came up to my room for the rest of the night. I multi-tasked some Jacuzzi time with my archive homework; did my usual nightly computing while getting ready for bed; and then I spent the last hour or so on my language studies. The extra sleep last night helped a lot, but it's late, and I'm ready to call it a night now, so...

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

Friday, April 19, 2013

It didn't get all that warm out today, but we did get some sunshine; and playing outside was an option.

I'm pretty much always in a good mood on the Fridays when Dad's going to be home from his week in the city, and though I didn't get a lot of sleep last night; I've been fired up pretty much since waking up and exercising with Mom. It was a Day Two schedule Friday this week, so that's never as much fun as when we get to have Phys-Ed and Music classes, but Rowen and I had fun anyway; and I loved getting a second day in a row with no major tween drama.

We'll have to see if that lasts through the weekend. Michael wanted to go for a ride on his new bike after school; and he invited Rowen and I to go along – making the offer while we were still getting packed up after last class. Tim wanted to go too, and though Nora didn't; she did want to hang out with Tim enough to come with us anyway. Rebecca was added to our little riding group while we were walking home, and though she really isn't into riding for fun anymore, she wanted to take her new wheels out for a spin too. Tim and Nora had needed to go and get their bikes first; and we met up at my house to have a snack break with Ethan and Ehlana before hitting the road.

Having six of us on the ride avoided most of the awkward Rowen and I have been feeling each time that Nora's gone riding with us. Part of that was because we had fun getting to spend the time with Rebecca, but she also kept Nora company when Michael and Tim wanted to test the limits of their new bikes; and Rowen and I went racing off with them, worked on tricks, or hopped out bikes over just about anything we found along the way that we could use for jumps.

Rowen and I both had plans for the evening, and I needed to be home in time to help Mom with making the food part of our dinner and a movie night. That worked out okay because by the time I needed to leave, we were all getting cold – even if the guys wouldn't admit it. Rowen and Patrick were doing something with their family for the evening, so Rowen went over to the computer store when I went home. Mom was already starting the work in the kitchen by then, and I joined in right away. Aunt Leanne came over straight from work, and Uncle Nick was added to the work crew about twenty minutes later.

We weren't officially having a party, but Aunt Deborah is now officially on maternity leave. She hadn't totally agreed with the decision on that, but her doctor, husband, and family had all pitched in to convince her that she would do what she was told when Uncle Adam decided she needed to stop and take care of herself and the baby. From what I heard at dinner tonight, I don't actually think Aunt Deborah really minds being told to stop working. She and the baby are both just fine, but when you're having naps on hospital beds at lunchtime, and sleeping a couple of hours at a time off and on all night; it's probably past-time for you to stop working fifty or sixty hours a week.

This probably isn't news for any future readers of my journals, but Uncle Adam won't be on his own while Aunt Deborah is off work. Grandma Johnson is going to work part-time, and she's got a group of mostly stay-at-home Moms and Grandmothers who are going to take a shift or two a week and help out with the office work side of Aunt Deborah's job. They've already re-organized some regular appointments so that Uncle Adam will have a nurse there when needed. Aunt Deborah hasn't decided how she feels about it yet, but the maternity leave coverage plan is already tentatively set up to go from now until September.

Though we weren't having an official party, Mom had invited some extra guests tonight; though we only had our usual group stay for the movie. Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Adam's grandparents and mother, and Dr. Tammy and her husband, Bob, all already had other after-dinner plans; but were happy to join us for the meal. We had dinner in the dining room, and even though Ethan, Ehlana, and I didn't have any other kids to hang out with tonight; we still had fun hanging out with some of our favorite grown-ups; and we talked about everything from what was going on at the clinic to babies and weddings.

The biggest news at the clinic isn't actually Aunt Deborah's maternity leave – we're going to have a new dentist in town soon. Dr. Tammy's daughter, Wendy, will be joining her mother's practice after she completes her doctorate in a few weeks; and then gets a well-deserved vacation and break. Dr. Wendy will likely officially start at the clinic near the end of June or early July. I wonder if the kids and teens will want to go with the young, pretty new dentist or stick with Dr. Tammy and her experience. It won't matter to Ethan, Ehlana, and me if we get Dr. Wendy – there are some advantages to being able to heal ourselves; and getting our teeth looked at and cleaned a couple of times a year isn't a big deal.

The baby chat was mostly about the plans Aunt Deborah and Uncle Nick had for handling the new addition to their family; and the wedding talk was about Mom and Aunt Leanne would be doing next weekend with Aunt Grace while we're in Granite Park. I got teased a bit about being the perfect age to take advantage of all of the babysitting that was going to be available in my family for the next five or ten years, and a bit about taking a date to Aunt Grace's wedding; but Aunt Leanne was nice enough to hold off on any major Michael-related teasing until most of our guests had moved on, and we were cleaning up in the kitchen.

She's very happy that Michael isn't dating now; is thrilled that we're spending time together; and disappointed that I'm stubbornly refusing to cross over and getting him 'off the market' before one of the other girls catch him instead. She also thought that I should have invited Michael to our dinner and a movie night; since Fridays are conveniently one of his nights off. Let's not tell her that I'd actually thought about inviting both Rebecca and Michael tonight, but didn't specifically because I knew that would be too good of a matchmaking opportunity for Aunt Leanne to resist.

With the bigger than usual clean-up, we didn't get started on the movie until nearly an hour later than usual; and we weren't very far into it when we had to take another break to welcome Dad home and help him unload the truck. He'd had a long day; the traffic had been a pain for getting out of the city; and he ended up napping through the last half of the movie. Aunt Deborah had napped for a while too, so the party wrapped up shortly after the show ended. Dad was sent up to bed; Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I saw our guests out after cleaning up; and then I helped Mom get the twins ready for bed and tucked in before coming up to my room.

I was thinking about doing some extra studying tonight, but we've got another yard work day planned, and Brock's birthday party and a sleepover with Rowen tomorrow night; I've decided to just do the basic nightly computing and get some sleep. There's more rain in the forecast this weekend, but hopefully it won't put too much of a damper on either the work or fun. That is pretty much it for today, though, so...

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

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Happy 13th birthday, Brock!

Since we're going to be away next weekend, it was an all-day chores day here at the Proctor family homestead. Spending some quality time gardening was high on the to-do list; and I was drafted to spend several hours getting up close and personal with nature while helping Mom with that work. I loved getting to have that time to talk with Mom while we worked, but I'm not a big fan of all-natural fertilizer – if you know what I mean. The teen boys helping Dad with loading the truck this morning were less polite about what they called the bags of fertilizer, and by the time Mom and I were finished this morning; I could totally relate to why they referred to that part of their job with such disdain. I had to scrub for a half-hour this afternoon when I was getting ready for the party before I felt – and smelled – clean again. There's probably a simple explanation for why that's never bothered me before, but I'm sure that Rowen and the rest of Brock's party guests appreciated the fact that I do care now.

That shower didn't happen until this afternoon. I scrubbed up as best I could when we stopped for lunch, but we had that meal out on the back porch so that we didn't have to stop for full clean-ups, and then Mom and Dad kept me busy until about three-thirty. The rest of the jobs that I was involved with included the van and truck wash; some work on the dock; window washing; and driveway, sidewalks, and paths cleaning. I was definitely ready for that long, hot shower by the time I was set free to get ready for the party.

Rowen mostly got ready for the party on her own, but came over in time for a little bonus hairstyling action when she brought her overnight bag here for our post-party sleepover plans. Brock's party was only starting about a half-hour before they were going to have dinner, so nearly all of his 'kid' guests got there in groups during the first fifteen minutes. Michael walked there with Rowan and me, and though that got some attention from our friends, I was actually glad that he had some time to get staring at me out of his system; and Rowen had pretty much gotten the grins and suppressed giggles out of her system by then too – at least until we got back home again after the party.

Brock's party wasn't really all that much different than Gil's had been last weekend; but Rowen and I both had more fun tonight. His parents went with a barbeque dinner that included burgers, hot dogs, and chicken along with the usual salad, veggie, and snack sides. While we ate indoors, it was nice enough to spend some time outside after dinner; and Rowen and I were part of the group that hung out in the back yard while some of the guys were playing video games. There were some games going on in the back yard too, and included tossing a Frisbee around and some new tween drama. Rowen and I were the only girls to join in for the Frisbee action, and though we were no directly involved in any of the tween drama tonight; we did quietly – and hopefully, secretly – enjoy the entertainment.

Lisa was still avoiding me, which was a good thing; but she found out tonight that I might not be the girl she should be worried about chasing after her ex-boyfriend. I should've written 'girls', since there were two girls giving Michael a lot of their attention – plus Nora; if you include her own interest in Michael's romantic future. The first girl to start hanging out with Michael was one of Brock's visiting cousins, and she introduced herself to him about a minute after figuring out that he hadn't come to the party with either Rowen or me. She kept close to him until we all started filling plates for dinner, and then sat next to him for the hour and a half or so that we were in the dining room.

Sometimes it actually is fun having the photographic memory, and catching every little detail of what's going on around me. Brock's cousin – Bristol – is very pretty, self-assured, and seemed to be quite experienced at the art of flirting with boys. She also had parental supervision, and I had to work hard not to laugh every time I saw a 'that's my girl' look from her Mom that reminded me a lot of Aunt Leanne; or the worried frowns from her father as he kept a very close eye on Michael.

I'm sure that Aunt Leanne will not have a 'that's my girl' look on her face when she gets the party recap out of me tomorrow, but I was grateful to have Bristol there to keep the tween drama away from me; and no, Rowen, I really was not even a little bit jealous. Somebody else was, though, and Michael found himself in the uncomfortable middle when Vanessa decided that she needed to hang around with him, Tim, and Nora. That put him deep into the tweeird zone – especially since Bristol was more than willing to take on the home-town challenger – confident that Vanessa was no match for her. I wasn't jealous, but I did feel sorry for Michael.

I was actually surprised to see Vanessa doing that, since she does have a guy that she's 'sort-of' been dating for a while now. He wasn't at the party, but I'll take a wild guess that he won't be impressed to find out that she got into a flirting contest over Michael.

The only time I spent with Michael while we were at the party was when he and Tim escaped from the tweeird zone for a while and played Frisbee too. That is part of the reason why Rowen and I had so much fun, but Michael probably made things worse for himself for the rest of the evening by showing off his natural athletic talent and seriously impressing Bristol. I thought that Rowen and I did pretty well too, but for some reason; nobody noticed.

Okay, Rowen – Michael and Tim noticed. Are you happy now?

Since Rowen's teasing me as I write this, I'll take a moment to mention that she was particularly entertained by the party-time tween drama involving 'Tommy' and his girlfriend. All was not as cozy with them as usual, and 'Tommy' was actually fairly annoyed tonight. This is the first time we've been to a party or dance that they were at where they weren't making out at all – or for half the night like usual. I'm sure that was mostly because she was busy most of the night helping one of her girlfriends, and that was also the reason why he was unhappy with her – not because she was helping a friend; but what she was helping her with.

After staying outside until nearly dark, Brock's party guests either picked watching a movie in the living room or hanging out with the video gamers. I'll freely admit that I didn't pick watching the movie for Rowen and me because the action flick the guys had decided to watch was so good I didn't want to miss it. I was there with my drink and little bowl of popcorn for the tweeird zone show. Michael had Bristol and Vanessa sitting on each side of him on one of the sofas; with Nora and Tim next to Vanessa. Maybe I shouldn't have found that so entertaining, but I did, and from the rueful grins Michael directed my way anytime he looked at me; I'm sure he knew exactly how much fun I was having with the whole scene.

There are probably some guys who wouldn't have a problem with two girls wanting to get up close and personal with them at the same time, but Michael practically jumped every time Bristol or Vanessa made contact with him. He tried to ignore every hint or not-so-subtle invitation to get closer to each of the girls, but playing hard to get just seemed to make the contest more interesting for the girls. While Rowen and I were amused, I can tell you that Lisa was not. I'm not sure what the appropriate separation time is supposed to be before moving on from a tween relationship; but it apparently isn't two and a half weeks – at least from Lisa's perspective. I'm not sure whether she even noticed that Michael didn't do anything to encourage Bristol or Vanessa. Lisa's mad was mostly directed at Vanessa, and though she wasn't happy about Bristol either; I guess Brock's cousin at least gets cut a little slack for being a visitor; and probably not knowing that he'd so recently broken her heart.

Rowen thinks that Vanessa is hoping that now that Michael's actually had a girlfriend that he won't be as dense as he was the first time they'd 'dated'.

I have no idea what Vanessa was thinking about Michael's reactions to her and Bristol tonight, but I can tell you that he was ready to escape from them the moment the credits started to roll at the end of the movie. There was going to be another movie after they had a long enough intermission for a round of washroom breaks, but Rowen and I were again heading home then instead of staying for the double-feature. What happened while we were saying goodbye to Brock and our friends, and thanking his parents, has kept Rowen entertained ever since.

First of all, Rowen, those jokes about Michael hanging out with other girls all night, but coming home with me are getting old fast. He did not 'come home' with me – he walked home with us as far as his own house. You know he was just taking the opportunity our exit gave him to escape the tweeird zone.

Yes, I did give him a goodnight hug, but you didn't seem to have a problem with any of the hugs I shared when we were leaving the party; and you could have hugged Michael too, but were probably too busy thinking up all of these zingers to have time for that. If you'll be serious for a moment, I can tell you that he really needed that hug by then.

That's your idea of getting serious for a moment? Alright, maybe Michael did seriously need a hug from me specifically, but if you're trying to use that as a good reason for why I should cross over, that doesn't even remotely offset all of the examples we had tonight for why I shouldn't. I can't even imagine acting like Bristol or Vanessa were at the party; or ever playing those kinds of games at all.

Moving along won't really be an option, since Rowen will likely keep the jokes coming until she falls asleep, but let's get on with the rest of the recap.

After getting home – or after the hug with Michael, as Rowen just added – we had a little visit with Mom and Dad in the living room before coming up to my room and getting ready for bed. While we hadn't wanted to stay at Brock's party to watch another action flick, we weren't going straight to bed either; and moved into the lounge with pillows, blankets, snacks, drinks, and our computers. Rowen picked out a chick flick that just happened to be about a guy; his closest, female, friend; and the 'other' girls who wanted to date him. I'm sure that was just a coincidence – not!

Our girl chat hasn't all been about Michael, though Rowen is having a lot of fun teasing me about all of that. She's wanted to talk about 'Tommy' too, and though she feels a bit guilty about it; she can't help but feel a little happy that all is not perfect with him and his girlfriend. Finding out that she isn't right for him would be a fairly important step along the way to discovering that Rowen is the perfect girl for him.

While Rowen has been playing, teasing me, and not very subtly trying to convince me to cross over; I've also been doing my usual nightly computing and some random surfing. There isn't much news to report from around the family. Violet wasn't getting together with Dillon this weekend, but did go out with some girlfriends for a movie and pizza night. Sometimes Rowen and I wish we could do things like that too, but we'd never permanently trade the advantages of big city life for what we have here at home – even if that does mean we don't have fast food or pizzerias; and can't see the latest movies when they first come out in theaters very often.

I guess there isn't much else to report for today. Rowen and I aren't ready to call it a night yet, but I'm going to wrap this up; put my computer away; and just relax and watch the rest of the show. We don't have anything specific planned for our play afternoon tomorrow because the weather may not cooperate with any outdoor fun; but I'd really like to go for a canoe ride if we can. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, that's it for tonight, so...

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

Sunday, April 21, 2013

We – Mom, Dad, and I – got to start the day out by going out to the river for our morning Tai Chi workout! Rowen stayed inside with Ethan and Ehlana, and though it was definitely on the cool side; we were all happy to get another chance to exercise outside – we haven't been able to do that enough yet this spring.

The rest of the morning was fun too. It wasn't really fair for Dad today, but he let 'the girls' cook breakfast, and he took care of the clean-up with some supervisory support from Ethan while Mom, Rowen, Ehlana, and I played dress-up and got ready for church. We didn't really take too long doing that, even though Aunt Leanne teased us as if we had. That was mild compared to the comments and jokes she had for me at lunchtime that were mostly about the party last night; with a dash of teasing me because of Michael's reaction to seeing me again this morning and because I included him in my round of hugs for the Stone family when we met up with them on the way to church.

Aunt Deborah's maternity leave and the impending arrival of the new baby kept her and Uncle Nick busy before and after church; and was probably the top local story of the day. There were quite a few people talking about the events in Boston and other world news; but I'll get to my thoughts on that after I'm finished the rest of today's recap. Pastor Lewis was on a roll today, and gave his congregation an hour and a half of education and entertainment before setting us free to enjoy the rest of what was turning out to be a very nice spring day.

Dad had a lot of work to get done this afternoon after his week in the city, but he and Mom offered to host a lunch that all of our family was invited to join us for; along with the Emersons, Seagers, Ayres, and Drapers. The good news is that it was a lot of fun having lunch with everyone, and the bad, for me, was not only having a big audience for some of Aunt Leanne's jokes and teasing; but willing contributors like Hannah and Patricia. I think that Mom may have decided to take pity on me when Rowen and I were set free to go canoeing instead of being drafted for the clean-up crew, but I wasn't complaining; and Rowen and I were out on the water by shortly after one o'clock.

The water is still very cold in the river, and there was a fairly strong breeze to deal with once we were out of town, so we only paddled East for a bit over a half hour before heading home again; and we were back on dry land by a bit after two. Dad was the only person still at home by then, so I got him a fresh cup of coffee, and then Rowen and I grabbed our bikes and rode over to the park to catch the tail end of the playground action with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. We hadn't been there very long with Michael and Tim rode over; making Ethan and Aiden's day by playing with them for the last fifteen minutes or so before the Moms and Aunts were ready to take the four toddlers home. Aunt Leanne was very happy with the bonus joke material and matchmaking opportunity; though I'm sure that Rowen and I would have been going biking with the boys even if she hadn't been there to nudge us along.

I'm pretty sure that everyone else in our group thought that Aunt Leanne was a lot funnier than I did, but that's okay; and I did have fun with that anyway – and we had a blast biking the trails and jumps in the woods until Michael needed to get back to the Inn to help with the set-up for the first buffet. After splitting up, Rowen and I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana. We played some music and video games; and all three of them had fun teasing me about Michael again. Rowen needed to be home in time to help her mother with making dinner, so I helped her with carrying her things over to her house and then got drafted to help Mom with cooking our little meal for five. Dad only stopped working long enough to sit down and eat with us, but he was also nearly finished his work by the time Mom and I had finished the clean-up.

Mom and Dad both did our Magi lessons tonight, and we had a little play time too, but I was ready to come up to my room when Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night at a bit after nine. Some Jacuzzi time was first on my list, though I multi-tasked that with the archive assignment that went along with my lesson tonight. I've done an hour of language study too, but kept that a bit short so that I could make sure I'm sleeping before midnight. I want to get a little extra rest when I can to be ready in case Mom and Dad need help once Aunt Deborah has her baby – either here at home; or helping Aunt Deborah and Uncle Nick.

There's really only one more thing I want to write about tonight. I haven't mentioned it at all this weekend, but the news out of Boston is still one of the big stories today. My thoughts on what's been happening there might not be very popular, but I don't like a lot of what I've seen in the news this weekend. The bombings were terrible, and so was what happened on Thursday and Friday; but I don't understand why thousands of people were so enthusiastically cheering in the streets on Friday night. The suspect the police captured is only nineteen – just seven years older than me – and was seriously injured with multiple gunshot wounds. Even if he and his brother are actually guilty of the bombings and shootings – and we supposedly live in a country where you're presumed innocent – that's no reason to be cheering for what's happening to him now. It should be just as easy for all of us to have compassion for an enemy – something I point out again is only suspected here; not proven – as it is to feel the same way for the bombing victims; the police officers that were killed and wounded; and their families. For all I know, you'll think that those ideas are as naive in the future as I'm sure most people would think they are now; but I do know that there is evil in the world; I've had some of it chasing me for most of my life; and there is no doubt in my mind that compassion and love is what will make a difference.

Then there's also the fact that I do know a few things about what our collective future is supposed to be like.

Finally, while I probably don't write about world events enough, this was a particularly somber week, and though the Boston Marathon bombing has been the biggest domestic story, the major earthquakes in Iran, Japan, and China; and the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas were all very serious too; combining for hundreds of fatalities and tens of thousands injured. I wanted to mention that in part to put a little perspective on my attention for the bombing in Boston; but also to illustrate why I don't write about everything that happens around the world every day. In a way, it's for the same reason you have to be very careful if you have the Sight – there's always so much bad going on in the world that it would be overwhelming to focus on that all of the time when there is basically nothing you can do to change it or prevent those bad things from happening.

I guess that sounds a bit defeatist, but it isn't. We do what we can, and there will be a lot more that we can and will do in the future. It is possible to be optimistic and realistic at the same time.

Anyway, that's probably too much of my two cents worth for tonight, so...

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

Monday, April 22, 2013

If Rowen were here tonight, she'd be telling me that my top news story should be having Michael hang out with me in my bedroom after school.

Of course she might skip mentioning that she was there too; and so were Rebecca, Ethan, and Ehlana. That sort of takes the edge off of a non-story; doesn't it?

There was actually more to my day before then, though I guess it was fairly standard and uneventful up to that point. Tai Chi was indoors because it was too cool out for Ethan and Ehlana; and there wasn't anything exciting going on at home between then and when Rowen met up with me and we headed for school. The top Grade Seven chat topic today was Brock's party; and I caught a few jokes directed at Michael about having two girls hanging all over him all evening – and then going home with two other girls. Michael didn't seem to mind the jokes and jabs, and I guess that the fact that he's getting teased about that sort of thing means that we're all trying to move on after weeks of being very cautious about anything like that about either Michael or Lisa. It wasn't raining this morning, so we had Phys-Ed class outside and played soccer. Rowen and I were outside for most of our lunch break – as were most of the kids and teens. We went for a walk, and hung out on the bleachers while some of the guys were mostly just goofing off out on the football field. We had a test and a quiz in two out of three of our afternoon classes, so there isn't anything exciting to report there – even Dad doesn't really get excited about the steady stream of A+ marks anymore.

So we're set free from school for the day, and Rowen and I end up walking home with Rebecca and Michael. Their best friends are busy with their respective boyfriend and girlfriend; and Rowen easily convinced them to hang out with us instead of going home and doing their homework on their own. I happen to know that the Olde Bakery treats we had for our snack were leftovers that would have been dessert tonight if Mom hadn't used them for our snack instead, but my adorable little brother and sister happily helped Rowen out by both entertaining our guests and finding creative little ways to nudge Michael and me together.

We needed to get our homework done before playing with Ethan and Ehlana; and sat at the table in the lounge to do that. While Rebecca had different assignments that Michael, Rowen, and I did, we all had fun and work really well together. Rebecca isn't quite the straight-A student that Michael is, but she's not far off; and is definitely a better student than Jenny – though that's mostly because Jenny doesn't rate school or homework very high on her priority list. While she'd never admit it, I'm sure that Rebecca liked studying with us more than with Jenny. Maybe Rowen and I will invite her over more often so she can do that.

Our studying actually takes longer when we have friends over, but that is offset with the bonus fun; and Ethan and Ehlana made sure that we were thoroughly entertained when we were done and could play with them. They wanted to do a music practice first, and followed that up with some video game action that Michael probably can never tell the guys about. I doubt that half of his friends even know that there are video games that are geared toward girls or toddlers. Sesame Street and Lego games just don't rate the same as the latest fighting and racing games. Michael and Ethan played some racing games too, though, so that at least won't be a reputation killer.

I should just skip reporting on those little matchmaking nudges, but Rowen will ask me about it tomorrow; and will just give me a hard time about it if I skip her favorite parts of our day. She thought that it was very funny every time Ethan or Ehlana would do something that Michael or I had to react to and always ended with us being close together. Ehlana even pounced on me hard enough to knock me into Michael so that he put an arm out to catch me while holding on to Ethan with the other. Then there was the running around that ended several times with them leading Michael and me to practically run into each other as we caught them. It's funny how that wasn't a problem when it was Rebecca or Rowen helping with the chase. There was definitely collusion involved when Michael and I were deserted while dealing with the clean-up in the lounge when it was time for Michael, Rebecca, and Rowen to head home. Ethan and Ehlana wanted Rebecca and Rowen to take them downstairs to Mom and Dad; and they all looked suspiciously happy when Michael and I joined them in the kitchen.

Again, for the 'I have not crossed over' concept-challenged – nothing happened during the four or five minutes that Michael and I were alone.

The rest of my evening has been a fairly standard Monday night. We had dinner; I was on the clean-up crew; Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; and we had a little play time before putting the twins to bed for the night. I've been doing my usual school night bedtime studying, and the only news from the computer checks is that the baseball sign-ups for this season were posted on the town intranet tonight. I'm excited about that because Rowen and I move to the twelve-to-fourteen girls division; and I'm really hoping that we'll get to play with Rebecca, Jenny, Caroline Landry, and the other girls. Getting to play for Coach Sarah again would be cool too.

That's all I have for tonight, and I'm ready to call it a night and get some sleep, so...

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

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

It's time for a super-short report.

We had rain for most of the day. There isn't anything exciting to report from school or my after-school family business work. The rest of my evening has been busy, but just the normal dinner, family time, Magi lessons, and bedtime studying and computing routine. It's only heading toward twelve-thirty, but I've had enough fun for today, so...

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

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

For the second day in a row, I don't really have much to write about.

The rain ended overnight, but we didn't warm up much today. It was a quiet day at school, and there's a good chance that my recent tween drama problems are over now. Lisa actually smiled at me today once; and she's talking to me again too. Rowen and I got our homework out of the way after school, and then we took Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some playground action. The only changes for me from last night from the time Rowen went home were what we had for dinner and the addition of a couple of hours of family business work. I wanted to do the extra work tonight because Rowen and I have decided to take tomorrow afternoon off from our jobs because I'll be away this weekend; and she can put in some extra time at the computer store while I'm gone. With game night too, I won't have time to add the extra work to my schedule tomorrow; so getting it out of the way tonight was my best option.

I cut back a bit on the studying after coming up to my room, but that's mostly because I don't feel like staying up until two or three o'clock. There is definitely going to be Malls and shopping on the weekend, and I don't want to be too tired to enjoy all of the fun! With that in mind, it's time to get some sleep, so...

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

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I should have been getting some extra sleep tonight, but it took a while to get everything done so I'd be ready to go away for the weekend; and that's only left me with enough time for a long nap.

Everyone in Witch Falls loved getting to have a nice spring weather day; though it was still too cool this morning for Tai Chi by the river. It was a bit busier than normal around the house this morning. Mom was going to get some of her errands out of the way today, so Dad and I took turns with her to get Ethan and Ehlana ready for a bonus morning at KidZone while she was busy; and that slowed me down enough that Rowen collected me on her way to school instead of either meeting outside or at her house like we usually did.

I haven't written about it yet this week, but the big story around the school today is the upcoming Grade Eight trip. It's one of just two major trips that happen at our school, with the other being the Grade Twelve, senior class trip in mid-May. While the Senior class students get to choose where they go; the Grade Eight trip is always to Washington D.C. This year, it's a bigger deal for the Grade Seven students because we're just a year away from it being our turn; and because we all have close friends who will be on the trip. Rebecca and Jenny are getting really fired up now, and while I haven't thought about it much; they'll be in Washington by the time I get home from Granite Park on Sunday night.

There isn't much else to report from school. We had another test this morning, and an assignment due. Rowen, Michael, and I skipped our lunchtime music practice and spent that time outdoors instead. No, Michael did not hang out with Rowen and me, and that's probably a good thing; since we spent some of our time skipping – mostly turning the rope – with Jessica Bassett and a few of her friends. That kind of thing could destroy a guy's reputation with his buddies! Thanks to the sunshine, and especially the continuing, complete lack of personal tween drama, I had a really good day at school; but Rowen and I were ready to get outside and do a little bike riding once we were set free for the day and had our homework out of the way.

We biked out to the caves and back, and while it isn't always fun being a tween, getting taller and stronger does have advantages. Our developing physical abilities and the new bikes are going to make a big difference with how far we'll be able to travel on our little outings this spring and summer. There wasn't much time to actually explore the caves, but the goal of the ride was to see if we could get out there and back – and to have some quiet girl-chat time while we had the privacy. Rowen needed to talk about 'Tommy' for a while. I guess there really wasn't anything specifically new going on with him, but Rowen continues to be amazed and annoyed by just how incredibly dense boys our age can be. I should mention that Rowen and I do like 'Tommy's' girlfriend; though we're not close friends with her. We also certainly know why they're dating. What drives Rowen nuts is that they have almost no common interests except for the physical attraction.

Okay, so maybe 'Tommy' – and most other guys our age – only thinks about one interest most of the time right now; but you know what I mean. Rowen has crossed over, so it's not as if she doesn't feel that physical attraction too, but she also knows more about 'Tommy' than he or anyone else would suspect. She's tried teasing me that I have that same thing with Michael, but you could say that about me to varying degrees with everyone I know thanks to my special abilities and photographic memory. That's more true for the people closest to me; but only because I have more experiences and memories with them.

Getting back to the story, though, I think Rowen is as upset about not having anything to do this weekend as she is about what, according to the girl-chat network at school, 'Tommy' and his girlfriend are doing. For that, I'll just mention that one set of parents are going to be out on a date night, and let you figure the rest out for yourselves. Rowen may especially wish that she was Tommy's girlfriend for moments like that, but they're all just in the tweeird zone from my side of the crossing over line perspective.

We ended up keeping Rowen for dinner tonight, and met up with her parents and brother – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne – before walking over to the Inn for game night. Aunt Leanne took that opportunity to play matchmaker and tease me about Michael on a regular basis, but we all mostly had fun with that tonight, and Rowen and I topped off a really good afternoon and evening by winning the junior championship. That was actually because I was having too much fun to pay attention to how we were doing on the scoreboard compared to the other kid and teen teams, but I guess we are getting old enough now that it isn't a complete shock for our team to win once in a while. Rowen was almost as fired up about winning as Miranda gets when she wins; so it was fun to see that too.

I needed to do some bonus goodbye hugs and kisses when it was time to go home. Including Michael in that round of hugs was a tough call, but I decided that hugging him tonight with just our families around was a better option than it would be doing that after school tomorrow before I head out for the weekend. The jury's still out as to whether avoiding potential tween drama tomorrow was worth being teased by Aunt Leanne during the entire walk home or not.

It's been all work since getting home; starting with getting Ethan and Ehlana in and out of the tub; ready for bed; and tucked in for the night. Mom wanted to do a Magi lesson with me, since we won't be able to do that for the next couple or three days; so that was next on the list while Dad went to work in the office. After biking and the little bit of cave exploring we did, I needed to spend some time with my Jacuzzi, so that was next on my to-do list; but I worked on my computer the entire time too. This time, I started with my language studies; did my nightly computer checks while doing my hair and getting ready for bed; and wrapped up with my archive assignment and a little bit of family business work that came up via email tonight.

That pretty much covers everything for today, and I really do need to get started on that nap, so...

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

Friday, April 26, 2013

I go to school every day in a building that Uncle Blaine designed, and have seen everything he's made for our future plans projects in Witch Falls, but that's a lot different than spending the night in the house he made for his own family. It's been really great to finally get to spend a weekend in Granite Park; though getting there tonight wasn't so much fun.

We haven't actually done much since getting here, but before I get to that; let's do the rest of the daily recap first.

The rain had already started falling by the time we got up for Tai Chi this morning. I'm pretty sure this the wettest spring we've had here since Mom and I moved to Witch Falls; and I am way-past being ready for some consecutive days of sun and warm whenever Mother Nature decides to cooperate. At least we got to wind down the school week with our Day One schedule classes. Add in a bonus, rainy-day music practice with Rowen and Michael; and I had a pretty good day. Rowen was working at the computer store after school to make up for taking Thursday off, but I had time to stop in for a visit before heading home; and we had our snack break there with her parents and brother.

Once I did get home, I needed to pack for our trip; and Ethan and Ehlana helped me out with that while Mom was busy dealing with a few chores that needed to be done before we left. Dad and Aunt Leanne both came home from the office, and I helped Dad with getting the minivan loaded. One new change for this trip was having Ethan and Ehlana's car seats moved to the back bench. If this trip was any indication; that won't always be fun for me whenever I need to be sandwiched in between them; though it won't be a big deal for shorter trips.

Once we were ready to go, our first stop was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house so we could get their luggage; and then we drove over to the clinic to get Uncle Adam before heading out of town. We had to wait about fifteen minutes while he dealt with a late walk-in patient, so it was after six by the time he was ready to go. While I've only been to Granite Park once, I know that the travel time should be about three hours; but can be a lot longer depending on the traffic. The rain made the trip tough enough for Dad and Uncle Adam; the traffic was a mess; and there were three accidents along the way that slowed us down too. Even with just one stop for fast food and a washroom break, we didn't get to Granite Park until ten-thirty.

It was still raining when we got to Uncle Blaine's house, so while Mom, Aunt Leanne, and the twins were sent straight inside; I was recruited to help unload the van. Uncle Blaine, Grandpa Duncan, and Aunt Grace all helped too; so it didn't take long to get everything inside – or into Aunt Grace's car for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's luggage and computer bag. While I'm thinking about my aunts, I was going to mention that Doc Johnson is on call this weekend while Uncle Adam is away; and he's hoping that Aunt Deborah has her baby before Sunday so he can deliver one of his great-grandchildren for the first time. Aunt Deborah would likely be good with that plan – as long as Uncle Adam and I get back in time to give her the same new baby gift that we gave Mom after Ethan and Ehlana were born.

Moving the story along, once we were all inside, and worked our way through the welcoming hugs and kisses; Jaimie and Kaitlyn wanted to take me on a tour of their house while the adults were visiting and passing Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana around. That tour started with showing me to my room so I could drop off my suitcase and computer bag, and moved on to their bedrooms; their playroom/family room; and the rest of the house in diminishing order of importance to my cousins. We eventually ended up in the living room with the rest of our family, and spent the next hour or so having a little visit before Aunt Leanne was tired out and ready to go home with Aunt Grace; and they got ready to head out with Uncle Adam. Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy decided to go home then too, and once everyone else was gone, I was put in charge of helping Jaimie and Kaitlyn get ready for bed while the parents were busy doing the same with Jayden and the twins.

Dad took care of the bedtime story that we sat in on in Jayden's room, and then I ended up having a cuddle buddy for the night. Aunt Alison ended up flipping a coin to avoid an argument with Jaimie and Kaitlyn, and while Jaimie was disappointed; she'll be doing a sleepover with me tomorrow night. The good news for me is that while Kaitlyn was very excited to be hanging out with me tonight; she didn't manage to stay awake for long after we climbed into bed.

I've been doing my usual nightly computer checks since she fell asleep, and had a few email to answer before moving on to this update. I should probably get some sleep. Jaimie and Kaitlyn assure me we're going to have a busy, best-ever kind of day tomorrow; so I should make sure I'm ready for all of that fun.

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

Saturday, April 27, 2013

It was still raining this morning, and since we didn't really have anywhere with enough open space to do it; we skipped Tai Chi this morning. Uncle Blaine and Dad cooked breakfast with some supervision from Jayden and Ethan while 'the girls' all got ready for a big day of shopping and fun.

While I'm thinking about that, and that meal, it's probably a good time to write a bit more about my cousins' beautiful house. It could be because I'm used to being in houses with 'traditional' rooms that I think in those terms, but the kitchen here is just part of one big, open Great Room that includes the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I love the design, and it's awesome to be able to see and hear everything that's going on in all three rooms. That might be a bit crazy on a holiday weekend with all of our family together, but I think it would still be fun to try it out sometime. The windows and patio door offer a great view of their beautifully landscaped back yard. Unless the rain stops, Jaimie and Kaitlyn won't be taking me out to play on the big, fancy playground set-up they have in the back corner of the yard; and I think we should make our next trip here in the summertime so we can try out the pool that Uncle Blaine hasn't been able to open yet because of the weather so far this spring.

I'm definitely spoiled to have my amazing bedroom, and I love our own home, but since that'll be Ethan's home some day; I could really love a house like this one. That's getting dangerously close to thinking about part of my future that I don't want to have front and center in my mind on a day when we'll be spending a lot of time dealing with Aunt Grace's wedding; so let's move along.

We had breakfast; Aunt Alison, Mom, and I were on the clean-up crew while Jaimie and Kaitlyn took care of Jayden and the twins; and then we headed over to the Mall to meet up with Aunt Grace, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam. Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Duncan met up with us in time for lunch, but were skipping the morning part of the shopping trip. This may be shocking, but I didn't actually buy much for myself today. I picked up gifts for upcoming birthdays and other important occasions – like Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's anniversary; there was a perfect 'missed my best friend' gift that insisted on coming home with me; and I bought at least one thing for each of my younger cousins, brother, and sister. I spent as much time helping out with them so that Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Alison could shop with Aunt Grace; and we actually tried to stay out of their way as much as possible.

Aunt Leanne could be a great wedding planner if there was enough business for that sort of thing in Witch Falls – and she didn't already have enough on the go. She has everything for Aunt Grace and Mark's wedding ahead of schedule, and that made the work they needed to get done today mostly fun. The one thing that did feel strange was not having Mark here with us too. Uncle Adam had a few things to take care of for him that was mostly so Mark wouldn't need to send extra shipments halfway across the country. We – the kids – were shopping with the guys nearly as much as when we were all together, and that turned out to be a theme through until dinnertime.

After meeting up with Grandma Mercy and Uncle Duncan, we had lunch in the food court, and then Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and I found out that we were going to an afternoon matinee at the movie theater with the Dads and Uncles while the girls were busy with more wedding shopping and work; and the grandparents were taking care of Jayden and the twins. I'm sure that Ethan and Ehlana would have loved to go too, but needed to play normal toddlers instead.

There weren't a lot of kid-friendly show options, so we went to see The Croods. I was about to write that it was a fun little film, but wouldn't make my top-ten list; and then it occurred to me that I actually haven't seem many more than ten movies at the theater in my entire life, and it would be in the top ten of that particular list. I seriously need to get out more often!

The movie-going members of our family headed home from the theater, and we met up with the grandparents and toddlers there. It had stopped raining by then, so Jaimie and Kaitlyn wanted to play outside while we waited for the Moms and Aunts to get home too. Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana came outside too with some help from Dad, Uncle Blaine, and Uncle Adam; and we were able to play for nearly an hour before we needed to get ready to go out for dinner. That decision had mostly be made because Mom and I – and Ethan and Ehlana – got to meet some of the members of Grandma Mercy's and Aunt Alison's families; and that was too many people to have over for dinner at Uncle Blaine and Aunt Alison's house.

The restaurant was a nice, family-friendly place with a wide-ranging menu. I was at a kids' table with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Ethan, Ehlana, Jayden, and six other kids – including two who were my age. I had fun, but spent a fair bit of that next two hours or so in the tweeird zone – along with proving that I'm small-town, and too nice. I can live with that even if it costs me cool points with the more sophisticated and worldly city tweens.

Noelle and Tyler are both cousins to Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden; but one is through Aunt Alison's family, and the other is through Grandma Mercy's. The tweeird zone moments began almost immediately from the time the three of us were introduced; though I guess Noelle and Tyler had met before when they were both quite a bit younger. I don't want to get into too much detail about it, but Tyler was happily flirting with Noelle and me; and though Noelle seemed to be flattered, if not really interested; I was mostly just annoyed. That kind of thing is bad enough to deal with from my side of the 'crossing over' line, but it must really be a pain on the other side. I didn't have much of anything in common with either Noelle or Tyler, and the more we learned about each other; the fewer tween status points I earned.

I am aware that in some tween and teen circles that it's a crime to be one of the top academic students, so that was one strike against me. Being nice to my younger cousins, brother, and sister was snickered at; and I got 'the look' several times while Tyler or Noelle were watching me interact with the adults. If you've ever been a teen or tween, you know what I mean by that, and though I'll never think it's fair; I am used to being on the receiving end of it from time-to-time.

Thankfully, Jaimie and Kaitlyn were oblivious to the tween drama, and kept me entertained while we ate and took care of Jayden and the twins. Ethan and Ehlana knew what was going on, and ran some interference for me with Noelle and Tyler when they could. Aunt Leanne was busy, but I don't think she'd have tried any matchmaking fun and games tonight anyway.

Wow, I'm actually hitting the wall right now; so let's speed this up a bit. We had dinner, and then we – the Proctors and Carringtons – went back to Uncle Blaine and Aunt Alison's house for the rest of the evening. We went for a walk to the closest play park; spent nearly an hour there; and then walked home again. Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana were in bed about a half hour after that, and Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and I stayed up with the adults until Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Duncan were ready to go home. I have Jaimie for my cuddle buddy tonight, and she managed to stay awake and talk to me for nearly twenty minutes before passing out.

I guess that's really about it, and I'm ready to crash too, so...

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

Sunday, April 28, 2013

We've had a beautiful, warm spring day. It was a bit chilly this morning, but Mom, Dad, and I went outside for Tai Chi anyway.

Sunday mornings with a house full of guests aren't really any different for our family in Granite Park than they are in Witch Falls; and we tag-teamed our way through breakfast, getting everyone ready for church; and the post-meal clean-up before loading up into the minivan and SUV and heading over to the church. That was a fun couple of hours for me, partly because it was really interesting comparing the church that Uncle Blaine and Aunt Grace had grown up attending with their parents to ours. I loved getting to meet some of their childhood friends, and there were a few couples that we were introduced to who would be coming to Witch Falls for the wedding in July.

It was a bit different for Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Duncan, since they hadn't started going to that church until they were young adults, but after decades of regular attendance with their kids and eventually their grandchildren too; they knew everyone, and had lots of friends there. As for the church service, it was obvious why their church was popular. They have an awesome praise team, and a pair of charismatic Ministers. Their 'senior' Pastor is about the same age as Mom and Dad, and he and his wife have three young children close to Jaimie's and Kaitlyn's age. The 'youth' Pastor isn't really all that much younger than her boss; she's one of Aunt Grace's friends; and she and her husband are two of the wedding guests we were introduced to. Their two kids are younger, and are likely just starting to be playmates for Jayden. The music was contemporary, and very much the same as at our church, and while the two Pastors had a much more 'now' delivery for their lessons and message; those words were just as traditional, well thought out, and biblically based as anything Pastors Lewis or Martha teach at home.

Ethan and Ehlana went to the nursery with Jayden when the kids and teens left for Sunday school, but I stayed in the sanctuary. Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace were partly responsible for that, thanks to their whispered, running commentary advising me of every boy close to my age who was watching me this morning. The dinnertime tweeird zone yesterday was more than enough for me, and while I'm always happy to meet new people, I didn't want to rock any tween boats today. It's funny that Aunt Leanne had no problem finding the boys who were watching me, but didn't notice that in several of those cases, the girls with those boys were watching too, and not happy about the attention I was getting from 'their' boys.

What was even scarier than all of that was thinking about what it's going to be like for me in Witch Falls once Aunt Grace is living there. She and Aunt Leanne can be a bit scary when they're working together like that – as if Aunt Leanne doesn't have enough co-conspirators already. Let's hope that weddings, honeymoons, and babies keep them to busy to worry about little 'ole me for a while!

We all went back to Uncle Blaine and Aunt Alison's house for lunch, but I went home with Aunt Grace, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne first so that they could all get changed; we could pick up Aunt Leanne's and Uncle Adam's luggage; and I could get a chance to see Aunt Grace's apartment – the one she'd be moving out of in less than two months. I really wanted to do that despite being sure that I'd be getting teased about boys while my aunts had me alone. Let's skip that part of the recap, and I'll just report on Aunt Grace's apartment instead. Her home is a nice, but fairly standard high-rise unit that reminded me a bit of a couple of the places where Mom and I have lived, but her building is also part of a little community with two other apartment buildings and several blocks lined with rows of townhomes. There were two big playgrounds that Aunt Grace told me Jaimie and Kaitlyn loved going to whenever they visited her; and a large pool that she admitted she'd never been in even once – mostly because she preferred borrowing Uncle Blaine's pool when she felt the urge for a swim.

That probably disappointed most of the guys in her neighborhood, but let's not go there – even though Aunt Leanne did while we were talking about it.

We didn't spend much time at the apartment, but lunch was already close to being ready by the time we got to Uncle Blaine's house and transferred the luggage from Aunt Grace's car to Mom's minivan. I don't think there was any space that wasn't used by the time everything was loaded except for around the front seats. It's a good thing that some of the purchases from yesterday didn't need to come home with us now, or we'd have needed to buy a trailer.

Lunch was served in the back yard, and Jaimie and Kaitlyn had me do a little picnic with them in the little wooden fort that was the centerpiece of their playground equipment. Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden were with us for part of the time, but they sat at one of the tables to eat first. I mostly played with my younger cousins, brother, and sister until it was time to head for home, and though that got me out of helping with the lunch clean-up; I don't think it was any less work. We were finished the goodbye hugs and kisses; in the van; and ready to pull out of the driveway by shortly before two o'clock.

The drive home was actually quick and uneventful; and Uncle Adam pulled into his driveway at a few minutes after five. I was barely out of the van when Rowen came over from her house; as excited as I was to be back together again. She helped us with unloading Uncle Adam's and Aunt Leanne's things, and then we walked over to my house with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad brought the van home. We had more unpacking to do, and once everything was put away; Rowen helped me carry my luggage and computer up to my room, and helped me get ready for the late buffet dinner at the Inn that we were both going to with our families.

That was when I found my little welcome home surprise, and got the best parts of Rowen's weekend recap.

The little gift was an Olde Bakery Witch cookie that was on my pillow with a 'Welcome Home' sticky note on it, and the surprise was that Michael had left it there for me. That was sweet – and delicious – but what really touched me was finding out that Rowen and Michael had spent quite a bit of time together while I was away. Yes, his best friend was busy all weekend too, so they weren't hanging out together, but while he didn't admit it to Rowen; she and I both knew that he went looking for her at the computer store specifically because he knew she'd be bored while I was away.

They went for bike rides on Saturday and Sunday afternoon; he helped her with taking care of Mandy; they hung out with some of the teens and tweens for a while by the falls on Saturday night; and had both afternoon snack breaks at the Inn. Those last two news flashes are out on the town gossip network, and Rowen thinks it's funny that anyone is thinking that she might be Michael's next girlfriend. That, and some other hints here and there, suggested that there was some of her weekend story that I wasn't going to be told about. I just hope she wasn't busy trying to earn her junior matchmaking badge from Aunt Leanne while I was gone.

If the rumors about her and Michael weren't enough for him, I'm sure there will be more floating around by tomorrow; since my first order of business after we got to the Inn was to go into the kitchen and give him a big, enthusiastic hug that was all about thanking him for caring about, and entertaining, my best friend while I was gone. I don't care that everyone in the kitchen at the time was grinning at us; or that Michael blushed while looking very happy too; and let Miranda and Aunt Leanne tease me all they wanted. Michael deserved that hug, and that's all there is to it. I had hugs for the rest of his family and our friends too, and by the time I met up with the rest of our dinner group again in the dining room; Grandpa and Grandma were there too; and we started another round of welcome home hugs and kisses.

The next hour and a half or so was just a whirlwind. Rowen and I were at the kids' table with Patrick, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and Scott and Lindsay Faulkner. While the Faulkners and Palmers had their own dinner group tonight, we weren't surprised when Patrick wanted Scott to sit with us; and Lindsay picked joining us over hanging out with her teen cousins. The boys mostly kept their usual antics to a minimum, though there were still some muted prank attempts and whispered jokes and comments aimed at impressing the rest of us – or just gross us out.

I'm sure it was just a coincidence that Miranda was sending Michael home just when we were ready to walk home too, but that was okay with me; since it gave me a chance to talk to him for a few minutes. There's no doubt that I gave Aunt Leanne more ammunition to use against me, but after leaving the Inn, I took Michael's hand and led him ahead of the rest of the group so that I could have that little chat without being overheard. While thanking him for helping Rowen to have a fun weekend was the reason for doing that, his side of their weekend recap was suspiciously lacking in certain details too; and what I was sensing empathically through our linked hands pretty much confirmed that Rowen was working on that junior matchmaking badge.

Aunt Leanne whistled at us when I hugged him goodnight when we reached the sidewalk leading up to their house. We both laughed, and I must have temporarily lost my mind or something because after stepping back and looking into those smiling, beautiful blue eyes; I leaned in again and kissed him. It was just a little peck, but it was on the lips and surprised him as much as it surprised me. It also had the added bonus of leaving Aunt Leanne speechless as the rest of my family, Rowen, and her family caught up with us – though that only lasted until we got home and Aunt Leanne needed to come inside for a few minutes and tease me about it before letting Uncle Adam take her home.

Pleading temporary insanity didn't help me, and Aunt Leanne would not believe my insistence that I'm not crossing over. Neither did Rowen, though we didn't talk about it until later since she'd needed to go home with her parents after hugging me goodnight outside of my house. I could tell from out little bedtime text-chat that she was still grinning about that little kiss – and probably patting herself on the back.

Let them believe what they want. It doesn't matter how nice it felt holding Michael's hand as we walked home; and the sparks flying from that little peck of a kiss was probably just static electricity from my sweater because of the hug. I am definitely not crossing over.

I'm not!

The good news for the rest of my night was that the travel time on Friday and this afternoon gave me lots of time to get my homework, and my usual school night archive and language work out of the way. The bad news is that I didn't have that to keep my mind busy. I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana to bed so that Dad could get some work done in the office. After that, it was time for some quality Jacuzzi action, followed by a keyboard practice before climbing into bed with Mandy for the night. Rowen and I had our little chat then while I was doing the usual bedtime computer checks, but she's probably been sleeping for a half hour or so by now. I had some email to deal with, including one from Rebecca that included some pictures; her first impressions of Washington; and a couple of travel stories. None of that helped to distract me very much, and the not dreaming of bunnies thing is not working for me tonight; but I'm ready to wrap this up and try to get some sleep even with the risk of tweeird zone dreams, so...

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

P.S. I am not crossing over!

Monday, April 29, 2013

I'd like to start this report by mentioning that it seemed noticeably quieter today with our Grade Eight friends away on their trip. Their absence was probably most notable for my classmates and me, but when about eight percent of your entire school population is gone; everyone notices.

That didn't keep any of us from enjoying an absolutely beautiful, hot spring day, and for me, that started with Tai Chi by the river with Mom and Dad. We had a standard weekday morning breakfast, and then I met up with Rowen for the walk to school. If she was coordinating anything with Michael, she did that before I got to her house, but whatever the reason; he just happened to be leaving his house and crossing the road exactly on time to meet up with us; and we walked the rest of the way to school together.

Considering the stories on the school grapevine this morning, it would have been better for him if he hadn't; since showing up there in the company of both of the girls being talked about in those news flashes certainly had the guys razzing him right from the moment he moved on to hang out with Tim and the rest of their usual gang. Rowen and I got teased a bit too, but she didn't try defending herself by using 'the kiss' story; and that news hadn't made the rounds yet – at least as of the end of last class yesterday. Since I'm sure Miranda probably heard about it from Mom or Aunt Leanne by this morning, it'll definitely be something that some of the kids and teens hear about from their parents or neighbors by sometime tonight.

That's just the way it is in small towns, and though it can sometimes be a pain; I wouldn't trade that little inconvenience for anything if it meant changing anything else about Witch Falls.

The great weather meant that we got to have Phys-Ed class outdoors, and soccer was the name of the game. There weren't any team picking games today, but Rowen and I were on the winning team, and we rounded out the top three scorers with Michael; which gave our friends some more ammunition to tease us with. I mostly managed to avoid any tween issues during lunchtime, and while Rowen and I had lunch with some of the other girls; we spent the rest of the break just wandering around and not doing much of anything except enjoying the sunshine.

The walk to school this morning might have been a coincidence, but the after school snack, study, and biking with Michael and Tim couldn't have been unless Mom just happened to have extra, fresh-today Olde Bakery treats; the fridge in my lounge miraculously filled itself with the boys' favorite drinks; and some comedian tuned my television to one of the music stations that mostly just has soft ballads on its playlist so that was the first thing we heard when I turned it on for some background music vids. Tim teased me about the music for a while, and there was nothing I could do, since explaining my matchmaking conspiracy theory would have only given him something worse than my taste in music to tease me – and Michael – about.

Getting our homework out of the way didn't take too long, but adding Tim to the group did add a little extra time to our study session too. Though he's not at the top of our class, at least academically, Tim is really smart – he's just an indifferent student; and can coast along without trying very hard. That's why it didn't take a lot longer to get our homework done – Tim was trying to keep up with the rest of us for speed, but not necessarily accuracy or thoroughness. He does get straight A's too; but only in the subjects he actually likes.

I'd pretty much ignored it this weekend, though I'd included it in my usual nightly news, sports, and entertainment checks, but Michael and Tim needed to talk about the NFL draft. Tim was surprised that Rowen and I could actually contribute to that conversation, but he shouldn't have been – it's not as if we haven't talked football with them before. Let's not go into the details – if you're interested in the results from this year, I'm sure you can find them on the web somewhere. Maybe this will be the last I hear about football until the season starts in August, but I won't hold my breath on that. Michael and Tim are already getting fired up about our school team's chances for Kyle's senior year.

After getting our homework finished, we went biking at the park. That was one of the reasons why Tim wasn't hanging out with Nora after school – he wanted to bike the trails in the woods; and she didn't want to get muddy, dirty, or hurt trying to do that with him. Tim likes to show off at everything he's good at doing almost as much as he likes to 'talk trash' about his amazing abilities. I don't do any of that bragging, but I'm sure you can guess that I do get fired up and competitive. Michael and Rowen are a lot alike for things like this. They're just as competitive, but if you're not paying attention, you might not even notice that they were keeping up with Tim as easily as I was; and doing the jumps and tricks as well or better than we were.

There were a lot of kids and teens at the park, and the trails were very popular with the guys, but there weren't very many girls out there. We had to deal with a few line-ups for the favorite trails, and a few of them you only ride one at a time in case there is a fall or accident, since those problems usually happen in places where a following rider would not be able to stop. The fact that Rowen and I never had a problem with any of the jumps earned us some notice and points; but not in the way Rowen would like at least one guy in particular to notice her.

This is a good time to mention that we had a pair of shadows again today. Patrick and Scott were almost always nearby. They like riding the trails as much as any of the guys, but I don't need to guess that witnessing the little kiss I gave Michael last night is the main reason for why Patrick felt the need to keep an eye on us today; with the 'us' being Michael and me. I doubt there will be anything I can do to help him, but eventually, whenever I do cross over; Patrick will be crushed to find out that I am not going to be the girl for him. That won't be fun for him, but then it won't be fun for Rowen and I to have him and Scott trailing around after us everywhere we go either, so I hope this doesn't become a habit with them.

When it was time to head home again, we had a little stop at Michael's house before splitting up; and I stayed for a little chat with Miranda and Jacob while Rowen and Tim moved on to meet up with their parents at the shop and computer store. Rowen was grinning at me when they left, but my decision to stay for a little visit was entirely because I knew Miranda was going to need to tease me about kissing her son last night; and it was a lot easier to deal with that in the relative privacy of their home than it would have been if I'd waited until the next time I saw her at the Inn or church.

She'd pretty much finished her joke repertoire by the time Jake and Stephanie got home from whatever they'd been doing after school, and I took that opportunity to escape and head home too. I did at least get the last laugh after Miranda tried the "What, no goodbye kisses?" line; and I gave Jacob and hug and kiss on my way out.

That didn't end up being the last time I spent time with Michael and his parents today. After having a barbeque dinner on the back porch and cleaning up, Ethan and Ehlana wanted to go to the park to play; and though Dad had some work to get done, he and Mom both decided to come and play with us for a while too. We added Jacob, Miranda, and Michael to our group after Ethan and Ehlana needed to stop in for a front porch visit; and a "come too" and some twin hugs and kisses were all my brother and sister needed to get three more playmates.

Mom has her family business work with Miranda, and they still do regular breaks together at least once a week, but we don't seem to find much time to just hang out together with both families. I think we should do that more often, but don't take that the wrong way – we have fun whenever we do get together; and I really love spending time with our friends. The playground was our first stop, and we played there for a half hour or so; went for a walk around the park on the trail; and wrapped up with another twenty minutes of mostly swing and slide action before heading home again.

Jake and Stephanie had been home, but hadn't wanted to go to the park with us for some reason. I'll just pretend that I don't know why they were smiling so brightly after getting nearly two hours of alone time. Miranda invited us to stay with them for a snack and drinks, so we did that out on their back porch, but then Dad needed to get home to his work; and Mom and I kept busy doing Magi lessons and getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed while he was busy with that.

If you're wondering about why there weren't any 'Michael and me' moments included in that part of the recap; it's because there weren't any – or at least there weren't any like everyone else seems to think there should be. Ethan and Ehlana tried to instigate a few of those moments, but they didn't succeed, and I'm glad that we all had fun together without any tween drama.

The evening play time and snack break changed up my usual nightly routine, and so did my need for another visit with my Jacuzzi after all of the biking and play time. I was able to multi-task while doing that, but it's still past two now; and I didn't quite get everything finished that I wanted to work on tonight. There isn't anything exciting to report from my studies, but I got to have a short chat with Rebecca and Jenny after they were in their hotel room for the night. It sounds like they're having fun on their trip, but Jenny and Shane – and some of the other Grade Eight couples – might be having a bit too much fun. Hopefully Rebecca won't need to find somewhere else to hang out for the rest of the week every time Jenny and Shane want to be in there making out.

That isn't a train of thought I want to be following when I go to sleep, so let's move along. The actual education parts of their trip will include all of the usual tours; and they went to the Washington monument and the Smithsonian American History Museum today. I hope they learned something on those tours, but I have no idea whether they did from our chat, since Jenny mostly just wanted to talk about the cute boys they saw or met today – her interest in the strictly for her best friend's benefit; since she already has a boyfriend.

That didn't exactly end up changing the subject, but I need to get some sleep, so I'll wrap this up now and try to do that.

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

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Rowen and I declared another after-school play day on account of having another beautiful day and rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.

It was a perfect, sunny, and warm morning for Tai Chi by the river too, and that got my day off to a really great start. Rowen met up with me this morning, and for the second day in a row we walked most of the way to school with Michael. We found out right away that 'the kiss' news had hit the grapevine at school, and though I don't have any regrets; the jokes about it got old fast. Lisa was a bit frosty with me this morning, but after keeping an eye on us for a while without seeing any of the boyfriend-girlfriend signs; she moved on and seemed to be fine by the time we started our afternoon classes. Other than that, there really isn't much to report from school. We had a test, worked on a couple of projects, and had our art class outdoors.

The matchmaking conspiracy continued when I found out that Tim, Rowen, and I had accepted an invitation to do our homework at Michael's house with him. I did actually get an invitation too, but not until after Rowen had already accepted the offer for both of us. Since Miranda was grinning way too suspiciously, I'm sure that the Olde Bakery snack choices weren't a coincidence, and neither was being on our own while we did our homework. Jake and Stephanie went to study with Dillon and some of their friends, and Jacob and Miranda needed to be somewhere unspecified and probably fictional while we worked at the kitchen table.

I was a little surprised that Nora wasn't with us today, but she didn't look like she was upset with Tim when she kissed him goodbye after school; so maybe she was busy doing something else anyway. Since Tim had been all for another bike ride, and had more fun doing that when Nora wasn't with him; he wasn't showing any signs of missing out on some girlfriend time for the second day in a row. Then again, for all I know, he spent both evenings with her after dinner. I don't exactly spend a lot of time or effort talking with Tim about his love life; and shockingly, not every detail of everyone's every move makes the school or town gossip network.

So we biked over to the park to hit the trails again after getting our homework done, but started out with a little play time with Ethan and Ehlana when we saw that they were at the playground with Alicia. We spent about twenty minutes running around with them, and then hit the trails. They were busy again today, and we spent nearly as much time waiting around for our turns and talking with the other tweens and teens as we did racing the trails; doing the jumps; and trying different bike tricks.

I only stopped at Michael's house long enough to grab my computer bag, and then went home after leaving the park even though Rowen and Tim were staying to get drinks before moving on too. The nice weather had prompted Mom and Dad to put together a 'bring-what-you-have' barbeque pot-luck; and I was drafted to help Dad and Uncle Nick with setting up tables and chairs in the back yard. Aunt Deborah, Aunt Leanne, Grandma, and Grandpa were all there too, and Miranda and Jacob probably just forgot to mention that they'd been invited too. Add in the Emersons, Drapers, and Seagers; and we practically had a party going on. The dinner plans had been news for Rowen too, and she and Patrick biked over ahead of their parents. Patricia and Owen joined the party after closing the computer store; and it wasn't long after that that Uncle Adam, the Seagers, Stones, and Drapers made it over too. There was time for a little visit while the grilling was finished and the pot-luck dishes were set out on the back porch patio table.

There were chairs and tables available for all of the kids and teens, but Michael, Rowen, Patrick, and I decided to take our plates and drinks and sit on the dock to eat instead while the parents and grandparents took care of feeding Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Hailey, and Aiden. Jake and Stephanie opted to hang out with the adults too. Baby talk, and lots of jokes about how to induce labor for Aunt Deborah, was the top conversation topic with the adults, but we mostly talked about biking, canoeing, and other spring and summer fun. Patrick had the best construction updates; and he's apparently been keeping a close eye on the two houses being built behind them. I didn't even have some of the details he did, and I read the progress reports from all of the construction projects regularly. Then again, some of the things he's seen with the construction workers wouldn't be included in any business reports.

The good news after dinner was that kids, grandparents, and pregnant women were exempted from the cleanup. There wasn't really any bad news, but I'm sure that there was an ulterior motive for why Michael and I were drafted to help out with toddler park play time. Rowen and Patrick came with us, but they were volunteers. It was another beautiful evening to be outdoors, and I love playing with my brother, sister, and their friends. Keeping up with four toddlers can also be exhausting, and I was good with being relieved of duty when Mom, Dad, and some of the other parents came over to the park too. Once we were set free, Michael, Patrick, Rowen, and I decided to do a little more biking; and left the park to get our bikes so we could do that. We did a little tour of the new section of town and the lab construction site first; and then we had time to spend about three-quarters of an hour on the trails in the woods before it was time to go home for the night.

I'd like to take a short side-trip here to mention again just how great Michael is with younger kids – even when they're fairly close to our age like Patrick is. Rowen's brother probably didn't even notice, but Michael made sure that we didn't try any of the trails or jumps that would be too hard for Patrick to do with us. I'm sure that Patrick, Scott, and the rest of their buddies have likely tried to ride every trail in the woods, but that's not the same as trying to keep up with older, stronger kids or trying to impress – especially when there are girls around. Michael even toned down his own riding; and complimented Patrick every time he pulled off a good jump or trick. Even in Witch Falls, a lot of the guys wouldn't even think about little things like that; and I think it's really special that Michael does.

Then again, Jake and Stephanie are exactly like that too, so Michael has had really good role models to learn from.

From my perspective, this was another really good day, with minimal tween drama. Aunt Leanne seems to think every day that I don't cave in, cross over, and get a boyfriend is a lost opportunity; and she was disappointed to find out that nothing even remotely romantic happened while I was spending all of that time with Michael. Fortunately for me, Uncle Adam took her home shortly after I got back from the park; and she didn't have much time to tease me about it.

The rest of my night has been almost an exact repeat of last night – including being awake and working until after two o'clock. I only had Rebecca to chat with tonight because Jenny and Shane were hanging out in his room when I caught Rebecca online. The news from Sunday night had finally reached them in Washington, and Rebecca earned some bonus friend points by not really teasing me much about kissing her brother. Maybe that's because she's not having as much fun with the boy-watching as Jenny is – possibly because it sounds like every guy Jenny has just gone up to and introduced Rebecca to are more Jenny's type than Rebecca's.

It seems to be going by very fast so far, but Rebecca, Jenny, and the rest of their classmates are already halfway through their trip, and they only have two more sightseeing days left before having another travel day on Friday. Their tours today were to the Capitol and more of the Monuments around the National Mall. Rebecca didn't say anything last night when Jenny was with her, and she's not sure if Jenny was joking or not; but she either really was, or pretended to be, disappointed to find out that the National Mall was, in fact, a park. Either way, they will be doing some shopping, so that will make all of the girls happy even if the boys could care less about that sort of thing.

Tomorrow, they'll be doing an armed-forces themed day that will include visiting the Pentagon, war memorials, and one of the military museums. Since we have rain on the way, and the temperature is supposed to drop like a rock between now and Thursday; I'll guess that they'll have more fun tomorrow than I will – plus I have the make-up work night too. I should probably get to sleep even though I don't have anything exciting going on to rest up for, so...

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

May 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Welcome to the family, Leah Elizabeth Ayres!

So much for having a boring day compared to Rebecca, Jenny, and the rest of the Grade Eight class; though that theory did work just fine until Aunt Deborah went into labor while having dinner with Uncle Nick. After that, it was fun, fun, fun – for those of us who weren't personally giving birth, or the baby being delivered.

Leah was born at two thirty-four in the morning after more than nine hours of labor. I was at the clinic for most of that time, though Mom, Dad, and I needed to get Ethan and Ehlana fed, packed, and dropped off for a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa. There was a waiting room full of family at the clinic, and Uncle Adam had lots of medical help from his grandparents – and from Mom and me when we gave Aunt Deborah the same gift that Uncle Adam and I gave Mom when the twins were born.

With some non-Magi at the clinic, it was interesting to watch how Uncle Adam, his grandparents, and Uncle Nick handled the shielding and empathic links for Leah. I didn't help with that, but got to be in on some of the telepathic conversations; and Uncle Adam is doing Magi births differently since learning so much from Mom. While Uncle Adam and I haven't made up a formal scale to measure Magi, Latent, and normal auras, but I think that Leah will be about as strong as Naomi; though it's too early to know what all of her talents will be.

Aunt Deborah and Leah are both doing just fine, and maybe even better than some members of their family; since we're all exhausted. It's past four-thirty as I write this; and Mom, Dad, and I only got home about fifteen minutes ago. I'm exhausted, but still fired up too. We'll see how long that lasts into the school day once the adrenaline wears off and I've only had a short nap.

There were other things happening today, but I really do need to get what rest I can, so I'll do the condensed version.

Mom, Dad, and I had another beautiful morning for Tai Chi by the river, but we started getting a dash or two of rain later in the morning; and had some thunder-showers roll through in the afternoon and evening. The highlight of my school day was a rainy day bonus music practice at lunchtime with Rowen and Michael. The rest of the day was pretty good, but uneventful. My family business work would be considered scary by most kids and teens – I worked on back-to-school plans – and we're still more than a month and a half away from the end of this school year.

While at the clinic tonight, though I spent a fair bit of time in the waiting room with everyone else, I did get my usual nightly studying done too by spending a couple of hours in Uncle Adam's little office where I could do that work without having anyone who doesn't know about my secret identity seeing what I was doing. That's probably a good thing, because I may need to take tonight off and catch up on my sleep instead.

Anyway, I really do need to try to get that nap started, or I'll just end up staying awake, so...

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

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Before I get to the recap, I'd just like to remind Mother Nature that it's MAY, and while it didn't stick around; it is not fair to send us such nice summer weather at the end of April and then give us near-freezing temperatures and a dash of snow with all of the rain at the start of May.

Now that I have that out of my system, it was a quiet morning here at home with Ethan and Ehlana at Grandma and Grandpa's. Tai Chi was indoors, and Dad decided to scramble some eggs and cook up some sausages to help get us all going after having all of about an hour and a half or less of sleep. I managed to make it through the school day, but skipped work in favor of a nap after getting home again.

I missed out on some of the fun tonight because of that, since I slept through dinner; and Mom and Dad decided to skip game night at the Inn so he could get his work done and they could both go to bed early. The tween fun was at the Inn. Since Rebecca is away, and I was busy napping; Michael and Rowen were paired up for the night, and they won the junior championship – Rowen's second win in a row. That earned them some teasing, but Rowen was really fired up when she told me all about her night while we were chatting via computer a while ago. She gave me a heads up on the hug they shared too; since that'll hit the grapevine at school by morning for sure.

That would have been fun to be there for, but if I had been at the Inn, there's a good chance that Rowen would have tried to pair me up with Michael instead; and their little game night adventure wouldn't have happened at all. I also missed out on anything to do with Leah's first night at home with Aunt Deborah and Uncle Nick; though Mom assured me that they had lots of help from the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Aunt Deborah's parents got here late this morning. They're staying with Christine and Andrew, and will be here until Sunday. There will be more Johnson family incoming tomorrow, but I don't know how many yet – just that Mom's going to help Aunt Leanne with a little work around their house to get ready for weekend guests.

I woke up from my nap before Mom and Dad were ready to go to bed, so I had time for a little chat with them while they had a bedtime snack and drinks; and I had leftovers for a late dinner. When they went up to bed, I came up to my room again to get some work done on my computer. I finished the family business work I didn't get done after school, but skipped the language and archive studies. Rowen and I talked for nearly a half-hour after she got home from the Inn, and I had a shorter chat with Rebecca and Jenny. They had a fun, last sightseeing day, and were getting most of their things packed so they'd be ready to head for the airport in the morning.

That's all I have for tonight, and though I haven't been awake for all that long; I'm ready to crash again for the rest of the night, so...

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

Friday, May 3, 2013

We woke up to a slushy mess on the ground this morning, and I again want to know why Mother Nature would end April with summer-like weather and start May out with freezing cold snow and rain. The jokes are supposed to be on April first.

The top news and action for the family today was having Aunt Deborah's brothers and their families come home for the weekend. Kevin and Elaine brought Nicole and Robyn with them, and Kevin left work early so they could get to Witch Falls earlier than usual – and mostly to only need to stop for one feeding for Robyn on the way. Rob and Trish only got here a couple of hours ago because they couldn't both get away from work early too.

Thanks to the weather, the buses were running behind getting the country kids and teens to school, but Principal Jacobs decided to go ahead with classes as normal; and those of us who were in first class took notes and extra assignments for our friends who weren't. All of the buses made it in before the start of second class.

As we expected, Michael and Rowen were a top story for the Grade Seven grapevine news network, and while Rowen is the shyest girl in our class; she was having as much fun with the whole thing as I was. Her favorite parts of that were the not-so-subtle questions from a couple of the girls, and the range of looks she was getting from both guys and girls that ranged from baffled through speculative curiosity to re-assessed interest. In 'Tommy's' case, I'd classify his reaction as interestingly baffled curiosity. Rowen thought that was very funny.

There isn't much else to report from our classes today. Michael, Rowen, and I had another rainy-day music practice at lunchtime, and the afternoon seemed to drag on a bit too long as we waited to be set free for the weekend. Rowen and I did our homework first after getting home, but then we were drafted to help Mom with our contribution to the dinner and a baby night that Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were hosting for Aunt Deborah and Uncle Nick.

I hadn't even seen Leah since going home on Thursday morning after she was born, and didn't get to spend much time with her tonight either – there were just too many other members of her family needing to spend time with her for that. What Rowen and I did do, though, was help with dinner and the clean-up; take care of Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi; and we eventually added Nicole to our little play group when she got home with her parents and baby sister.

That's something that I hadn't really been thinking about with all of the new babies being added to our collective family this year, but it's going to be cool for Robyn, Leah, and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's baby to all be the same age. It'll be cool for the Witch Falls cousins to be going to school together too; though that won't happen until the year after I'm finished high school. They will have Ethan and Ehlana just a couple of grades ahead to help them out.

Getting back to the recap from that little side trip, Rowen was able to stay and play with us until after her parents were ready to take her home. They'd stopped in after closing the computer store to get her; but that had mostly been an excuse to get a chance to meet Leah and congratulate her proud parents and family. Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and I stayed until Rob and Trish got home; but then it was past-time by then for all of us to be in bed too.

While we were busy with our family, I missed out on getting to see Rebecca or Jenny when they got home from their trip. Rebecca sent me a short email earlier, but she hasn't been online since I fired up my computer after getting into bed with Mandy; and probably went to sleep early after a long, tiring travel day. With most of her family busy at the Inn anyway, her welcome home didn't sound all that exciting anyway. Maybe I'll get a chance to dodge the rain and welcome her home in the morning sometime.

That's about all I have for tonight. It's going to be a busy weekend; though we're basically winging it with no specific plans. A lot of that will be up to the weather – the rain is supposed to continue all weekend. Mom, Dad, and I will be helping Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne as much as we can too, which will likely mean a lot of younger cousin and sibling play time for me. I don't expect there to be much time to hang out with Rowen or any of our friends, but the good news there is that I shouldn't run into any major tween drama either.

So far, that even means that I won't need to not think about soft, fuzzy bunnies tonight; and that's a perfect time to try to fall asleep, so...

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

Saturday, May 4, 2013

The plan this morning was for a lot of make-up yard work after being away last weekend, but the weather did not cooperate; so there was no gardening or lawn cutting. We did get all of the housework done, and Dad and I spent a chilly, wet hour outdoors doing some of the chores we could deal with once the rain mostly stopped for the day; but it won't be much fun when we are finally able to get started on all of the work that's piling up now. At the rate the grass is growing with all of this rain, we'll need scythes to cut it down to a level the lawn mower can handle.

Anyway, with Alicia here to help us too, and since we couldn't do most of the outdoor work, we were finished our chores by eleven-thirty. We were on our own for lunch, but then we went over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's to spend the rest of the day with them and their family. My job was to be chief entertainer for Nicole, Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi while the adults were mostly busy hanging out and playing with babies Leah and Robyn. Even though the rain had stopped, it was far too wet and cold outside to take the younger kids out to play, so we spent most of our time in the third floor play room. Rowen came over for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but she had other things to do for the rest of the day.

Even for a Magi Master, keeping up with four busy toddlers is tough. I had some help with that during dinner, and a break from the kid action while working on the after-dinner clean-up crew before being in charge of the evening play time through until Mom and Dad decided it was time to head home for the night. Liz and Philip took Naomi home then too, but Aunt Deborah, Uncle Nick, and Leah stayed to visit with their family; since they won't have much time to do that tomorrow before they all head home after lunch.

I helped Mom and Dad with getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and into bed; spent some time in my Jacuzzi; played my keyboard for a half hour; and then I started working on my computer after climbing into bed with Mandy. The music practice was mostly an attempt to get the kid songs from Nicole's favorite shows out of my head.

"We're chasing a ball of string; through the forest to where it begins; who knows where it goes; or where it will lead us; we won't give up until we find Lucky; let's chase that string."

As you can see, the practice didn't help. I am really, really thankful that my brother and sister have photographic memories too and they don't like to watch their kid shows over and over again like Nicole does. If you don't recognize that song, it's a Dora the Explorer toddler-favorite from the 'Mermaid Kingdom' DVD. Cue it up and listen at your own risk.

Moving along, I did a bit of studying tonight mostly because I needed some wind down time. It seemed to be non-stop action today, and I had fun, but it would have been nice to have been able to hang out with Rowen and some of our friends; and do more than work and toddler-level play. I didn't even get a chance yet to welcome Rebecca home – she wasn't home when I popped over to do that; so that will have to wait until I see her at church.

I missed out on most of the adult chat today too, though Mom and Dad gave us some of the recap tonight. In addition to the new baby stories, I guess they're already working on summer holiday plans – particularly for the July 4th holiday and the wedding weekend to follow. That's going to be a crazy-busy week; and they still need to do some work to figure out how we're going to accommodate everyone plus all of the wedding guests. The summer kid and teen cousin visits aren't going to apply to Nicole and Robyn, but it did come up; and those vacation weeks may be during the two weeks following the long weekend instead of at the end of July this year. That's probably the best time to do that this year anyway – even if it will be extra work on top of the wedding and holiday weekend action. Once Aunt Grace and Mark get back from their honeymoon, we'll be busy helping them get moved into their new house, and then Mom will want to spend as much time as she can working with Violet before she and Dillon head off to college in August.

Thinking about all of that has me wishing that summer was just a bit closer than it is – and that we could have more nice weather days instead of so much cold and rain. Six weeks really isn't that long, but if it rains all of the time between now and then; it'll seem like forever!

I guess that's about it for today, and I need to try and get some sleep that hopefully won't include dreaming about adventures with Dora or Barbie; though I suppose that's preferable to anything in the tweeird dream zone, so...

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

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Happy 18th birthday, Stephanie! Happy 2nd birthday, Sophia!

Before I get to the recap, I've been thinking about Stephanie, Jake, Dillon, and Violet a lot tonight while doing my usual bedtime studying. Stephanie didn't show any signs of it anytime I saw her today, but she must have been disappointed to find out that Jake isn't a Magi; and possibly a bit weird to find out that Dillon is one. That's had me doing a bit of 'what if' speculating. Dillon doesn't know about Violet yet, but he now does about Jake and Stephanie. I can't help but wonder if their relationships would change because of that; or what might have happened if Violet had never been in the picture at all.

Maybe this is one of the biggest reasons the council has for their rules for Magi kids, but there must also be cases where not knowing ended up affecting relationships too. I'd never try using the Sight to look at something like that, since I'd see all of the possibilities, but it must be hard for nearly all of the Magi in Stephanie's position to deal with on a day when they should be celebrating.

Stephanie did do some celebrating with her family and friends, but let's weave that story into the rest of my Sunday report.

While she was having a gourmet breakfast with her parents at the Stone's house, I was busy with Tai Chi; breakfast for five; cleaning up; and getting ready for church. Ethan, Ehlana, and I got to give Stephanie her birthday present at church before the service started. We drove there; mostly because it was still cold, and there was a chance of getting more rain before we'd be home again. I sat with Rowen and her family until it was time to leave the sanctuary for Sunday school. I finally got to spend a few minutes talking with Rebecca and Jenny after church, but even then, the service had gone a bit long, and Rebecca needed to get over to the Inn; so she didn't have much time for a visit or to tell me much about her trip.

The next few hours were a bit crazy. We had to run home; get changed; head over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's for lunch; and spend a last couple of hours with his and Aunt Deborah's family before they headed home. Ethan and Ehlana also had Sophia's birthday party to go to, and Mom took care of getting them home, ready for that, and over to the Bassett's house while Dad and I helped out with the post-lunch clean-up and getting luggage from bedrooms to vehicles. It was raining off and on by then, and Aunt Deborah's parents, brothers, and their families were all ready to get started on what was likely to be a longer-than-usual drive home; so once everything was packed up, the good-bye hugs and kisses didn't take long.

I was set free after that, and after meeting up with Rowen at her house, we spent the afternoon in the lounge and my room while Mom and Dad were busy working in the office. We all had a little surprise when Violet stopped in. She hadn't told anyone except Dillon and Jake that she was making the quick round-trip for Stephanie's birthday party; and the visit with us was mostly so she could freshen up after the long, rainy drive before going on to the Inn. That gave us a little time for a visit, but then she was on the go again; Dad went back to work; and Mom needed to go and get Ethan and Ehlana.

Sophia's birthday fun wasn't over yet, but her friends weren't doing the birthday dinner at the Inn with her. That was going to be with her extended family; and they were having it there because that was the only way they could do that and still include her Aunt Miranda, Uncle Jacob, and Jake, Rebecca, and Michael. Having their birthday dinners together could become a regular event for Stephanie and Sophia, and I'm sure that those parties had a lot to do with why nobody else in my family was going to one of the buffets today. The first buffet was likely three-quarters full just with the combined Bassett and Wingborough extended clans and their friends.

While the Inn was birthday party central tonight, after a busy family weekend, Mom and Dad were ready for a quick, easy, minimal-mess meal. Since they didn't have anything going on either, Mom invited Rowen's parents and brother over; and dinner doesn't get much easier than frozen pizza and wings. We didn't even bother with any salads or sides. I was glad to get to spend a few extra hours with Rowen, and after eating and cleaning up; we had a couple of hours to play with Patrick, Ethan, and Ehlana in the lounge while the parents had a little visit in the living room.

We mostly played video games to keep Patrick happy – and to avoid having him spend that time teaching Ethan some of his favorite pranks and jokes instead. After the Emersons went home, Mom and Dad took care of most of Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine; and I was only in on the story and goodnight hugs and kisses. Violet didn't stop in again after the party, but I did have a little computer chat with her once she was home in Woodvale again; and it sounded like Stephanie's party was a blast. She didn't get a new car for her birthday, but there were a few gifts that were pretty big; and will make her upcoming college life a lot easier. I thought that the coolest gift was the two, first class, round-trip tickets from Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor that will get Stephanie and Jake home for Christmas this year. Hopefully the air miles from all of their archive travels helped them out with that little purchase!

As noted at the beginning of this update, I've been working on my usual studying and computer checks. Violet and I didn't chat for long, since she was really tired out after doing so much rainy-weather driving. My top email news is that Rowen and I have been put on Sarah Landry's team for the season. Our practices are on Thursdays again, and we have almost the exact same team as we had during my first summer in Witch Falls. The big difference this time is that quite a few of the older girls are six or more inches taller than we are. Carolyn Landry is already taller than her mother, and there's a pretty good chance that I'll never catch up to her if she's getting the height gene from her Dad.

Our first practice is supposed to be this week, but we'll see if that happens, since the forecast is calling for thunder-storms and more rain on Thursday. What a surprise – more rain! Mom and Dad were already in bed by the time I checked my email, and I definitely didn't want to disturb them, so I'll find out tomorrow which team they're going to be on. It'll probably be the same group, though they'll need extra players to replace Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah; since they're all taking this summer off from baseball.

That's pretty much it for the news today. The highlights for the coming week will be Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's 2nd anniversary on Tuesday; baseball, if we have any practices; and Mother's Day next Sunday. We have another classmate birthday on Friday, but Rowen and I did not get invitations to Nora's party. I'm okay with that, but Rowen is a bit disappointed – even though these parties can be tough on her for pretty much anything that has to do with 'Tommy'. Maybe I'll keep her entertained with a sleepover to make up for that on Friday instead.

It's time to call it a night and get some sleep before I start thinking too much about that kind of tween drama, so...

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

Monday, May 6, 2013

Baseball has officially arrived in Witch Falls for another season, and the weather cooperated – at least for the first practices of the year today.

Some sunshine helped to make everyone happier after starting May with five straight days of rain. It was a bit chilly this morning, but we dressed warm enough and went outside for Tai Chi by the river. Ethan and Ehlana ran around and played while Mom, Dad, and I were doing that; and then we were all busy getting ready for work, school, or other plans.

I met up with Rowen at her house, and since she led me down Maple Street; it was obvious that we wouldn't be 'coincidentally' meeting up with Michael. Maybe they couldn't work that out now that Rebecca was home again and back to school. I didn't ask, and Rowen didn't bring it up either. We had fun at school. Phys-Ed class was outdoors; we ate lunch out on the football field bleachers; played soccer for a while; and started learning some new songs in music class.

Rowen might not have been able to arrange a morning walk to school, but she made up for that by setting up another Monday afternoon homework and bike ride time for us with Michael and Tim. They had their first team baseball practice tonight too, so we didn't actually have a lot of time to spend together before they needed to be at Michael's house for an early dinner. We didn't really have all that much homework to do, and to save a little time; we took our snacks and drinks with us when we went up to the lounge to get that done. The half hour of biking wasn't long enough to get through very many of the trails at the park, but some of them were still muddy from all of the rain anyway. Rowen and I could have stayed and biked until we needed to be home too, but we decided to head back with Michael and Tim; and help Mom instead.

We ended up keeping Rowen for dinner, and then we were set free to take Ethan and Ehlana to the park while Mom and Dad cleaned up and got the office ready for the little business meeting we were going to have with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Grandma, and Grandpa. I'm sure that we'll be talked about at school tomorrow, but the only reason we watched the last ten minutes or so of Michael's baseball practice was because Ethan wanted to do that first before going on to the playground. What will be funny is finding out whether our friends and classmates will think that we were there for Rowen or me – or both; since Michael does seem to be getting quite a reputation.

He didn't have to wait until tomorrow to get razzed by some of his buddies when Ethan, in public toddler mode, took his hand; said "come play"; and tugged him toward the playground. Michael just laughed at the jibes that were fired at him; picked Ethan up; and spent about fifteen minutes playing with us before he needed to head home. Tim razzed him the most, but he came along too; and had just as much fun playing with Ethan and Ehlana as the rest of us did.

I had Ethan and Ehlana back at the house by eight, and Rowen only stopped in long enough to grab her school gear and bike before going home too. Our grandparents, aunt, and uncle were already there and in the office, so once I got drinks ready for the three of us; we joined them and sat at the conference table with Grandma and Grandpa.

The first order of business was the construction update for the lab and new section of town. The lab construction has been slowed by the rain, but the lowest basement level is finished, and they've started the second level. Current projections are for that level to be done by late June, and the top basement level should be completed by the time Aunt Grace is ready to start her new job in August. With a little help from Mother Nature, we should have a few steel beams above ground to show off by the Labor Day weekend!

All of the new houses are either on or ahead of schedule. They're closed in, and the interior work is at various stages. The three houses that are to be ready first will be completed in time for the Everetts, Seagers, and Drapers to move in during the last week of July. New houses are being started as the different crews become available; though most of that work for right now is for showcase houses and townhomes. Aunt Leanne has a lot of interested people looking into buying something in the new section of town, but most are waiting to see what the new houses are going to look like before making any big decisions.

We also talked about the temporary surplus of houses in the rest of Witch Falls that Aunt Leanne expects to have over the next ten years or so as some families opt to move into the new homes and apartment buildings. The short answer, for now, is that we'll buy any of them that don't sell on the open market; and Aunt Leanne and Claire will turn them into rentals for as long as needed. She thinks that might eve work out better for all of the extra construction workers that will be needed at least until the big construction projects are finished.

Moving along, there was more discussion about helping both existing and new businesses to grow and be ready for the extra needs of a bigger population, and Aunt Leanne and Claire will again have a big part to play with that; since they manage nearly every retail building in town. I could get excited about new shopping options, but we are also thinking about more than new clothing stores. Ideas included a little museum; an arts and crafts gallery; interior decorating to help with all of those new homes; antiques; and other wish list suggestions like fast food and recreation-related businesses.

There isn't much to report for the current group of high school grads that will be starting college educations related to our future plans, but we did discuss working with Principal Jacobs to start working with other high school students to meet other needs we'll have for the lab and other businesses – including our charities and family businesses. For instance, Ethan, Ehlana, and I won't be following our father into the law profession, so we'll need to recruit future lawyers to help him out and eventually take over. The big trick there is going to be juggling those kinds of career opportunities with all of the 'normal' jobs that still need to be covered in a small town and on the surrounding farms. What we're hoping is that the new jobs will keep more teens from leaving home to move elsewhere, and encourage other members of our extended Witch Falls family to move home – like Aunt Grace and Violet will be doing.

There were some technical things to deal with that was mostly for the lab construction project, but that was about it for the local future plans tonight. We followed that up with a shorter review of projects that will be happening farther from home, but still part of our future plans next. Some of that can be interesting for Ethan, Ehlana, and me because we need things to happen without being able to tell our parents why. It's a good thing that they're usually willing, if not happy, to trust us when we run into those situations. I'm sure that as we go along, they'll start putting the various jigsaw puzzle pieces together and figure out at least some of those plans; but that won't be a problem by then.

Our meeting wrapped up with some charity and family business news and discussions, and then I did a round of goodnight hugs and kisses before coming up to my room to get started on my bedtime studies and computing while Ethan and Ehlana had lots of help with getting ready for bed and story time. That was three hours ago, and I covered more work than I expected to get done, but that's mostly because I lost track of time while working in the archives. We're going to be busy tomorrow night with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's second anniversary party, so I really should have been sleeping by now. Then again, I doubt that they're sleeping either; but we really don't want to take our train of thought down that track when I'm about to go to sleep! At least I won't be the only tired person at the party.

That's all for today. I'm going to tuck my computer into its case for the night; cuddle with Mandy; and have a little nap.

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

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne!

The matchmaking conspiracy continued today, thanks to some help from various junior and senior members of Aunt Leanne's little team.

Most of that happened during the anniversary party; but not all of it. During our lunchtime music practice, Rowen disappeared for an extended washroom break that left Michael and I alone for twenty minutes or so; and the grins and look in her eyes was all I needed to see to know that my best friend had been more interested in junior matchmaking than music. She was probably just warming up for the party.

I wasn't taking another Tuesday off from work to play this week – this time it was all about being drafted to help Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa with the party set-up and cooking. Rowen skipped work to help out too, and after getting our homework done; our first job was setting up tables and chairs in the back yard. Though it had been cool this morning, we ended up with a cloudy but fairly nice day; and Mom had made the outdoor dining decision sometime after I'd left for school. That worked for me, because if the weather hadn't cooperated, the indoor dining plan had included having most of the kids at the kitchen table while the adults and teens were in the dining room.

Now that I think about it, indoors might have been better; though we did at least get to be in on more of the actual anniversary action with everyone outdoors than we would have if we'd been in a different room from the main party. I say that because the next major matchmaking set-up put me at 'the boys' kid table so I could help Michael and Patrick with Ethan, Aiden, and Brandon Green during dinner while Rebecca and Rowen sat at 'the girls' kid table with Ehlana and Naomi. Aunt Leanne seemed to be especially happy – and suspiciously innocent – when Michael and I ended up sitting next to each other. He helped Aiden; I had the toughest job with one-year old Brandon; and Patrick spent more time trying to impress the rest of us with his jokes and gags than he did helping Ethan out with eating his meal. At least the three younger boys aren't quite ready to attempt his repertoire of food and drink-related tricks and feats.

Mom and Dad had invited quite a few friends, so dinnertime was a blast of fun even with the not-so-subtle and ongoing matchmaking games directed my way. I've skipped over the grilling action that Dad and Grandpa had lots of guy support for and the pre-dinner fun mostly because there was too much going on to write about everything; and when Rowen and I weren't helping with the work, we were trying to keep all of the toddlers entertained. Michael and Rebecca helped us with that when they came over with their parents, Jake, and Stephanie; and that's pretty much all the four of us did from that point of the afternoon until after the rest of the party guests – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne – went home for the night.

That got us out of the post-dinner clean-up, but even with all of the fun we had, it was probably more work for us to keep up with five toddlers. After finishing a fairly messy cake and ice cream dessert; watching Aunt Leanne do most of the work opening their anniversary gifts; and getting some parental help with the kid cleaning; we – the kids – headed over to the park to play. The adults were busy with cleaning up; taking care of babies; or keeping the guests of honor entertained while we were away. I'm sure Aunt Leanne would have been entertained if she'd been at the park to watch her little junior matchmakers at work while we were there. I won't bore you with every detail, but one example would be when Rowen had me 'take my turn' on the swings, and then almost immediately had Michael take over pushing me while she needed to go do something with Ehlana and Naomi.

I'll concede that my reaction to Michael's hands on my lower back while pushing me is absolutely nothing like when Dad and Grandpa used to push me during their little contests, but the butterflies are strictly from the swing motion; and I am not crossing over!

The work around the house was mostly finished by the time we returned, but the party meandered on, so after a little visit with everyone in the back yard, we came up to the lounge and my room to continue entertaining the five younger kids. Most of that time was split between some music fun and video gaming action, and I might as well have been holding Michael's hand while we played; since Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana conspired to keep the two of us close together with everything we did – especially while I played my keyboard and when we were sitting on the sofa playing video games. How obvious were they? Obvious enough that I caught Rebecca trying to hide grins and laughs at least a half-dozen times; and at least that many scowls and hooded glares from Patrick.

The second-to-last matchmaking attempt moment came when the parents were gathering their kids to head home, and Michael was drafted to help me out with the clean-up in the lounge while Rebecca, Rowen, and Patrick went downstairs with Liz, Hannah, and the five toddlers. There were way too many grinning girls when they left the lounge, and though we joked about it, I do know that Michael is quite happy to have Aunt Leanne and her co-conspirators continue to set us up like this. The fact that he was grinning too when we rejoined the rest of our families downstairs just gave Aunt Leanne another excuse to tease us, but I can assure you that nothing even remotely romantic happened while we were on our own.

You can likely guess that the last tweeird moment of the night was the goodbye hugs and kisses. I felt like I was under a microscope when it was time to say goodbye to Michael and his family, and though I'm sure that it will come back to haunt me regularly; I attempted a one-up joke on Aunt Leanne when she teased me about hugging and kissing Michael goodnight too. Telling her that I didn't need to do that because I was keeping him for a sleepover; taking his hand; and tugging him as if leading him toward the stairs earned the laughs I expected, but I should know better than to try and out-duel my aunt when it comes to things like that. It's a really good thing that Dad was there with his parental veto when Aunt Leanne and Miranda started talking about getting an overnight bag packed for Michael and Stephanie volunteered to drop it off for him on her way home.

Michael had been blushing through most of that, and since it was my fault, I did hug and kiss him goodnight to try and at least make up for that a little bit – by then there wasn't much else Aunt Leanne or anyone else could throw at us anyway.

Once we were on our own, Dad needed to get some work done in the office, so I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed and tucked in for the night before coming up to my room again. I needed some Jacuzzi time by then, but multi-tasked doing that with my studying. The party hadn't ended until ten-thirty, so it was after eleven by the time I slid into the tub; after midnight when I climbed into bed with Mandy; and going on two when I finished the studying and started going through my email and nightly news, sports, and entertainment checks.

As I've been winding down and getting ready for another nap-sleep, I've been thinking a lot about everything that's happened today. It's more than a little scary to discover how many of those thoughts focus on the time I spent with Michael. I'll put most of the blame for that on my unwanted, persistent matchmakers, though what was really scariest was my own reaction to that sleepover joke. It wasn't horror-movie terrifying, but the fact that I didn't find the idea of having a sleepover with Michael scary is seriously tweeird-zone scary.

I'm definitely going to need to not think about soft, fluffy bunnies tonight, and should get to that right away, so...

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

We started the day out with a bit of rain that kept us indoors for Tai Chi and made for a damp walk to school; but the rest of the day was fairly nice – at least until the thunder-storms rolled through a bit before midnight.

It was a fairly uneventful day at school, and I was doing a make-up work night after that, so the only news I have for today is from Stephanie's 'Magi' visit, and Mom and Dad's first baseball practice.

Stephanie's visit was first, and she came over after doing her homework with Jake – once he was busy helping out at the Inn. We were all in the office for that little meeting. Mom did her usual story time and had Stephanie talk about her training while I mostly listened and worked on my computer and Ethan and Ehlana played with their iPads. There are still well-over half of the adult Magi who still aren't ready to deal with the fact that my brother, sister, and I know about them, but almost all of the teens who have approached Mom since last summer have been happy to talk with us too – though we aren't in on most of these first meetings. I wasn't even at home the day that Dillon stopped in to have his Magi chat with Mom.

We didn't try to scare her, but Stephanie did get a slightly different version of the family business story, and that was an important first step; since she'll eventually be as involved in that as Violet will be; and a college part-time job with us may be in her future too. As usual, there were some personal Magi issues that Mom is going to help her out with, and that's something else that is fairly common among the new adult Magi. Every Magi kid seems to have a Magi wish list of things they would like to know, learn, or be able to do; but haven't been able to learn those things through their parents or mentors. It's something that we're already starting to work on, but as with everything else; there are a lot of Magi who are not ready to deal with those new options and opportunities. I expect that will be a slow change for at least this generation, and it may decades before all Magi kids are trained like Ethan, Ehlana, and I are.

Let's move on and talk baseball. The big difference with the first co-ed practice tonight was that we didn't have Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, or Aunt Deborah there. Mom and Dad came over to the park early so they could play with Ethan and Ehlana for a while before starting their warm-ups when the Warrens and Palmers got to the park too. Aunt Leanne had lined up replacements, but I didn't find out until they got to the park that Claire Norton, and her husband, Karl, had been two of those draftee-volunteers. Emma came with them, so I had some extra help with Ethan and Ehlana – and with Naomi when she joined us too.

Liz is taking the summer off due to pregnancy too, so our team needed a total of five new players. Along with the Nortons, Aunt Leanne had gotten Bill and Tracey Jennings to sign up; and Liz talked Vicky Cole into taking her spot for the season. Emma and I took the three toddlers over to the ball diamond once the practice actually started, but only stayed until Rowen met up with us, and then we took Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi back to the playground.

I'll use the entertaining the toddlers excuse for not watching the rest of the practice, and be glad that I didn't have to stay and watch. Yes, it was the first practice of the season, but I can assure you it was the worst practice I've seen them have since Mom and I moved here. I'll hope for the best, and plan for having as much fun as possible without a lot of wins.

We were home by dark, and Mom and I did the full bath and bedtime routine with the twins while Dad got to work in the office. Mom and I followed that up with a lengthy Magi lesson, and then I was ready for some Jacuzzi time. I spent more than an hour doing that before doing my hair, getting ready for bed, and then deciding to sit in the window alcove to work on my computer. That choice was mostly because an awesome light show was just getting started outside. The actual thunder-storm didn't hit until after midnight, but I had an amazing view of the lightning while doing my bedtime studying and computer checks.

Compared to that, the work wasn't all that exciting. I don't have anything else to report, and the storm is moving on, so I should pack it up and get some sleep.

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

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Our first baseball practice of the season was cancelled. I know that isn't exactly a world-changing event, but I was really looking forward to playing with Rebecca, Jenny, and the other older girls again.

The rain put a damper on the rest of the day too, and I don't really have much to report today. It was comparatively quiet at school. The top Grade Seven topic was Nora's birthday party tomorrow night, but not being invited also has the effect of having our classmates attempt to avoid us when talking about it. Rowen and I were on our own for the lunchtime music practice because Michael was doing something else with Tim and some of their friends.

I'd been expecting a short work session after school, but with the practice cancellation, I was able to put in extra time on the family business; and Mom could have dinner ready for the normal game-night time. It was still raining off and on by the time we'd finished eating and cleaning up, so we took the minivan over to the Inn when it was time to go there; and we were early enough to help out with setting up the games.

There was a bit of tweeird zone action tonight, but other than getting a few comments about it from Aunt Leanne; I was only a spectator. Nora brought Vanessa with her, and she made sure that Vanessa was teamed up with Michael. He was definitely deep in the tweeird zone all evening, but I stayed out of the way; kept my mouth shut; and tried not to make things any stranger for Michael than they already were.

Sorry, Rowen, but helping you to a three-peat junior championship would have definitely been noticed and commented on – not to mention that we shouldn't be able to win that consistently when we're playing against the older teens. Look at the bright side: you won last week with Michael; and he and Vanessa weren't even top ten.

I'm sure that Aunt Leanne will have something to say to me about Michael's goodnight hug and kiss when most of the gamers were heading home tonight, but that's because I wasn't the one giving him that hug and kiss; and Vanessa went with something a fair bit more serious than a friendly little peck on the lips. Thankfully, Aunt Leanne didn't say anything to me while Michael or Vanessa was around, and she and Uncle Adam didn't come home with us; so that little aunt-niece chat will have to wait.

Rowen didn't want to wait until tomorrow to talk about that, and we had a little chat on our computers earlier when I first went to bed and started doing my nightly studying. Getting Vanessa to chase after Michael again isn't part of some new matchmaking plan for me, but Rowen's a bit baffled about why I'm not jealous – even conceding the fact that I haven't crossed over. I can't explain that to her without revealing things she's not allowed to know, so what I did say didn't really explain anything. She thinks I'm in denial, but that's one thing about me that probably really is different from most people – I don't really ever feel jealous about anything or anyone.

I think that part of that is because when you have the Sight, you need to be accepting of everything that goes into creating the possible futures you see; and jealousy is one of those emotions that could lead to madness. The rest of that equation, for me, is that I've always been happy for anything good that others have that I might wish for too; but never jealous if it was something I didn't have. The biggest one in my life was probably not having a 'real' family before Mom and Dad got married. I was never jealous of the kids who did have both parents; brothers and sisters; and the whole extended family even though that was my biggest, most secret wish for Mom and me to have that too.

If you're reading this in the distant future, and don't know me, please don't misinterpret that. I have lots of other 'normal' human emotional issues – and don't forget that we've established that I pretty much suck at being a tween.

Let's move along. Rowen chatted with me for three-quarters of an hour, and the studying has been a bit on the boring side tonight. I'm wrapping up a bit earlier tonight because I'm running out of steam – and so that I can get an extra hour or so of nap time to be ready for the sleepover Rowen and I will be starting our weekend out with here.

The only problem I expect to have is that not dreaming about soft, fuzzy bunnies isn't going to work tonight; and I'll be in tweeird zone dreamland tonight. I'll let you know how that worked out with the next report, but...

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

Friday, May 10, 2013

Happy 13th birthday, Nora!

In an attempt to avoid any tweeird, Rowen and I left Nora's gift on her desk before first class. That hasn't usually felt weird for parties we're not invited to, but it's stranger now that we have been to several other boy-girl parties.

I want to mention that Rowen and I really do consider Nora and Vanessa our friends, but we also don't spend much time with them outside of classes. That's mostly for the same reason we don't spend much time with Jenny anymore – they all just have very different interests from us right now. The big birthday parties are probably just temporary because of the novelty of the co-ed groups, and we'll eventually get back to doing things like this with just our closest friends – like Rowen and I both wanted to do this year.

Other than leaving the gift for Nora, we had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of her happy day; and I was very happy about that because she and Vanessa were on a matchmaking mission of their own that would have made Aunt Leanne proud. That campaign started with four special Olde Bakery birthday treats that were conveniently exactly enough for two couples. They were also messy enough to offer personalized face-cleaning services that I'll just let you use your imagination to picture. Then there was the picnic lunch for four out on the bleachers at the ball diamond for what is about as close to privacy as can be had at school. Tim even reluctantly got with the program during Phys-Ed class when he was one of the soccer team captains; picked Nora and Vanessa for his team; and couldn't pick Rowen or me because of those first two 'girl' choices – Brock had been happy to get both of us on his team instead.

Losing that match was the heavy price Tim had to pay for doing what his girlfriend wanted him to do.

I was successfully able to stay far away from that tweeirdness for every class and break except Music. That's the only time I was close enough to Michael to empathically pick up anything from him. In a nutshell, he was flattered, flustered, attracted, repelled, and annoyed by Vanessa's sudden and intense attention. The word 'attraction' probably caught your attention first, but in case you don't know Vanessa, a guy anywhere around our age would have to be comatose not to be attracted – especially if she's very overtly expressing her interest in him. He was mostly annoyed because of how obvious Vanessa and Nora were being; implying that he must be dumber than a box of rocks and one step above needing to be clubbed in the head to get the message from a girl.

I'll guess that he's been having an interesting time at the party, but if he and Vanessa are being talked about on the tween gossip network tonight; Rowen and I aren't in the loop yet.

While everyone else in our class was getting ready for Nora's party, Rowen and I made stops at the computer store for a visit and at her house to pack an overnight bag before going home for our after-school snack. We got our homework out of the way then too, but that still left us lots of time to go biking until we needed to be home for dinner. It was still pretty wet in the woods at the park, so after running into some mud, we decided to do some country roads riding instead. That was fun, and gave us some alone time to chat about our day. Since Vanessa and Michael were the big story today, that was high on our list of things to chat about, but we talked about 'Tommy' for a while too, and while Rowen thought that being at Nora's party would be very entertaining because of Vanessa and Michael; she had mixed feelings about not having to be around Tommy and his girlfriend tonight. I was just glad to be doing anything else. Rowen would tell me that's because I really am jealous, but she forgets about the whole photographic memory thing sometimes; and there is a lot of tween action that I do not need permanent mental pictures to look back on for the rest of my life.

Imagine the stories I'll be able to tell my friends' kids and grandkids, and if I really wanted to do it; I could provide pictures or videos!

If you're reading this, and are one of those friends – be afraid; very afraid. ;^)

Back at home, we weren't doing a dinner and a movie night – everyone else was busy with other plans. Mom went with an easy-dinner that included having Dad grill some burgers and jumbo hotdogs. That made for an easy clean-up, and then Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park while Mom and Dad worked in the office. With Mother's Day on Sunday, Dad wanted to get his work done so he could take Sunday off; and Mom was mostly going to work to keep him company.

We rode to the park, and used the trailer for Ethan and Ehlana. Biking the main trail with the trailer wasn't very successful, but that was mostly because we needed to stop a lot to let oncoming traffic pass us when the trailer took up too much of the trail width. The playground time was fun, and Ethan and Ehlana got to spend a little time with Naomi when Philip brought her to the park for some play time too. We went for a ride around town after leaving the park; picked up treats at the Emporium; and ate them next to the falls before finishing our ride with a tour of the new section of town on our way home.

The bikes and trailer were put away and we were all upstairs in the lounge by the time it was getting dark out; and Ethan and Ehlana were allowed to stay up late to watch the first movie that Rowen and I had planned for our sleepover. Rowen had Ethan for her cuddle buddy this time because she teased him about always cuddling with me. He went along with it, but didn't mention that the real reason he didn't cuddle with her much anymore was because he was a not-quite-two-year old toddler working on a Grade Eleven education; and there is a big difference between cuddling with his big sister and being that close to her beautiful best friend.

If only 'Tommy' was as smart and observant as my brother!

We watched that first movie, and then took a break to get Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed before taking them downstairs for a little goodnight time with Mom and Dad in the office. Rowen and I came back up to the lounge once the twins were tucked in, and Rowen picked what she thought was a perfectly appropriate for the occasion chick flick. It had the requisite hot lead guy; the hot 'gad girl' trying to make him hers; and the Cinderella-like 'good girl' the hot guy eventually falls in love with once he comes to his senses.

By the time we got to the happy-ever-after ending; we decided to skip a third movie; and were soon snuggled in bed with Mandy for the night. We've been chatting and listening to music videos while I was doing a last email check and writing this, but we're both ready to get some sleep; and that's pretty much all I have for today anyway.

By the way, as promised; the bunny thing didn't work last night. I'm not even going to bother trying that tonight, but hopefully I'll sleep better. It's going to be a long, tough yard work day – especially since Mom is getting the weekend off from all work. One way or the other, I'll take a guess that I'll be ready for some serious sleep time by tomorrow night. That really is all for now, though, so...

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

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Dad and I have definitely made up for lost yard work time today. I'm going to keep this short because I'm way past ready to crash for the night.

The fun news was pretty much all with Mom and Aunt Leanne. They both have the weekend off, and after breakfast, Aunt Leanne came over to get Mom for some quality time with their favorite hair stylists and a morning of 'fun' shopping. Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana while Dad and I were busy; and Rowen headed home and on to the computer store after having breakfast and helping me with the clean-up. They – Alicia and the twins – spent some time in the back yard with us, and even helped me out with some of the flower planting when I was working in the gardens after cutting the lawn.

Mom and Aunt Leanne had a girls' lunch out at the Inn, and then they spent most of the afternoon playing with Ethan and Ehlana or relaxing in the back yard. We were on our own for dinner, but Dad and I didn't stop working until after six o'clock. He grilled some chicken; I made a veggie and pasta side; added some already-made cold salads; and set everything up on the back porch patio table. We were still eating when Rowen stopped by looking for a biking buddy, and though I suspect that Mom ended up helping him despite her day off, I let Dad give me a get-out-of-clean-up card; finished my meal; and spent an hour and a half playing with Rowen before coming home by the time it was getting dark.

I pretty much came straight up to my room then with just a quick round of goodnight hugs with Mom, Dad, and the twins. My Jacuzzi time was short and sweet, and after climbing into bed with Mandy; I've only done the quick version of my nightly computer checks before moving on to this update. There is more that I could write about, but I'm just too tired, so...

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

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!

It was an especially happy day for the White family – Sharon White gave birth to her baby at eight-nineteen this morning. Beth-Anne weighed in at a healthy eight pounds and eight ounces; and Mom and baby are both already home and doing great.

Here at home, Mom's special day wasn't quite that exciting, but it did start out with gifts, hugs, and cuddles in bed; followed by Tai Chi at the river; and some Jacuzzi time while Dad and I took care of making breakfast and getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for the day. That few hours this morning was just for us, but the rest of the day has been all about spending time with our family.

We only had Grandma and Grandpa with us at church, while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were both busy at the clinic, but we had a big group back at our house for lunch and dinner barbeques; and some of our guests spent the afternoon with us too. There were lots of friends stopping in for visits too, and we spent most of the afternoon playing in the back yard; though Rowen and I took a group of younger kids to the park playground for a while too when she and her family came over for their visit in between the two family meals they were doing today.

There was a lot going on, and we had a lot of fun today, but I guess there really isn't much news-worthy to write about – other than Beth-Anne's big first day in the real world. Lunch was outdoors, but it was cooling off by dinnertime; so we had that meal in the dining room instead – mostly because we did that late so that Uncle Adam and his parents could join us after he was able to send Sharon and Beth-Anne home from the clinic, and Andrew and Christine closed the Emporium for the day. We didn't go to one of the buffets at the Inn because they're always sold out on Mother's Day; and we'd rather let more of our neighbors and friends get to do that instead.

Since we didn't start having dinner until later; that meant that I wasn't finished helping with the clean-up until after eight-thirty. By then, the only guests we had left were members of the kitchen crew and their spouses. Aunt Leanne had taken Uncle Adam home right after we ate to tuck him in for the night after getting almost no sleep last night; and the other Moms with babies were sent home then too, so that crew included grandfathers, Dads, and me. The goodbye hugs and kisses started right away, and we were on our own again for the first time since this morning by a bit after nine. Getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed was next, and that took nearly another hour by the time they were finished talking about everything they couldn't discuss today while playing 'normal toddler'. Mom and I took care of that while Dad packed his bags to be ready for his week in Crystal Springs; but he joined us in time to tuck the twins in for the night.

I went straight to bed after that, and have been doing my usual school-night studying. Mom had wanted to do a Magi lesson with me, but it hadn't been too tough to talk her out of that; and we won't write about what she and Dad have been doing instead. There was some email news from around the family that was mostly about Mother's Day events; but Violet's email actually reminded me about something that's happening here at home – the senior high school class trip.

The annual event hasn't made my journal reports before now, and this time I'm only including it because Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie will all be away for the school week with their classmates and friends. I'll guess that will be more fun for Jake and Stephanie than it will be for Dillon. They're leaving early tomorrow morning for what will be four nights and three days at the Grand Canyon; and two days that will mostly be travel time. That's going to give us another week at school with a noticeable percentage of the students missing; but it won't be quite as big of a deal for my class; since we don't exactly hang with that group at all like we do with our Grade Eight friends.

I wish that I'd thought about that earlier today, but at least I did have hugs for all three teens at church today even if I didn't do special goodbye hugs with them.

We'll be up early to see Dad off to the city, so I'd better wrap this up and get some sleep while I can.

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

Monday, May 13, 2013

While our morning started out really early, Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I had fun spending time with Dad before he left for Crystal Springs; had a nice little nap together in Mom's bed; and had a great morning for Tai Chi by the river before having breakfast and getting ready for the day.

I haven't been in on the KidZone daycare plans, but Mom is one of the volunteers who will be helping out while Sharon White is busy with her new baby. She'll be one of the women helping out at the daycare at least until school is out in June. That will be at the daycare most of the time, but for today, she just had Naomi and Aiden at our house for the day while Colleen Sparks gets her volunteers lined up and scheduled for while Sharon is off. Mom is going to work one morning a week, and Grandma will probably be there for a shift on Friday when Ethan and Ehlana are there too for their weekly visit. It's just one more example of what's great about Witch Falls, and why Mom and I love it here so much.

I was already on the way to school before Naomi and Aiden were dropped off, and while Rowen and I were out of the loop for the party news on the weekend; it was the top Grade Seven story this morning, and Michael and Vanessa had top billing for the party news. That wasn't good for Michael, because he had the audacity to completely mess up the matchmaking plan that Vanessa and Nora had so carefully come up with and executed. He was supposed to fall madly in love with Vanessa, but didn't; and went out of his way to avoid Vanessa at the party. The girls didn't give up easily, and Nora made sure that her best friend had some quality opportunities to be close to – or alone with – Michael, but from what we heard through the grapevine; those efforts only brought Michael about as close to mad as any of his friends had seen him before.

Vanessa certainly wasn't happy today, and she and Nora are trying to decide whether to re-group and come up with a new plan or write Michael off as a hopeless cause. They're both mad at Michael for not falling in line like Tim did with Nora – for the second time now. I wasn't in the line of fire today, but I almost wish that I was, since Michael wasn't having any fun at school – especially during Phys-Ed class and at lunch.

Don't take this the wrong way, because I am not crossing over, but Rowen and I helped to make up for that crummy school day after school. We invited Michael and Tim to come home with us to do our homework and hang out together. That plan morphed into hanging out together practically until dark except while they were at baseball practice. We had our after-school snack with Mom and four toddlers, and it was then that we decided to add a picnic at the park for six and give Mom some time off for herself after spending the day with four toddlers. We did our homework first; Mom helped me with throwing the picnic together while Rowen, Michael, and Tim rounded up bikes and hooked up Ethan and Ehlana's trailer to my bike. The trailer is definitely handy for carrying supplies too, and is a lot easier than carrying backpacks while biking.

We did the construction zones tour first, and then had some playground fun time before having our picnic. While Mom and I had put most of the food together, Miranda and Jacob had sent some cold salads along with Michael; and we had quite the little feast. We started to eat early enough that we didn't need to rush; and that gave Michael and Tim time to have a good, but rather serious chat with us before needing to get to their ball practice.

Rowen would want me to start with her personal favorite part of that chat, but let's keep it in context. It wasn't really tweeird zone time when Tim started the ball rolling by telling Michael that hanging out with us was a lot more fun than they'd had on Friday at Nora's party, but I was nervous that we might be heading there fast. They stayed away from the details we'd already heard about from some of the girls, though, and the only strangeness was hearing their perspective. I'm sure that Nora is completely unaware of the fact that Tim is fairly annoyed with her for helping Vanessa out with her romantic campaign for Michael – especially since she apparently didn't want to accept it when he had already told her several times that Michael was not even remotely interested in being Vanessa's next boyfriend.

Tim didn't try telling Nora any of that – especially on her birthday. I would have been happy if he'd kept his advice for Michael to himself too; but he didn't.

Stop laughing, Rowen.

He and Michael were getting ready to go over to the far ball diamond, and we were packing up our picnic when he not-so-innocently suggested that I could solve Michael's problems with Vanessa by dating him – Michael – instead.

If I ever find out that Aunt Leanne recruited Tim too; she and I are going to have a very long chat – and with my time-phase abilities; I could make it seem like that lasts forever.

I once again proved my incompetence at being a tween, and Tim apparently found out for the first time that the reason I haven't dated at all is because I haven't crossed over; and don't intend to just because he thinks it'd make his best friend's life easier. Rowen loved all of that, but Tim's conversation-ending request that I let him be the first to know when I do get around to crossing over practically had Rowen and Michael on the ground they were laughing so hard. I'm glad that one of us took that the way he meant it, because Tim was right there with them once he caught on to what they thought was so funny. That's something else I'll guess he won't talk with Nora about.

Moving along, after cleaning up from our picnic, Ethan wanted to go and watch Michael and Tim practice for a while, so we did that for fifteen or twenty minutes before returning to the playground for some more swing and slide action. Michael and Tim joined us again after they were finished playing ball; and we all went for a ride north of town. We meandered our way along the country roads for an hour or so before heading home again. Michael's house was our first stop; and we ended up having drinks on the front porch with Miranda and Jacob; mostly because Miranda wanted to have a little visit with Ethan and Ehlana.

Rowen came home with me from there, but only so she could help me with the twins and getting the trailer and bike unhooked and put away in the storage barn. Mom came outside while we were doing that, so we did the goodnight hugs in the back yard before Rowen hopped on her bike and headed on to her house, and Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I went inside to get started on our Magi lessons. It was after eleven by the time we did that and Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night, so I got a late start to my studying. Multi-tasking that with some Jacuzzi time was a requirement after hours of biking and play time – Mandy has a very sensitive nose; and neither of us wants me bringing playground sand into our bed. Add in a little computer girl chat time with Rowen; a few text messages and email with Stephanie; and the usual nightly computer checks; and I somehow managed to fill up more than three hours before deciding to write this journal entry up and call it a night.

We're supposed to have an even nicer weather day tomorrow, but rain on Wednesday, so Rowen and I are taking the day off from work and going biking again with Michael and Tim – this time without Ethan and Ehlana. That decision had absolutely nothing to do with it being one of Michael's days off – really! It's all about taking advantage of the nice weather whenever we can. Having Alicia there to help Mom tomorrow makes it easier to do that too while Dad's away – especially when she's taking on the extra work with Naomi and Aiden again tomorrow before Colleen Sparks will be ready to run KidZone at full speed again on Wednesday.

Since that's pretty much it for today, I'm going to move on and get whatever sleep I can before it'll be time to get up and going again, so...

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

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

This has been one of those really good days, with lots of fun and minimal tweeirdness.

Tai Chi with Mom by the river got the morning off to a great start, and we had a nice little chat with Dad while we were all having breakfast; though his diner meal was better than our standard school day fare. Rowen collected me on her way to school, and we biked there today.

The good news for Michael at school was that Nora's party news was old already for everyone except Vanessa and Nora; but he and Tim were both getting bugged about spending so much time with Rowen and me at the park last night. You'd never know from most of those jokes and comments that Ethan and Ehlana had been with us the entire time too. The closest I came to being in the tweeird zone was while Vanessa was spending some time this morning trying to decide whether I was going after Michael too or not. Rowen thought most of that was funny, but she was fairly annoyed after we overheard Nora offering some dismissive retorts to jibes about Tim and Michael doing picnics in the park with other girls from a couple of their friends that weren't very flattering to us. It's definitely not just the guys who have a blind spot when it comes to really seeing Rowen for who she is instead of how our classmates have thought of her practically since kindergarten.

Not only was Nora not at all worried about her boyfriend hanging out with us yesterday; she had no problem with him doing homework with us and biking the trails without her again today. That annoyed Rowen too, but since we have more fun when Nora isn't biking with us; I didn't have a problem with it. If Tim wanted to be honest, he didn't mind either. Riding the trails in the woods at the park is not fun when you're biking with people who don't like doing that too; and you spend half your time waiting around for them.

We still had to do some waiting to take turns on the trails, but before we got to that there was homework to get out of the way. Michael invited us to his house to do that, and Rebecca studied with us after we all had a snack break with Jacob and Miranda. We had the snack and did our studying out on the back porch, and though we invited Rebecca to come riding with us when we were ready to go, we didn't really expect her to want to ride the trails; and she decided to hang out with some of her friends instead.

With such nice weather, there were a lot of kids and teens at the park, and as I already mentioned, there were line-ups and we had some waiting time for the favorite trails. Doing those jumps and tricks isn't quite the same as the day we went snowboarding, but it's about as close to adventure and excitement as a tween can get in Witch Falls without a little Magi power. What I really loved most, though, was just getting to have fun with my friends for a while without any tweeird moments.

When we got back home again, Mom had arranged to keep Rowen for dinner, and she had an easy-meal nearly ready. We ate; Rowen and I cleaned up; and then we all headed back to the park for some more play time. We collected the four members of the Stone family who weren't at the Grand Canyon this week. Our park adventure started with some playground action, and then we went for a walk along the path – doing the full loop of the park. Michael and Jacob spent part of that time talking about the biking trails; and some of them had apparently been there in various states of usability since the fifties – the nineteen fifties; should you happen to be reading this in the distant future. Michael thinks that the town council should think about doing something with them – that BMX and mountain biking trails would be good for everyone in town and for tourists and visitors. I'm sure he'll eventually be very happy to find out that more features at the park are definitely part of our future plans for Witch Falls, but that wasn't something I could talk about today.

I'd expected some matchmaking attempts with Miranda, Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana all with us tonight, but they surprised me by not doing or saying anything along those lines to Michael or me. That helped to keep the fun going, and so did the snack break we did at our house after leaving the park. Mom's offer won out because she had fresh Olde Bakery snacks, while Miranda and Jacob had used theirs up after school. The parents sat out on the back porch for that, while the rest of us sat on the dock with our drinks and treats. Rebecca isn't into biking, but she was wishing that she'd gone for a canoe ride earlier; and Rowen and I may get together and do that with her later this week or on the weekend if we can get a nice weather day when we're all available to go.

We also talked baseball; school trips; final tests and exams, which are now less than three weeks away; and summer holidays. Since Miranda and Jacob need to be up early tomorrow, they only stayed for a half hour or so before taking Rebecca and Michael home with them for the night. Rowen went home then too, and once we were on our own again; Mom did another Magi lesson with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before I helped her get them ready for bed and tucked in for the night.

I was already getting tired by then, so I've cut back on the studying, and did most of that while in the Jacuzzi. There were bedtime chats with Rowen and Stephanie mixed in with the work, and I only did a quick version of the nightly news, sports, and entertainment checks before getting to this report. It isn't quite midnight yet, but I need a bit more sleep tonight; and plan to get started on that right now, so...

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

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

We're back into more rain again after getting a little break, and Rowen and I are glad that we switched up out days off.

The rain didn't start falling until this afternoon, so Mom and I had a nice morning for Tai Chi by the river; and Ethan and Ehlana ran around and had fun while we did that. We had a standard weekday breakfast, and I was ready early enough to meet Rowen at her house before we went on to the school.

I don't have anything newsworthy to report from there, and it's really been a fairly quiet day. Most of us got a little damp walking home from school, but that was the extent of my outdoor time for the rest of the day. I worked in the office with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana until we stopped for a quick dinner, and after cleaning up; Mom spent a couple of hours doing Magi lessons with us. That worked out great, because her baseball practice was cancelled; and that allowed me to get started on my bedtime studying by nine o'clock.

Getting a little extra sleep seemed like a good idea, so I made an exception and sped things up a bit tonight. If I wrap this up now, I might even be out for the night before eleven, so...

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

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Congratulations, Grandma and Grandpa Pastors Burroughs!

Rebekkah Burroughs was born earlier this morning, though not here in Witch Falls. Pastor John and his wife, Stacey, have been working as missionaries pretty much since he earned his Doctorate; and they haven't lived here at all since then either. A few of us know that's going to change soon because they're going to move home this summer; and Pastor John is going to gradually take over from his parents. That's partly because Pastor John and Stacey want to raise their kids here; and partly because Pastors Lewis and Martha want to semi-retire and start doing charity trips for our family business with some of their friends. They're also looking at working together on an addition for the church to get ready for our growing town. I won't be directly involved in much of that, but it is going to be very exciting for the Burroughs' family.

Here at home, it wasn't new-baby exciting, but I was busy; and managed to have some fun too. We had a dash or two of rain today, but nothing that got in the way of our baseball practice tonight; and everyone on our team was happy to finally get out on the ball diamond for the first time this season. Playing with the older, taller girls is a big change from last year, but Rowen and I still did pretty well; and Sarah and Carolyn Landry looked like they were really happy with their junior players.

I jumped ahead with that, but there really isn't much to report from school or my second work night in a row. Other than one test, today was mostly a project work time at school. It's hard to believe, but we don't really have much time to get some major projects finished before we'll be getting ready for our final exams. Rowen and I are way ahead on everything we're doing, but some of our classmates are getting stressed. There's nothing new from my end of the family business to report, and it was another light dinner night so I could eat early and be at the park in time for my practice at six o'clock.

Mom, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne brought Ethan and Ehlana over for some playground time during the last half of our practice; and Rowen, Rebecca, and I walked with them over to the Inn for game night. Jenny had Shane to hang out with by then, and preferred to do that over playing games with us.

Aunt Leanne and her matchmaking co-conspirators have me looking over my shoulder a lot, and I have to wonder if they've got a new plan that I should worry about, but I was happy and relieved that they just let me have fun tonight – even when Rowen and I were playing games against Michael and Rebecca. Not having the high school seniors here gave all of the younger teens and kids a better chance at the junior championship, and some of the teams moved up in the rankings; but it was one of the regularly top teams – Kyle Landry and Erin Green – that won the title for the week. Rowen and I managed fifth-place; one behind Rebecca and Michael, and well-ahead of Tim and Nora.

Mom wanted to do more lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me after we got home from the Inn, so we did that first; had a bedtime chat and story with Dad once the twins were ready to be tucked in; and I didn't get up to my room until eleven-thirty. It's a good thing that I had some extra sleep the last two nights, because it's now nearly three o'clock. I may only get to have a nap now, but at least I finished all of the studying I wanted to get done; and taking the weekend off – at least until Sunday night – is an option.

That's the good news. The bad is that we have a lot to get done this weekend to be ready for the Memorial Day weekend, and there is lots of rain in the forecast for the next four days; so we'll see how much fun we get to have. For right now, though, I really need to get started on that nap, so...

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

Friday, May 17, 2013

For today at least, we ended up having beautiful weather and no rain at all. It ended up being so nice that Rowen and I are doing our first camping adventure of the year tonight, and this daily recap is coming to you live from our tent by the river. We're not camping alone, but I'll get to that part of the story later.

My day started out by the river too, and Mom and I loved our little Tai Chi break before we got started on the usual weekday morning rush. I don't have anything worth mentioning to write about from school – it was just another uneventful day; and everyone seemed to be as interested in getting the weekend as I was.

Rowen and I didn't immediately get started on our weekend fun after being set free this afternoon – though she's telling me that she thought our snack and homework time with Michael was fun for all of us; and I guess she's not really wrong about that. Tim was busy hanging out with Nora and some of the other members of the Grade Seven couples club, so he hadn't been with us while we studied, and after we had the work out of the way; we invited Rebecca to go with us and went for a long canoe ride upriver.

Quit smirking like that, Rowen – it's entirely your fault that I was canoeing with Michael – you hopped into the canoe with Rebecca before he could. Don't give me any of that 'more evenly matched' load of baloney you tried feeding us at the time either. There was only one match you were interested in setting up; and it had nothing to do with paddling abilities.

Mom and Dad were hosting a dinner and a holiday weekend pre-cooking night, though it was past eight before Dad got home from Crystal Springs. Michael and Rebecca were added to the dinner guest list when we got back from our canoeing adventure; and the four of us were put in charge of entertaining Ethan and Ehlana while the adults were busy in the kitchen or working the grill. Grandpa and Uncle Nick had that job; and they were cooking everything from hot dogs to steaks and chicken. We – the kids – all had our meal while sitting on the dock or one of the benches by the river while the adults sat around the patio table on the back porch. Mom and Aunt Leanne probably spent as much of that time in the kitchen as they did sitting down with everyone else, but they'd wanted to keep the cooking going; and had needed to keep working.

Babysitting does have its perks, and getting out of helping with the ongoing cleanup that was from dinner and all of the extra cooking was a really nice bonus. Michael and Rebecca stayed with us, though I guess we technically went with them at first; because we stopped in to see Jake and Stephanie while we were on our way to the park with Ethan and Ehlana for some playground fun. The senior teens had gotten home from their trip, and I loved getting to spend a few minutes with them, but they were just dropping Jake's things off on their way to visits at the Inn and furniture store; so we didn't get to hear much about their trip before they needed to be off and running again. There had been lots of kids at the park, and Ethan and Ehlana were very happy to run around and keep all four of their volunteer babysitters busy. Michael and Rebecca didn't know it, but we walked home in time for Ethan, Ehlana, and I to be there to meet Dad and welcome him home once we sensed that he was getting close. Rowen and I had been talking about camping instead of doing a sleepover in my room while we were at the park; and we had approval to do that by the time we'd finished having a little visit with Dad and helping him get his bags into the house.

Some of us entered the tweeird zone then when Ethan and Ehlana started bouncing around, doing their best normal toddler act; and sing-singing "Camp too, Camp too" over and over again. Would you like to take a guess who Ethan wanted to camp with? No, I'm sure the tweeird zone hint was all you needed. I didn't know whether I should hug Michael for being nice enough to let Ethan 'talk' him into camping with him; or bop my baby brother for pulling off a sneaky junior matchmaking coup.

You do not need to ask Michael his opinion on that, Rowen Emerson! Quit laughing.

Rebecca was invited to join us too, but she declined the offer. She did stay and hang out with us while we set up two dome tents and rounded up the usual camping gear; and once we had everything ready, she and Michael took turns telling Ethan and Ehlana some spooky camp stories.

Dad came out to our little camp at ten and invited us all in for a bedtime snack. Rebecca did that with us too, but then headed home when most of the cooking crew left for the night. Dad and Michael got Ethan ready for bed while Rowen and I did the same with Ehlana. We did a round of hugs and kisses with Mom and Dad, and then got back to our camping adventure.

Let's not think about what Mom and Dad are doing with their semi-kid-free time after being apart all week.

Ethan and Ehlana weren't ready to sleep yet, so Michael and Ethan joined us in our tent; and he, Rowen, and I let the twins entertain us until they were ready to crash. My time in the tweeird zone didn't end when the boys moved over to their tent.

I'm positive that Ethan's need to call me over so I could tuck him in was a totally fabricated excuse, and even if I'd had doubts about that; his "hug Michael too" demand was way too obvious.

Don't pretend that you don't know that I did hug Michael too, Rowen. Ethan didn't pick that moment to turn on his flashlight by accident either.

Anyway, Rowen, Ehlana, and I have been listening to music on my computer since then; and I've been doing some random surfing along with my usual bedtime checks. It sounded like Ethan was playing games on his iPad with Michael after I left, but we're not hearing much noise from their tent anymore. Ehlana fell asleep about twenty minutes ago, and since we're going to have the added work of a camp clean-up in the morning before Rowen needs to be at the computer store and I'll be busy with yard work; I'm pretty much ready to pack it in for the night now too.

No, Rowen, I do not want to sneak over to Michael's tent. If you think he needs a cuddle buddy, though, feel free to help him out with that yourself. We'll all get teased about this enough without making it worse. I won't be surprised to hear that we were camping in one tent with no mention of Ethan and Ehlana at all by the time this bit of news has cycled through the grapevine a few times.

We really should get to sleep now, though, so I'm going to shut this down now and we can do that – unless you really do want to sneak over to the boys' tent and stay there instead.

I didn't think so.

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

Saturday, May 18, 2013

I'm currently in my Jacuzzi, and it's only going on nine o'clock, but I'm multi-tasking; and plan on climbing into bed with Mandy fairly soon and crashing for the night.

The yard work that Dad and I kept busy with from shortly after finishing breakfast until we stopped to have dinner at a bit after seven is the main reason I'm this tired; but my day also started out at around three o'clock this morning too.

If Ethan and Ehlana were playing matchmaker then, they must have been planning it in their sleep. They didn't seem at all surprised to need to go inside for washroom breaks at the exact same time, and though I offered to take Ethan and Ehlana so Michael could stay in his tent and go back to sleep; he came along too and carried Ethan while I carried Ehlana. The twins went to sleep right away again; though I needed to tuck Ethan in first again; and Ehlana had Michael and I both laughing when she tucked him in before we went back to our tent again.

Unfortunately for me, that little spurt of action had me wide awake; and I left the tent so I hopefully wouldn't wake Rowen or Ehlana again while I was restless. It was a beautiful night, and I stretched out on the dock and stared up at the star-filled sky. I wasn't the only one having trouble getting back to sleep; and I wasn't surprised when Michael joined me. The folded blanket that he put under my head was unexpected – and welcomed; and so was the bottle of water he gave me. The dock isn't wide enough for two people to lie down, but Michael lay down too so that we were head-to-head; and sharing the blanket-pillow.

That felt strange for a few moments, but that passed, and we just laid there, watching the stars; and talking quietly about everything from astronomy and science to favorite space science fiction. I didn't exactly lose track of those two hours, but it didn't seem like nearly that long. Michael sat up first and then he looked at me for a long moment; smiled; leaned over; and kissed my forehead before standing up. He helped me up too, and didn't let go of my hand again until we reached the tents. We hugged, and then went into our own tents to try and nap for another hour or so before we'd need to be awake again.

I have no idea how much of that time Rowen had been awake for, but she only mumbled out "we'll talk later" when I was climbing into my sleeping bag; and let me have that little nap. She made sure that we had that talk before going to the computer store after breakfast, and I'm expecting to get teased about sharing a pillow with Michael while we were camping; and the rest of the details won't matter to anyone – especially Aunt Leanne or Miranda.

Only having a few hours of sleep wasn't a problem first thing this morning. I was ready to go when Mom and Dad came outside for Tai Chi, and Ethan and Ehlana kept Michael and Rowen entertained while we were exercising. I didn't say anything, but I did notice that Michael tried to imitate some of the hand movements of our forms while playing with Ethan; and that reminded me just a little too much of some of Uncle Adam's stories from that summer after Aunt Leanne's first year of college.

The next couple of hours were a bit crazy. Mom took Ethan and Ehlana in with her to get them ready for the day, and Dad cooked breakfast while Rowen, Michael, and I blasted through a quick camp cleanup. We had the tents and gear put away, and Rowen's and Michael's bags were packed by the time Dad had breakfast ready to go. We ate at the patio table on the back porch; and then Michael stayed to help me with the kitchen cleanup while Rowen went to have a shower and get ready for work at the computer store.

As I mentioned already, Dad and I started the yard work after that, and except for two snack breaks and a half hour off t lunch; we worked until everything was done and ready for the holiday weekend. We ate that meal at the table on the back porch too; and barely had time to do that before the first spatters of rain hit. It felt good to get all of that work out of the way today, so I'll agree with Dad that the timing for the rain was pretty good – even though nearly every other tween I know would have rather gone with a rain-shortened work day if they had the choice.

Let's speed this up – I'm ready to get out of the tub; into bed; and off to sleep. We finished eating and had moved inside before the rain really started coming down. I helped with the kitchen clean-up; and then left Ethan and Ehlana to entertain Mom and Dad until their bedtime while I came upstairs to get started on my Jacuzzi time. I'm planning on cheating to get my hair dry; and will probably be asleep before Ethan and Ehlana even get tucked in for the night.

That's all for now, so...

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

Sunday, May 19, 2013

This has been the nicest rainy weekend I've seen in a long time! We had another beautiful day from the time the rain from Saturday night moved on until the showers started after I climbed into bed with Mandy and got started on my usual school night studies and computing.

Mom and Dad may be glad that I don't get more than eight consecutive hours of sleep very often because I was fully charged and ready to go when I helped Ethan and Ehlana give them a fairly enthusiastic wake-up call. Bouncing on the bed was involved, but I left that up to the twins; and only got involved when they bounced off and needed to be caught and tossed back into the fun.

Tai Chi by the river was nice, but a bit damp on the feet thanks to the rain last night. Ethan and Ehlana sat on the dock and fed the birds some bread while we exercised. We had a fruit salad and Olde Bakery muffins and croissants breakfast; and then Mom, Ehlana, and I played dress-up for a while before we all met up with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne for the walk to church.

This was Beth-Anne White's first time going to church with her parents and big brother; and the entire White family had center stage before and after the service. It isn't like there's an epidemic of pregnancies going on in Witch Falls right now, but this has been, and is, the first time that Mom and I have had the personal attachments to so many pregnant family members and friends. Beth-Anne's introduction to her friends and neighbors brought my attention to her cousins Amy and Jared. Amy is due in early August, and from what I saw today; she's going to be practicing for her own baby a lot with her favorite cousin's adorable little baby. I'm biased, because Amy is still my favorite teacher ever so far; but I think she is going to be a really great Mom!

The only other news from church today is that all of the Sunday school classes were involved in some way with getting ready for the Memorial Day service that the teens will be leading. Our class worked on backdrops for two of the skits. Paint and tween boys were involved, so it was occasionally messy, but smocks were available; and everything else washed off except for a few splatters in my hair that I needed to deal with after getting home.

This is the last weekend before summer hours kick in for most of the stores in town, so Mom and Dad invited Rowen and her parents and brother for lunch; adding them to the group we already had coming to spend the afternoon doing more holiday weekend pre-cooking. Patrick ended up having Scott with him, but the occasionally-terrible two mostly just tossed a baseball around before lunch while Rowen and I were busy with Ethan and Ehlana, and they went biking after lunch; so the only time they spent trying to mess around with us was while we had lunch by the river.

Their decision to go biking had Rowen and I deciding to take Ethan and Ehlana for a canoe ride – though we didn't make that decision until after the boys were gone. We took two canoes; paddled downtown; went for a walk to the falls; and then stopped at the Inn to invite Michael and Rebecca to join us for some Emporium ice cream and more canoeing.

Miranda set them free for their afternoon break a bit early so they could do that, and we ended up wandering around the Emporium for fifteen or twenty minutes before getting our ice creams and going to sit by the river to eat them before hopping in the canoes. That gave Michael time to read Ethan the little book he'd needed to get at the store too, and if that was another matchmaking nudge; they're going too far by getting me to pay for it!

After our last canoe ride, I have no doubt that Michael will be stuck in my canoe whenever Rowen or anyone else can make that happen; and today, it was Ethan making sure that Michael was with us. Ethan also sat right in front of Michael too instead of with me for the trip upriver and back home. We stopped at the park first for some playground time, and were just leaving again when Patrick and Scott buzzed through on their bikes coming back from their trail ride. I'll guess that seeing Michael in the canoe with me had everything to do with why they were in the back yard by the time we docked the canoes and got out.

We had time to play for a while longer, and had drinks and a little visit with the cooking crew and their guests; and then Rowen and I hopped in the canoes again with Michael and Rebecca when it was time for them to get back to the Inn. Patrick and Scott supposedly were biking to the Emporium for ice cream when we left, but they were razzing us from the Quarry Road bridge when we paddled under it; were skipping stones into the river from the park when we passed them there; and then they must have raced back across the bridge to be on the road above the dock to razz us some more about being so slow.

Okay, maybe I was a bit annoyed with them; and that's definitely why I hugged Michael too after doing the goodbye hug with Rebecca.

Rowen thought that was funny, but I felt a little guilty about it by the time we paddled home again; and that's the only reason I included Patrick in the goodbye hugs when they headed home with their parents on the way to a family dinner with their grandparents.

The cooking session was over by then, so most of our guests started heading home or on to other places, and by five o'clock; only Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne were still with us. They were staying for dinner; and we were doing another barbeque. Mom decided to just go with cold salads for side dishes, so there was minimal pre and post meal work; and that last few hours we spent together was almost all fun and games with a healthy dose of relaxing for Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Grandma after they'd done so much extra work all afternoon.

Ethan, Ehlana, and I not only had company for our evening Magi lesson – Mom had Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Dad teaching us while she taught them some new training techniques that would help them with future grandchildren, children, or nieces and nephews. Grandpa took care of Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime story too, and then he and Grandma, and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam, went home once the twins were tucked in.

I needed another visit to my Jacuzzi after that, and this time I didn't do any multi-tasking so I could just relax and enjoy a nice, long soak in the hot, frothy water. The trade-off for that has been a later night, but even working until nearly two has been okay after getting the extra rest last night. My archive homework was easy enough, but I put a little extra time into the language practice and reading to start getting ahead for the long weekend. Yes, it is my own timetable, but it's also a big part of my personal future plans; so it isn't something I can let slide.

Most of the email from around the family was about the holiday weekend too. Violet and Dawn are fired up about being here for three days, while Jaimie and Kaitlyn wish they could see us too while also being excited about spending time with Aunt Alison's and Grandma Mercy's families. Aunt Grace is going to Seattle again, and this will be her last trip there before the wedding. It'll also be the last time she sees Mark before they both move here at the end of June – though they'll technically be guests at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's until the wedding, and on their honeymoon for the two weeks after that.

Other than continuing to get ready for the holiday weekend, it should be a fairly quiet week, and with the annual work all of the students do on the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend; we really only have four days of classes this week. Since those Monday classes are barely more than a handful of hours away now; I'd better call it a night.

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

Monday, May 20, 2013

We still had rain falling when we woke up this morning, so Tai Chi was indoors; but the rest of the day turned out to be pretty nice until more rain moved in again tonight.

'Pretty nice' is how I'd describe how my day went too. With just three weeks left until we'll be set free for the summer, and only about twelve days where we'll actually be working on our studies or exams; I'm starting to get excited about the holidays.

The top news around school included every scrap of gossip from the senior trip last week; and there were some stories that I have no intention of preserving for posterity in these digital pages. With final exams two weeks away, we're probably done with quizzes and tests – except for working on practice exams; but we do have some major projects due this week. That has some of our friends stressed, but Rowen and I are pretty much done everything now; and are just holding off on handing everything in to keep up appearances.

The best part of the day was hanging out with Rowen, Michael, and Tim after school. We did our homework on the back porch at my house; went biking after that; and then Rowen and I were invited to stay at Michael's with him and Tim for a barbeque dinner.

Okay, one of Jacob's amazing burgers, potato skins, and an awesome pasta salad dinner was really the best part of my day; but hanging out with my friends was a close second.

When Michael and Tim needed to get to the park for their ball practice, Rowen and I stayed to help with the clean-up, and then we rounded up Ethan and Ehlana and took them to the park to play for an hour.

We should have made that forty-five minutes, but Ethan wanted to play with Michael and Tim after they were finished their practice. I'm fairly sure that Ethan was not working with Mother Nature; but I'm definitely getting caught in the rain while Michael is around a bit too often for comfort.

Since I needed to get changed anyway after getting home with Ethan and Ehlana, I had a soak in my Jacuzzi first, and then did a long Magi lesson with Mom after the twins were in bed and Dad was busy in the office. I've been in bed with Mandy and studying since coming back up to my room; and that was more than three hours ago. I'm going to shoot for two more late study nights, and if I'm far enough along; I'll take Thursday night off to rest up for the long weekend.

It might happen.

Before I wrap this up, there is some local news that I found out about while doing my nightly checks. The baseball teams and sponsors were announced on the town intranet. Rowen and I are playing for Landry's Leopards, and I'm sure you can guess that this season's theme for our division is wild cats. Mom and Dad are with the Fix-it Uppers; and have Jesse Warren for their sponsor. I'm only surprised that he hasn't been doing that every year he's played on the team – like Sarah and Carolyn Landry do.

There was also a new advertisement out for Quarry Lake. They've added new water slides for this year, and a bunch of games geared toward seniors. I won't be playing much shuffleboard or bingo; but the new slides look cool. We'll have to get out there soon to check them out now that they'll be open starting this weekend.

That's it for now, though, so...

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

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The top news story in Witch Falls tonight is the birth of Kendra Eleanor Byrd at seven-twenty. She is Grandma Eleanor's newest great-grandchild; and both mother and baby are doing fine as of the last report Uncle Adam sent to us. Ethan, Ehlana, and I are all looking forward to meeting Kendra soon, and that's entirely because she is going to be involved in our future plans.

I'd add more about that, but don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone who might read this before she's grown up and ready to take her place in that future.

While the Byrd family has had an exciting day; mine was fairly quiet by comparison. We were able to exercise by the river this morning, and then Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana all needed to get ready to go out early because Mom was working the morning shift at KidZone. Including today, it looks like she'll be covering Tuesday mornings for four weeks; and then other volunteers will take over once school's out.

There wasn't much going on at school today. The senior class trip is old news now, and while there was some holiday weekend chat; that hasn't kicked into high gear yet. Tim was busy with Nora after school, but Rowen invited Michael and Rebecca to do homework with us and then go for another canoe ride; and they both wanted to do that. We had a snack and did our work at the patio table on the back porch, and none of us could say no when Ethan and Ehlana wanted to go canoeing with us; so we had two passengers when we pushed the two canoes away from the dock.

I was going to add that Rowen and I switched play and work days again, but I think she's decided that we're going to be taking Monday and Tuesday nights off on a permanent basis. As long as we stay out of the tweeird zone; I don't really mind the change. We certainly had fun with Rebecca and Michael today, and I really love it that Rebecca wants to do things like that with us again. It won't be long before she'll be a high school student, and we may be left behind again for another year.

We paddled upriver for forty-five minutes; paddled back; and then had drinks and a little visit with Mom before Michael, Rebecca, and Rowen all needed to leave. Mom put me to work helping her with dinner, and other than a trip to the park so that Ethan and Ehlana could have some playground time; we mostly had a quiet night at home after that.

Mom did separate Magi lessons – the first with Ethan and Ehlana; and one with me after they went to bed. While she was busy with them, I put in a little time on the family business; and that gave Dad and I a little father-daughter time while we both worked in the office. It was straight up to bed after my lesson, and I've been studying for most of the nearly three hours since then.

With Aunt Deborah off, it's a bit harder for Uncle Adam to deal with overnight patients, but tonight he's getting some relief from Grandma Eleanor and Grandpa Grant. They're staying at the clinic with Kendra and her parents, Anne and Robert; and letting Uncle Adam sleep for a handful of hours before he'll need to be back there and working again. Mom and I are always on call too, but only the Magi council and a handful of others know anything about that; and we don't expect to be needed tonight.

Thinking about that is reminding me that I'm ready to get some sleep too. It's been a long day, and I'll have more of the same again tomorrow – except without the play time; so...

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

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

We've had another nice day here, and now that we're really closing in on the holiday weekend; it's the top story for most kids and teens at school.

My report includes the time I spent getting ready for the weekend, but the time that Rowen and I spent with Liz while getting our hair done was all fun and no work – at least for us. Our Moms had booked those appointments for right after school, so we'd gone to the salon from there; and then we split up after that so we could each get to our part-time jobs.

I haven't written anything in my journal this week about the Tornados in Oklahoma, and that's mostly because Mom was able to deal with anything our charities needed for their first response to the worst-hit areas. There were a couple of things I could do to help tonight, though; and I really loved getting involved – especially since my efforts were directed at helping the kids and their families.

Ethan and Ehlana were working in the office too while I was busy with my end of the family business. They're busy getting ready for their Grade Eleven final exams, but they started talking tornados after seeing what I'd been working on. I'm sure that every Magi has wondered about what it would take to prevent something like that, and though Ethan and Ehlana have already learned why we shouldn't try and the potential for even more serious unintended consequences; that didn't stop them from calculating the likely energy output of that two-mile wide tornado; different ways to dissipate that energy; and how doing that would affect local and regional weather.

I'm pretty good at science, but they're amazing, and Ehlana in particular is off-the-charts brilliant in that particular subject. Considering one of her main roles in our future plans, that's convenient; and it's a bonus that she loves science too.

Mom and Dad let us work until dinner was ready, and then we were all busy for the next few hours while we ate; cleaned up; and Mom and Dad played baseball with their friends at the park. Rowen came over after dinner, and she and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park too; though we spent most of our time at the playground while Mom and Dad were busy. Emma Norton hung out with us too after she got there with her parents; and we added Naomi to the gang when Philip dropped her off with us before going on to the Fix-it Uppers' practice. He teased us that Liz hadn't come along too because she'd needed to have a nap after trying to keep up with Rowen and me while she was doing our hair.

From that point on it was a fairly standard parents' baseball practice night. We were at the park until it started getting dark; went home; did Magi lessons; and put Ethan and Ehlana to bed after dunking them in the tub to wash off the parts of the playground they'd brought home with them. I spent some time with my Jacuzzi after that for the same reason; and have been doing my last bedtime study night of the week since then.

That's all added up to another long day and I've stayed up later than I should have, but everything that I wanted to get done is finished; and I can hopefully catch up on my sleep tomorrow night. I've had enough entertainment for today, and don't have anything else to report, so...

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

Thursday, May 23, 2013

It's a good thing that I'm going to sleep early tonight – I've had a long, busy day!

Since everyone at school will be spending most of the day doing work around town for the holiday weekend tomorrow; our teachers had us studying a bit harder than usual today. For our grade and above, that was mostly because we're now down to four usable school days left to get ready for final exams. They start a week from this coming Monday; though stressing about them won't start until after the holiday weekend.

After a mostly-all-work school day, my first job once I got home was to cut the grass so that wouldn't need to be done on the weekend. That actually took most of the time I had available between the end of school and the start of baseball practice; but I was able to get a couple of little family business issues dealt with while having a sandwich and mac salad dinner. Rowen stopped in to get me on her way to the park, and we biked to the baseball diamond. This was only our second practice, but I already think we have a great team this year. We definitely had a better practice tonight than Mom and Dad did last night – though we don't have nearly as many non-baseball distractions as the Fix-it Uppers do.

While I'm on that particular subject, though, there is one thing about moving up a division that's been weird so far – girls on the team with boyfriends hanging around. That wasn't much of an issue during the last three years; but it might be a problem this season if those boys become too distracting during our games. Even Carolyn Landry isn't totally immune, and not only is she the most dedicated player on the team, her Mom's with us too; and every boy in town is acutely aware of the fact that Lee Landry is her father.

Moving along, Rowen helped to make sure that my game night at the Inn was more interesting than I'd expected it to be when she couldn't go tonight. She had orders to go straight home from our practice and help out with getting the house ready for holiday weekend guests. That's likely all you needed to read to know that Michael and I were paired up for the night, while Rebecca conveniently felt the need to play with her cousin, Jessica, instead.

No, we didn't win the junior championship, but we did have fun hanging out together – even with all of the nudges and hints directed our way from Aunt Leanne and the rest of her little matchmaking team. Rowen will likely be as disappointed as Aunt Leanne seemed to be when her efforts didn't get any results at all. I even managed to escape before she could orchestrate another group walk home with Michael and his family; and I didn't even hug Michael goodnight because he and Jake were in the kitchen when I left for home.

Mom did a Magi lesson with me after we put Ethan and Ehlana to bed for the night, and I opted for a quick shower instead of taking the extra time for a bath before climbing into bed with Mandy. Getting to sleep 'early' is relative to my normal school night studies, since it is after eleven; but I'll still get about three hours more sleep than usual. I'm definitely ready to do that now, so...

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

Friday, May 24, 2013

The holiday weekend is finally here!

We have a house full of guests as I write this, and Dawn's currently cuddled with Mandy next to me in bed – both of them sound asleep. Chris, Martin, and Jonathan are awake and playing video games in the lounge; and Violet is still out somewhere with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie. The parents and grandparents went to bed about half an hour ago; and I'm going to call it a night as soon as I finish with this journal update.

I loved getting to spend almost the entire school day outdoors. Not all of the tweens and teens were as thrilled with the work as I was; but Rowen and I both had fun with the Grade One girls we were assigned to work with. We spent most of our time at the cemetery; splitting our time between planting flowers and flags, and helping with the annual clean-up.

While we had fun, I can't say the same for Michael. Vanessa hadn't been overtly chasing after him since Nora's party, but she apparently decided to give it another try today when she and Nora were paired up with Michael and Tim. They had some younger kids with their group too, and Michael was not amused every time Vanessa tried to get up close and personal with him while he was trying to work with – and entertain – the seven and eight-year old kids. Vanessa wasn't happy either, which meant that Nora was annoyed; and Tim tried his very best to pretend that he wasn't spending the day in the tweeird zone.

Once the work was done, we were 'unofficially' set free to find something to do for the last forty-five minutes or so of school. I think Rowen and I may have won the team leaders of the day award when we decided that a side trip to the Emporium for ice cream on the walk back to school from the cemetery was a good idea. There were quite a few Grade One kids thinking that the girls with us had lucked out when we joined most of the kids at the school playground after getting back to the school.

Rowen and I got to play after school too. Mom put us in charge of keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained while she was busy doing a few final jobs to get ready for the weekend. We grabbed our bikes and the trailer, and started our play time with a construction zone tour before going to the park to play. The twins needed some Emporium ice cream after hearing about our earlier visit there, so we did that with them next; and took treats to the office for Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Claire. Aunt Leanne had to eat two of them because Claire had been set free to get an early start on her holiday weekend after Lucas, Emma, and Benjamin were out of school.

Okay, according to Aunt Leanne, one ice cream was for her and the other was for the baby. That was cute, but not quite as funny as when Mom tried to convince everyone that the twins really wanted her to eat pickles and ice cream. Just so you know, I did ask them about that once after they were born. They were good with the cookies and cream ice cream; but didn't particularly appreciate the pickles.

After leaving the office, we still had a little more time to play, but we decided to hang out in the back yard instead of going anywhere else. Mom and Dad were hosting dinner, though we were just going with burgers, hot dogs, and a few cold side dishes so that it wasn't much work for anyone. Grandma and Grandpa came over first, and Grandpa had a grill fired up and ready to go by the time Dad and Aunt Leanne got home from work. Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah were next; and Uncle Adam didn't join us until shortly after we'd all started filling plates due to a last, last, last minute minor medical emergency. Fortunately, the boy who fell off of the playground fort roof was patched up with two butterfly bandages and an Emporium ice cream cone coupon.

There was a lull in the action around our house between dinnertime and when the Rice family rolled in at a bit before nine o'clock; and the rest of the night has been the usual welcome home craziness. Grandma and Grandpa had stayed with us because they didn't have to wait at home for any guests this weekend, but Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah all went home after dinner to wait for their own incoming family.

The McEwans are staying with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and though I haven't been over there since they got here; Jonathan advised us that the big story with their family this weekend is Tory and Kyle's engagement. There's going to be yet another family wedding next summer! The half of the Johnson family cousins who are home too are split up between Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah's, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's, and Andrew and Christine's homes. Since Aunt Deborah's parents and brothers were here for the weekend after Leah was born; they're spending this weekend with the other side of their collective families.

While I'm thinking about babies, there's a house full of guests at Michael's house this weekend too. His grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins don't normally come to Witch Falls for this weekend; but he told us earlier in the week that they're here this weekend so that his grandma and grandpa can show off their first great-grandchild to their home town friends. With all of the extra work they always have on a long weekend; I'll guess that they're in for a rather interesting weekend.

With a lot of rain in the forecast for the weekend again, that may be the case for everyone in town, but maybe we'll get lucky and have the rain at night like we did last weekend. Either way, Dawn and I will likely be recruited to help entertain Kara this weekend, but she is six now; so that should be fairly easy for us even if we're stuck indoors a lot. Just in case we do get to have our usual holiday fun – like the Saturday night campfire – I should wrap this up and try to get some sleep. Dawn's managed to crash despite the gaming noise from the lounge; but then she's probably used to it after years of dealing with her brothers and their buddies. At least they didn't arrange to get together with any of their Witch Falls friends tonight too.

I guess that is all that I have for tonight, though, so...

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

Saturday, May 25, 2013

This has not been a particularly exciting holiday weekend Saturday. We've had rain off and on all day; and that meant cancelling pretty much all outdoor activities.

Food was still cooked on the barbeques, but Dad and the other chefs got rained on a fair bit doing that too; we had to heat our meals indoors; and that meant that we couldn't get all of our collective families together to do that at one house for lunch or dinner. Dawn and I spent most of the day trying to keep Kara, Eddie, Ethan, and Ehlana entertained. We were able to go outside a couple of times, but the playground equipment and lawns were soaked; and it wasn't much fun for any of us.

We watched a couple of kids movies in the lounge after dinner while Chris, Martin, and Jonathan moved their gaming over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's for the night; and had some of their Witch Falls friends join them for that. Chris and Martin are staying there overnight too; and probably aren't going to get much sleep.

Dawn and I were probably the most disappointed that the trail ride, back yard picnics, and the campfire were all off today, but we're also tired out after spending so much of our time playing with Kara, Eddie, and the twins. It's only a bit after eleven, and Dawn's already asleep. That does mean that I've been able to sit in the window alcove and get my nightly computing done earlier than I'd expected while watching and listening to the rain; but I'd still rather be sitting around a campfire listening to scary stories and singing campfire songs.

Maybe the weather will cooperate a bit tomorrow, but for now, I guess it's just time to call it a night and get some sleep, so...

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

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Holiday weekend day two has mostly been a wash-out too! :^(

It wasn't raining first thing this morning. Mom, Dad, and I even exercised by the river before the usual holiday weekend Sunday morning rush started. Most of us walked to church too, though we had some drivers bring trucks, minivans, SUV's, and cars along in case we needed them to get home again. That turned out to be a good decision; since it was raining by the time Pastors Lewis and Martha set us free at a little after eleven.

The rain was on more than it was off after that; and it was another indoor play day. Kara and Eddie in particular were not finding that much fun; and it wasn't as easy to keep them entertained today. Dawn didn't really get a break from that, because Kara stuck to her like glue while they were at the Inn for the Sunday night buffet that all of the visiting family members were at tonight while I had a break with just Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne here for an easy-dinner. A problem I haven't seen before since moving here is how much extra food we have when the back yard lunches and dinners get cancelled; and we don't get any of the drop-in visitors. We'll all be eating leftovers for the next week or more.

Mom and Dad non-optionally invited Chris and Martin to move their gaming back to our house tonight so that Aunt Leanne in particular could get a break; so they – and a bunch of their friends – took over the lounge to do that. Dawn and I still needed to entertain Kara, Eddie, and the twins for a couple of hours after our guests returned from the Inn, and we mostly did that in my room until Scott and Melanie collected their kids and took them back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house while Mom and Aunt Melissa took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana off to bed.

Dawn and I did a little visit to the lounge once we were free, but only needed about ten minutes to decide that we really didn't want to be there. Chris and Martin weren't making out with any of the girls or anything; but there were a couple of girls who were very interested in them; and they were enjoying the attention. We closed the doors between my room and the lounge; took turns in the Jacuzzi; and Dawn was sleeping again by the time I was finished in the bathroom – though I have no idea how she fell asleep with all of the noise bombarding us from the lounge.

For the second night in a row, I've been sitting in my window alcove doing my nightly computing a lot earlier than I expected; and I don't really have any news to report. Other than Jonathan, I've barely talked to any of the McEwans, and Violet's either been spending her time with Dillon, or with Chrissy and Michelle. Tory and Kyle are popular because of their engagement, but they've also spent most of their time with the adults. I should mention that they've earned their Bachelor Degrees, and will be going on to earn their Masters Degrees in Marketing this year. That – and planning for their wedding next summer – should keep them busy!

I'm not ready to try and sleep yet, but there really isn't anything else to write about; so I'll wrap this up and move on to some random surfing. Hopefully the noise level will drop once most of Chris and Martin's friends head home; though I'm sure they'll be up late again; and Jonathan is staying here again tonight. The rain is hopefully going to end overnight, so maybe we'll actually get one nice day to enjoy, and I guess if we can only have one; it ought to be the day of the parade and picnic.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

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

Monday, May 27, 2013

Mother Nature finally cooperated and we've had perfect weather for Memorial Day!

I really mean perfect too, because the day started out cloudy and dull; and stayed appropriately somber until after the Memorial Day parade and service at the cemetery.

Before I get to that, though, there was a lot of action going on at home before we left to watch the parade. Mom, Dad, and I exercised by the river, and today we had Violet keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained while we worked through our Tai Chi forms. Mom and Dad went with a buffet-style light breakfast; and everyone took turns having showers, getting ready for the day; helping with the picnic preparations; kid control; and clean-ups. Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa had the toughest job – getting Chris, Martin, and Jonathan up and moving. They looked like Zombies right up until they needed to be cool once we were out in public; so there must have been at least some dramatic acting going into their efforts to stay home and sleep until lunchtime.

The parade was nearly identical again this year, and the only changes are with the participants – and that's mostly among the kid and teen groups. Today, we met up with Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of our families at the corner of Witch Falls Road and Blossom Ave; in front of the farm equipment side of Landry's properties. That meant a longer wait before the first elements of the parade passed us, but a much shorter walk for Aunt Leanne and the younger kids.

Pastor Lewis led the service at the cemetery, and this year, I did the story time tour with Doc Johnson and most of their family so I could hear all of the family stories that he told his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Kara had been thrilled to have me along; and she ended up staying with Dawn and me after we walked home again. That actually worked out pretty well for us because Rowen met up with us at the house; and we were allowed to take Kara, Eddie, Ethan, and Ehlana to the park – mostly to get all of us out from underfoot while everyone else was busy getting Dad's truck loaded up with the food donations and picnic supplies.

This year, Mom and Dad were both on food crews instead of park clean-up; so the Grandparents were in charge of kid control until after we'd all eaten. Rowen, Dawn, and I were at the playground with our four little swing and slide enthusiasts for an hour and a half before we were rounded up to have lunch. Kara, Eddie, Ethan, and Ehlana had plates of food and drinks ready for them, while Rowen, Dawn, and I were sent over to the Pavilion to get in one of the lines so we could choose what we wanted for ourselves.

We were also set free from babysitting services for the rest of the afternoon too, so after sitting down to eat at the not-so-little day camp the Grandparents had set up; we were able to play some of the games and join in for some of the other activities that the younger kids couldn't do with us. Kara was a little disappointed about that, but she was diverted easily enough with ice cream and playing some of the games that were set up specifically for the younger kids.

After lunch, but before we started playing games, we made a stop to see Miranda and Jacob, and to see if Rebecca wanted to hang out with us for a couple of hours. I'd seen Jacob's parents, sister, and her family a few times before, but today was the first time I was introduced to all of them; and they were all very proud of the newest addition to their family. Baby Gerry already had a fair bit of black hair and enough of the looks from the Stone family to make sure that he'd be recognized as a member – particularly around Jacob, Jake, or Rebecca. He slept through our introduction – even while Miranda passed him to me for a couple of minutes while we had our little cameo chat time.

Rebecca and Michael both came with us when we moved along; mostly because their best friends were each spending the afternoon with their respective girlfriend and boyfriend. In Michael's case, I suspect he was also trying to dodge yet another attempt to get him together with Vanessa. I think we were all happy to spend a couple of tweeird-free hours together; and the best part of the afternoon was the time we got to spend playing games with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. The twins wanted to go for a canoe ride too, so Michael and I took Ethan while Dawn and Rowen had Ehlana; and Rebecca helped Mom and Dad do an ice cream run while we went for our short little charity-supporting paddle.

It was time to pack up by four o'clock, and Rebecca, Michael, and Rowen all needed to go and help their own families with doing that while Dawn and I were put to work watching Ethan, Ehlana, Kara, and Eddie again while the adults and teens were busy with the camp clean-up; and getting everything back home again. We played in the back yard while cars, minivans, and SUV's were loaded and all of our guests got ready to hit the road. Regardless of where everyone had been staying all weekend, our house was departure central – at least for the rolling rounds of goodbye hugs and kisses. The Johnsons and McEwans were first to leave by five o'clock; and the Rice family vehicles pulled out of the driveway at five-thirty.

The scene in our driveway and front yard was being mirrored at the Stones and Emersons houses; and once our guests had gone, I was sent over to both places to invite Jacob, Miranda, Owen, Patricia, and all of their kids to come for a leftovers and bring whatever you have barbeque dinner. Dad needed to get started on the work waiting for him in the office, but Grandpa, Uncle Adam, Uncle Nick, and Jacob were happy to share grilling duties while the Moms and Grandmothers put together the assorted side dishes.

Rowen, Rebecca, Michael, and I played with Ethan and Ehlana until everything was ready, and then we sat by the river to eat while the adults and teens sat around a few tables near the back porch. We were given get-out-of-cleanup cards too, and Michael, Rowen, and I took Ethan and Ehlana for a bike ride after we ate; while Rebecca was just ready to go home and relax for the rest of the night by then. Our ride included a construction site tour; a loop of the main park trail; and some more playground action now that the place wasn't packed with kids and teens. Mom and Dad were on their own by the time we got home, and we all did a little ice cream break with him in the office so that he could keep working while we gave him the bike ride recap.

Mom took Ethan and Ehlana upstairs to give them baths after that, and Rowen, Michael, and I sat out on the back porch and talked for a little while before they both headed home for the night. I helped Mom with the tail end of the bedtime routine for the twins, and after getting them tucked in; she did a short Transmutation lesson with me before going to work in the office with Dad while I came up to my room for a little Jacuzzi action and to get started on my usual school-night archive and language studies.

And that's all there is to report for today. It's been fun, but final exams and end-of-year testing starts next Monday; and that's going to make for a couple of serious weeks at school. I wasn't really thinking about it until now, but these exams are going to be an especially big deal for the high school seniors; though I'm not worried about Violet, Dillon, Jake, or Stephanie messing up their college plans with any last minute bad-grade bombs.

Since Rowen mentioned doing study groups this week to help us get ready for our own exams, I should probably wrap this up and get to sleep. We've been having fun studying with Michael and Tim, but that does mean that we actually have to study too – even though I finished my first round of Grade Seven exams before I was two; and don't need to study at all.

Oh well – maybe we'll be able to help Tim do better on his exams – it's not like Rowen, Michael, or I can improve on our straight-A+'s.

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

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The holiday weekend was definitely over right from the start of our first classes this morning; and everything we did today was all about getting ready for our exams next week.

That was true after school too, and though the decision to invite Rowen and I to the first exam study session of the week wasn't universally popular; we were studying at Michael's house, and he insisted. Vanessa and Nora were the girls who weren't happy about that – especially after they'd gone to the trouble of putting together a partial 'couples club' group; and Michael was once again not getting with the program. While that had me in the tweeird zone, it also wasn't long before the other two couples realized that Rowen and I were really able to help them with their studies; and they were happy to have us work with them. Miranda didn't help me out with Vanessa and Nora, but she did seem to be having fun every time she checked in on us in the dining room. I loved the hugs and displays of affection, since I really love Miranda right back; but the timing was definitely more than a little suspicious too.

Miranda and Jacob are back to work tomorrow, but I don't think that was the only reason why Tim offered to host our next study group after school tomorrow at his house – it's not as if his parents will be home either.

Moving along, we studied for two hours, and then Rowen and I were the first to leave. She needed to get to the computer store, so we split up right away; and I went straight home. Alicia was still there, but she didn't stay long once I was drafted to take over and help Mom with the cooking. Ethan and Ehlana supervised, and we traded daily updates; then repeated the process for Dad after he got home.

It was a work night after we ate and cleaned up. Mom and I worked on the family business; Dad did his thing; and Ethan and Ehlana must have decided that since I'd started studying for my Grade Seven finals, that they should do the same for their upcoming Grade Eleven exams. They were determined to be ready to start their senior year of high school in September, and plan to be ready to take the summer off too by the time I start summer vacation.

I worked on my computer for two hours; did a Magi lesson with Mom after that; and helped her to get Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night before coming upstairs and getting ready for bed too. It's been a standard school night study and computing session since then; and I'm only wrapping that up a bit early because I'm tired already; and need to crash for the extra hour or so.

The next two days are likely going to be a near-repeat of today, with exam study sessions and evening work at home. I may even skip going to Mom and Dad's baseball practice tomorrow night – unless it gets rained out. The weather forecast as of right now isn't looking great for our Thursday night practice, but I hope that'll change; because we have our first game on Saturday afternoon. That's going to be different – not having morning games – but the younger divisions get all of the morning time slots. Most of our games this year will be at noon.

I really do need to get some rest, and don't have anything else to report for today, so...

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

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

What do you do when your couples-only study group plans that are primarily meant to be a matchmaking opportunity do not work out because the target of that matchmaking doesn't follow the script like he's supposed to do? You arrange for two more boys to join the group to make things even.

The fact that those two boys in question have girlfriends in other grades was apparently just a technical detail. Talking up the benefits of studying with two of the class brainiacs – that would be Rowen and me – was all it took to convince them to at least give it a try for one afternoon, so with the addition of Gil and Allen; we had an even dozen working in the dining room at Tim's house after school today.

Vanessa and Nora were quite happy with themselves when Rowen and I actually did spend a lot of time helping Gil and Allen, but if they were hoping that would give Vanessa more time to get some one-on-one tutoring with Michael; that part of the plan wasn't very successful at all. It's not that Michael didn't help Vanessa to study – he just made sure that he helped everyone except Rowen and me equally. He also made a point of keeping me out of the tweeird zone while we were there by not really doing anything together with me other than asking the occasional question; or discussing some of the topics we were studying tonight. You can imagine how grateful I was not to have any tweeirdness going on, or even worse – a competing matchmaking attempt directed my way.

We studied until nearly six, and then Rowen and I were first to leave; mostly because I was going to be late for dinner by the time we walked home. I wasn't sure until after dinner whether I'd be able to skip Mom and Dad's baseball practice or not, but Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne offered to take Ethan and Ehlana to the park so that I could stay home and work. I decided to do that in my room; starting out by sitting in the window alcove and working on the family business for a couple of hours using a little Magi power to speed up my computing. I wrapped that up when Mom and Dad brought Ethan and Ehlana home from the park, and not only had Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne with them; but Grandma and Grandpa too.

They'd come home too so they could get in on an Olde Bakery bedtime snack; and we all spent nearly an hour out on the back porch having a little visit before it was time to put Ethan and Ehlana to bed; and I came up to my room again to enjoy some Jacuzzi time while starting my bedtime studies. After my bath, I needed a little keyboard playing wind down time, and then climbed into bed with Mandy to wrap up my day with some language studying before getting to my usual nightly computer checks and writing this journal entry.

I skipped over most of the day, but other than having some rain this morning that kept us indoors for Tai Chi; there wasn't much to report from home or at school – it was just another school day with our teachers getting us ready for exams. While the weather was nice enough to cooperate for Mom and Dad's ball practice tonight, it still isn't looking good for tomorrow night – or for our game on Saturday for that matter. We'll be doing another study group tomorrow night, so the weather won't matter for that, but it remains to be seen whether I'll be back in the tweeird zone again or not. That's because Rowen was nice enough to suggest that we have our third study session at my house just as we were getting ready to leave Tim's house; and that offer was enthusiastically accepted by the majority; if not unanimously.

Now that I'm thinking about that, I'm going to wrap this up and give my room and the lounge a quick Magi-powered once-over before getting some sleep. Mandy and I keep everything neat and tidy, but I suddenly feel the need to shoot for near-spotless.

Okay, that isn't really fair to do that when even Magi kids my age don't get to use wards and do things like that, but I do want everything to look good for my classmates who will be coming here for the first time.

I can practically see you giving me the look from where you're sitting and reading this some day in the future, Rowen, so let's just agree that I'm not perfect; and let it go at that.

That's all for now, and I really do want to get that cleaning done so I can get some sleep, so...

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

Thursday, May 30, 2013

I spent some quality time in the tweeird zone tonight, but had a lot of fun anyway.

Before I get to that part of the day, we started the morning out with another indoor Tai Chi workout, and followed that up with a fruit and bagels breakfast before Dad and I needed to get ready for work and school. Our second-to-last exam prep day was mostly serious, if for no other reason than because most of the high school teens were serious about getting ready for their finals. That doesn't mean there wasn't any goofing around – that might be impossible when you have any group of tween guys in the same room; but even Tim managed to tone it down a half dozen notches for the occasion.

My entry into the tweeird zone coincided approximately with getting home from school with everyone in our study group. Ethan and Ehlana helped me out with that by immediately welcoming Michael with hugs and kisses – even before they did that with Rowen and me. There is no way that wasn't intentional, but while watching that may have annoyed Vanessa; even she and Nora would have to admit that it was adorable. I wanted to have a quick chat with Mom and the twins before getting to the studying, so Rowen led everyone else upstairs to the lounge while I did that. Mom knew that my ball practice had been cancelled by then, and she suggested a frozen pizza and wings night for dinner; and offered to feed my study group so we could stay and work late now that Rowen and I didn't have baseball.

That invitation was eventually accepted by everyone, but I was wading deeper into the tweeird zone when I walked into the lounge and found out that all of my friends were next door in my bedroom.

It's a good thing I didn't leave any bras hanging around anywhere!

Just kidding – I never do that.

Rowen was doing the tour for the benefit of our classmates who hadn't seen my rooms before; even if they had all heard about them. It was time for some more of the usual teasing about being spoiled, and Michael came to my defense by suggesting that Dad had just spent all of the money in one shot that the rest of their parents had spent on them from birth until they were nine or ten – and had the bonus of no diapers, baby barf, and other baby issues with me. While our friends thought that was funny, and I appreciated the help; Vanessa and Nora were not quite as amused or happy as the rest of us. I was ready to move into the lounge and get studying by then, but Denise and Lily wanted to hear me play something on my keyboard for them first. The fact that I was learning to play the piano was news to most of my classmates, since I really didn't talk about that much at school, but Denise and Lily were the only two girls showing any real interest.

That changed when Rowen suggested having Michael use my saxophone and playing a duet with me. She was completely unapologetic when we had a little talk about that after everyone else went home tonight; but I really could have lived without the vibes Vanessa and Nora were sending my way pretty much from that moment on. Having said that, Rowen knows that I love playing music with Michael; we had fun playing that little demonstration; and that's why I can't really get all that upset about the whole set-up. We also seriously impressed our friends – including the two who didn't want to admit that even to themselves.

Fortunately, we moved into the lounge right after that. While everyone else spread out around the room and got ready to study, Rowen helped me with filling drink orders and putting out bowls of snacks. Though the lounge had been the starting point of Rowen's tour, the novelty of having a stocked fridge and a bunch of snack options at my disposal earned some more tweeird zone attention. There were some fun parts to studying in my lounge too. Lily and Marc thought that it was cool to sit in the window alcove while they worked, and the other couples felt the same way about the sectional sofa – or two out of three of them did. Michael and Vanessa weren't having as much fun as Tim and Nora, and Denise and Kris were. Rowen and I were safely at the table with Gil and Allen; and in no romantic danger from either boy. The fact that they only noticed us through the brainiac bookworm hole that Rowen in particular had been pegged into since Kindergarten bugged her a bit, but I was a happy camper.

I thought that our studying was more fun tonight, and more relaxed even when drifting in and out of the tweeird zone. Part of that was because most of us were more comfortable; the pizza and wings dinner break was a blast thanks to Ethan and Ehlana's entertainment. The tweeird zone part of that break in the study action came courtesy of having six tween and teen boys in the house. Five out of six of them couldn't resist having a few contests to show off for the girls, and though Michael tried to stay out of that goofiness, Ethan was a bit too happy to play along; so Michael didn't completely escape. The other boys let Ethan win one of their contests, but only after Dad pointed out that Ethan did eat eight slices of pizza; and they hadn't specified full slices as opposed to the eight two-toddler-bite slices Mom had custom-sliced for Ethan. I am so glad that he didn't win the pop guzzling or burping contests.

The ongoing studying got me out of the post-dinner clean-up, but Mom had gone with the fine Chinette, cans of pop, and we didn't need utensils for pizza and wings; so there wasn't much work to do anyway. After returning to the lounge, we worked until a bit after eight when Vanessa and Nora decided that they'd had enough for the day; and took Tim and Michael with them when they left. Michael did not look particularly enthusiastic to be going along to Nora's house for a little wind down time; but he hadn't been left with a reasonable way out without getting his best friend in trouble with Nora.

Everyone else except Rowen started packing up then too, though it was closer to eight-thirty before we were alone – and could have a little girl chat time before she went home too at nine o'clock. In addition to having fun teasing me about setting up that little musical interlude and pointing out that Michael and I had made beautiful music together; Rowen spent most of that time advising me that I'd save Michael a lot of grief with Vanessa and Nora if I'd just hurry up; cross over; and jump into the dating game with him. I had the same answer for that as always, but Rowen seemed to be more impatient than usual to have me join her on the other side of that line.

We're going to continue to agree to disagree on this particular issue; Rowen will certainly keep working as a matchmaking volunteer for Aunt Leanne; and I won't cross over until I'm ready to do that.

Moving along, once my guests had all left, Mom had me help her with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine; she did a Magi Healing lesson with me once they were tucked in; and then I got started on my real studies after getting changed and snuggled in bed with Mandy for the night. It was already after eleven by the time I got started, but since I don't expect to get as much work done next week while dealing with our exams; I decided to spend an hour and a half each on languages and my archive assignment. After getting that done, I started in on my nightly computing and email checks, and needed to deal with a couple of family business issues before getting started on this journal update.

It's now a bit closer to three than two; I'm baked; and don't have any other news to report, so...

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

Friday, May 31, 2013

This was actually a fairly uneventful day – at least for me.

Rowen and I got a last-minute invitation this morning for Allen's 13th birthday party on Saturday, but since that was probably Mom-ordered because we'd been helping him get ready for our exams; we couldn't really get all that excited about it. At least we did already have a gift for him, like we do for all of our classmates; so at least we won't need to do any last minute shopping tomorrow morning.

It's been another off-and-on-again rain day, and that, combined with the looming final exams made for a fairly subdued day at school. Everyone in our study group was taking the night off, and I was looking forward to a tweeird-free night. Rowen and I got approval for a sleepover at my house by the time we got home – after stopping in for a visit to the computer store first. While we were still taking the night off, Michael, Rebecca, Jake, and Stephanie were all working at the Inn after having most of the week off so they could put in that extra study time. Part of the reason for that was because Mom and Dad were doing a dinner and night out with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and a bunch of their friends; and dinner was at the Inn.

They didn't set up babysitting for us – we had Grandma and Grandpa coming over to have a dinner and a movie night with us while Mom and Dad were out. Leah was spending the evening with her Grandma Ayres, and though Rowen's parents weren't going to join the little party until after they closed the store at nine; Patrick was shipped off for a sleepover at Scott's house.

While Mom and Dad were out having fun, we had a quiet, uneventful night at home. We always have fun with Grandma and Grandpa, but after having a few late nights in a row; I wasn't all that motivated to do much of anything tonight. After having a stir fry dinner, we watched one movie with Ethan and Ehlana; played with them for a while until putting them to bed for the night; and then Rowen and I watched one more movie with Grandma and Grandpa before coming upstairs for the rest of the night. Rowen took my Jacuzzi for a whirl first, and we both got ready for bed before moving into the lounge to watch some music videos and surf the web for a while on our computers.

I guess it's appropriate that the last day of May is ending with a lot of rain – we started out the month with a rainy day; and there was a lot of wet in between. This much of it will probably mean that our first ball game will be cancelled even if the rain stops sometime in the morning, but I really hope that starting the first few hours of June out with even more rain won't mean that we're in for yet more of the same for another month.

Rowen's still wide-awake and keeping me entertained, but I'm going to put my computer away; relax; and possibly fall asleep before we actually get to midnight and start the new month. Whether baseball ends up being on or off tomorrow, we have at least a short study session booked for the afternoon, and Allen's party after that; so we're likely going to be in for another interesting day. I'll go out on a limb and forecast an afternoon of work clouds followed by an evening of funshine; with a seventy percent chance of tweeird.

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

June 2013

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Sometimes Mother Nature throws a curve that surprises in a good way. Today it was an earlier-than-expected end to the rain overnight that meant we ended up getting a fair bit less rain; and everything dried up early enough so that we were able to play our baseball game at noon. The nice weather was good for Allen's birthday party too, but let's start at the beginning.

The grass was still wet, but Tai Chi by the river was an option; and a great way to start the day. Rowen stayed indoors with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom, Dad, and I did that; and then she and I took turns getting ready for the day while Mom and Dad cooked breakfast. Having the unexpected early turn-around in the weather also meant a full yard work morning for me, so after we'd eaten and cleaned up; Rowen left to get to work at the computer store, and Dad and I got to work in the back yard. I couldn't cut the grass right away, so I played in the gardens for the first hour or so before hopping on the lawn mower and spending the rest of my work time getting that done. I needed to get cleaned up quickly after that; took a sandwich to go; and hurried over to the park in time for our team warm-ups.

We were playing Taylor's Tigers today, and though our team isn't up to speed yet after missing two practices; the Tigers were at least in the same boat. Both teams had a fairly good turnout of fans to watch the game, but our cheerleading section only included Aunt Leanne and Ehlana; and Aunt Leanne isn't exactly feeling much like bouncing and running around these days. Being about five months pregnant will have that effect on a girl. They spent most of their time sitting with Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, Grandma, Grandpa, and Patricia.

The Tigers were up to bat first, but they didn't exactly get off to a roaring start. Their second batter did get on base, but then we turned a double play to put a quick end to their half of the inning. We were rusty too, but Coach Sarah has me batting second, and I got a base hit; moved to second on a sacrifice fly; and then scored our only run of the inning thanks to Carolyn's base hit. We didn't keep that lead for long, but then we also didn't end up getting behind either because the Tigers didn't manage to score more than one run in any inning.

I like getting to bat second. With girls six and eight inches taller than me, I'm not the fastest base runner on the team; but I can fairly consistently get base hits. I had four of them today, and had Carolyn get two hits that I was able to score on; plus one more off of a hit from Rebecca when I'd only made it to third by the time she was batting. Rowen has a similar deal with Jenny; and scored two more runs on her three hits. We're not going to earn many RBI's, but we're happy with what we are doing to help the team. The really good news today is that we won by a score of nine-to-four; and didn't need to play the bottom of the sixth to get that win.

Both teams were going to the Emporium for ice cream after the game, but Rowen and I didn't stay long because we were meeting our study group at Tim's house for a couple of hours before we'd all need to get ready for Allen's birthday party. Tim and Michael had timed that for when Michael was finished helping out at the Inn; and though our game was fairly short; Rowen and I were still the last to get to Tim's house. Allen skipped this session, but none of us had expected him to be interested in studying on his birthday anyway.

Our first exams on Monday are Math in the morning; and Music in the afternoon. Today we focused entirely on Math. The fact that I have a photographic memory isn't news to my classmates, even though they don't know exactly how extraordinary that little talent of mine really is; and it's times like this that I really get to see the love-hate relationship my friends have with me because of it. They love the fact that I can help them work out math problems and teach them little tricks to help them; and they hate the fact that I don't have to work nearly as hard as they do to remember all of those formulas and tricks. Even Rowen gives me the look now and then, and she's my best friend. She'd also want me to add that while Tim definitely has the love-hate thing going on; Michael just finds it amusing.

I should probably keep this moving along, and there really wasn't anything exciting to report from our time in full-immersion math. Nora and Vanessa in particular made sure that we wrapped up our studies in time to get ready for Allen's party. Rowen and I split up to go home and hit the showers, but I went over to her house after getting dressed and packing an overnight bag; and we finished doing our hair and getting ready together before walking over to Allen's house.

The dinner part of his party was for family and friends, and his parents were doing a barbeque in the back yard. We had about an hour for socializing before dinner, and this is probably a good time to mention that Rowen and I were in the minority for the girls on our choice of clothing today. While sundresses look a lot nicer than the shorts and tops we decided to wear, and mostly achieved the desired effect on the boys; we were dressed to be able to play too. Sally Reynolds was nice enough to keep us from being the only girls who weren't in dresses, but then she wanted to be able to play too.

We were the only Grade Seven girls playing Frisbee or any of the other games that were going on before and after dinner, and we also didn't have a problem sitting on the ground during the campfire – but I'm getting ahead of the story. First up when we got there was some introductions to visiting members of Allen's family. His older sisters, Bethany and Taylor, took care of that while he was hanging out with the guys and their parents were busy with the work side of the party. Once that was done, we pretty much joined right in on a game of Frisbee that Michael and Tim were already playing with some of the other guys and a couple of Allen's younger cousins.

You're probably wondering if that dropped me directly into the tweeird zone, but that didn't happen until Nora and Vanessa made their much more sophisticated, tastefully late entrance. They were dressed to impress, and while Tim immediately stopped playing to hang out with Nora; Michael barely even acknowledged Vanessa until she pretty much made it impossible for him to ignore her. Rowen really shouldn't have buzzed them with the Frisbee while throwing it to me, and I definitely shouldn't have added the tricks to my catch before throwing it on again; but we did. It was his laugh and my answering grin that got me into trouble, but in a feeble attempt to defend myself, I'd like to suggest that if Michael was not knocked out by how great Vanessa looked tonight; nothing else she tries will ever work on him either. She certainly turned the heads of most of the other guys; though she was probably too busy to notice.

Her insistence on getting Michael's attention did end his Frisbee play time for a while; and they joined Tim and Nora while Rowen and I continued to play. Yes, we continued to show off a bit too – Rowen was just in that kind of mood; and I was having fun going along for the ride. Doing that also had the advantage of saving us from some of the stranger tween action – particularly with the guys and the couples' club members. The guys and couples all kept it toned down a notch or two while there were adults around, but that didn't completely keep the guys from trying to show off and have their usual party competitions. The couples mostly saved the making out until after dark, but the tweeirdness level for hanging out around them was higher for Rowen and me than it was for our paired up friends and classmates.

When it was time to sit down for dinner, Sally helped Rowen and me again by inviting us to sit with her. She was already sitting with her boyfriend, Joshua; her best friend, Gretchen; and Gretchen's boyfriend, Elliott. If I had to rank the Grade Seven couples, I'd put Sally and Joshua at the top of the list because they're a really great match, and they're also the most mature. I like Gretchen and Elliott, but I'd have to put them somewhere at the other end of the chart. For lack of a smoother way to put this, Elliott wants them to be more like Tim and Nora are; but Gretchen isn't ready for that – and probably never will be when it comes to making out in public. She's more like Sally and Joshua when it comes to things like that.

Their ongoing issues with that weren't a problem during dinner, and we had fun together. None of us wanted to talk about school or exams, so summer holiday plans for in town and on the farm, baseball, weddings, and babies chat kept us entertained while we ate. Elliott wasn't all that interested in the last two topics, but we all had at least one family or friends wedding to go to this summer; and I wasn't the only kid with a pregnant aunt or cousin.

When it was time to have Allen open his gifts between dinner and Olde Bakery birthday cake dessert, Sally, Rowen, and I pitched in to help with some of the clean-up while the rest of our friends were busy entertaining everyone with commentary, jokes, and a little birthday roasting for Allen. His sisters in particular were grateful for that help; partly because it meant that they were eventually able to escape the tweeird zone earlier than they'd expected. At the time, I was thinking that it might be nice to escape with them, but Rowen and I had fun anyway – and that was at least partly because we waded in and out of the tweeird zone for the rest of the night.

Most of Allen's family, the younger kids, and the older teens all left shortly after we collectively demolished two birthday cakes and a couple of tubs of ice cream. His parents and two of their friends only ventured into the back yard a few times after that – once to start the campfire; and a couple of visits that were likely meant to remind some of us that there was adult supervision as they were about checking snack and drink stocks.

If you were one of the girls wearing sundresses, going for walks with other girls and respective boyfriends was as popular as sitting around tables and talking while the boys really got into their usual group antics. Rowen, Sally, and I had fun instead of doing either of those things. We played some more Frisbee; and added in a little football action that got all three of us noticed when our team won the 'game' that was more like half-court basketball with a football than an actual football game. The good news, for Rowen, was that our football playing earned her a whistle and cheer from 'Tommy' after she made one particularly good catch for a 'touchdown'. The bad news, for me, was that Vanessa and Nora were not impressed that Michael and I were matched up while competing against each other.

Rowen's mood tonight must have been infectious, because I was enjoying myself way more than I should have been. There wasn't any tackling involved in our game, but when you're a tween, even tagging the ball carrier can get tweeird in mixed company – especially when you're the one tagging or being tagged by a guy that one of your classmates has been trying her very best to catch. Rowen has spent some quality time since we got back to her house entertaining herself by pointing out to me that I had a lot more 'hands on' time with Michael than Vanessa did tonight.

This would be a good time to remind Rowen that Michael blushed nearly as red as her hair the time he tagged me on the butt; so I'm sure that it wasn't intentional. There also wasn't a handprint left behind on my shorts no matter how many times you insist that you can still see one. She is right about the fact that Vanessa was not amused by any of our after-dinner play time, and it was a good thing that the fire was warm; because there was definitely an icy draft directed my way pretty much during the entire campfire.

I did not intentionally or otherwise try to monopolize Michael's time, but he did hang out with us more than he did with Tim, Nora, and Vanessa tonight. When we gathered around the fire once it was too dark out to play games anymore; he chose to sit with Rowen and me instead of with the usual group that he and Tim normally hung out with at school. He was also first up to play guitar, and I think he liked the fact that I was still in that same weird mood, because we had fun singing songs together; and we really sounded great together when I threw in some harmonies to go with the melodies he was singing.

Vanessa didn't give up easily, and she invited Michael to dance with her twice after his first guitar set, and once after the second. He even sat with her, Tim, and Nora between that first and second dance; but then returned to sit with Rowen and me again when he was handed the guitar again; and didn't stay with Vanessa after their third dance. Sitting close enough to him to get a lot of empathic feedback allowed me to know just how he was feeling, and that was a weird for me as Vanessa's ongoing efforts were for him.

Their last dance together, and the growing level of tweeirdness around the fire and elsewhere in the back yard from the couples who were all taking advantage of the cooling temperature to get more cuddly and intimate were probably the top two contributing factors for why Michael decided to walk home with us when Rowen and I were ready to go entirely because of that second reason. The party curfew was twelve-thirty, but Rowen and I were past the point of being uncomfortable by eleven-thirty; and our attempt at a quiet departure was working just fine until Michael decided to leave then too. Vanessa tried to get him to stay, and then Nora had Tim try too; and none of them were happy when Michael wouldn't do that. Even worse, he managed to dodge Vanessa's attempt to give him a goodnight hug and kiss so he could catch up with us after Rowen and I had left them to work that out for themselves. We were half-way to the sidewalk by the time he caught up with us; and looked happy, relieved, and annoyed as he fell into step next to me.

We talked about the party while walking home, though we didn't mention Vanessa at all, and stayed away from most of the tweeird moments too. I know exactly when Michael started holding my hand, but didn't think about it at all until Rowen was nice enough to bring the fact to our attention when we reached her house and it was time to say goodnight to Michael.

I can also assure you that having her tease us about that, and having her give me one of those looks is exactly why I shared both a hug and kiss goodnight with Michael; though after everything I'd felt him dealing with tonight, I probably would have hugged and kissed him anyway.

That gave Rowen even more to tease me about once we were alone, but she didn't get around to doing that right away because we had a little visit with her parents, and then we had to deal with Patrick and Scott; and they were in fine form tonight. The only thing that helped us was time – it was late; and we all have church in the morning. Rowen's Dad put a stop to their gags and pranks at one o'clock; and Rowen and I have been able to have our girl chat in peace since then while I've also been doing my usual bedtime computing.

We really need to get some sleep too, so I should probably wrap this up; and Rowen will have to save up any jokes or commentary that she hasn't already used on me until the next time she feels the need to tease me about Michael.

She thinks that'll be tomorrow, depending on how our afternoon study session at my house goes. I'd have suggested we do that at her house, but for some reason, Rowen's parents don't think that it's a good idea to have a dozen unsupervised tweens in their house. When you throw Patrick and Scott into that equation; I can't blame them for thinking that way!

Okay, I guess that's it. We've ended up having a really great day with our first baseball win, and a tweeirdly fun birthday party.

Cut that out, Rowen. I am not forgetting the hand-holding walk home with Michael; and that kiss was just another peck – not the lip-lock you're trying to imply that it was. No, I don't need your help with this – feel free to write your own journal if you want to record that fantasy version of events. I'll just stick with reporting reality.

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

Sunday, June 2, 2013

We had a cool start to the day, but I went outside for Tai Chi in Rowen's back yard. Exercising on my own isn't as much fun as with Mom and Dad, but I really needed it this morning once Patrick and Scott came to life and happily started bugging Rowen and I right away.

I should also mention that the two houses behind the Emerson and Carrington houses are really looking great now – which is a good thing; because they'll need to be ready for their new owners to move into them in less than two months. They're not really like any other houses in town, but they also fit in next to two of the nicest old estate homes too. Way to design those houses, Uncle Blaine!

The next couple of hours were far from quite, thanks again to Patrick and Scott; and Rowen and I were happy to be able to leave for church a bit early so that we could walk there with Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the twins. I was under close scrutiny at church and Sunday school, but Vanessa and Nora didn't see anything to get annoyed with me about – which seemed to irritate them. I don't know what they expected, but Michael was in the doghouse too; so I wasn't alone – despite the fact that we weren't hanging out together this morning either. Rowen and I barely even talked to Michael during Sunday school, and he left immediately after church to get to the Inn after the service went longer than usual.

Rowen came home with me after church, and we had Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne over for lunch too. We were put in charge of keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained before lunch, and we were on the clean-up crew afterward. That didn't leave us much time to get ready for our incoming study group; but we only needed a few minutes to get some snacks put out in the lounge. Everyone except Michael came over for one o'clock. He studied with us while on his afternoon break; but that didn't start until nearly two today.

Math was still the top study topic, but we worked on music theory and history for our written exam; and some of us took turns practicing for our playing tests too. The seating arrangement was the same as on Thursday, and Michael sat with Tim, Nora, and Vanessa while he was here except for while he and I practiced our playing tests together. I thought that he did a fairly decent job of friendly with Vanessa while dodging the not-so-subtle invitations for much more, but that didn't go over very well with Vanessa; and I wasn't surprised when she and Nora decided that they needed to leave when Michael was getting ready to head back to the Inn. Tim went with them, and I'm sure that they walked Michael to the Inn whether he wanted them to do that or not.

Everyone else stayed until four-thirty or five; and then Rowen and I cleaned up the lounge before going to play with Ethan and Ehlana while the parents were busy getting dinner ready. Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, had other dinner plans, but Mom and Dad invited the Emersons, Seagers, and Drapers to do another barbeque pot luck – mostly so Ethan, Ehlana, and I could all have some bonus play time with our best friends. Rowen and I had fun playing with the four toddlers; and even Patrick managed to have fun with all of us without acting too annoyingly goofy. Rowen should talk to her parents about keeping Patrick and Scott separated more often!

The only comment I have about dinner is actually a note to Mom and Dad: invite the owners of the bakery over for meals more often! I'll rank their pot-luck contributions at least at a tie with the dishes that Jacob and Miranda bring when they have dinner with us.

Dad had work to do in the office after dinner, and Mom had parental help with the clean-up, so Rowen, Patrick, and I were sent off to the park with Naomi, Aiden, and the twins to help tire them out while our parents were busy. We had a one-hour time limit, and when we got back; it was time to do a round of goodbyes before all of our guests headed home. Mom did Magi lessons with Ethan, Ehlana, and me after that; I helped her with getting the twins ready for bed; and then we all had a little visit with Dad in the office before I came up to my room for the rest of the night; and Mom and Dad took care of tucking Ethan and Ehlana in before going back to work or to spend some time in a Jacuzzi.

Since it wasn't very long after Mom had decided on having a bath that I heard Dad on the stairs again; I'll take a wild guess that he couldn't concentrate on his work anymore for some reason. Let's leave that train of thought right there, and pretend that we don't know what Mom and Dad have been doing since then.

I didn't spend any time in my Jacuzzi tonight. Instead of doing that, I had one more practice to get ready for my music playing test, and then played my keyboard for a while before sitting in the window alcove and getting started on a light version of my nightly studies and computer checks. I'm not going to stay up too late any night this week. The exams won't be a problem, but with the extra study sessions and everything else we have on the go; I don't want to get worn out either – especially with summer holidays now less that two weeks away!

The only thing that was different tonight than normal was seeing so many friends online. I had a chat with Violet shortly after firing up my computer, and she's ready for her first exams in the morning, but she's mostly getting excited about the impending end to her separation from Dillon. I'll guess that it's going to take something very serious – like a girls' weekend away – to pry them apart from now on. I talked to Rowen after that, and answered a few Math questions that were messaged to me from two of our study group members. Rowen won't know this until morning, but my last chat was with Michael.

He and Rebecca had been set free from the Inn a bit early, and had been studying together since then. Rebecca wasn't feeling quite as ready for her exams as Michael did, and that was partly because her studying with Jenny and some of their classmates hadn't gone nearly as well as it had for our group. She isn't in any danger of doing badly in any subject, but she also doesn't want to hurt the marks she has going into the exams with lower scores.

Michael and I didn't actually chat about Rebecca except for that little update – he wanted to talk about what we'd each been doing since he'd gone back to the Inn; which houses he'd like our study groups to be working at for the next few days; and a little lamenting about not getting to do any biking or having any play time because of exams. Since I've been trying not to think about what my parents are doing to keep themselves entertained tonight, Michael's 'play time' comments were not very well timed – at least from my perspective. He might have a different opinion – especially if he knew that I've been thinking about our walk home last night while holding hands; and the goodnight hug and kiss. I'm going to pretend that those thoughts did not include one where I wished that I hadn't just given him a little peck on the lips; but given Rowen a really good reason to tease me.

This is where I'm supposed to insert the "I am not crossing over" line. The scariest thought I've had since wrapping up that chat with Michael, though, is that there is a small, but nagging possibility that it isn't true anymore.

Now let's pretend that I didn't write that; and move on.

There were some email for me to deal with for the family business, and I just answered one more Math question; but that's all the news from today; and I seriously need to start not-dreaming about soft(cute), fuzzy(cuddly) bunnies, so...

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

Monday, June 3, 2013

End-of-year testing is nothing new for me at school, and I've unofficially written a lot of high school and college exams; but this was still my first 'real' experience with writing the exams that Grade Seven and Eight students are given here to help us get ready for High School.

The actual exams weren't a problem, but the social aspect and pressures are definitely new and surprisingly wide-ranging. Michael, Rowen, and I had classmates who were annoyed with us for making it look too easy and being too happy. We also had some of our study buddies glad that they'd decided to get ready for their exams with us after doing better than they'd expected. Vanessa was particularly happy with how she did on the Math exam, while also being annoyed when Michael deflected her energetic attempts to properly thank him for helping her study.

Most of us had a couple of hours off between the Math and written half of our Music exam, but Michael, Rowen, and I were among the handful of students who opted to get the playing part of our Music exam over with early instead of after the written exam; while everyone else opted to take the time off to either goof around or cram for the exam. Since we were playing the same instrument and music, Mrs. Robinson had Michael and I do our test together. We aced it; were complimented on how great we sounded together; and she invited us to join the school band in September.

That was cool, and for the Magi reading this who might have gone to school before or after Mrs. Robinson's tenure as music teacher; Grade Eight students can only play in her school band if she thinks they're ready and invites them to join. I was even happier about that when we found out that Rowen earned an invitation too; and we'd all be getting to do that earlier than most of our classmates would – though not all of them would even be interested in joining.

What we liked about taking the early option for the playing exams was that we were done for the day as soon as we finished the written part of the music exam. That gave us enough time for Rowen and I to go to the computer store for a visit with her parents; make a stop at her house to drop off her flute and so she could get changed; go to my house for a snack and recap break with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and be at Michael's house before anyone else in our study group got there.

Getting to spend a little time with Miranda and Jacob before the rest of our friends joined us was fun, but had me back in the tweeird zone when Tim, Nora, and Vanessa got there and saw us having fun together. I'm sure that Miranda likes nearly every kid she's ever met, but she loves me; I love her right back; and that has absolutely nothing at all to do with Michael. Vanessa doesn't see it that way, and it didn't matter that Michael and I weren't doing anything together that could even remotely be threatening to her own matchmaking plans; I was bugging her just for being too close to his parents, sister, and brother.

That gave me more than enough incentive to focus on our studies. We have History and Computers tomorrow, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that I was the History tutor while Rowen fielded most of the computer-related questions. Okay, my photographic memory annoyed Vanessa, Nora, and a couple of other members of our group too, but I wasn't trying to show off; and not having to spend ages looking up facts and figures did make it easier for everyone else – especially since I only answered the questions that nobody else could get first.

We studied out on the back porch, and Michael's parents fed all of us again, though we ate early so that Michael and Tim could get to their baseball practice at six. The rest of our study group left when Michael and Tim headed to the park, but Rowen and I stayed to help Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca with the cleanup, and then we went to get Ethan and Ehlana so we could take them to the park for some play time while we waited for Michael and Tim to be finished their practice so we could get back to studying.

Vanessa and Nora really wanted to put me firmly back in the tweeird zone – or more likely somewhere else even more uncomfortable – but Rowen and I took the twins to the playground and stayed away from the ball diamond. Since they kept looking over at us, I didn't need to guess that they had come to the park specifically because Rowen and I had talked about bringing Ethan and Ehlana over while we'd had dinner.

I'd like to say that I don't feel quite as bad for Vanessa as I did for Lisa; partly because my empathic abilities let me know how each girl really feels about Michael. That's probably why my patience with another round of this tween goofiness is wearing thin, but I'm going to try even harder this time to keep my mouth shut and not make things worse for any of us.

The post-baseball study session was definitely uncomfortable for me. Ethan needed some play time with Michael and Tim before he was ready to go home, and then they needed to stop in to see Jacob and Miranda too. Vanessa and Nora were annoyed about both of those things, and I didn't get any help digging out of that hole when Ethan and Ehlana had Michael's parents take them the rest of the way home so they could visit with Mom and Dad while we got back to studying. The rest of our group didn't come back, so it was just the six of us; and we only ended up working for an hour or so before Nora decided that she was ready to have Tim walk her home. It was then Michael's turn to be fed up with the tween drama, but that info came from empathic vibes; since he hid it well-enough from everyone else. He also went along for the walk after Tim and Nora badgered him into going along.

My plan to keep my mouth shut didn't last long. When Michael agreed to go along with them, Vanessa shot me a victorious, smug look which lasted right up until I couldn't keep from laughing. Since that appeared to come out of nowhere to everyone else; Tim asked me what was so funny. 'Oh, nothing' is a bad answer to that particular question, and I'm sure Vanessa and Nora interpreted it correctly, but Tim just shrugged; and it was better than being totally honest – even if that might actually be what Vanessa needs to hear sometime soon.

Right – I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut. You'd think that a girl with a photographic memory wouldn't have a problem remembering something simple like that!

Moving along, but not really; Miranda and Jacob were just getting back from my house when we were all leaving. Selective goodnight hugs and kisses had Vanessa and Nora even more irritated with me. Miranda's laugh and bonus hug after I whispered a plea for her not to tease me about goodnight hugs and kisses with Michael was greeted with suspicion too. Miranda didn't do that, but she had me laughing again too when she whispered back a promise to pass the second hug and kiss on to Michael after he got home.

I don't really have much else to report for the rest of the night. After getting home, I helped Mom with Ethan and Ehlana until they were tucked in for the night; did a Healing lesson with her; and then came up to my room to end my night with a combination Jacuzzi and nightly computing session. No extra studying was involved, and it's time for me to get out of the tub and ready for bed, so I'm going to wrap this up; do that; and go get some sleep.

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

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Rowen joined a new club overnight. She hates the initiation; and loves me because I was able to help make that initiation a lot easier for her before we needed to get to school and write our History exam.

I knew that something was going on when Rowen came over to my house more than a half-hour before we normally leave for school; and one hug was all I needed to know exactly what was going on. There are probably worse times for a girl to get her first period, but I'll guess that exam week isn't one of the better times either. The good news for Rowen was that she has a Magi Master for a best friend with the ability to use her Healing gift to smooth out her menstrual cycle.

Thanks, Mom, for pretending that you don't know that's what we were doing in my room this morning.

For the Magi girls reading this, first of all, I'm sorry, but you know the council's rules. There were also some limitations to what I could do to help Rowen. She already is appreciating the minimized physical effects; will love the shortened time she'll have to deal with the unpleasant parts of her period; and I was able to make a little change that will have her menstrual cycle running precisely twenty-eight days.

I might have held off on that last part if it had been later in the week, but Rowen will like knowing precisely when her period will start from now on; and they won't ever get in the way of the weekends.

Please don't all line up at my door at once wherever I'm living when you read this!

That start to our morning had Rowen felling a lot better both physically and emotionally by the time we left for school; and she was only marginally uncomfortable while we were writing our exams – mostly because of the unfamiliarity with using certain feminine products. I don't really need to go over how our exams went – they weren't a problem for either of us; and the social issues were pretty much identical to yesterday.

While I'm thinking about social issues, I seriously need to have a talk with Miranda. I thought she was just teasing me last night, but she apparently did pass a hug and kiss on to Michael; and he was definitely teasing me this morning when he thanked me for them. He'd wanted to know why his Mom and I had been laughing, and she told him; while leaving out the fairly important details that she initiated that second hug and kiss; and it was her idea to pass it on to Michael. I could have told him the rest of the story this morning, but he was having fun; so I didn't.

Our study group was meeting at Nora's house after school tonight, and yes, I was in the tweeird zone the entire time we were there. We were studying for English and Science, but it felt like an ongoing lesson in tween politics and sociology instead. I wasn't surprised when Nora had us split up in two groups – one at the dining room table, and the other in the kitchen. Rowen and I were with Gil, Allen, Denise, and Kris; with the other half of our group with Nora and Vanessa.

The problem with Nora's plan was that I'm the best student in both subjects, and while she and Vanessa didn't feel the need for my help; everyone else – including Michael and Tim – did. That meant that I had regular visitors from their group, and all that really accomplished was to slow us down. There were eight chairs around the dining room table, and Lily and Marc ended up sitting with us for about half of the time we had until we stopped for dinner.

Nora's parents fed us; and Rowen and I were again segregated from her, Vanessa, Michael, and Tim while we ate. That didn't bother me at all, and I really loved getting to know her parents; older brother, Nolan; and older sister, Nancy. Nolan's a senior like Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie; and he's as excited about going away to college as they all are. Nancy is in Grade Ten, and since she's big into music and band; Rowen and I had lots in common to talk about with her. Their parents are really great too, and my only tweeird zone problem for that hour or so was because Rowen and I joined in to help with the clean-up; and that might have been why Nora's mother drafted her to help too. Vanessa joined the crew about two seconds after Michael and Tim did; so it didn't actually take that long to get everything done and get back to our studies. Nora's brother and sister each had a couple of friends over after dinner to study too; but Nancy and her friends went up to her room while Nolan and his buddies used the family room.

I'll guess that there was an ulterior motive for having our evening study session wrap up by a bit after eight, but I was ready to go home by then anyway; and Rowen was happy to go with me. Tim and Michael did not leave with the rest of us; and while Vanessa was looking very smug about that; I did manage to keep my mouth shut this time.

And then I gave Michael a hug on the way out just because I'd suddenly been in that kind of mood. Since he was grinning when Rowen and I left, I'm sure that he knew exactly why he'd been hugged; but I didn't even look Vanessa's way to find out what kind of tweeird trouble I'd gotten myself into.

Rowen had thought it was hilarious; and teased me about it all the way home. I had that coming to me for temporarily losing my mind; and her jokes and commentary were rally funny. Back at home, I started out with a snack break and chat with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. Dealing with exams has kept me out of the loop a lot over the last week. Mom and the twins had some fun stories from their morning at KidZone. Today Mom got to work with Isabelle – she's working at KidZone again this summer; and it sounds like we need to get our updates about her and Andrew from another source; since Dillon has apparently been giving us the condensed version. Then again, Violet will be here in less than two weeks; and she'll definitely do better with that. Mom only has one more Tuesday morning shift at KidZone, and then they'll be adding some teen help too; and won't need as many volunteers until September – and only if Sharon White isn't ready to come back to work by then.

We had a little play time too, and after Ethan and Ehlana were in bed; the rest of my night has been a near-repeat of last night except for the subject of my Magi lesson with Mom. I'm even just about to the getting out of the tub stage of my bath and get ready for bed plan; the rest of my nightly computing is finished; and I'm definitely ready for some quality time with my pillows and Mandy. Three more days of exams, and even better – only two more study group nights; and it'll al be over except for the wind-down, last week of school. Come on, summer holidays – I am so ready for you!

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

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I'm beginning to wonder if I accidentally transferred some of the famously over-used and inaccurate irritability that supposedly comes with girls getting their period from Rowen when I healed her yesterday. I'm getting more annoyed with the tween games that have been going on pretty much since we put our study group together last week; and it's distracting and dumb.

Before I get to the prime example for tonight, let's recap the rest of the day. I didn't mention it yesterday in my report, but we had rain off and on yesterday, and that trend continued today. That meant starting the day with Tai Chi indoors, and compared to yesterday; the rest of the morning at home was quiet. It was all work, all day at school. We wrote our English exam in the morning; studied for Science during the break between exams; and then wrote the Science exam.

The tweeird started at Tim's house with our after-school study group. We have three exams tomorrow – Geography, Social Studies, and Art; yet Nora and Vanessa advised us that we were only working together until five-thirty. We were also split up again even though we hadn't done that the last time we'd worked at Tim's house. Since we had so little time to work, Rowen and I ended up helping the guys and girls at our table with Geography – the subject they'd all decided to study while they had us there to help them.

Five-thirty rolled around way too soon, and I wasn't the only one who wasn't happy; but that wasn't even for me – it's not like I needed another few hours to be ready for those exams. Since we were done earlier than expected, Rowen went over to the computer store to help out there until her parents were ready to go home; and I stopped in too for a few minutes before going on to my house. Mom and Dad already had dinner under control, so I mostly just entertained them and did a tiny bit of venting about all things tweeird and annoying.

We had dinner, I helped with the cleanup, and then we all went over to the ball park for Mom and Dad's practice. There'd been a break in the rain, and though the grass was wet; their coach had decided to try and get the practice in because their first game was just a week and a half away. Rowen came over after she'd finished having dinner at home; and brought the news that the reason our study group had been cut short was because Tim had invited Nora, Michael, and Vanessa to stay for dinner and a evening study session for four. Rowen thinks that they should have done that last night; since two or three of them seem to be more interested in studying biology; and that would have at least helped them a little with our Science exam. We do have Social Studies tomorrow, though, so maybe they'll at least manage to be ready for that.

I'd brought a towel along in the stroller so I could dry off at least a couple of toddler swings and a slide or two if needed; and Rowen and I spent most of our time with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi at the playground. When it looked like we were going to get some more rain before the practice was over; we got the parental approval to take the twins – and Naomi – home early; so we were indoors and dry when the rain did start falling again.

The parents weren't quite so lucky, and they were a bit on the damp side by the time they got home too. Philip had come back with Mom and Dad; and he and Naomi got a ride home from Dad while Mom went upstairs to have a shower and get changed. Rowen stayed and helped me entertain Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge until Mom was finished; and then went home too when we got the next little break in the rain.

Mom did another lesson with me tonight after Ethan and Ehlana went to bed, but I skipped the Jacuzzi time tonight. Instead of doing that, I played my keyboard for nearly an hour before getting changed and into bed with Mandy. The music helped me to wind down my annoyance level a few notches, but I'm still feeling out of sorts; and should probably just get some sleep. There really isn't anything else to report anyway, so...

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

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Rowen's right – the menstrual club initiation sucks – even when you're a Magi Master.

The good news is that I was prepared, but that doesn't make it any less strange to experience – especially when it started about half-way through my Geography exam this morning. That was definitely a challenge I've never faced before. Rowen was so glad to find out that I'd crossed that milestone too already that she had a tough time commiserating with me. Since I actually like the schedule she's going to be on; I'm going to make a little adjustment of my own to make sure we're on the same page in four weeks – I definitely don't want to be feeling like this going into every fourth weekend for the next forty or fifty years.

I can now assure you that having your first period start during exam week is not great timing, and neither is dealing with it on a baseball practice night. I knew through my empathic abilities when my teammates were having an off night because of their periods; but experiencing that for myself changed my perspective on the issue quite a bit. That's getting ahead of the recap, though, so let's back up a bit before getting to that.

Let's start with the obvious. My crankiness yesterday and today wasn't a bi-product of my little Healing session with Rowen on Tuesday. I'll work on that, and hopefully be better prepared to deal with it next time; though Rowen assured me tonight that it's been barely noticeable – apparently I've just been looking normal-happy instead of hyper-happy. Hopefully she's right about that, because it didn't take long today for my annoyance level to start kicking up a notch – and continue rising as the day went on. I'm definitely glad that we're done with the study group sessions now – though I guess there's a good chance I'll get grilled about Spanish between exams tomorrow.

So what set me off this morning? Vanessa and Nora talking about their dinner and a study date night with Michael and Tim before our Geography exam. I could honestly care less about the details, or the fact that they made it sound like they were two happy couples – it was the smirks and glances that Vanessa directed my way; usually when she thought Michael couldn't see or wouldn't notice. She was wrong about that, but that's her problem; not mine.

My problem is that I'm apparently fed up with being the perceived rival again in a competition I haven't entered. What's really dumb is that none of this is going to change anything between Michael and me anyway. We're both busy with exams, but he doesn't really need my help – or Rowen's – to study for them. When we're done the work; we'll get back to biking and hanging out just like we were before this little, necessary work break.

That little chat wasn't the end of the tweeird, so let's keep going. We had a two-tiered study group again at lunchtime, and Nora and Vanessa played the 'picnic lunch' card again for Tim and Michael. Let's give them credit for getting all of the attention they were shooting for; and though both girls probably didn't understand why Michael played along with the plan; they did get the romantic picnic for four that they'd wanted too. There were more glances and smirks for me the entire time the rest of us were mostly studying; and I quietly took it out on my poor, unsuspecting Social Studies and Art exams. Though both of those exams were shorter than the ones for our core subjects; having two of them was at least a small blessing in that we had a shorter lunch break. Oh, and by 'taking it out on them', I mean that I blasted through them in record time; and then had to pretend that I was going back through them again so nobody noticed that I'd finished them in the first twenty minutes or so.

Our study session was at my house, and we were in the lounge again. Our last two exams tomorrow are a combined Phys-Ed and Health written in the morning; and Spanish in the afternoon. I didn't set an early time limit for our entire session tonight, but Rowen and I did need to have a break for dinner and our ball practice; so we studied Spanish until five-thirty before stopping to have dinner. Everyone stayed to eat, but then half of our friends opted not to come back for the evening study session. Rowen and I were probably already playing baseball before dinner was over, but there wasn't anyone still there when we got back; and I got to put up with some more smirks, glances, and absurd little comments and actions from Vanessa and Nora when they did finally show up with Michael and Tim at seven-thirty.

The two girls assured us that we didn't need to study Health together because they'd done that while we were at our practice. Let's not go there, but I will add that Vanessa and Nora were both very pleased to see Rowen and me dirty and sweaty from our time at the park while they were impeccably neat and as dressed to show off their best attributes as always. I'm sure there's an irrational – I mean rational – reason for why I had the urge to change into a bikini and go for a swim.

it even crossed my mind to have Mom do that for a 'what I'll look like in a few years' moment, but if she'd done that, Dad would've lost all interest in the work he needed to get done tonight; and I really don't ever want to have a 'Stacey's Mom' experience in my life. Let's just forget that I even thought it.

Stop laughing. Yes, you.

Since we didn't get back to studying until seven-thirty; we only had another hour and a half to work before Nora and Vanessa needed to take Michael and Tim in tow and leave me with some last, heartfelt parting smirks and those annoying glances that basically shouted 'I win, you lose'. Rowen stayed to help me clean up; have a little post-study girl chat; and do the bedtime snack with us before going home too.

Mom let me skip our Magi lesson; and I've spent the last hour in my Jacuzzi. That's managed to do what Rowen's best friend jokes and advice and Olde Bakery bedtime snacks didn't; and I'm just about ready to get some sleep and forget about all things tweeird and menstrual.

One more day of exams, and then maybe I'll get a break from the tweeird zone – if only for the weekend.

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

Friday, June 7, 2013

Exams are over; Rowen was very grateful to already be done with her first period this morning; and I am very happy to be out of the tweeird zone tonight after another annoying day. A weekend away from the tweeird and getting through the rest of my first period will hopefully have me ready to enjoy our last week of school.

Mandy and I are on our own tonight. Rowen and I are taking the weekend off from sleepovers; since we'll be doing a lot of them – and camping – all summer. She did stay for our dinner and a movie night, but left when everyone else headed for home. While I'm thinking about that, this was Leah's first dinner and a movie night with us since she was born. I hadn't thought about it until Aunt Deborah started teasing me about whether she should let Leah cuddle with me or not, but other than the dinner and holiday weekend cooking night; it has been a while since our last dinner and a movie night. With summer holidays just a week away, it may be the last one for a while too.

Before I move on, Aunt Deborah did take the chance and let Rowen and I take turns cuddling with Leah. I really hope that she doesn't meet someone in the nursery at church and start dating – I'll never hear the end of that!

I don't really feel like going into the details for most of today's tweeirdness. My exams went great, and I especially loved the oral part of my Spanish exam; but the study time between our morning and afternoon exams was not fun to get through; and it took some doing to keep smiling while working with our study group. By the time we were finished with our last exam, I was way-past ready to escape and get the weekend started, but there was just a bit more tweeird to deal with first.

Rowen and I, like most of our classmates, were at our lockers getting whatever we needed to take home with us for the weekend. We were innocent, but interested, bystanders when Nora and Vanessa sprung their little 'exams-are-over' party for four plans on Michael and Tim. Things went downhill almost immediately when Michael advised them that he was working at the Inn tonight, and couldn't do that with them. The fact that Tim had been consulted about that before the girls had put their little private party together only seemed to irritate Michael; though Tim quickly made it obvious that he hadn't known why Nora had asked about what he and Michael were going to be doing after school on Friday earlier in the week. Michael's explanation about wanting to make up some of the hours he'd lost over the past two weeks while studying for exams didn't mollify either girl; and they started badgering him to change his mind.

Maybe I should have stayed out of it, but I didn't because one look from Michael told me that he was desperately trying to find a way out of the situation without hurting Vanessa or getting Tim in the doghouse with Nora. I didn't go over there and say what I really wanted to hit Vanessa and Nora up the side of the head with; but I did butt in; tell him that I was sorry that he was working because Rowen and I were going to see if he and Tim wanted to bike the trails at the park; and then I offered to walk over to the Inn with him so we could talk about the Spanish exam and maybe working out some other time to go biking on the weekend. I didn't exactly give him the choice to answer, but he did come along willingly when I took his hand and tugged him away while wishing Tim and the rest of our classmates who'd been watching the spectacle a good weekend. Rowen fell into step beside me; and I didn't need to look around – I could feel the daggers being mentally hurled at my back; and heard every muttered comment. I also saw the grins on Michael's and Rowen's faces; and they didn't look around either for a completely different reason.

No, I didn't let go of Michael's hand until we dropped him off at the Inn; yes, we were followed and observed; and that's why I hugged him goodbye too before Rowen and I switched directions and made our next stop the computer store. We've established that I suck at being a tween, and probably should have handled that better; but I could've done worse too; and Michael did at least appreciate getting to at least share the tweeird with me. I'm sure you've guessed that Rowen loved it. Maybe I should ask her to take a turn next time and see if she still thinks it's still as entertaining when the heat is directed at her.

Yes, Rowen, I know what you'd be thinking now – don't forget to add that Michael told us while we were walking to the Inn that he'd have skipped work to go biking with us; but could never get away with that after turning down Vanessa's invitation.

That was funny, but I'm glad that he didn't decide to do that anyway. Rowen and I did go biking after checking in at the store and my house, but we rode out into the country north of the river; and stayed away from the park, town, or anywhere that tweeirdness might find us. We were home in time to play with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa were making dinner; and the rest of the evening was a fairly standard dinner and a movie night.

I came up to my room after everyone went home; spent some time in my Jacuzzi; and played my keyboard for a while after that before climbing into bed with Mandy. It's going to be another comparatively early night for me; but I'm more tired than usual for a Friday night too; so I'm ready to get some sleep. If I didn't have chores to do tomorrow, and church on Sunday, I might just seriously consider putting in a wake-up call for Monday morning and staying in bed until then.

Probably not gonna happen, so...

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

Saturday, June 8, 2013

It's been a yard work day from shortly after we finished breakfast until we stopped for a late dinner.

Aunt Leanne was away for most of the day doing final wedding dress fittings with Aunt Grace, Aunt Alison, and Grandma Mercy. That's why Mom, Dad, and I spent most of the afternoon helping Uncle Adam at his house. Spending the morning working on his own convinced him to hire a couple of the teens who cut lawns and do general yard work for summer jobs. I'm really glad to hear that, because I spent just a bit too much time on a riding lawn mower today; though I at least didn't have to do all of the work that needs to be done with a push mower too.

We're getting some rain tonight, but only had a few little showers to deal with during the rest of the day. Dad and I just grabbed a quick lunch and kept going; so we probably didn't even take three-quarters of an hour in total breaks before calling it a day when Mom and Aunt Leanne had dinner ready for all of us at seven. The top dinner topic was Aunt Leanne's recap of the dress fittings and wedding shopping afternoon; and she and Mom did a little wedding plans update meeting too. It's hard to believe that the wedding is just four weeks from today!

I wasn't the only one who was pretty much out of steam by then, but I was the first to head for bed; though I made a side-trip to visit my Jacuzzi first. It was time to get out of the tub when I started dozing off about twenty minutes after getting in; and I used a little Magi power to speed up getting my hair dried so I could climb into bed with Mandy even sooner. My nightly computing has been quick too, with the only news to report being an email from Dawn and Aunt Melissa that included pictures of Violet and Dillon before they left for Violet's senior prom. That wasn't even something I'd thought about at all today, but I really hope they're having fun tonight. I'll get the details from Violet tomorrow, since Dillon's version wouldn't be nearly as interesting or complete.

While my day hasn't been exciting at all compared with shopping or proms, working all day has gotten me one half of the tweeird-free weekend I was hoping for; and I'm exhausted enough that I don't expect to have any problems in dreamland either. Add in the fact that I'm pretty much done with my first period now; and I'd say everything is starting to look much better for the last six days until summer holidays.

Now if we could just get Mother Nature to give us a lot more sun and less rain; we'll be all set for those long, lazy summer days!

That's it, that's all, folks, so...

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

Sunday, June 9, 2013

I didn't escape the tweeird for the entire weekend, but after my little intervention after school on Friday with Michael; I hadn't expected to avoid the consequences indefinitely. Working all day yesterday also meant that I was out of the loop for some relevant tween action too; so let's start with that.

Michael, Tim, and their team – the Wranglers – had their first ballgame of the season yesterday afternoon. The tween news wasn't really about the game, which they won; but about their personal cheerleaders. Nora and Vanessa were there to support 'their' boys; and they made sure that I heard all about how successfully they motivated Michael and Tim to contribute in some way on six of their team's thirteen runs. They also went to the Emporium to help celebrate the win; and then Michael had an escort home from there, and then back to the Inn once he was ready to get to work.

All of that was apparently part of the revenge I deserved for messing with the post-exams private party; but being at church and Sunday school didn't keep Vanessa and Nora from continuing their campaign that was certainly going to teach me an important lesson. Unfortunately for them, they had two little problems with making that happen. I was back to feeling like my normal self; had gotten a great night of sleep; was fully-charged up; and didn't care at all about their games. Their bigger problem, though, was that Michael wouldn't play along. What our friends saw and heard mostly from Vanessa and Nora was practically the opposite of what was really going on. Michael was being as nice as always, and he didn't try to draw me into the tweeird zone any farther than I already was; but he also didn't encourage Vanessa at all, and quietly disentangled himself from every attempt she made to get close and cozy with him.

The more general chat topic today was summer holiday plans; since we'd all be on them by next Sunday. Vanessa and Nora had that covered too, and while Tim was having a tough time looking enthusiastic with some of their ideas for summertime fun; he didn't have a problem with anything that included girls in swimsuits or romantic, moonlit interludes. Michael looked like he wished they'd stop including him as part of the 'we' in the 'we'll be doing' list of activities.

For some reason, nobody got around to asking Rowen or I what we'll be doing. We're probably just too predictable.

Sure, let's go with that.

It's time to move along, and I'm not going into the details of every little thing that Vanessa and Nora did and said during and after Sunday school that were directly or indirectly fired my way. I really didn't care about any of it today; and while they also likely misinterpreted my reactions; I didn't care about that either.

Rowen came over for lunch after going home to change first; and then Mom and Dad took us out to the Ridge River Ranch for a trail ride while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne took care of Ethan and Ehlana. With all of the rain we've had this spring, quite a few of the trails aren't in very good shape yet; but Pamela and John both went riding with us today; and they led us along a meandering route that kept us mostly on clear, dry trails. A lot of the kids our age would rather have their kids leading the trail rides, and Rowen and I love that too; but John has really great stories that he tells while leading his rides that we love a lot too. Since John doesn't get to do rides with us all that often, it'll likely take years before I'll hear anywhere near all of those stories; so I'll enjoy them every chance we get. I missed having Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam with us; but riding is definitely out for Aunt Leanne this year. I'm fairly sure that she'll think these little sacrifices are worth it even though this might not be a best summer ever for her.

We wrapped up the afternoon with another family barbeque. Rowen had her own family plans, so she met up with her parents at home when they were finished working at the store. This time, we only had Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne over; and they all stayed after dinner for some park play time and a Magi lesson that was mostly for play with Ethan and Ehlana too.

I came up to my room when the twins went to bed, and it was back to the normal school night study routine. The language studying was multi-tasked with my Jacuzzi time; I had a chat with Violet and heard all about her prom while doing my hair; and then I moved on to some backlogged archive assignments from my lessons last week after getting into bed with Mandy. I worked on that for an hour and a half, and then moved on to email and a little family business work that came up from the email.

After having a week of earlier-than-usual nights, I'm ready to get some sleep again even though it's only going on one o'clock. The next three days at school are just going to be a wind down and clean-up; so the only tough part of the week I expect to have will be any and all moments I spend in the tweeird zone. With the way things went this morning in Sunday school, I'm expecting more of the same tomorrow for sure. That's a really good reason why I should wrap this up and get some sleep, so...

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

Monday, June 10, 2013

I kissed Michael today.

A 'real' kiss.

One minute he was congratulating me for a particularly good last jump for the ride I'd just finished on one of the park trails that need to be ridden one person at a time; and the next I'd gone from hugging him in thanks to sharing a soft, lingering kiss with him.

If I hadn't subconsciously crossed over yet, that kiss pulled me across the line; and there is no going back now.

I thought it was the Fourth of July for however long that kiss lasted; and the wide-eyed, astonished expression on Michael's face when I took a small step back left no doubt that he felt exactly the same way.

For a moment, there was a very good chance that we'd be sharing a second kiss, but the sound of a bike making a run up the far side of the last jump had us both stepping back and looking to see whether it was Tim or Rowen joining us next. Tim sailed out and over the top of the hill, catching some air; and landing about half-way down the hill where the slope became less severe for the rest of the hundred feel or so to where Michael and I were standing next to our bikes. The fact that Tim had gone ahead of Rowen was a good thing for Michael and I, since Tim was oblivious to anything except the biking and wanting to compare his run to ours. The last hill on the trail is also the highest; so everyone at the head of the trail knows when it's safe for the next rider to start – and hides the end of the trail from them – another bonus for us in this particular instance. We'd both mostly recovered by the time that Rowen joined us; but not enough that she didn't notice that something had happened.

We'll get to that part of today's recap in a bit, but we should really back up about ten hours from that unexpected, breath-taking moment.

Where was I? Right – everything that happened today before that kiss. I have a photographic memory – I can do this. :^)

My day started out with hugs and kisses too, though I can assure you that none of the kisses from Mom, Dad, Ethan, or Ehlana felt anything even remotely like the one with Michael this afternoon.

Ditto that for every other kiss I've ever shared with anyone.

Is it hot in here? Where was I again?

Stop laughing. Yes, I'm looking into the future at you, Aunt Leanne; and don't need to use my Sight to see your reaction to reading this.

Take a deep breath, Proctor.

Tai Chi by the river was next. Ethan and Ehlana sat on the dock and played while Mom, Dad, and I exercised. We followed that up with a standard school and work morning breakfast; and then I was ready to go early enough to meet up with Rowen at her house. Mrs. Warren, and most of our other teachers, were allowing anyone with missed or late assignments to use the class time to get them done and handed in before marks were finalized, but the rest of us mostly either had fun make-work activities; or we were actually put to work helping to get classrooms cleaned up. As usual, Phys-Ed and Music were my favorite classes, and we all had fun getting the extra outdoors time during Phys-Ed this morning.

My report on the tweeirdness while we were at school probably would have been different if I didn't have a different perspective on the whole thing tonight. I'd say that Vanessa's perspective would be different tonight too, but she and Nora were already mad at me – and Michael and Tim – by the time we were set free after last class anyway. That's because we've had a beautiful, sunny day, and not only did the two boys pick biking over what the girls had wanted to do instead, but Michael invited Rowen and I to go with them. Nora and Vanessa were invited too, but they didn't want to bike the trails; were ticked off that the boys chose biking over what they'd wanted to do instead; and inviting Rowen and me to go along was supposedly the last straw for them.

That lasted until Michael and Tim had their ball practice; but I'll get to that in a minute – it's time to get back to the after-school action.

After collecting bikes along the way, Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me for a quick snack break with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we biked over to the park and hit the trails. Some of those kid and teen-made trails take the path of least resistance through the woods, and there are only a few that have been worked on specifically to make jumps and challenging turns or obstacles. We'd started riding those trails at the river end of the park and worked our way north. There were other kids out riding too, but not many teens for some reason – maybe there was make-up work going on after a couple of weeks of concentrating on exams.

'Our first kiss', as I'll be thinking of it for the rest of my life, happened on one of the favorite built up trails; and Michael's comments about my riding had come after our third time through the trail. The four of us had been having a blast up to that point, and we continued to have fun after Michael and I shared that remember-forever moment while someone dangerously was setting off those fireworks in the woods that only he and I apparently heard. We didn't really have much time left to bike after that before Michael and Tim needed to go have an early dinner before their baseball practice, but if Michael thought my riding was good before the kiss; he must've been very impressed with how I did on the last few trails we hit on our way out of the park.

That might have been because my hyper-active had kicked up a half-dozen notches; and I'm pretty sure that every hormone in my body had decided to run a marathon. Hormones gone wild could have had a lot to do with why I temporarily lost control of my lips too, but let's not spoil the moment with pesky little biological details. What needing to get home early did do, though, was keep Michael and I from having a chance to talk about what had happened. While we couldn't do that, Rowen didn't let me escape that easily; and she dragged me up to my room as soon as we got home to grill me about what had happened.

We both had fun with that little chat, and Rowen was really happy to find out that I'd finally crossed over too. She also spent some time teasing me, and offering suggestions for what to do next – especially since Vanessa was likely going to have a problem with me kissing the guy she was determined would be her boyfriend. That part of our chat was mostly for entertainment, and we needed to get downstairs again anyway; so we didn't spend all that much time doing that before going to help Mom and Dad with the tail end of getting dinner ready.

Mom didn't say anything to me, but she and Dad – and Ethan and Ehlana – were directing a few too many grins in my direction for me not to be suspicious. I wonder if Aunt Leanne got a call before I even got home today. Maybe I'll ask Mom about that sometime – or not. There are some questions that I might not want to know the answers for.

Rowen stayed for dinner, and then we were drafted to take Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some play time. By then I was sure that it wasn't just a coincidence that my brother and sister just happened to need to get some exercise while Michael was still there at his baseball practice. I was once again in the tweeird zone once we got to the park because Vanessa and Nora were there too; and they were not happy to see me. Michael saw us first; and it might have been the smiles and looks we exchanged that brought out the unhappy in Vanessa. It's a good thing that I had all of the butterflies and warm fuzzies going on or the daggers being glared at me from the bleachers while Rowen and I played with Ethan and Ehlana might have hurt.

As long as we were at the playground, and Michael and Tim were at their practice, Vanessa and Nora didn't really have any new reasons to be upset with Michael or me, but they were both giving me the look when all four of them came over to the playground after the practice had ended – apparently because Michael had insisted on playing with Ethan and Ehlana for a few minutes. When Ehlana welcomed Michael with a hug and kiss, Rowen couldn't resist announcing that she was going to "tell your Mom that her daughter's been kissing boys at the park". The three of us who didn't know the double meaning Rowen had intended didn't think that was nearly as funny as the rest of us did. Michael thought that it was as funny as I did, and he got an extra hug and kiss from Ehlana even as she and Ethan giggled about it with us. I'll guess that he deduced that Rowen had been told about our kiss, but since he didn't even blush a little bit; I don't think he was at all embarrassed.

I wasn't either, but I did spend some time thinking about kissing Michael again while he and Tim joined in to play with the twins for fifteen or twenty minutes. Part of the reason I was thinking that was because Vanessa and Nora continually made it clear that they wanted to move on and spend some time with Michael and Tim. It was probably the hormones gone wild and crossing over that had me warming up to all of Rowen's suggestions about how I could save Michael a lot of trouble with other girls if I'd just help him out. I may not be very good at being a tween, but I didn't need to be to know that kissing Michael right then would not get him – or me – out of trouble with Vanessa or Nora; so I managed to keep control of my raging hormones.

That didn't mean that we were done with the tweeird zone, because when Tim finally figured out that he was borderline on getting in trouble with Nora again and decided that it was time to leave; Michael chose to stay and walk home with us instead. Vanessa was not impressed with that news flash, and she and Nora both tried to get him to change his mind again – with no better results than when Michael and Tim had picked biking over them after school. I knew that our kiss had changed things for Michael too, and he was struggling with being nice to Vanessa while deciding that he couldn't go along with her flirting and games anymore even if that meant hurting her feelings.

Unfortunately for Tim, he was an innocent casualty of the situation; and ended up walking home with us too when Nora and Vanessa made their dramatic exit that barely stayed civil because there were toddlers with us. Rowen teased Ehlana again when she decided that Tim needed a hug and kiss then, and that did seem to cheer him up even if he would have rather been spending the rest of his evening with Nora instead of being back in the doghouse.

We gave Vanessa and Nora time to complete their grand exit, and then we started walking home too. Ethan and Ehlana needed to stop in and see Michael's parents, Rebecca, Jake, and Stephanie, but after spending a few minutes with them; we left Michael and Tim there and continued the rest of the way home. Rowen stayed long enough to tell Mom about her daughter's kissing boys at the park adventures, and while Mom and Dad both joined in to tease Ehlana; I was sure that they were silently teasing me too.

After Rowen left, Mom kept me busy helping out with Ethan and Ehlana; and doing a Magi lesson after they went to bed for the night. I was wishing the entire time that I could have gotten together with Michael for the little talk that I think we need to have – and possibly to share another kiss or two with him; but that wasn't going to happen tonight. Instead of doing that, I followed up my Magi lesson with some Jacuzzi time and the usual bedtime studies and computing. Concentrating on my work was a bit of a problem, and even a short keyboard practice intermission didn't help.

That might be due to all of the other thoughts running through my head right now that have absolutely nothing to do with archives or languages. I think I'll wait a day or two to write more about those musings; but the summer plans Rowen and I have been making are very likely going to need to be adjusted. That's really scary – especially when mental pictures keep flashing into my mind of Rowen and me hanging out with Michael, Tim, Nora, and Vanessa nearly every day.

What I probably need most right now is to just sleep on it, and see how everything looks again in the morning, so...

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

If you were sitting there, sometime in the future, turning a digital archive page and wondering if there would be any new romantic moments with Michael and me today; I'm going to be disappointing you.

There weren't any fireworks-worthy kisses – or even anything more serious than a hug. We also didn't get a chance for a little privacy so we could talk about what had happened at the park. The good news, though, is that we did get to hang out together after school; the Stones had dinner with us; and we all went over to the park for some play time after dinner.

Before I get to that, we had a dusting or three of rain overnight – again – but that didn't keep us from our Tai Chi by the river this morning. We had a standard weekday breakfast, but I felt the need to spend a little extra time getting ready for school today for some unknown reason – not! That's why Rowen met up with me in my room, and spent some time teasing me while getting me to hurry up so we wouldn't be late for school. We weren't there long before I was wishing that we'd skipped out today; and Michael probably felt the same way. In my case, I didn't want to see Michael getting dumped on regularly by Vanessa or Nora. They had the glares, sneers, and snarky comments for me too; but I guess that seemed easy compared to what I imagined would be going on if they knew I'd been kissing Michael too instead of just continually getting in the way of their carefully planned-out happily ever after with Michael and Tim.

Nora eventually let Tim out of the doghouse once he'd demonstrated that he'd suffered enough – and agreed to do whatever she wanted to do after school. Michael was not invited to do anything with them, but he didn't have a problem with that; and I'm sure that Vanessa and Nora were even more upset with him because he wasn't acting as miserably unhappy as Tim had been this morning.

By the way, if you don't know this about Tim; he can act like you wouldn't believe, because there is no way that he was that broken up and destitute from being in trouble with Nora for less than a day. That isn't just an educated guess either – I saw Michael trying not to laugh at Tim's antics several times today; and even Nora had to be at least a little suspicious.

I was as happy as Michael was that he wasn't being badgered into doing something with Tim, Nora, and Vanessa. Rowen and I walked home from school with him – and with Rebecca. That earned us some bonus, icy-cold attention from Vanessa, but other than watching us leave; we didn't get followed or spied on. Our snack break was at my house, and then the four of us decided to go canoeing with Ethan and Ehlana. Rebecca may not be into biking except as a means of transportation; but she still loves being out on the river; and with the water warming up faster now with hotter days; we're all looking forward to swimming and playing in the river soon too.

Today we paddled downriver; tied up at the dock at the end of Palmer Street; and walked to the falls after picking up some frozen treats at the Emporium; and dropping three of them off with Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Claire. Emma was at the office waiting for her Mom, so Dad gave his snack to her; and she came along with us to the falls. There were a couple of boys trying to fish without much luck, and we talked with them for a few minutes; but then spent most of our time at the top of the falls so we didn't get in their way – especially since they felt the need to cast their lines every few minutes. Aunt Leanne and Claire were getting ready to go home when we dropped Emma off again; and Rowen and I promised to have Emma come camping with us for a day or two soon – though that might not be easy to work out with everything we have going on leading up to Aunt Grace's wedding. Maybe we'll get her to hang out with us while Dawn's here for her summer holiday during the two weeks after the wedding.

Moving along, Dad hadn't been quite ready to leave then, but he was home by the time we'd canoed back upriver; and he and Mom had a dinner surprise for all of us when we found out that they'd invited the Stones over for another barbeque potluck. Rowen was staying too, and since we were then put in charge of getting the tables and chairs set up; we had the choice of getting an extra table and chairs out for ourselves or choosing to sit on the dock or by the river instead. We went with option two.

That put us out of the loop for the parent and teen dinner conversation, but Ethan and Ehlana entertained us; and we got to talk more about what we were going to be doing during the first few weeks of our summer holidays. Rebecca, Rowen, and I also spent a little time talking about the girls' summer clothes shopping trip coming up a week from Friday, and while Ethan and Ehlana were playing 'normal toddler'; they were happy to hear us chat about their second birthday party too.

Other than setting the table, we'd mostly been off the hook for the pre-dinner work, but Jake and Stephanie drafted four out of six of us for the clean-up crew; and sent the parents off to the park with Ethan and Ehlana while we took care of the work before joining them there. Since Ethan and Ehlana had already been running around for three-quarters of an hour or so by then, we only played together for another half hour or so before stopping at the near ball diamond to check out that baseball action and talk to some friends; and then going home again.

We did a round of goodnight hugs in front of the Stone's house – including the one and only hug that Michael and I shared today – and then Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I walked Rowen over to her house while Dad went to get some work done in the office. Mom had come along because Patricia and Owen had been out on their front porch; and we stayed for drinks and a chat before going home again too.

The rest of my night has been a fairly standard school night – help with Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine; do a Magi lesson with Mom; and my own bedtime bath, studies, and nightly computing. My focus was a bit better than last night, but I still have quite a few warm fuzzies keeping me company tonight. We should probably move away from those thoughts, or it could be quite a while before I'll be able to get any sleep.

There actually were other things going on outside of my tweeird little world; and a bit of news that Mom updated me on while we worked on my lesson. She had her last KidZone volunteer work morning today, and while I'm thinking about that; Alicia will be back to working full-time again starting next Monday. Since Dad will be in Crystal Springs next week, that'll help make it easier for Mom while he's away. The adult and teen chat included news about the Grad party on Saturday; an update on the catering that Jake and Stephanie are in charge of for Aunt Grace and Mark's wedding; and the parent and teen preparations for going away to college that are already beginning.

It sounds like the Grad party is going to be fun, but it will also make for a really busy weekend with Father's Day on Sunday too. Violet's going to drive here after school on Friday; go to that party with Dillon on Saturday; go back to Woodvale with him on Sunday morning for church and lunch with Uncle Rick; and then be back here again in time to go out to dinner at the Inn with Dillon's family. I'd say that my weekend is going to be boring by comparison to that, but after yesterday; I'm not sure that there will be any boring in my life anytime soon.

Getting back on that track was probably inevitable again tonight, but I should wrap this up and at least try to get some sleep now, so...

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

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Michael and I got around to having a first little chat at lunchtime today at school, and while I was happy about that; neither of us were all that impressed with the latest happenings in the tweeird zone.

I guess we should start with the tweeird; since that's actually why we were able to have that chat. Vanessa and Nora have a new plan, and if they are trying to be subtle; that part of the plan isn't working. The rest of it won't work either, but it may take them a while to figure that out. They're going with the ages-old divide-and-conquer strategy; and they started excluding Michael from everything they were doing while keeping Tim close – and away from Michael as much as possible. Today we were kept busy with a combination of clean-up work and helping out with getting everything ready for the play day tomorrow; and Vanessa and Nora fairly successfully kept Michael off of every work crew they were on with Tim and some of the other members of the couples club.

Since that just meant that Michael ended up working with Rowen and me most of the time; we didn't have a problem with that. I'd also like to point out that Michael and Tim don't actually spend that much time together on days when Michael's working at the Inn after school; so the effort today was a waste of effort. We'll see if that's different during play day tomorrow or not; but I'm okay with the idea of playing those games with Michael if Tim's too busy with Mora. Rowen and I have Friday night covered for that too, and if Tim can't hang out with us; we're going to see if Rebecca's available instead.

That does bring me to getting a bit of alone time so Michael and I could talk. He pretended not to notice that there wasn't a spot left open for him with the couples club when he got to the cafeteria; and sat with Rowen and me instead while we ate. We went to the music room after that, and Rowen conveniently needed to go for a washroom break so that we could be alone for what ended up being about ten very entertaining minutes.

No, we did not just sit there and make out, though that might have been fun too – I'll know better after we eventually get around to doing that for the first time.

I can tell you that Michael was very happy to hear that I've finally crossed over; both glad and amused to find out that sharing that kiss with me was responsible for my change in tween status; and doesn't have a problem with helping me figure out where we go from here.

We also learned that before you try a second 'real' kiss, you should put your saxophones in their cases first. That attempt was awkward and strange compared to the spontaneous kiss at the park, and had us both laughing; but that was fun too. A second try with the saxophones safely out of the way was a little more successful; but that was as much of a risk as either of us wanted to take when we were in a school full of kids and teens, and could be interrupted at any time. I'm the one who mostly still needs some time to deal with everything I'm feeling, and we both need to figure out how to deal with our tweeird zone problems; so we don't want to end up as a top story on the gossip network and have to deal with that too. Since I'm getting regular urges to kiss Michael, it's probably a good thing that he's going to be working at the Inn today and tomorrow. A couple of work nights might help me to at least get a bit more control over these new urges.

Not hanging out together might help calm things down with Vanessa too, but that'll be temporary; and it's bound to get worse before it gets better. For today, though, I was just glad to be able to go home after school and work in the office until dinnertime. We had a bit of rain earlier today, and again late tonight, but Mom and Dad's baseball practice was on tonight; and we all went over to the park so that Ethan and Ehlana could play with Naomi at the playground while three out of four of our parents were playing with their friends; and Liz was getting to have nap time. Liz and her baby are both doing just fine, but she's definitely getting more worn out keeping up with work and Naomi; and I'm glad that Philip will be able to make that easier for her while he's off school for most of the summer. I should start thinking about helping Aunt Leanne more this summer too – especially since she's doing so much extra work with the wedding and everything else she has on the go right now.

At least she isn't trying to play baseball too; though our team could use her help. The Fix-it Uppers are playing their first game on Friday night, and though I was busy at the playground with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi; I saw enough of the action to be worried about our chances this season. It's not that our replacement players are really bad or anything; the team just isn't gelling, and that's making for lots of mistakes and miscommunications. I'm just hoping that the other teams are having as many problems.

There isn't much else to write about for tonight. Dad had work to do in the office after we got home, so Mom and I repeated the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; worked through a new shielding lesson; and then I came up to my room to get started on my own bedtime studies and computing. Violet and I had a short messaging chat, and she's now counting down the hours to when she'll be coming here. She doesn't expect to get here early on Friday evening when the 'school's out' traffic is likely going to be crazy, but as long as she's here by the time Dillon's done work at the Inn; they'll both be happy campers.

Note to me – take care of getting her room ready to go tomorrow night; and maybe pick up an Olde Bakery Witch cookie on Friday to leave on her pillow.

Violet probably won't actually have all that much time to spend with me this summer – she does need to do a lot of work with Mom, and get ready to go away to college – but I'm still going to love having her here with us.

I have my work for the night finished, and now that I'm thinking about getting some sleep; I'm also thinking that Violet might not be the only girl who will be too busy for us to spend much time together. We didn't get around to discussing what's been going on with me over the past few days during that chat, but I'm sure that Violet will hear all about it this weekend – if not by bedtime on Friday night. Maybe I should have given her a heads up, but I didn't; and that's mostly because I'm still not quite ready to talk about it with anyone other than Michael or Rowen yet.

Yeah, I know, but there's a world of difference between intellectually studying things like psychology and sociology; and real life experience. Most collegians have a lot more life experience to take into those studies than I did when I was a toddler. This isn't even remotely romantic, but I can also tell you that I have a whole new perspective on what must have happened to Violet when her Magi abilities became active. I'm still studying and thinking about what happened to me on Monday afternoon – from a Magi perspective – but I'll need to noodle that for a while before I'm ready to report on it in our Magi project archive. There's definitely something that happens on multiple levels that could explain why an untrained Magi would have things happen like they did for Violet.

Now I'm getting a mental picture of Tim hanging in mid-air on his bike if he'd come over that last jump while Michael and I had still been kissing. That'd be taking 'catching some air' to a new extreme!

And here we go with the replay of that kiss front and center in my mind again as I'm just about ready to go to sleep. Not thinking about bunnies doesn't help, though my attempts at doing that have been fairly feeble. Speaking of feeble, I really do need to get some rest; or my play day gaming won't be anything to get excited about, so...

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

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Play Day is definitely one of the kid and teen favorites of the school year; and I was fired up right from the moment I woke up this morning.

Tai Chi by the river, and a pancakes and bacon breakfast got the day off to a great start, and then I helped Mom with the extra work that needed to be done to load the van with our food and drink donations, and get Ethan and Ehlana ready to spend most of the day with Grandma and Grandpa while Mom was going to be busy helping out at the school.

We had Rowen and Patrick with us when we were ready to go, and they helped with unloading the van at school after we dropped Ethan and Ehlana off on our way there. Mom went to help set up the booth that she was going to be running all morning with Claire, and in the afternoon with Patricia; and Rowen, Patrick, and I went on to our home room classes. Rowen and I were soon in the tweeird zone again; starting with the play day team selections.

Vanessa and Nora were continuing their campaign of exclusion for Michael; and Tim wasn't given a choice when they picked Allen to be the fourth member of their team. The rest of the couples' club members teamed up into groups of four, with Lisa added as a fifth to the team with her best friends; and that left Michael and Gil stuck with Rowen and me. I'll guess that Vanessa and Nora didn't fully think through that plan; because they were not very happy to see us in the same group – even if that really should have been a fairly obvious outcome when you look at the groups of friends in a small class. Michael and I didn't have a problem with being on the same team at all; and Gil was happy to end up on a team with three of the best athletes in our grade.

I'll admit that the ongoing tweeirdness motivated me to compete more seriously today, but then playing the games with Michael and Rowen helped with that too; and Gil really kicked up his gaming too while trying to keep up with us. Most importantly, we had a total blast all day. It's too bad that I can't say the same thing for our arch-rival team for the day. Vanessa and Nora were not happy or impressed with our success; and they did not look like they were having much fun either. Tim and Allen tried to have fun, but doing that instead of seriously trying to win each of the little games usually just got them into trouble with their teammates. Unfortunately for them, Tim was the only really talented athlete; and all of the games and races were team events, or scores were based on team totals.

The combination of having fun together and trying harder because of the tweeirdness being dumped on us off and on all day resulted in our team placing first for our Grade Seven class; and third overall for the school. We also won all but two of the games for our class too; so I'm sure that you can imagine how well that went over with Vanessa and Nora, but I couldn't manage to feel bad about doing that today. Having excuses to hug Michael after every win was a nice bonus too!

While I'm thinking about hugs, one thing that was both tweeird and fun was when I got in trouble for hugging Gil too – from his girlfriend. Alicia's in Grade Six, and her class was competing in a game that was set up next to where we'd been when she witnessed the victory hug. Having her come over and confront us about it was the tweeird part; and negotiating getting her to give Gil the hugs instead for the rest of the day was the bonus entertainment. It's too bad other tweeirdness in my life wasn't that easy to resolve.

I've skipped over a fair bit, so let's back up and deal with that before moving on. While Rowen would have liked to pair me with Michael for every game where that was an option; most of the time it worked out better with guys and girls pairings. The exceptions to that were for games we couldn't resist having boy-girl pairs for – like the three-leg race. Yes, there was really only one reason for doing that, and it wasn't a good idea to give Vanessa and Nora even more reason to be mad at us; but then there was some smack talk directed our way that we had fun disproving by taking first and second place with our team.

The only events of the day we didn't try our best at were the unofficial competitions during our morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks. Working around food so much could have something to do with why Michael's never really been into the tween guy eating and drinking games, and while Gil has been known to play along; he was following Michael's lead today. Rowen and I were particularly grateful that we didn't have to watch them attempt new records for eating hotdogs; guzzling drinks; various belching milestones; or fastest ice-cream induced brain-freeze.

Avoiding those mini-competitions probably helped us this afternoon too; and could be why our team did so well even when we were up against the older teens and an 'overall' scoring curve that was meant to even the field for all of the grades. I really do like to win, but being awarded the little medallions and ribbons at the end of the afternoon wasn't as important to me as having a fun day with Michael and Rowen was. Being able to hear some rather unpleasant, muttered grumblings about Michael and me while we were being given our awards took a bit away from the moment too; and a bit more time in the tweeird zone was all I needed to be ready to go home and work in the office again to escape from that again for a while.

Most of that last blast of tween dopiness came when Michael, Rowen, and I were at our lockers getting ready to go home. Tim started out the scene with some good-natured teasing, but then Vanessa and Nora chimed in with some jibes that weren't very nice at all. I'm also beginning to wonder if they don't really know Michael as well as they think they do despite growing up with him. Talking about all of the fun that Michael was going to miss out on after school and tonight was completely pointless. Michael, Jake, and Rebecca are all used to missing out on things that some of their friends get to do because of work or chores – just like all of the farm kids and other 'store-owner parents' kids are. He feels as much obligation to help out at the Inn as I feel about helping Mom with our family business; and all Vanessa and Nora accomplished was to annoy him – not make him jealous or feel left out.

Michael, Rowen, and I left the school together, and I walked with them to the computer store and Inn before continuing on home. There was just a tiny bit more tweeird zone for Michael and I when we just happened to bump into Tim, Nora, Vanessa, and the rest of our classmates that were starting their amazingly fun adventures with Emporium ice cream cones. That wasn't likely a coincidence at all, but I'm also pretty sure that Vanessa was expecting Michael to be alone. This is another instance where I'll just keep most of the details out of this report, but I will mention that some girls are watching too many chick flicks and reading too many tween and teen mag rags. We're only twelve and thirteen no matter how hard you try to act older and cooler.

While I was seriously tempted to give Michael a goodbye hug and kiss; I resisted the urge; and avoided getting us into even deeper tweeirdness before he went into the Inn and I went home and got to work too. Mom was still out doing some running around with Ethan and Ehlana after picking them up from Grandma and Grandpa's house, so I grabbed a drink and worked in the office until dinner was ready except for a short break to help with unloading the van when they got home. It was an early, easy-dinner night because of my baseball practice; and Rowen picked me up along the way to the park.

We're playing Palmer's Panthers on Saturday, and Carolyn was particularly fired up and wanting everyone to work hard to get ready to play against the team that will likely be our toughest competition this season. Tim and Michael weren't the only players getting personal fans coming to watch their games and practices, but I doubt that Vanessa and Nora would think that having Ethan and Ehlana stopping by to watch us play was on the same level as their efforts with the boys. I loved getting a pair of hugs and kisses from them – even if that did get me in trouble with Coach Sarah again. It's funny that she only seemed to notice and yell at me when I was hugging and kissing Ethan; though being teased about kissing boys instead of playing baseball felt different this time – especially since I couldn't stop thinking about the kisses with Michael after that.

The hugs, kisses, teasing, and those thoughts about Michael did help to fire me up; and I had a really good practice tonight. Those three factors all played a part in my game-playing at the Inn tonight too. The teasing for that started almost immediately after my usual game night partner decided that I needed to team up with Michael for our last game night until September; and Rebecca was a willing accomplice. Rowen might have decided to do that after seeing Nora continuing the tweeird games with Michael and doing her best to keep him on the outside of their couples club group; and that was definitely motivating me again tonight too. Jake and Stephanie, and the other two 'graduating' couples that were trying to win the last junior championship they'd be eligible for were disappointed tonight, and so was Miranda when she didn't get to have the senior championship crown despite talking Dad into switching partners for the night; but the Stone family did still get to have one-half of the junior championship.

I know what you're thinking, and Michael and I did have a good night; but this isn't the movies – Rowen and Rebecca won the bragging rights for the summer. Michael and I came in tied for second; and we were just a couple of points ahead of Jake and Stephanie. That earned us some more teasing, and we had as much fun with that as we did with nearly everything else that had been thrown at us tonight.

Nora invited Tim and some of the other members of the couples club back to her house immediately after the games were over, though she wasn't happy when excluding Michael didn't have the effect on him that she'd hoped for. Even though that didn't work as planned, it was the main reason why I stayed to help with the clean-up even though Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana home early so they could leave with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne. Michael got a bonus hug too when I did the goodnight hugs with his parents, brother, sister, and Stephanie; but I'm not quite ready for sharing 'real' kisses with him when there's an audience standing around next to us; so we both had to settle for the hugs.

Dad was already working in the office by the time I got home, and I joined in to help Mom with the bedtime baths she was nearly ready to do with the twins. By the time Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in for the night, and Mom had done a short Magi lesson with me, it was after eleven; and my next stop was some quality time with my Jacuzzi. I should have done some multi-tasking then, but didn't; and just let my mind drift along while soaking out the dirt and sweat from our play day and a dusty baseball practice.

Those thoughts included some musing about some differences between Rowen and me, and Vanessa and Nora in particular. For instance, Nora looked great tonight at the Inn while Rowen and I looked like we'd just finished a day of games and baseball. Nora's opinion of that difference between us was fairly obvious to all three of us, but what has me smiling tonight is the fact that Michael thinks that I'm amazing regardless of whether I'm dressed up in my Sunday best or look like I did tonight. That's not actually a new revelation for me, since I have known how he's felt about me for quite a while now; but my perspective on that has changed quite a bit since Monday.

While I'm thinking about that, Michael thinks you're amazing too, Rowen, so even if 'Tommy' is still deaf, dumb, and blind; you do have one guy who sees how really incredible you are. By the time you get to read this; I'm sure you'll find that comment very entertaining.

I've also continued to think a lot about what I am ready for with Michael. Aunt Leanne would likely be very amused by that process – especially since I sort of think of my reactions this week in terms of my 'Aunt Leanne' fired-up and go-for-it side and my 'Mom and Dad' responsible and careful side.

Don't worry, Mom, you won't need to plan another wedding for later this year. ;^)

That does give me an idea, but I'll sleep on it and see if I still think it's a good idea in the morning.

Getting back to the daily report, I've put in two hours of studying after climbing into bed with Mandy; and that was mostly on languages because I'll be taking the summer off from that work except for maybe a chat here and there with some internet buddies I've been practicing with; or if any interesting books come out that aren't available in English too. (I know that's shocking to most people in the English speaking countries; but it does happen all the time!)

It's now past two-thirty, and though we'll just be having a last-day-of-school party, I also have dinner and a baseball game, and Rowen and I will be doing our first camping adventure of the summer too; so I should really wrap this up and get some sleep.

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

Friday, June 14, 2013

Michael and I are going to have our first date – at Aunt Grace and Mark's wedding!

Stop laughing, Rowen – you're not surprised to see that for the headline news on my report today. Yes, our camping adventure has been great so far too, but it doesn't top the roller-coaster-scary thrill of asking Michael to be my date for the wedding; having him say 'yes'; or the rather enthusiastic hug and kiss I thanked him with. Since that didn't happen until after school, though, I should back up and keep the entire story in order.

We had some rain roll through early this morning, so Tai Chi was indoors today; but it mostly cleared out before school started; and we've had a very hot, humid day. Rowen wants me to add that it was hotter for some of us than others. I can go sit on the dock to finish this if you'd like, Rowen. Haven't you already gotten enough entertainment from all of this already?

Silly question – forget I asked.

Our last day of school started out tweeird and that trend continued through until our early release after the class parties. While I was mostly only on the receiving end of some glares and muttered comments that were never too quiet for me not to hear; Michael was the main target of Vanessa's and Nora's tween games. By now, Tim knew what they were doing, but was caught between a girlfriend and a cold, hard doghouse; and had no idea how to get out of his predicament. I don't really want to comment on what I think about pressuring someone into making a no-win choice like that; but it sucks as much for Tim as it does for Michael.

One thing that is funny about the whole tweeird mess is that the only results that Vanessa and Nora are getting from their divide and conquer plan is to push Michael, Rowen, and I closer together; and getting both Michael and Tim upset with them in a bad way. Okay, Rowen – it's pushing Michael and me closer together; though he's doing more now with you too. I'm sure that you'll agree with me that all three of us were past-ready to get away from all of that by the time we were set free for the summer – even if it was only temporarily.

As I mentioned, it got really hot out today, and though the river is still on the chilly side; we decided to go for a swim to cool off. Contrary to what Rowen's teasing me about right now, I did not suggest that just so she'd need to go home to get changed into a swimsuit and give me the alone time with Michael to ask him to be my date for the wedding – that was just an added bonus. I would have found another opportunity to ask him eventually, but that did work out really well to keep you and Aunt Leanne entertained for the rest of the day; so you should be happy.

We're at that part of the recap, though, so let's move along. Rowen went home to get a swimsuit, and I walked Michael home so I'd have enough time to ask him. I'm sure you've all guessed that was what I thought would be a good idea for a next step for Michael and me last night, and I still thought that it was this morning; but it was the continuing tweeirdness today that made the decision to go ahead with the invitation so easy. That didn't make it any less scary; and I definitely get what Mom felt like the first time she asked Dad out on a date.

That's funny, Rowen, but I seriously doubt that roses would have had the same impact on Michael this afternoon as they did back then for Dad. He definitely wouldn't thank me for having a story like that come back to haunt him for the rest of his life either – which you know it would in our little town. No, Dad doesn't seem to mind it when the guys still razz him sometimes; but he wasn't twelve when Mom sent him his flowers.

So I managed to ask Michael the big question by the time we reached his front porch without any major stuttering or goof-ups; he immediately agreed; and then I gave him that hug and kiss before leaving him standing there with a big grin on his face while I floated home so I could get changed into a swimsuit too. Yes, I'm sure that kiss was witnessed by one or more people, but I temporarily didn't care.

I might not still think so by tomorrow, but the wedding date and moonlight, riverside goodnight kiss stories will be out by then too; so I guess one more news flash on the grapevine won't matter much.

Rowen is now singing "Cassie has a boyfriend."

I don't think that's true quite yet – let's wait and see how that first date goes before we change the 'single' status on my town intranet chat profile.

Funny you should bring that up, Rowen, because I wasn't the only girl getting noticed by boys in my swimsuit this afternoon. Don't pretend that you didn't see 'Tommy's' eyes practically fall into the water when he saw you at the park – and he wasn't the only one. That's what you get for shattering their bookworm image of you. While we're at it, go ahead and keep teasing me about it being hotter for some of us than others, but don't forget that you're personally responsible for increasing the temperature for some of those guys too.

Yes, they do all have girlfriends, including 'Tommy', but you do eventually want to convince him that you're the perfect girl for him, so you need to get his attention; and I'd say that you definitely accomplished that mission today. At least you were able to do that without ending up in the tweeird zone with his girlfriend. I can't say the same for Vanessa's reaction to seeing me in my swimsuit – or Michael's proximity and obvious appreciation.

I've skipped some details, so I'd better add that there were actually six of us at the park. Rebecca came swimming with us in the river behind my house, and then we canoed to the park with Ethan and Ehlana so we could play with them there and give Mom a break for an hour or two. There were a lot of kids and teens enjoying the extra afternoon time at the park; and I wasn't surprised to see Vanessa, Nora, and the rest of the friends they'd invited to hang out together after school there – or that they were all hanging out by the river or swimming in it when we tied our canoes up to the dock.

Rebecca, Rowen, and I had put shorts and tops on over our swimsuits before getting Ethan and Ehlana ready to go, and Michael had put a t-shirt on, but Tim started razzing him while we were getting out onto the docks; and that's why we ended up going for another swim. Michael answered Tim's taunts with an up-close-and-personal cannonball, and then Ethan needed to go swimming too; so we all did – and that was also when 'Tommy' nearly had his eyeballs fall out into the river when Rowen pulled her top and shorts off.

Don't give me that, Rowen – you know it was a big deal. We were with Rebecca, and last year there wouldn't have been a single guy our age even notice we were there anytime she or Jenny were wearing swimsuits. You should also be glad that I've crossed over now too – a week ago I would have just found all of that attention and subsequent goofiness annoying and dumb – now I think it's annoying and funny.

Our entry into the water play meant that Vanessa and Nora felt the need to get out of the water and start a slow process of getting the rest of their gang to get out too while they also sat on the dock and did what can only be called posing to achieve optimum swimsuit effect.

Give me a break!

Rebecca, Rowen, Michael, and I were having too much fun with Ethan and Ehlana to care about the tweeird the two girls were orchestrating, and at least two of us were glad when it was the siren call of Emporium ice cream cones that worked for them to get the whole gang moving on without us. I'm sure our timing for getting out of the river then was taken the wrong way by Vanessa and Nora; but that's just when Ethan and Ehlana were getting cold and it was time to get them out and dried off. It would have been nice if that had been the end of the tweeird, but we were still playing with Ethan and Ehlana at the playground when they all returned – most of them still working on eating their cones, drinks, or other treats.

Packing up, getting in our canoes, and paddling home was probably another little victory for Vanessa and Nora, but I'd only needed to overhear a handful of comments before wanting to get Ethan and Ehlana away from it – especially since their senses are at least as acute as mine; and possibly stronger whenever they're together. When we got back home, Rowen and I needed to get our tent and campsite set up; so we did that while Rebecca and Michael mostly played with Ethan and Ehlana while we spent a half hour or so getting the work done.

Rebecca turned down our offer to join us for the camping tonight, but she and Michael accepted Mom's invitation to have dinner with us, so once our tent was set up; we had a chance to toss a baseball around and have a little game of Frisbee before Mom recruited us to get tables set up for dinner. We had the usual dinner and a movie night gang coming over with a few baseball team friends too – including Philip and Naomi. We put two tables together for 'the kids', and two sets of two tables for the adults. Grandpa had come over to fire up the grills before we started doing that, and he and Dad were both working on cooking dinner by the time we were finished; and had helped get the buffet set up on the back porch patio table.

I would humbly like to acknowledge that getting to tell Aunt Leanne that she'd need to add Michael as my 'plus one' for the wedding was the top dinnertime news flash, and Rowen has already admitted to herself that finding out that way was more fun that if I'd told her sooner; even though she's still teasing me about not immediately telling my best friend in the whole world about the most important news in my life today.

It certainly left Aunt Leanne speechless for a few very entertaining moments; and all of the teasing that followed was worth going through. Dad was surprised too, but Mom wasn't. I'll guess that would be because of what she sensed from me earlier this afternoon.

Mom, Grandma, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah were combining dinner with a wedding plans update meeting; and I was able to tell Aunt Leanne about having a date shortly after we'd all sat down to eat. While I knew that Aunt Leanne would have something to say about my announcement, they also had a limited amount of time to get through their wedding update too before we'd need to clean up from dinner and get over to the park for the Fix-it Uppers' game; so I thought that my timing worked out pretty well – at least until it became one of Aunt Leanne's favorite chat topics with the other spectators during the game. It's not as if I didn't know the news would get around fast, but I was hoping that Miranda might at least hear the news from Michael or Rebecca first instead of through the grapevine; and that probably didn't happen.

A first win of the season didn't happen for the Fix-it Uppers tonight either, and while the sixteen to thirteen score didn't look all that bad in the end; the only lead of the game we had was thanks to our only run in the top of the first; and we progressively fell farther behind except for a four-run seventh that was too little too late when we'd gone into the final inning down seven. Rowen, Rebecca, Ehlana, Naomi and I still had fun with our cheerleading; Aunt Leanne provided a lot of entertainment even if she wasn't jumping around and cheering with us; and the game was at least interesting and fun too – even if the actual baseball play wasn't anything to write about.

Violet got home after the game had started, and she dropped her bags off at home first before walking over to the park to hang out with us for a little while before going on to the Inn to meet up with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie. She promised me that we'll be having a 'little chat' later about the news I didn't pass on to her this week too, but she's still hanging out with Dillon now; has the party tomorrow; and a busy day on Sunday, so I probably won't have to worry about that until next week – maybe even until after her birthday on Tuesday.

Though some of the players from both teams were heading for Sheldon's after the game, Mom and Dad decided not to go along; and they invited Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne back to the house to do the bedtime snack with us. We dropped Rebecca off at her house on the way home, but Michael, Rowen, and I decided to go for another cool-off swim.

Yes, Rowen, I did skip mentioning that Michael and I were holding hands during the walk home – and a few other times tonight when we were sitting together during the game; but I'd have thought you'd rather have me write about your conveniently-timed and transparent decision to go inside after we'd only been in the water for about five minutes. No, that moonlight kiss probably wouldn't have happened if you'd stayed, but then that is the kind of thing you had in mind while giving us that opportunity.

While we're on this subject, to all of those witnesses that night who are now reading this; Michael and I knew you were watching. Some of you need to be faster with turning out the lights if you're hoping for a better view without being seen flipping the switch.

Michael and I haven't suddenly become experts, and it's not like our goodnight kiss lasted longer than a few moments; but the combination of wet, swimsuits, and close proximity had me getting that fireworks feeling again. I could get used to that fairly easily, so with apologies; it's time for Vanessa to come up with a new summer boyfriend plan – the one she currently has for Michael just is not going to work for me anymore. :^)

Moving along, after sharing that kiss, Michael walked home through the back yards; and I went inside and spent some time getting teased about it by the handful of witnesses who had been watching us from the kitchen windows.

I'm so glad that we didn't disappoint them.

Aunt Leanne is very inconsistent with her jokes and comments, and I don't know why she actually seems a little surprised; considering that we're so much alike in a lot of ways. I was a bit distracted while that was going on, but I'll have to get Dad and Grandma to tell me some stories about her first boyfriends sometime. I'd ask Grandpa too, but he may have been in denial about his little girl and boys until she got married – just kidding, Grandpa. I should add that Dad got teased nearly as much as I did; and another of Aunt Leanne's inconsistencies was teasing me about kissing Michael while giving Rowen some 'that's my girl' praise for setting us up for the alone time.

Fine, Rowen – thank-you. Why don't I just get Mom to make a mental picture of the kiss for you; and we can make a billboard for it that you can put up on one of the school or park scoreboards – "This moment brought to you by Carrington-Emerson-Proctor Matchmakers."

I'm joking – don't you dare!

This seems like a very good time to quit while I'm behind and get on with the rest of our camping adventure. Rowen and I both grabbed quick showers, dried our hair, and got changed into shorts and tees so we'd be comfortable in the still-hot and humid night before heading back out to the river and our tent. We've mostly just been listening to music vids and chatting since then, but we have our big game against Palmer's Panthers at noon, and a work morning at the store or doing yard work; so we should probably get some sleep soon too. Michael's working a bit more this weekend because all of the senior students will be at the grad party tomorrow night and they have an all-hands-on-deck Father's Day on Sunday; so that likely means there won't be any more moments like we had today for at least a couple of days.

Feel free to find more excuses to leave Michael and me alone for a few minutes now and then on Monday, Rowen! :^)

Now I really need to wrap this up, so...

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

Saturday, June 15, 2013

My top story today does not include a happy baseball ending – Palmer's Panthers managed a come-from-behind, twelve-to-eleven win. Yes it was a good game, and close; but that didn't make it any easier to lose when we couldn't stop the late-game rally today.

While baseball was my top news, the grad party at Palmer's was the biggest event going on in town today. Unfortunately for the graduating students and their friends, rain started rolling in shortly after my game ended; and their party needed to be indoors. Violet's still at the party, and probably won't have time to give me the update until tomorrow night or Monday; but I'm sure they're still having fun even if they couldn't do the outdoor dinner, dance, and campfire that had been plan 'A'.

The rest of my day has been fairly uneventful. I was up at dawn for Tai Chi with Mom and Dad; Rowen and I packed up our campsite while Dad cooked breakfast and Mom was busy with Ethan and Ehlana. Violet recruited us to help her with the post-breakfast clean-up, and Rowen happily helped to fill her in on most of the Michael and me story from the last few days before she needed to head home and meet up with her parents before they all went over to the computer store.

So much for avoiding that chat until next week sometime, but it was fun; and Violet took it easier on me than either Rowen or Aunt Leanne have so far.

After Rowen left, Violet went to help Mom for the morning, and my jobs for the day were cutting the lawn and weeding the gardens. That kept me very busy through until I needed to stop; grab a micro-shower; get into my uniform; and then bike over to the park with Rowen in time for our team warm-ups. I've already reported on the game, so let's not go there again.

Violet was busy getting ready for the grad party by the time Rowen and I got home again, so we stayed out of the way and hopped in the river to cool off and get rid of some of the baseball game dirt and sweat while she was busy using my bathroom. After our little swim, we played with Ethan and Ehlana for a while so that Mom could help Violet with a few finishing touches before Dillon came over to get her; and they walked over to the Palmer's house together.

Thanks to the rain, Rowen and I spent the rest of the afternoon indoors until she needed to head home for dinner. We mostly just played with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge and all three of them spent some more time teasing me about Michael. That was fun, but I was also trying not to think about why I was missing seeing Michael today while we were both busy; and talking about him didn't help.

Speaking of missing, Uncle Adam was in Crystal Springs today for his tux fitting. Grandpa Duncan and Uncle Blaine met him there, and after getting that done, they had lunch together before Uncle Adam came home again. For some reason, they didn't feel the need to spend the afternoon shopping for clothes together. While not wanting to go shopping while in the city seems incomprehensible to most small-town girls, I do have a pretty good idea why thinking about the wedding being three weeks from today feels a whole lot different now than it did two days ago. It's a good thing that we have the girls' summer clothes shopping trip coming up next Friday – I'm going to need to find something spectacular to wear to the wedding! Ditto that for Rowen, and I think that we'll have some extra fun picking out what we're going to wear this summer too.

Getting back to current events, after Rowen went home for the night, I helped Mom in the kitchen; we had dinner; and then it was a work night for Dad while Mom did a Magi lesson with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; we all had baths as part of our respective bedtime routines; and I was in bed by ten-thirty. It's Father's Day tomorrow, and I should probably wrap this up and get some sleep because we're doing an early breakfast before Violet and Dillon need to hit the road for Woodvale.

There's more rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but I'm hoping most of the wet will be tonight and tomorrow night; and we'll be able to go ahead with our lunch and dinner barbeque and outdoor play afternoon plans. I'm sure that Violet would prefer not having rain for the drives to and from Woodvale too; so hopefully Mother Nature will give her a break too.

That is all I have for now, though, so...

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

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day to all of my favorite members of that club!

Hopefully Dad is enjoying the rest of his special day, but since he – and Mom – were given a kid-free night for one of the gifts; I don't really want to know any of the details. I'm staying with Rowen tonight; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne have Ethan and Ehlana with them; and Violet is with Stephanie.

While their entertainment tonight isn't kid-rated, the rest of our day was great. The rain from Saturday ended overnight, so Tai Chi by the river was an option; and so were the lunch and dinner barbeques and an outdoor play afternoon – though we did get a dash of rain here and there that mostly just added a bit to the humidity today. Ethan, Ehlana, and I started Dad's day out with a hugs and kisses wake-up call that came with gifts, toddler bouncing on the bed, and a minor pillow fight. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne came over in time for Tai Chi; and Grandma and Grandpa joined us for breakfast. We had gifts for Grandpa and Uncle Adam too, and the best story of the morning was Aunt Leanne's little surprise for Uncle Adam when she advised him that their baby was starting to make an empathic connection with her.

Mom's going to start working with Aunt Leanne on that – and they're going to continue developing the new pre-natal Magi training program that Mom and Aunt Deborah started working on with Leah. It'll be interesting to see how that works out; and it will be really cool if I get to help out later when we're closer to Aunt Leanne's due date.

Getting back to the Father's Day action, the Dads had the day off, and Violet needed to get ready and hit the road for Woodvale, so I was drafted for the cooking and cleaning crews. That didn't leave me much time to get ready for church – so I cheated. Yeah, I know it isn't fair, but I'll guess that every girl would take advantage of being able to do a time-phase now and then if they could. I thought it was worth the effort when we met up with Michael and his family on the way to church.

For the record, I picked up Jacob's gift back when Ethan, Ehlana, and I were getting gifts for all of our favorite family and friends fathers – just as we had gifts to give out this morning to Uncle Nick, Naomi and Aiden's fathers, and a few others. Teasing me about that was totally unfair today! On the other hand, that was at least more fun than the tweeirdness that silently hit the fan when we all got to church. I only needed to take one look at Vanessa and Nora to know that they'd heard about one or more of the Michael and me stories from Friday; and were not happy about it. They were waiting outside when we saw them, and the fact that I was holding Michael's hand didn't help the situation. Michael gets bonus points for not letting go of my hand when I let go to give him the choice. He just squeezed a bit tighter and smiled a bit more brightly than we both already were. It's a good thing that I had a lot of warm fuzzies going on from that because the next hour was fairly frosty for me – especially during Sunday school. At least Pastor Martha helped me out by giving the fathers in the congregation her annual short service gift.

Vanessa and Nora didn't talk to me at all, but I'm sure that at least two of the girls who did grill me about the gossip from Friday were recruited. Being honest didn't go over very well even though I really only confirmed the stories without adding any details. Since Lisa wasn't looking happy with me this morning either, I took a moment to explain to her that I'd crossed over last week; but again without the details of how. I think that did at least help a bit; but since I'm doing such a lousy job of being a tween so far; I could be wrong about that. As for Vanessa, I don't know what she'll do next; but I'm sure Michael and I will find out soon enough when he starts his days off tomorrow.

I didn't really spend any time with Michael while we were at church. Tim was hanging out with him and they were both with some of the other guys. Nora may not have put him to work collecting information too, but I heard enough to know that the guys wanted to know about Friday nearly as much as the girls did. The looks being directed my way from some of the guys weren't anything like what I was getting from Vanessa and Nora, but to be honest; it felt just about as tweeird. At least I wasn't alone for that – Rowen was still getting some attention that I'm sure is a direct result of our swimsuit time at the park on Friday. She may not lose her brainiac bookworm status; but I wouldn't be surprised if the adjective 'hottest' gets added to the front of her unofficial title by the end of the summer.

Let's get back to the Father's Day event report. With the short service, even the Stone family didn't need to rush off to the Inn, and though I didn't hang out with Michael while waiting to walk home again; we were with our families when we left; and we held hands again until we split up outside of the Inn. I included him in the round of goodbye hugs, but there were a lot of people around us; and I didn't even attempt adding a kiss – though I probably would have if we'd had a bit of privacy.

The rest of my day was fun and entertaining; but nothing particularly newsworthy to write about. We added Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah for our barbeque lunch because they were doing dinner with his family tonight; and they spent a couple of hours with us before needing to take Leah home for some nap time. We played at the park; some of us went for a short canoe ride; and Rowen and I did some swimming. Rowen was doing the family dinner thing with the Emersons tonight, and we had dinner with the same group that was here for breakfast – except for Violet. She and Dillon were back in town by then, but they were having dinner with his family. I had lots of time to help with the dinner clean-up and to play with Ethan and Ehlana before Rowen, her parents, Patrick, and Scott collected me on their way home from the late buffet at the Inn.

The rest of our evening hasn't been boring, but Patrick and Scott didn't have any new gags or tricks tonight; and the only thing I have to mention is that Patrick continues to be very upset with me. He hasn't figured out how to deal with that yet, and was trying to keep up appearances around Scott even though he didn't really feel like playing their usual sleepover games. That's the only reason that Rowen and I mostly played along with them tonight and tried to make it more fun for them.

We've had some girl chat time too – once the boys were ordered to cease and desist so the parents could get some sleep; and since Rowen didn't really have anything new to tease me about; we mostly talked about what we wanted to do for the next four days – and about the shopping trip on Friday. Even with Alicia helping Mom full-time, I'm going to spend more time playing with Ethan and Ehlana, and Rowen and I both have work too; so making those plans isn't as easy as it used to be. One decision was easy, though, and that was making Monday and Tuesday two of our play days. Patricia and Owen were not surprised to hear that, and Patricia did tease me about it while we were discussing the work side of our schedule with them earlier tonight. We're tentatively going with Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings for work shifts, with adjustments as needed – like for our shopping trip on Friday that Rowen and Patricia will both be going on.

Getting back to our play plans, we're getting more rain again tonight, and then tomorrow is looking fairly good while we could be in for a rainy day for Violet's birthday on Tuesday. The rain is probably going to keep us from having the second camping adventure of the summer holidays that we'd wanted to do tomorrow night, and we're going to wing it on Tuesday; but we're going to do a picnic lunch at the park with Ethan and Ehlana tomorrow; and then we'll hopefully get to do some biking with Michael and Tim if they want to do that with us in the afternoon. We'll do another sleepover at my house tomorrow night, but that's mostly so that Rowen can be with us for the birthday breakfast we'll be doing for Violet before she goes to Crystal Springs with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie for the day.

Dad's going to be having dinner with them on Tuesday night – and with Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, Chris, Martin, and Dawn. I wish we could be there for that, but Mom already decided that she had too much to get done this week to take two or three days off – even though Aunt Leanne offered to watch Ethan, Ehlana, and me overnight if she wanted to go and do a five-star sleepover with Dad. I really didn't want to wrap this up on a note like that – and definitely don't want to be thinking about parental sleepovers or kid-free nights; but that is all I have to report, so...

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

Monday, June 17, 2013

It definitely started feeling like we were really on summer holidays today when we didn't need to get up; rush around; and head off to school while Rowen's parents still needed to go to work.

Not getting to see Dad before he left for Crystal Springs felt strange too, but he probably appreciated the night off from kids as much as it looked like Mom did this morning. Let's leave that thought there and move along.

Rowen and I wandered over to my house when her parents left for the computer store; while Patrick and Scott were set free to hang out with their buddies and play all day. We had a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana while Mom was mostly waiting for Alicia and Violet to get there; and she gave us approval for a picnic lunch at the park with Ethan and Ehlana. Violet and Alicia both joined us at nearly the same time; and Rowen and I stayed for a little sleepover chat with Violet before hopping on our bikes and heading out for a little ride. We went over to the new section of town for a quick construction site tour first, and then our next stop was a short visit at Michael's house.

He was doing yard work by then with Jacob and Jake, so we only interrupted their work for a few minutes to see if he was interested in joining us for the picnic at the park; play time with Ethan and Ehlana; and some trail riding in the afternoon. Going with us for the picnic was tentative, depending on whether his chores were done by then, but he was definitely in for the afternoon biking. While Michael went back to work, Rowen and I took an extra few minutes to visit with Miranda and Rebecca, and then we moved on to check out the lab construction site before deciding to bike out along river road and do a tour that took us around a big loop North and then West back to Quarry Road.

We were back in town in time to pack our picnic lunch, hook up the trailer to my bike, and take Ethan and Ehlana for a little ride around town before going on to the park playground. Michael met up with us there by shortly before noon; and he joined in to play for a while too before we stopped for lunch. I think what I liked most about hanging out with Michael today was the fact that even though it feels like everything has changed between us; we just had fun playing together like always too. There wasn't one single moment between us today that could be considered romantic, but we all had a blast; and I always love watching him with Ethan and Ehlana.

There was a little more playground action after we finished eating, and then we wrapped up our play time with Ethan and Ehlana with an Emporium ice cream run before taking them home again. I put their trailer away, and then Michael, Rowen, and I headed back over to the park – and into the tweeird zone.

Yep, it was afternoon play time for a lot of kids, tweens, and teens; and the gang that Michael and Tim normally hung out with in their spare time was there. Tim broke ranks to intercept us so he could mostly talk with Michael, and though he didn't notice the effect doing that had on Nora; he didn't have any doubt how she felt about it when he told her that he wanted to hit the trails with us after finding out what we were going to be doing. The plan for excluding Michael from their group until he came to his senses was still in effect; and Nora did not want Tim messing that up by hanging out with his best friend.

Tim has often shown more talent for staying out of trouble with his girlfriend compared to the other guys; and can usually charm his way back into Nora's good graces whenever he needs to do that; but today he decided that he was willing to take the hit so he could spend an hour or two doing something that he knew Nora didn't like doing anyway. Last I heard, he was still in the doghouse, and would be in even more trouble whenever Nora finds out about our tentative plans for tomorrow.

Michael would have understood if Tim had stayed with Nora and the rest of our friends; but he was glad to have him along too; and all four of us enjoyed riding the trails together. The trails that were still fairly muddy from the weekend rain weren't being used much by anyone except us; but we had to wait in line whenever we were riding the most popular trails. Rowen and I have done a lot of riding every summer since I moved here, but we both really love being able to keep up with the teens this year – and even be better than a lot of them despite still being shorter. We wouldn't have even tried the more difficult jump trails a year ago with our smaller bikes – even though most of the guys our age did and mostly survived to brag about it.

We were on the trails for nearly an hour and a half, and then we went back to Michael's house; though Rowen and I went back to my house to change into swimsuits before jumping into the river and floating downriver to where Michael and Tim were already swimming. The swim was to cool off and get rid of some of the mud and dirt we'd picked up on the trails; but we ended up floating around and playing for nearly another hour before Rowen and I needed to get home to help Mom with Ethan and Ehlana after Alicia was done work for the day.

Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie were working the dinner shift at the Inn to help out with some schedule juggling for the week, so Violet was with us for dinner; and she and Mom cooked while Rowen and I played with Ethan and Ehlana. I loved getting to have a nice long chat with Violet while we ate – even if that did give everyone else a chance to tease me some more about Michael. We didn't escape helping with the clean-up; but since we'd gone with an easy-dinner, that didn't take long.

Ethan and Ehlana wanted to go to the park after that; and we soon found out that Tim really was in the doghouse – Nora hadn't even come to watch his practice and hang out with him for the evening. He seemed to be surviving remarkably well; and the Wranglers looked like they were having a pretty good practice – at least from what I saw during the five minutes or so Ethan needed to be there for before running off to the playground.

We'd only been at the park for a half hour when it started looking like we had more rain moving in; and I felt the need to get home instead of risking another wet-shirt encounter with Michael. Since I was still wearing the same swimsuit he'd seen me in earlier under my shorts and tee, that's fairly ridiculous; but that didn't change how I felt – and neither did having Rowen laugh at me about it.

By the time we got home, Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam were over for a visit; and Mom was doing a little Magi baby empathy lesson with them. We all sat in on the rest of that lesson; and then Rowen and I were set free to play again.

Don't laugh; but we went for a swim. We'd gone outside when it looked like the rain had stopped; heard Michael and Tim playing in the river again; and decided to go swimming with them again. If Rowen wasn't currently enjoying some Jacuzzi time in my tub; she'd be laughing at me again. Yes, you've probably guessed that it started raining again – pouring to be accurate.

Miranda, Jacob, and Rebecca thought it was just as funny when they met us out on their back porch with big beach towels. Rowen and I both got the personal towel wrap help from Miranda, but I got the bonus hug and a bit of teasing about getting caught in the rain – especially when the little downpour only lasted another few minutes before letting up again. I feel so much better that I wasn't caught with my bikini showing through a wet shirt and shorts – and walking home wearing beach towels that probably made Rowen and I look like we weren't wearing anything else at all must have looked much classier!

Aunt Leanne had fun with that too when we got back home, but she and Uncle Adam didn't stay much longer before deciding to take advantage of a break in the rain to get home without having their own wet t-shirt contest. I'm not going to write about any of the parting comments that went along with that thought. When they left, I won the first Jacuzzi time slot, and went to have my bath while Rowen helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for bed. Dillon came over in time for the bedtime snack, so we all joined in for that; and after getting the twins tucked in for the night, Rowen and I came upstairs again. She's been in the tub for a bit over a half hour; and I've just been getting my nightly computing out of the way so I won't have to do that when we're ready to start our bedtime movie.

As I mentioned earlier, we've made tentative plans with Michael and Tim for tomorrow. If the weather cooperates, we're going to go for a bike ride; have a picnic lunch at the caves; and then go for a longer ride in the afternoon. Tim is going to invite Nora too, but none of us expect her to want to go along; which is why I think Tim will be in bigger trouble if we do get to go for the ride. My last weather check is looking okay, but there is some chance we could get rained on – or rained out.

Anyway, I don't have anything else to report for today, and I should go get everything ready for our movie now, so...

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

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Happy 18th Birthday, Violet!

I'm sure she's having a very, very happy day – if for no other reason than the fact that she and Dillon got to find out that they're both Magi this morning when they were both here for breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa came over early enough to do the 'official' talk with her too while I helped Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam with making breakfast; so I'll guess that she had some bonus hugs for Stephanie this morning when they met up before heading for their day in Crystal Springs.

We had Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah over for breakfast too, and we had fun doing a little birthday breakfast roast for Violet. There was only about an hour available for that little party before Violet and Dillon needed to go meet up with Jake and Stephanie, and the working guests needed to get to the clinic, office, or school; so that felt like a bit of a mad rush. Rowen and I were on the clean-up crew after everyone except Grandma and Grandpa had left; and then we packed our picnic and got ready for a day of biking and caving once we'd finished the post-party cleaning.

It was going on ten o'clock by the time we were on our bikes and met up with Michael and Tim. As expected, Nora hadn't wanted to go biking and crawling around in caves with us; and Tim advised us that he was in big trouble for going along instead of spending the day with Nora. He was joking about it, and wasn't worried – especially since he also didn't think it was fair for Nora to act like she was about not spending a day with her while not having a problem with going on the girls' shopping trip with Vanessa on Friday without him.

We biked straight to the caves, and then had lots of time to explore them before having our picnic in the largest cave. Rowen's telling me to write about the suspicious sounds she heard a few times while we were exploring the caves. She thinks it sounded like people kissing, but never saw what was making the noise when she or Tim shone their lights around to find out where the noise was coming from; so it might have just been their imagination.

I'm sure that it was just a coincidence that you saw grins on our faces every time you looked, Rowen – or not. :^)

Moving along, lunch wasn't anything particularly exciting, since we'd packed to be as light as possible; but it was a lot of fun eating our little meal in the cave. So was the long bike ride we went on after leaving the caves. We went west this time; eventually went over the closest bridge to Witch Falls that crosses the Ridge River; and then biked back into town through the valley along Witch Falls Road. It was time for a swim once we got home again; and that was at my house so that we could take Ethan and Ehlana in with us for a while too.

We'd taken the chance that we might get rained on a bit today, but we didn't end up getting anything more than a sprinkle here and there, and since we were going to have a nice night; Rowen and I decided to set up a tent for one more camping adventure before going into a couple of work days. We started doing that after Michael, Tim, and Alicia all left; and had Ethan and Ehlana with us while we raised the tent and then got all of the usual gear collected and moved into it. With Violet and Dad both away, Mom went with another easy-meal night; and we all ate at our campsite – though Mom sat on one of the benches while Rowen and I sat on the dock with the twins.

Michael and Tim started setting up a tent at Michael's house after dinner; and Ethan ran over there to 'help' them. Since he and Ehlana had been with Mom at the time while Rowen and I were cleaning up the kitchen; she was the one running after him – and Ehlana; since she'd quickly followed Ethan. Rowen and I finished up in the kitchen first before walking over too; and we had a nice little visit with Miranda and Jacob.

News flash for us – One of Violet's gifts today is a five-star hotel sleepover in Crystal Springs. She probably knows about it by now unless she hasn't opened her gifts yet at her birthday dinner. I'm sure they'll have fun; and that I won't need the details that Aunt Leanne will want to hear all about tomorrow after they get home.

Once Miranda had given us all the latest news from around town, we left Mom to continue chatting with them while we took Ethan and Ehlana over to the park to try and wear them down a bit before bedtime.

That's where we were when Ethan was captured – or rescued – by pirates.

I really loved seeing Ethan's happy surprise when Michael snatched him from the playground while Tim protected them from the little band of girls who had obviously been holding the poor boy against his will; and they made their escape in their pirate ship canoe. Rowen, Ehlana, and I had to then go after them; sneak into the pirate camp; and un-save Ethan – while Mom, Miranda, and Jacob watched the show and laughed at us from the back porch.

Once Ethan was back in our custody, Rowen and I returned the twins to Mom, and then we went for another swim with Michael and Tim that Rebecca joined us for. Miranda and Jacob invited all of us to do a bedtime snack with them after that; so we stayed for another half hour or so before Mom decided that it was time to take Ethan and Ehlana home and dunk them in the tub before putting them to bed. Rowen and I helped her with that before going out to our campsite for the rest of the night.

I was getting that warm fuzzy feeling again when we saw Michael and Tim set up a tent too, and wasn't surprised when they came over to hang out with us shortly after we were in our tent. We ended up sitting on the dock and talking for quite a while; followed that up with a late-night swim that was quietly exciting and fun – though Michael and I probably felt that a bit more than Tim and Rowen did – unless they were doing a little underwater hand-holding or bumped into each other in the dark a few times too.

Are you blushing, Rowen Emerson? Yeah, it's probably just the light from my computer making it look that way.

We had another little snack after our swim that pretty much demolished the little supply Rowen and I had brought out with us; and we sat on the dock again and talked until Rowen and Tim each made up a lame excuse to leave so that Michael and I were on our own for about ten minutes before he went back to his tent. I've already mentioned that riverside goodnight kisses are something that I love a lot, and it's a good thing that Michael feels the same way; since we're going to need to share them on a regular basis this summer.

Let's just go with one blanket thank-you, Rowen. It's going to get old fast if you keep asking me to thank you every time you make it possible for Michael and me to have a little alone time like that.

Since you're out of work for the junior matchmaking mission you were on for Aunt Leanne; maybe we should find something else for you to do that doesn't include teasing me about Michael all summer – like getting you and 'Tommy' together.

That's not inconsistent at all – you want to be dating him while I hadn't crossed over and didn't want to date anyone when everyone was trying to push Michael and me together. The shopping trip on Friday could be phase one of your personal matchmaking plan if you'd like. I enjoy watching his eyes popping out of his head when he sees you in a swimsuit as much as you like having fun with what's going on with Michael and me.

Don't be so pessimistic, and let's give ourselves a little challenge instead. I think that we can get him to kiss you before the Labor Day weekend is over.

Stop laughing, and no, I'm not using my Sight – even if I did; I'd only see both futures where you either did or didn't share a kiss.

We both have to work in the morning, though, so I do see me finishing this update so I can turn off my computer and we can get some sleep; or we'll be wishing we didn't sit up all night talking.

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

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Mom and I had an extra member in our Tai Chi audience this morning thanks to Ethan; though Michael would have been watching us from where he'd been sitting on his dock anyway. When Ethan had started running his way after seeing him there, Michael had waved Rowen off from chasing him; and had intercepted Ethan half-way before carrying him back to us and sitting on the bench with Rowen while Mom and I finished our forms.

That earned Michael some good morning hugs, and Mom offered to feed him and Tim too; so we had seven for breakfast at the patio table on the back porch. We only changed our breakfast plans a little by whipping up a batch of pancakes to go along with a fruit salad instead of having cereal; and bagels and muffins were still an option too. Rowen and Tim conspired to keep Michael and me together after breakfast; though I'm sure that Tim really did prefer to help Rowen with packing up both tents while Michael helped with the kitchen clean-up – he does not stop in to hang out with Michael and help out in the kitchen at the Inn on Michael's work days. Ethan and Ehlana picked helping them too instead of supervising the dishwashing; so it was just Mom, Michael, and me getting that done. Michael went home after that, and since Rowen and Tim had already put our tent away and had moved on to take down the boys' tent; I started putting the rest of our camping gear away while Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana were busy helping out at Michael's house.

I had the sleeping bags, cooler, and nearly everything else put away by the time they got back, and after Rowen grabbed her things and headed for home and then her work shift at the store; Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I all went into the office so that two of us could get to work while we waited for Alicia to come over.

While I'm thinking about that, the archives for Ethan and Ehlana have all of the details, but I should have mentioned before now that my amazing little brother and sister have unofficially graduated from Grade Eleven; and will be starting Grade Twelve in September. They're a bit ahead of where I was at their age, but their education plan is more focused than mine; and they have their own special talents too that will likely keep their development ahead of mine anyway.

Mom and I both got right to work while Ethan and Ehlana played on their iPads until Alicia took over watching them for the rest of the morning. Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon all needed to be home in time to help with the lunch shift at the Inn, so they were back in town by shortly before noon; but Violet had lunch with Aunt Leanne at the office because she'd brought fast food home for her – even though we would be in Crystal Springs on Friday anyway. Since she likely also took care of the detailed birthday adventures report too, though, I didn't mind having to wait until dinnertime to hear the kid-friendly version.

I did get to see her for a few minutes before Rowen and I headed out on our afternoon canoeing adventure, and while we were gone; she was planning on getting some work done and possibly having a nap when Ethan and Ehlana did. While it was a quiet afternoon at home, Rowen and I ended up doing a fast trip all the way to the whirlpool and back; with just a short swim break there before getting started on the downriver half of our little adventure. Rowen had orders to go home for dinner tonight, so it was just the five of us for dinner. Violet and I did the clean-up while Mom got to have a little break, and then we all went over to the park for the Fix-it Uppers' practice.

Violet was drafted to stand in for Dad, and though she doesn't really play baseball very much; she did pretty well tonight. Being younger than most of the players probably helped, but she has some sporting skills too – even though she prefers sports like swimming. Her game wasn't better than Dad's, and the overall practice wasn't any more impressive than the others had been so far this season; but they did all have as much fun as usual. Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and I had fun too. We watched some of the practice, and spent the rest of the time at the playground. Rowen didn't come over to play, but she'd suspected that there were chores in her post-dinner future tonight; so that wasn't a surprise.

Having Michael come over after getting set free from the Inn early was nice, and he played with us for the last twenty minutes or so before the practice was over and Mom and Violet were ready to go home again. Getting caught watching us from the back door of the Inn was the reason Miranda cut him loose tonight, though he was advised that it wouldn't work anymore if he tried doing that every time he saw me at the park.

He came home with us after stopping at home to change into a swimsuit; and then we took Ethan and Ehlana for another little swim before doing the bedtime snack together with Mom, Violet, and Dillon. I didn't want Miranda to be disappointed after being so nice about giving us that extra time together; so Michael and I did share a goodnight hug and kiss out on my back porch when he headed home again. Wasn't that thoughtful of us to do that for her? ;^)

Violet and Dillon were going to watch a movie tonight, but changed their plans when Mom reminded them that they knew about each other now; Dillon was allowed to know about the Magi Masters in town; and they could sit in on the lessons she was doing with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before tucking the twins in for the night – and she didn't have to wait until after Dillon went home to do Violet's lesson either anymore.

That was very cool for all of us, and Mom pretty much made it one lesson with varying degrees of difficulty for all of us – including Dillon. He was amazed a lot of the time, but Mom and I were happy to see that his mother was already using some of the new techniques and information that Mom has been giving to the Magi council with Dillon's training. His abilities are about half-way between Violet's and Dad's on the Magi power scale; and his strengths lean toward the creative – he's particularly talented with Transmutation.

We ended up playing a bit too long, so it was after eleven before Ethan and Ehlana were in bed for the night and I came up to my room for some Jacuzzi time. I want to get a little extra rest, so my nightly computing and this archive update has been going on while I've been soaking in the tub. It's going on midnight now, though, so it's time to finish this; get ready for bed; and go to sleep. Rowen and I are working again tomorrow morning to make up for Friday; and then we'll probably just play with Ethan and Ehlana in the afternoon so that Mom and Alicia can do some other work before we'll all be going to Crystal Springs on Friday.

That's all I have, so, until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

I'm going to keep this short and be sleeping before eleven for a change so I'll be fully-charged and ready for the big shopping adventure.

My morning included Tai Chi; breakfast; clean-up; and work until noon. Lunch was hot dogs and salads while sitting on the dock with Ethan and Ehlana. Rowen and I played with Ethan and Ehlana all afternoon, and that included park play; an ice cream run to the Emporium; so biking with the trailer; and a swim before another meal on the dock.

Rowen and I went to baseball practice after that, but then we both went to our own homes just ahead of the incoming rain showers. While I was gone, Mom and Aunt Leanne had finalized the shopping trip lists; and had sent out the final group and transportation lists to all shoppers. There is only going to be eighty-four girls going to Crystal Springs tomorrow; and that seems like a small group compared to the 'kid' Christmas shopping trip last December. Vanessa and Nora are going with two other girls from our class and just one Mom; but I seriously doubt that they'll be wanting to spend any time shopping with us.

While I'm thinking about them, Rowen and I did hear that Tim convinced Nora to let him out of the doghouse yesterday. He should be able to stay out of it through the weekend, since she'll be gone tomorrow; and Michael will be working on Saturday and Sunday – except for their ballgame on Saturday. We'll see what happens on Michael's next days off, but it is more fun for Rowen when Tim or Rebecca hang out with us too.

I'm letting my wandering thoughts get in the way of finishing this and getting off to sleep, so...

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

Friday, June 21, 2013

Do I go with the good morning, have fun on the shopping trip hug and kiss with Michael or finding the perfect dress for the wedding and our first date as the top story today?

Sorry, Michael; but I have to go with the dress on that one. Hopefully you'll agree when you see it in about two weeks!

Mom and I skipped Tai Chi again for this year's trip day, and we were busy enough just getting five of us ready; picking up Aunt Leanne and Stephanie; and driving the minivan and Violet's car over to the Inn by seven o'clock. The breakfast buffet was as awesome as always; and Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I sat with Rebecca and Jenny for that while Mom and Aunt Leanne sat with Patricia and Sylvia Bassett. When it was time to go, I did a round of hugs in the kitchen with Jacob, Jake, and Dillon before taking Michael's hand and leading him into the back room for a little privacy while Miranda, Stephanie, and Violet were busy saying goodbye to their favorite boys too. I'm sure that Michael got teased about that even more than I did, but hopefully our family and friends will get used to it; since that will not be the last kiss we share at the Inn.

Moving along, the travel groups were already loading up into cars, trucks, and vans by the time Miranda and Stephanie pretended to drag me out of the kitchen while teasing me about taking too long saying goodbye to Michael. That little scene didn't go over well with Vanessa, but I tried to ignore the glares and got busy helping Ethan and Ehlana get settled into their car seats for the trip before climbing into the back seat with Rowen. Mom and Aunt Leanne were last in once they'd matched all kids and teens up with their drivers and chaperones; and we were in the last group of vehicles leaving on our big adventure.

The trip there was almost exactly one 'Cars' movie long; and that kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained while Mom and Aunt Leanne mostly talked shopping and weddings; and Rowen and I chatted too, but also played some travel games, watched the movie, and took care of getting anything that Ethan or Ehlana needed. We had Patricia, Emily Warren, and Hannah Draper's groups with us still when we got to the Mall; but Violet and Stephanie had left earlier with some other teen groups and was already shopping by the time we got there. Not everyone in the four cars and vans stayed with us to shop – Carolyn Landry, Erica Bassett, Rebecca, and Jenny went off in search of their friends – and adult-free shopping. Hannah had Liz, Aunt Deborah, Hailey, Naomi, and Leah with her, and while they mostly stayed close to us; they weren't always in the same stores or departments of stores with the rest of us – and they regularly took Aunt Leanne with them when shopping for maternity clothes for Liz.

Phase One of the summertime mission that I was still trying to convince Rowen to let me help her with had enthusiastic help from Aunt Leanne, and moderation and good taste influences from our mothers. There were quite a few comments from all of the women about how our fathers were going to react to some of our choices, and I thought that was both fun and funny; but they're both going to need to catch up with reality if they expected us to come home with cute little Dora the Explorer swimsuits and Disney-themed shorts, tops, and dresses.

Speaking of swimming, Mom found some new toddler floatation devices called 'puddle jumpers'; and picked up four of them for home. Ethan and Ehlana can swim without help already, but can't do that in public; so these puddle jumpers are perfect for them, and the extras are for when they have friends like Naomi, Aiden, and Sophia over – like for their birthday party at Quarry Lake tomorrow. If you haven't seen them before, think water wings attached to a partial life vest that only goes around the chest; and you've got the idea.

Getting back to the shopping, Rowen and I had a rotating group of women keeping an eye on us while we shopped, Among the new clothes that earned special commentary were most of our swimsuit choices; the two sets of biking shorts and tops that we each picked out; and several of the tops and shorts we picked out. The dresses all had both Mom and Aunt approval, and while I didn't actually find that perfect wedding-first-date dress until we stopped in for Abby's big sale after getting back to Witch Falls; I did have two back-up choices from the Mall that will have to settle for making Sundays or special events appearances instead of getting shown off at the wedding. The dress shoes we found at the Mall go with all of the dresses, though, so I won't need to make an extra trip to Taylors for more shoes.

That's probably a good thing, since I bought five pairs today, including the dress shoes, two pairs of cross trainers, and a pair each of dressy and casual sandals. The shoe part of the trip was Violet and Stephanie's contribution to giving the Moms a little time off to do some shopping for themselves after lunch. It's a good thing there were some decent sales, or I'd need to work a lot more this summer to revive my poor little bank account!

The only tweeird for me today was while we were having lunch, and that was only because Vanessa and Nora decided that they needed to sit close enough to us so they could talk about how great their morning had been loudly enough for us to overhear – including detailed information on how their own new summer wardrobes were going to have 'the boys' following them around like puppies. I didn't have any doubts as to which boys they meant; but they ought to give Michael and Tim a bit more credit for intelligence than that.

I know what you're probably thinking, but Phase One of our matchmaking challenge for Rowen and 'Tommy' is just the attention-getter. Finding out how amazing she is after that will follow; and be the more important part of the plan.

Getting back to the shopping part of the report, when Violet and Stephanie dropped Rowen and I off with Mom and the rest of our group again, we found out that Hannah was taking everyone in her travel group – except for Naomi – home early. Liz, Leah, and Hailey had decided they'd had enough fun by then; and didn't want to keep playing with the rest of us anymore today. Violet and Stephanie took a load of bags out to their car; helped out with Hailey and Leah; and moved Naomi's car seat over to Mom's minivan so Naomi could stay and go home with us.

The last hour or so at the Mall was really just a wind down time, and we didn't really pick up much more before moving on to Wal-Mart for the supply shopping part of our adventure. That was where Rowen and I took care of a lot of our friends and family gift shopping to cover everything between now and the back-to-school shopping trip. We kept Jessica, Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia with us while Ethan stayed with Mom and Aunt Leanne. Their shopping wasn't as much fun as ours, except maybe for the supplies they were picking up for wedding decorations and gift baskets.

In addition to the gifts we needed to get, Rowen and I also picked up a few new yard and water toys; including a glow-in-the-dark water basketball and floating hoop that will come in handy for future late-night swims. We had an hour and a half time limit for that stop, and had everything we wanted to get done finished with ten minutes to spare; so we picked out some travel snacks while waiting for the rest of our group to catch up with us.

Getting through the check-out lines took a while even though we split up to do that; and Dad met up with us while we were still doing that after fighting his way through a busier-than-usual Friday traffic snarl. Nearly everything that we collectively bought at Wal-Mart went into his truck, and there was time for a little visit while we put Naomi's car seat in his truck – though Ethan was going to use it so that Naomi could go home with Ehlana. Rowen and I were with Dad and Ethan too; so we got to spend the next hour and a half giving him the detailed weekly update during the trip home. We all stopped for washroom breaks and fast food before getting on the highway, but the traffic wasn't bad once we were out of the city; and we still made it home in lots of time to thoroughly browse through what stock Abby had left at the end of her big sale day. Dad dropped Rowen and I off to do that while he and Ethan made some deliveries before going home.

Let's talk about the perfect dress. Think summer colors that accent auburn hair and green eyes with the hot-factor style of a little black dress; and you're getting the picture. It earned Aunt Leanne's enthusiastic approval, and Abby suggested that I should have Uncle Adam or Aunt Deborah over when Michael picks me up for the wedding in case he needs CPR. I'll let you know how that goes, but I don't plan on taking my aunt or uncle along when I go to pick Michael up – they seem to forget that I asked him out on this particular date. While that was my shopping highlight for the day, it was even better because we found a wow-worthy dress for Rowen too. 'Tommy' isn't going to be at the wedding, but if he sees her around while wearing it; he's going to wish he was there.

By the time Abby was finished playing dress-up with us, we were all ready to go home. Mom drove to our house first so that Ehlana and Naomi could play together until Philip came over to get his daughter; we unloaded the minivan; and Uncle Adam had already come over after helping Dad with unloading Aunt Leanne's supplies from the truck. There was time to get everything I had up to my room before Rowen's Mom got back to her house; and then I went along to help her with carrying everything she'd had with us. We did a total of four trips between that load; one more of her things from their minivan; and two other trips with other supplies and clothes that included a few things for Patrick. He wasn't saying much, and didn't look happy at all when we got to the part of our shopping adventure recap that brought up the dresses and shoes Rowen and I had each picked out for the wedding.

I came home again after helping to tell Owen all about our day, though Rowen and I had a little front porch chat for another ten minutes or so before I left, and by the time I got back; the bedtime snack was already in progress. Dillon and Violet were there by then too, and though Dad had already been through the tween version of events; we all had just as much fun getting the teen and adult perspectives plus the parts of the trip that Rowen and I hadn't been in on – like most of Violet's day with Stephanie. She's found an awesome dress for the wedding too, so Michael may not be the only guy in danger of needing CPR.

Violet and Dillon wanted to hang out together and probably not really watch a movie, but the rest of us were ready to crash by then – especially with Ethan and Ehlana's second birthday party tomorrow, so Uncle Adam took Aunt Leanne home with some baggage handler assistance from Dad and me; and Mom and Violet had Ethan and Ehlana ready for goodnight hugs and kisses by the time we got back again. While Mom and Dad are probably getting reacquainted, and Violet and Dillon are entertaining themselves; I did a quick email check after getting changed and into bed with Mandy; and plan on being asleep about a minute after I finish this journal update.

Start the countdown.

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

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan and Ehlana!

This has been one of those really great days, full of fun, adventure, and surprises for everyone.

Ethan and Ehlana were awake early, and I caught up with them before we all went into Mom and Dad's room to give them their wake-up call. There was a pair of birthday gifts for the twins to open while cuddling in bed with Mom and Dad. We went outside for Tai Chi after that, though I put a pot of coffee on to brew for Mom and Dad while they got ready to exercise first. Pancakes and sausages were the breakfast offerings that Ethan and Ehlana picked, and Violet helped Dad with the cooking while Mom and I took turns getting ready and helping the twins to get dressed too.

There were more gifts for Ethan and Ehlana to open at breakfast, and that was a little blast of fun before four out of six of us needed to get some work done. For Dad and I, that was the minimum yard work that absolutely needed to get done – especially since we were having quite a few guests over for a birthday barbeque dinner and play night here after we get back from our Quarry Lake adventure. For me, that meant cutting the lawn and giving the gardens a super-quick once-over.

While Dad and I were busy in the yard, Mom had help arriving throughout the morning to help with getting everything ready for both our trip to Quarry Lake and the birthday dinner. Alicia was working; Grandma and Aunt Leanne both came over to help out with making salads and packing the picnic and everything else we'd need for lunch and the afternoon. Grandpa did a lot of the running around town to pick up everything from cases of pop and adult beverages to an Olde Bakery order and a few grocery supplies.

I was sent off to grab a shower at eleven and get dressed for a swim and play afternoon at eleven o'clock, and needed to rush that with an eleven-thirty departure time for Quarry Lake. It wasn't until I got downstairs again that I found out that Ethan had invited Michael to the party; and my brother was quite pleased with himself for pulling that little surprise off. He'd needed some co-conspirators; and Aunt Leanne had been happy to help him out with that by making sure that Michael had a ride back to town in time for his ball game this afternoon at three. She and Uncle Adam are going to come back early so that she can have a rest before joining the party again in time for dinner.

There were quite a few people invited to the party, plus some extra kids and parents going along to join in on the fun; and for the adults – help out with kid control. Rowen had worked this morning too, and Owen was one of the drivers; though he wasn't staying at Quarry Lake. He was mostly driving because Patrick and Scott were going along, and Michael, Rowen, and I went with them. Patrick wasn't very happy about that; he didn't say a word to Michael all day; and barely said anything to me anytime Michael was with us.

Patrick and Scott weren't the only kids or teens from town who were spending the afternoon at Quarry Lake; and the next surprise for us was finding out that Tim, Nora, Vanessa, and quite a few of our friends were at Quarry Lake for the afternoon too. We didn't need more than a first pair of smug glances from the girls to know that it wasn't a coincidence that they'd decided to have a play day there too. The fact that they'd even play those kind of games when we were just trying to have fun with Ethan and Ehlana on their birthday was more than a little annoying to me; but I was too busy for the next couple of hours to even pay any attention to what they were doing.

First up was helping Dad, Uncle Adam, Uncle Nick, and some of the other parents with unloading vehicles and setting up our little camp by the beach and lake while the Moms and Grandparents mostly handled kid control. Michael and Rowen helped with that too, and then we had time to have a quick swim with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Sophia, and Aiden before getting put to work helping with lunch.

No, Rowen, I'm not going to skip the effect my new swimsuit had on Michael – or that 'Tommy' had a similar reaction to you today again. That was an earlier start than we expected to have for Phase One; and that did help offset the Vanessa-Nora annoyances quite a bit. They certainly weren't happy to see that Michael was having fun with us, and not only didn't look miserable from missing out on the best tween fun; but didn't even pay any attention to them at all. I certainly didn't have a problem with the fact that Michael didn't find watching Vanessa more interesting than hanging out with me even though she fills out a swimsuit better than I do even if I am starting to slowly catch up to some of my older classmates.

Getting back to the birthday party, Michael, Rowen, and I were kept busy during lunch with all of the younger kids; we helped with the clean-up; and then we had about an hour to play again before Michael needed to get back to town for the Wranglers' game against Palmer's Posse. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne weren't the only people heading home then – Aunt Deborah and Leah wanted to have a nap too, so Uncle Nick took them home; and Grandma and Grandpa went back to our house to do a little work to get ready for the dinner party.

I'd better add that Tim obviously needed to get back to town for the game too, and Vanessa and Nora were probably very happy when they found out that I didn't leave with Michael – especially after making sure I knew that they'd be there to support the Wranglers. Other than finding out that the Wranglers won again, I didn't ask Michael about how the tween part of his afternoon went; and he didn't offer to talk about it.

While he was busy winning a ball game, I spent the next couple of hours playing with Rowen; Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends; and the remaining parents, kids, and teens. We had two long water play sessions split up by a snack and playground break; and then Rowen and I were on the clean-up and packing crew for the last half-hour of our time at Quarry Lake before we needed to round everyone up and head for home.

Now that I'm writing about it, there was actually quite a bit of work mixed in with the fun today. We were on the unloading crew when we got back to the house and helped set up tables and chairs after that before leading some toddler-rated back yard games that kept the younger kids busy until dinner was ready. Ethan and Ehlana were at a double table with their friends and some parents; while Rowen and I ended up a few tables away from them; and we sat with Patrick, Scott, and her parents – once they came over after closing the store for the day.

This party was a lot different than my second birthday. Getting to share the day with our family and friends was really great, but the toddler-age gifts were sometimes really funny – especially for the few of us who know just how extraordinary Ethan and Ehlana are. The twins did pretty well with playing their part, and I guess it is good for them to have age-appropriate props for their rooms; but I don't expect them to ask me to read them the books meant to help them with things like first language or number lessons. There were more practical gifts too, like clothes and outdoor-durable drinking cups or bottles; and they liked having some new toys for the back yard and in the water too.

I think that the toddler act was taken a bit too far during the cake and ice cream dessert, but most of their friends were just as messy by the time they were done; and it did give us an excuse to dunk them in the river and play with some of those new toys. The puddle jumpers work great, and though we still need to stay close to the kids for appearances; they really only need help now getting in and out of the water.

Rowen and I were in on the swim-dunk, but then we were put to work again with the clean-up while the younger kids all went to the park for some grandparent-supervised playground time. Most of the parents were able to take a little break then, but Rowen and I needed to set up two tents for the camping with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Sophia, and Aiden that had tentatively been approved pending the overnight weather. We had that done, and the basic gear moved in by the time the younger kids were back; and Ethan and Ehlana were thrilled with the bonus birthday surprise; though we still had the campfire to go before getting to the camping.

We had fewer people around for the start of the campfire because most of the Moms with babies – like Aunt Deborah and Hannah – decided they were ready to go home for the night by then. That was only temporary, and we had new arrivals join the fun once Dad started playing music. Ethan and Ehlana wanted to hang out with Rowen and me once we sat down on blankets; so we had Naomi, Sophia, and Aiden with us a lot too. We had fun helping them toast marshmallows and making s'mores; doing the actions to some of the campfire songs; and cuddling while the stories were being told by Grandpa and some of the other men.

My favorite part of the campfire was when Michael, his family, Stephanie, and Dillon came over after closing the Inn for the night. Michael and I weren't cuddling together like the teen couples were, but we did sit close together while holding the twins in our laps; and held hands quite a bit too. Ethan instigated one last surprise for me then too by 'asking' Michael to stay and camp with him and Aiden in the second tent. I didn't expect Michael to be able to turn down the offer, and that made it easier for Rowen and I to take care of the five toddlers; but I also had thoughts of laying on the dock and talking with Michael for hours like we did the last time he was camping with us.

Okay, Rowen, so maybe we weren't always talking in those thoughts; but I am here in the tent with you and not doing that instead right now.

The campfire started winding down shortly after the Stone family joined us, and Rowen and I had one of our junior campers tucked into a sleeping bag and out for the count a half hour before we were ready to tag-team getting the other four kids ready for their camping adventure too. Michael needed to run home and pick up a few things then, and Rowen and I were able to go and get changed and take turns in the bathroom while Mom and Dad had help with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. We were all out in the tents by the time Michael joined us again; and the last thing I did before getting into the 'girls' tent was leave Ethan and Aiden giggling when I gave all three boys goodnight hugs and kisses.

Since zipping up our tent, Rowen and I had a little bedtime chat with Ehlana and Naomi while we listened to some music on my computer. They fell asleep about a half hour ago, and Sophia hasn't stirred – even when the rest of us were getting settled into our sleeping bags and moving things around so we could all be more comfortable. It's after midnight now, so I should probably wrap this up, and we should get some sleep so we're ready to help Mom, Dad, and Violet with everything we'll collectively need to do before going to church in the morning.

The only plans we have for tomorrow are to show off new dresses at church, and the late dinner buffet at the Inn, so once we get through the morning rush; we should be able to have a lazy play afternoon and evening to give us a chance to recover from the nearly non-stop action today. I'm ready to get started on that with some sleep now, so...

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

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Michael, Rowen, and I had a couple of wake-up calls overnight, but even though Rowen teased Michael and me about having some more early-morning alone time; there wasn't anything more serious happening than a hug between us, and we both just wanted to get all of the sleep that we could between those runs into the house for toddler bathroom breaks.

The morning rush was as crazy as I expected it to be with five toddlers, and Michael must really like Ethan a lot to give up his Dad's Sunday morning breakfast special to stay and have breakfast with us before going home to get ready for church. Mom, Rowen, and I had the most fun playing dress-up and styling hair for Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia; though getting to show off new dresses from our shopping trip was great too.

If Rowen were here tonight, she'd be teasing me about Michael's reaction to seeing me again when we met up again on the way to church; but then Phase One of our matchmaking challenge for her took another step forward this morning too. 'Tommy' may not even realize that yet, but I can go back in my memories and look at the tiniest details; and I know that he kept glancing over at Rowen all morning with that same look in his eyes that told me he was having trouble resolving what he was seeing with the way he'd always seen Rowen until recently.

You can probably guess that the tweeird level in my life was on high while we were at church. That started when Vanessa and Nora needed to talk with some of the other girls about their time at Quarry Lake, and how their support helped Tim and his team win their second game of the season. That was discussed loudly enough for me to overhear, but they seemed to be having problems juggling between bragging about helping their boys and trying to make Michael jealous that he was excluded from the hugs and kisses. Vanessa lost most of her enthusiasm for their little games when they found out that Michael had gone to our birthday party campfire after work; and then stayed overnight to camp with Rowen and me. Michael did add that we had five junior campers with us; and he was in one tent with Ethan and Aiden; but I'm not sure that Vanessa and Nora were still listening in on his chat with Tim by then. The rest of my time in Sunday school after that was fairly frosty, but since Michael sat with Rowen and me today; I was lots warm enough anyway.

After a family and friends day, Dad had a lot of work to do in the office today; so we only had Rowen with us for lunch. She and I took custody of the twins after we ate, and spent the afternoon keeping them entertained; and all of us out of Mom and Dad's way until we went to the late dinner buffet at the Inn. We went for a bike ride; had some playground time; jumped in the river a few times to cool off; and had Michael with us for part of that play and swim time while he was on his afternoon break. There really wasn't anything exciting to report; but we did have a really fun, relaxing afternoon.

We ended up having dinner at the Inn with nearly everyone who had been at Ethan and Ehlana's party; though that hadn't actually been planned. Mom must have decided that Rowen and I needed a break from toddlers, because she put us at a table with our grandparents; and we spent an hour and a half talking about the upcoming trips that Rowen's grandmother was coordinating for the rest of the year. With everything else we have going on this summer, and Aunt Leanne's pregnancy, Grandma and Grandpa aren't doing a summer or fall trip; but they were talking about a trip to India and Pakistan for the New Year. It's too bad that Rowen and I can't go along; but I'm sure they'll manage just fine without us.

There isn't much else to report for today. Rowen went home with her parents after dinner; and I spent the evening helping Mom with Ethan and Ehlana while Dad got back to work in the office. The twins were ready for an early bedtime, but Mom did a Magi lesson with me before sending me up to my room for some Jacuzzi action. I'm cuddling with Mandy now, and ready to get a decent night of rest after three really long days, so...

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

Monday, June 24, 2013

There's a lot to write about tonight, but I want to start with my favorite news – that Rowen and I are going to be in the Fourth of July parade this year.

We were drafted by her parents to come up with something to do that Emerson's could sponsor; with the only instructions being that whatever we did needed to allow us to toss candy to the crowd too. By noon, we'd decided on doing something with our bikes, and after talking about it with Michael when we got together at his house after lunch; we decided to go with putting together a street tricks routine. It wasn't tough to get Tim excited about the idea when we told him about it; and we had our little stunt group set to go – though Tim was immediately in the doghouse again with Nora.

I'm glad he was willing to take that hit for the team because he had a great idea for using a low-ride equipment trailer to do the cooler tricks on; and his mechanic Dad and Uncle were a much better choice to help us put that together than our chef, lawyer, and computer expert fathers would have been. We may have an extra sponsor now too; but the Moms can work that out while we concentrate on putting our little trick riding demonstration together.

We worked on that for a couple of hours this afternoon, starting with some trail riding before spending some time taking those trail tricks to the street – or more accurately to the back yards and park picnic area. Picnic tables worked great for practicing jumping up onto objects and balancing; a four-by-four on the ground worked for a balance beam that didn't hurt to fall off; and Michael and Tim put together a make-shift ramp for us to try small jumps on. It was a fun afternoon, but we've got quite a bit of work to do if we want to impress our family, friends, and neighbors next week.

The riding took up a lot of our afternoon, and we had company some of the time – particularly while we were practicing wheelies and bunny hops in the parking lot at the park; and riding on the picnic tables near the pavilion. Vanessa and Nora were particularly interested in what we were doing, and made sure that Michael, Rowen, and I got laughed at whenever our trick attempts failed; and there were frowns and glares each time we succeeded. Some of the other tween and teen guys at the park joined in to try showing off their best tricks too, and that mostly gave us more ideas for what we could put into our routine.

While Nora was annoyed with Tim for hanging out with Michael again and running off to play on his bike with us; today she changed tactics and lured him back to the fold with a timely invitation to go for a swim and an Emporium ice cream run. I'm sure that she was just so happy to have Tim follow her like a happy little puppy that she just forgot to invite Michael, Rowen, and I to go along too. We had to settle for some water play time with Ethan and Ehlana instead; and scooped our own ice cream cones at home too instead of taking the chance of some more tweeirdness by going to the Emporium too.

That swim was pretty much the end of my play time for the day anyway; though we got approval for a major bike trip tomorrow before Michael went home to have dinner before his baseball practice. We're going to bike out to Quarry Lake; and Michael sent an email to Rowen and me tonight to confirm that Tim was in for the trip too. The bad news that came along with that was a heads-up to let us know that Vanessa and Nora were talking to Tim about meeting him out there and spending the day playing with some of their friends – which they made sure Michael overhead before leaving him on his own after the practice.

I didn't get that news until after I was in bed for the night. When Michael went home, Rowen and I helped Mom with making dinner and getting the office ready for a combination wedding and family business meeting. She went home to spend the evening with her parents and to do some work around the house; and Violet was having dinner with Dillon; so it was just the five of us at our house – until our regular meeting members started arriving shortly before seven.

Let's start with the family business and future plans news. The second basement level of the lab has been finished now, and they've begun working on the third and 'top' basement level. It's on target to be done in about six weeks; and then the framing for the two floors that will be above ground can begin. The goal is to have the lab closed in by winter so the construction crews can continue their work through the winter. On the archive side of that part of our future plans; Grandma Eleanor and Grandpa Grant are going to start getting books ready to transport back home on all trips from now on; and we should be able to start moving them into the new building by next Spring.

We went over the house construction next, and the three houses that will be moved into at the end of July, including Aunt Grace and Mark's new home, are all at the finishing and clean-up stage. Other homes being worked on include the houses that the main construction company owners are building for themselves, and one row of townhomes is being built now that will mostly be used as model homes. On the planning side of things, we have the final drawings for the first apartment building; and construction on that site will begin in September; though the land will be prepared this summer, and they may put the foundation in early too if everything else stays ahead of schedule.

The town business development needs chat started out with something that wasn't specifically part of our plan, but is going to be news over the next few days. Witch Falls Electric and Lighting are building a new store and shop; and expect to be opening the new store in time for the Thanksgiving shopping week. Their current store is behind Emerson Computers, and Aunt Leanne will be selling or leasing the building for them for when they've finished moving. Since that does fit perfectly into a plan that we do have; but we won't need to do much about that until September. I'll write more about it then.

While there isn't much we need to do about the people part of our near-term future; we did go over all teen college students we're 'helping'; and though there will be some surprises for them over the next couple of months; everything is pretty much happening as expected. Our assistance now will range from financial to some special lessons that Mom's going to do with Stephanie just in case she should end up anywhere near the Hathornes for any reason at all while she and Jake are in New York for the next four years.

We discussed some plans for adults, and there are some more teens in Grade Eleven and Twelve this year that we'll be keeping an eye on too; but there isn't anything there that gives us anything that needs to be done over the next couple of months.

Aunt Leanne led the wedding plans update; and we're really going to start getting busy with that this weekend when Aunt Grace, Mark, and both sets of parents get here on Friday and Saturday. From Saturday afternoon on, I expect to be busy day and night for the next three weeks – including the two weeks after the wedding when we'll have cousins from both families on vacation with us.

I'll be helping out with some of the extra work this weekend and next week; but a big part of my wedding assignments is going to be younger cousin control and entertainment coordinator. I think I'll ask Rowen if she'd like another part-time job to help me out with that – we're going to have a lot of younger cousins here. Hiring Michael might be fun too, but it'll be all hands on deck at the Inn next week; so other than finding some time to practice for our Fourth of July trick riding demonstration; we're not going to be spending much time together anyway – except on the Fourth and at the wedding. As long as our first date isn't a total disaster, I'm sure we'll figure out a way to spend more time together for the rest of the summer.

For tonight, though, that's pretty much all of the news I have. The meeting took about three hours, so Ethan, Ehlana, and I pretty much went straight to bed after that – though I had a quick visit with my Jacuzzi first before cuddling with Mandy and getting started on my summer-lite nightly computing. There were a few business-related email to deal with, but I'll still manage to be sleeping before midnight; and that'll be enough downtime to be fully charged and ready for our bike ride out to Quarry Lake in the morning.

Now that I'm thinking about that again, I'm going to invite Violet and Dillon – and Jake and Stephanie – to drive out and play with us for a while if they'd like. The extra support might be good to have around if Vanessa, Nora, and the rest of the couples club are at Quarry Lake tomorrow too and not playing nice with Michael, Rowen, and me. I'll ask Violet in the morning – she's still out with Dillon, and probably doesn't want to be disturbed with a text message.

Okay, that really is it for tonight, so...

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

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

We – Michael, Rowen, and I – have had one of those really great days!

For me, that started with Tai Chi by the river with Mom and Dad; followed by breakfast and a mad dash to get ready for a day at Quarry Lake that included packing a picnic for four. Violet liked the idea of coming out to the lake too for a while; but she hadn't even talked to Dillon about it yet before Rowen and I left to meet up with Michael and Tim and head out on our bike ride.

Michael had been ready to go by then too, but we had to wait about ten minutes for Tim to join us before we could get on our bikes and head north on Quarry Road. We weren't in any hurry to get out to the lake, and combined the ride with some play and trick practice time – though we didn't do that while on Quarry Road – with all of the construction going on in town, there were trucks on the road hauling loads gravel, cement blocks, and concrete all day long. That's the main reason why we took a slightly longer route so that we could stay off of Quarry Road as much as possible.

There's something extra-exciting about being allowed to fly and be free at each next-level of independence; and sharing that with Michael made that even better for me. I wouldn't classify our bike ride as romantic, but there were more than a few times while we were at Quarry Lake where the hot was not coming from the sun. That was truer for Michael and me than Rowen; but then she was making things hotter for several guys today – including 'Tommy'. The fact that Rowen attracted the attention of a few tourist-camper boys our age may even have bugged 'Tommy'; but I can't be sure about that. I had fun watching that action, though, and while Rowen was shy whenever the new guys were around; I could tell that she was really happy too.

I can hear Rowen telling me that those boys noticed me too, and Michael felt the need to stay close to me when they first wandered over our way; but I let him know fairly definitively that he had nothing to worry about; and we didn't have any tweeirdness from them at all. Too bad I can't say the same for the members of our class couples club who joined us out at the lake about forty-five minutes after we'd arrived.

They didn't actually join us – they rolled past, and took Tim with them before setting up their amazing campsite far enough away that Michael, Rowen, and I weren't part of it; but close enough for us to see what we were supposedly missing out on. The camping guys who had mostly just been watching Rowen to that point started moving in once we were a threesome, and while that was fun; watching Vanessa flirt with a couple of guys in what looked to be an attempt to get Michael jealous wasn't fun or entertaining. She probably mistook Michael's expression for what she wanted it to be instead of bugging him.

The tweeird games didn't keep us from having fun this morning, but Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie sure helped to kick things up a notch when they brought Rebecca, Ethan and Ehlana out to Quarry Lake for lunch and a couple of hours of play time that also gave Mom and Alicia a little time off to get some non-kid work done around the house. After coming for a swim with us first, we also found out that they'd brought along some bonus picnic food to share with us that helped make the sandwiches and cold veggies lunch we'd expected to have much better. That also managed to spoil the lunchtime tweeird games too; since Michael didn't have any reason to be jealous about the major meal that Vanessa and Nora had packed – though Tim and the other guys with them appreciated their efforts.

Let's skip writing about the rest of the tweeirdness from today. I really loved getting to spend the play time with Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie. We probably won't get many chances to do that before they all head off to college in August; so I'm glad that they decided to do this with us – and with Rebecca, Ethan and Ehlana. After having lunch, we did some playground time with the twins, and then swam and played in the lake for nearly another hour. Rebecca and Rowen both had some guys hanging around and trying to show off for them; and Rebecca looked like she was having as much fun with that as Rowen was. The four teens decided it was time to get Ethan and Ehlana out of the heat and sun by around two o'clock, and Michael, Rowen, and I helped then load up Mom's minivan before they went home for afternoon nap time.

It was hard to tell at the time, but we found out later that there were toddlers and teens having afternoon naps, and judging by Violet's smile; I don't need the details.

Moving along, once Michael, Rowen, and I were on our own again, we had another hour or so to play – and for Rowen to dazzle the boys – before we needed to get on our bikes and head home again. We spent most of that time in the lake, and then wrapped up our Quarry Lake time with just a bit more tweeirdness when Tim needed to choose between riding home with us and staying longer with Nora. Having Michael back at work again starting tomorrow might have had something to do with his decision to keep Nora happy, but whether it was that, more time with his girlfriend in a swimsuit, or alternate reason; we only had a trio for the ride home. Nora was happy to see us leave without Tim, but Vanessa obviously had mixed feelings about their divide and conquer plan working for Tim but leaving Michael with the option to hang out with me instead of suffering in solitude. When we left, I also couldn't feel too bad for her when she was also stuck dealing with the two fish – I mean boys – that she'd hooked while trying to make Michael jealous.

I'm not going to suggest that Tim really missed out by not coming along for the ride, since I'm sure he had fun swimming and playing with our friends; but we had an entertaining rest of the day too. It was a really hot afternoon for the ride, so we didn't play around as much on the way back to town, and then we hopped in the river to cool down after getting back to my house. Ethan and Ehlana came in with us; and we kept them entertained until dinnertime. Michael and Rowen both stayed for that; we were the clean-up crew; and then we wrapped up our play day with some more bike trick practice and another swim before they both headed home for the night.

Yes, there was a goodnight kiss with Michael; but it was not of the fireworks-inducing variety because we were not alone at the time.

After they left, I helped Mom and Dad with the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; Mom did a lesson with me; and then I was ready for a long soak in my Jacuzzi. Doing my hair after that took a while, and then I played my keyboard for a half hour or so before climbing into bed with Mandy. The nightly computing didn't take long, and there isn't anything new to report there. It's a work morning for Rowen and me tomorrow, but other than baseball practices and hopefully getting to work on our biking demonstration with Michael and Tim, we don't have anything planned for the next couple of days. Since the action level around here is really going to start picking up a few notches on Friday, though, I'm going to shoot for a little extra rest for the next few nights, so...

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

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Sometimes my family business work can be strange. It's not as if I haven't worked on back-to-school projects before, but some days it seems stranger than others. Today, that was because of a combination of having to think about going back to school when we've barely started our summer holidays and a little daydreaming about what that might be like if Michael and I are a couple by then.

Oh, and if you're interested, the work went pretty well today too. :^)

My favorite part of this particular retail and manufacturing event, like with Christmas, has people thinking about kids; and that is always good for our charity work. This year, I'm adding some new programs to the mix. My favorite include some companies that are going to try being the sponsors for new school projects; and we're going to match whatever their fundraising brings in. They'll be coming up with the charity drive ideas; and I'm hoping to use the best of them for other projects in the future.

While my family business work is definitely more important than anything else I did today, getting to ride bikes and go swimming with Rowen, Michael, and Tim this afternoon while Michael was on his break from the Inn was more fun; and so was the play time with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi at the park tonight while Mom and Dad were at their Fix-it Uppers practice.

Our bike riding isn't going to have us ready to do Hollywood movie bike stunts by the Fourth of July, but we're having fun, and the routine is coming together. Today we mostly worked on bunny hops; climbing up onto different objects; and jumping off of them again. The boys are both a bit better than Rowen and I are for how high they can make their bikes 'hop', but we're still able to do all of the tricks; and have a slight edge of our own when it comes to keeping our bikes balanced when we're going slow or stopped. Tomorrow we're going to work on jumps. Tim's putting something together that will let us practice at a height that will be the same as what we'll be jumping from on the trailer; so that should be fun too.

The river swim cool-off time didn't last long for Michael because he needed to get back to the Inn, and Tim left with him to meet up with Nora; but Rowen and I swam upriver to my house and took Ethan and Ehlana swimming with us for nearly a half hour. When Rowen left to meet up with her parents at the store, I helped Mom with making dinner for six, and the rest of the evening was pretty much a standard baseball practice night. We ate; Violet and I cleaned up; and spent a couple of hours playing at the park before coming home again. I guess the swim that we all hopped into the river for was an addition to the normal Wednesday night action; but then we likely will be doing that after practices and games fairly regularly for the rest of the summer.

Mom did three Magi lessons tonight, and mine was between the bedtime Magi playtime she had with Ethan and Ehlana and the lesson she did with Violet and Dillon after he came over from the Inn. They really love getting to work together now, and Mom is also teaching them how to study together for when they're away at college. I don't know how they'll work out doing any lessons while living in dorms like they will be this year; but they'll figure something out.

I was in bed before they were done their lesson, but that was only because I opted for a quick shower and cheated a bit on getting my hair dried. They were planning on an early night too, but Violet hasn't come upstairs yet, so they probably just got tied up with their goodnight hugs and kisses. Let's not go there, since I'm going to be trying to sleep soon; and don't need to be thinking about things like that. Rowen and I had a little chat while I was doing my nightly computing and email checks; and she needed to talk about the birthday party we've got on Friday evening. With everything else I've got coming up over the next week, Joshua's birthday party wasn't something I was thinking much about at all; but Rowen is getting tired of being on the outside looking in on the tween dating game; and feels that more now since everything that's happened with Michael and me.

I'm not going to let things get weird for her around us, and if our summertime challenge works out; it won't be long before she'll be in the dating game too. As for the party, I expect that Michael and I will be dealing with more tweeirdness from Vanessa and Nora; so it could be another strange night for us. Rowen definitely won't need to worry about us spending the night hanging out with the couples club and leaving her on her own – we won't be invited to play any reindeer games either. :^)

That will give us time to work on that summer challenge, though, so we might be able to have some fun with that instead.

I'll talk to Rowen about that tomorrow, but for right now, I'm ready to put my computer away and get to sleep, so...

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

Thursday, June 27, 2013

We had some rain overnight that helped to fuel some more humidity today; but the only effect that had on my day was to add more swim time to the play day mix.

I am glad that we were doing our bike tricks practice while it was comparatively cooler this morning, but even with that we still went swimming twice while hanging out with Michael and Tim. In Tim's case, that second swim was cut short due to girlfriend intervention. Nora may have conceded to the inevitable for Tim doing the stunt biking demonstration with us; but she was still trying to help Vanessa with their divide and conquer plan despite the mounting evidence that Michael isn't showing any signs of suffering at all.

Since Michael had needed to get to the Inn about twenty minutes after Tim left with Nora, we didn't get much more time to hang out together anyway; and then Rowen and I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon playing with Ethan and Ehlana. Rebecca and Michael played with us too while on their afternoon break from the Inn, and we alternated swim, park, and indoor play time according to what Ethan and Ehlana needed.

Our baseball practice tonight was a fairly serious workout – mostly because Carolyn really, really wants to win our Fourth of July game; and this was our last practice before that match. Since there are two particular girls from our class on the Cheetahs' team; Rowen and I can relate to that motivation. We'll definitely be ready to play!

After our practice, Rowen and I were on babysitting duty while Mom and Dad went to the Inn for a wedding meeting. Aunt Leanne had set that up to go over everything one last time with the Stones, Greens, Drapers, Vicky and Liz, and a few others. I wasn't involved in any of that, but didn't mind the bonus time with Michael when he was set free – and Aunt Leanne suggested that we could use his help with keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained. The first thing he wanted to do after coming over was go for a swim after spending a few hours in a very hot kitchen, so the five of us played in the water for a half hour or so, and then we played video games in the lounge until Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne got home. Violet had gone with them so she could hang out with Jake, Stephanie, and Dillon; but the four teens had gone somewhere else to do their own thing after the meeting.

Rowen stayed for the snack and story time, but then she went home when Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne did. Coincidentally, Dad suddenly didn't need to rush into the office to get started on his homework; and he instead went to help Mom with giving Ethan and Ehlana their bedtime baths – leaving Michael and me on our own. My enthusiasm for these little set-ups has changed quite a bit; and Michael was happy to go along with my suggestion for another swim. We grabbed towels and bottles of water; and were soon having fun floating around in the river. The temperature had dropped slightly since our last swim with Rowen and the twins, but it sure felt hotter with just the two of us.

Reminder to me – book more moonlight swims with Michael! ;^)

We sat on one of the benches by the river and talked for a half hour or so after our swim before Michael decided that it was time for him to get home – he was helping out at the Inn for breakfast. Our goodnight kiss stirred up some butterflies that are still hanging around with me – even during the short Magi lesson Mom wanted to do with me after I got inside again. Mom's trying to take it easy on me, but I'm sure she's finding the last couple of weeks as entertaining as I thought it was pretty much from the first time we met Dad.

This will probably be the last chance I have to get a little extra rest for a while, so I should get off of that train of thought; wrap this up; and call it a night. I'm working tomorrow morning; we're doing an afternoon bike tricks practice; and then we have Joshua's party. Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy will be getting here tomorrow too; and then Aunt Grace will be getting Mark and his parents from the airport on her way here on Saturday. It's going to be so great to finally see Aunt Grace and Mark again – and meet his parents. Hopefully we'll be able to convince them that their son hasn't completely lost his mind!

Helping to do that will just be the start of the fun, and I really do want to rest up so I'll be ready for the action this weekend, so...

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

Friday, June 28, 2013

Happy 13th birthday, Joshua!

We had some more rain roll through earlier this morning, but we had great weather for the rest of the day – including for Joshua's party.

Since it was raining, Tai Chi was indoors this morning, and we went with a light breakfast before Dad left for work, and Mom, Violet, and I all spent the rest of the morning working on the family business while Alicia watched Ethan and Ehlana. Lunch was another easy-meal, and then I was set free to meet up with Rowen and do a little bonus practice on our bikes while we waited for Michael and Tim. We're still working on the tricks, but we pretty much finalized the routine we're going to be doing. It'll probably need to be adjusted a bit as the parade goes along; but we should be able to run through everything we want to do once every hundred yards or so of the parade route.

Michael had been finished work for the day after the noon clean-up; and we had time to go for an uninterrupted swim without Nora feeling the need to get Tim away from us today – probably because she was busy getting ready for Joshua's party most of the afternoon. We all needed to do that too, but Rowen and I didn't start doing that until after four o'clock; and we didn't need all that long to get showered and dressed appropriately for an outdoor party at Joshua's family farm. I even had time to pack my overnight bag and drop it off at Rowen's house before Violet gave us – Michael, Rowen, and me – a ride there.

We were a bit early, but that just gave us time to have a little visit with Joshua and Sally before most of the members of the couples club arrived practically at the same time; and the tween games began. That started with Vanessa and Nora's grand entrance. I have no doubt that they'd have earned top votes for hottest girls at the party if the boys were allowed a secret vote that wouldn't get them in trouble with their girlfriends. Michael agreed with me when I asked him, but before any girls reading this start thinking bad things about him; he also had a few comments on what he thought about dressing up like that for an outdoor party on a farm, and needed to assure me that Vanessa's games were not going to change how he felt about me.

I guess that one big advantage of being a Magi Master tween is being able to know what others are feeling, but Michael doesn't know that I can do that; and I'm glad that he trusts me enough to be honest – even with tween-dangerous topics like the hotness of other girls.

Vanessa seemed to be quite happy with Michael's response the first time he saw her, and that was definitely a bit tweeird to be getting two very different empathic perspectives about the same scene that were near-opposites. I'm trying to play nice, but these stupid little games really are annoying – especially since it should be fairly obvious by now that divide and conquer is not working on Michael. Some of our friends have had enough of it too; and Sally gets special mention in this report because she went above and beyond the call to make sure that Michael, Rowen, and I were included in most of the fun tonight. She could get away with that because even Vanessa and Nora would not start anything with the birthday boy's girlfriend on his special day; but that didn't keep Sally from joining me on the receiving end of the glares and frowns.

Her help didn't keep us from being kept out of the loop some of the time, but even when that was happening – like during dinner – Sally made sure that we had fun anyway. She had us sit with Joshua's brother, sister, and a couple of cousins when the 'friends' tables were filled with no room left for us. Joshua's the middle child in his family, so Michael had fun talking football with his fifteen year-old brother, Ray – who is expecting to make the team this year and help Kyle Landry to win a championship – while Rowen and I kept nine-year old Gabrielle and one of her cousins entertained. We seem to have a talent for that, so I guess there is some good that comes from being so awful at being a tween – we have a lot of younger girls around town who really love us.

Joshua's parents were putting on a fairly large party for him, and there were more than fifty guests; which felt just like home to me – though it was different being out on a farm too. Two things that I loved most were the extra space that allowed us to have a half-dozen games going on at once before and after dinner; and the pond that we could jump into to cool off whenever we needed to do that. Those were also the two best examples for why some of the girls shouldn't have come to the party dressed to perfection – and why croquet was the most strenuous game that Vanessa, Nora, or a handful of the other girls and women played.

Rowen and I earned some bonus points playing games and swimming from different groups of kids and tweens. Gabrielle, her cousins, and some younger kids of family friends loved the fact that we were the only older girls willing to swing out and fall into the pond on the knotted rope that was tied to a big old tree next to the water; or play their favorite water games with them. Some of the boys were interested in us while we were in swimsuits too; but not for the same reason. Rowen's grinning right now as I'm writing that because 'Tommy' was definitely one of the guys who were keeping an eye on Rowen – even though I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he didn't even realize that he was watching her a lot – especially any time there were other boys hanging around near us.

There wasn't a dock or groomed path around the pond, so getting dirty feet went with the territory for anyone who did go swimming, and you collected some more mud from the squishy, muddy bottom of the pond when walking out; but the water was clear and refreshingly cool; and at about one hundred yards long by maybe seventy-five yards at its widest; there was lots of room to swim and play.

Michael, Rowen, and I had fun with the games we played too. Our team won a volleyball match; we all played football for a half hour or so; the younger kids had us play a couple of games with them; and we wound up our gaming time with some Frisbee action before everyone was rounded up for the campfire once it started getting dark.

The younger kids were with us for that until around eleven o'clock, so the scary stories and music were family-rated. Michael took a turn playing guitar twice – once before eleven and a second time shortly before Violet and Dillon came to pick us up at midnight. Vanessa and Nora were still doing their best even then to keep us at the outer limits of the tween group, but Sally again intervened. She and Joshua bridged the divide between most of the couples club and where we sat by the fire with his brother, some of the other teens, and Gabrielle and most of the younger kids.

Michael found out one of the advantages of taking the time to play with the younger kids when he was kept fed by a steady stream of toasted marshmallows and other treats – especially while he was playing guitar and leading the sing-along. We earned some little girl giggles whenever we held hands, and glares from Vanessa; but other than a couple of hugs while we were playing games, the only romance news to report was a short goodnight kiss when we split up at my house when Violet and Dillon went inside; Michael went home; and Rowen and I walked over to her place.

Don't tell me you're disappointed, Rowen. We all had a really good day; and I wouldn't even think about acting like some of the other couples were tonight – especially when there were kids and parents around. That's definitely one of the reasons why I was glad that we left for home when we did; and you didn't want to see any more of that action either. There are some things we just don't need to know about our friends!

Moving along, Joshua's party wasn't the first 'family and friends' birthday party we've had, but it was the one that felt most like the parties and campfires are with my family. That's one of the reasons why this is one of my favorite 'friends' parties so far; though having Michael sharing most of the fun with me made everything more entertaining and exciting. We were able to leave the campfire without causing much of a disturbance to the happily cuddling couples by helping some of the adults with a cleanup and re-stocking visit before they either went inside until the end of the party or headed home with tired out kids.

We were ready to leave when Violet pulled into the driveway, and we took turns with condensed reports on what we'd each been doing this evening. I'd missed out on dinner and a holiday and wedding pre-cooking adventure, and Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy had made it to town not long after we'd left for the party. I haven't mentioned it in my journals, but they've just retired; and the week and a bit they're spending with us is just the start of their plans for a long, lazy, and well-deserved summer holiday. Maybe they'll even come to visit us more often – or maybe take some trips with Grandma and Grandpa – we can always use more volunteers for our charities!

Once we were back home, it would have been nice if the goodnight kiss with Michael was the last action for me tonight, but it wasn't – thanks to Patrick and Scott. They were ready to play their usual games; starting with a prank attack that was launched the moment we walked into the front door. Rowen and I played along for a while, but the boys kept going for too long after it wasn't fun or funny anymore; and, as usual, that meant that their games came to an abrupt end due to a parental intervention at a bit after one o'clock.

We were finally able to have some quiet girl time chat after that, and I've been doing my nightly computing while we've been chatting. Rowen's top topic was 'Tommy', and while she is glad that he's paying more attention to her, that didn't happen at all during the campfire because he was one half of the couple who could have been voted most-actively making out tweens at the party. I agree with Rowen that he does have some real potential, but if she does 'get her man'; I'm sure I've mentioned before that he'll need to change his ways when it comes to making out in public.

Her second-favorite topic was Michael and me, and I'm so happy that we've been able to provide her with so much extra entertainment – including when we're together; when we aren't; and for the regular opportunities she's getting to provide her best friend with commentary and advice. I won't be using any of her suggestions for dealing with Vanessa and Nora, but her post-party observations and jokes were entertaining for me too.

That's why we're still up talking when it's going on two o'clock despite the fact that we both have a busy work Saturday that'll be starting for me in about four hours or so. With that thought finally making it to the top of our chat topic list, it's time to wrap this up and get some sleep, so...

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

Saturday, June 29, 2013

This has been a busy, fun, and occasionally strange day.

Tai Chi with two second-floor hecklers trying to throw me off while I exercised in Rowen's back yard would qualify as strange. By the time I headed home to get started on my chores after breakfast, Patrick and Scott had made sure that Rowen and I had more than our fill of the strange and annoying.

I don't really have much to report from the yard work part of my day. Between our house and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's place, we had lots of help to get ready for the Fourth of July and the wedding weekend. Violet worked with Mom all day, and Alicia worked a bonus morning shift too. Both sets of Proctor grandparents were helping out too; and though the teens that were now taking care of Uncle Adam's lawn and gardens had already finished their work for the week; there had still been nearly as much to do there as at our house. The only real break we took was lunch for everyone at our house, but jumping into the river to cool off every now and then happened fairly regularly.

The work part of my day – or most of it – was done by shortly before four when I was sent off to get cleaned up and ready for the welcome home dinner we were doing at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's for Aunt Grace, Mark, and Mark's parents. Mom, Violet, and I tag-teamed getting cleaned up and changed while taking care of Ethan and Ehlana too; and we all managed to be ready to go in about forty-five minutes. Everyone else was already at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's by the time we arrived; and Ethan, Ehlana, and I were kept busy for a while with the welcome home hugs and kisses.

Aunt Grace was really busy, but that didn't keep her from finding a little time to tease me about Michael and picking her wedding for my first date with him. I had advised her about inviting Michael, and managed to get that news to her before Aunt Leanne did; but she still seemed surprised. Then again, she seemed even more surprised to find out that I'm only about three inches shorter than she is now. I have grown about an inch and a half since the last time we saw each other the weekend we were visiting them in Granite Park, but maybe she was just in denial while I was still four-foot-something tall.

Meeting Mark's parents for the first time was fun. Dr. Aaron Everett is a very young-looking sixty. His hair is as blonde as Aunt Leanne's, and he has very light blue eyes. Mark inherited some features from both parents, but he and his father are nearly the same height and build; and it's easy to see that they're father and son despite the contrasts – like Mark's black hair and steel-gray eyes. My main first impression of Dr. Everett Senior is that he's going to need some time and convincing before he's going to understand why his son has chosen to give up a successful, lucrative career and move away from his family to our humble little town. He's really nice, and as low-key and unassuming as Mark is; but he's having a tough time dealing with this change to what his own life plans had been; so there's a strong empathic undercurrent that's at odds to his outward demeanor that I'm sure Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I can all sense.

Mark's mother, Lorelei, on the other hand, was giving off nothing but good vibes. I wouldn't say that he's marrying a girl just like Mom, but there are some nice similarities between Aunt Grace and her soon-to-be mother-in-law that go beyond the fact that they're almost exactly the same height. Lorelei – Lori – has the black hair that her son inherited, and very dark blue eyes. She's as quiet and gentle as her husband and son; was smiling every time I saw her; and earned the twins' seal of approval in under five seconds. While her husband likes Aunt Grace despite his feelings about Mark's decisions; she obviously loves Aunt Grace. Seeing them together definitely reminded me a lot of Mom and Grandma.

Since having a Jacuzzi-equipped guest bathroom was high on her list of favorite surprises so far since getting to town was near the top of her good things about Witch Falls list; I'll guess that she'll be a little in love with Uncle Adam by tomorrow morning too. Just kidding – she already loves Mark's best friend.

We had a little spit of rain roll through while the main course for dinner was still on the grill, but it didn't last long; and our outdoor dining plans didn't need to be changed. Since there was grandparent, aunt, and uncle support for Ethan and Ehlana; Mom and Aunt Leanne put me to work before and after dinner. By the time everything was ready and we could sit down to eat, we had a bit over an hour to relax and enjoy our meal before needing to be up and running again so we could have the clean-up done in time for Mom and Dad's baseball game. There really isn't much to report from dinner. We mostly traded family and home town stories with Mark's parents; there was some baby chat; and almost no mention of anything wedding-related.

Even though I really didn't get to spend all that much time with them, I've had the warm fuzzies going on all night; and I'm really happy to have Aunt Grace and Mark home to stay – or at least they'll be home to stay after they get back from their honeymoon. I also love seeing them so happy. It's not as if they've been miserable whenever they couldn't be together since they started dating; but that separation was probably harder on them that what Violet and Dillon have gone through for the past couple of years. They could at least see each other every couple of weeks without needing to make major travel plans.

Speaking of 'home', Aunt Grace and Mark love theirs – though they aren't being allowed to go inside until Uncle Blaine can be here to do that with them. They'd done a walk-around before we'd even gotten there, so I missed that; but I did get to see the smiles on their faces every time they looked across the back yards toward their new house.

Getting back to the news of the day, baseball was the next entertainment event of the night; and the Fix-it Uppers were able to pull off a come-from-behind win against Sheldon's Big Shots. That hadn't looked likely after we spotted the Big Shots to a five-run lead in the top of the first inning, but we chipped away at that lead while keeping pace with the additional runs being scored against us; and finished the job off with the four runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn the fifteen to fourteen win.

I don't think that Mark's parents were all that impressed with the caliber of the baseball; but they did seem to enjoy the extra-curricular action that was what most people found fun about the co-ed games.

While going to Sheldon's after the game had been an option for the adults, and it still felt early to Mark and his parents while they adjust from west-coast time; everyone decided to go back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house and end the day with a comparatively quiet visit. Ethan, Ehlana, and I went along for that, but we only stayed until eleven o'clock; and then Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma Mercy, and Grandpa Duncan took us home; helped me to put the twins to bed; and then left me in charge until Mom and Dad got back while they went home to bed too.

I've been working on my computer since then. Rowen and I had a little chat; there was some family business email to deal with; and my usual nightly computer checks are all done now too. It isn't quite midnight yet, and I'll stay up until Mom and Dad – or Violet and Dillon – get home; but there isn't anything else to report from today. The non-news news is that I didn't see Michael at all today; and I wish that I had. We were both just busy at the wrong times for each other today, and except for when we're at church; I'm sure it'll be the same again tomorrow – this is going to be a busy holiday week at the Inn.

We're both going to be busy this week, but I hope we aren't going to have too many days where we don't see each other much – and we should definitely make time to practice our goodnight kisses. Since that wasn't an option tonight, I think I'll go play my keyboard for a while. Maybe that'll distract me from thinking too much about moonlight kisses and Michael until Mom and Dad get home and I can go to sleep – though I doubt it.

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

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Happy 1st anniversary, Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor! I only got to see you for a couple of minutes at church; but I hope you've had a fun day.

June is almost over now, but Rowen and I don't plan on staying awake just to see the start of July tonight – it'll happen without us being conscious to witness the event; and it's been a long, busy day.

We started the morning out with Tai Chi at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's. We should really do that with them more often, but that's getting harder to make time for when we're all so busy; and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam can start their day a bit later than we need to most days. We had breakfast there too, and while Dad and Violet helped out with the cooking; Mom and I had the early time slots for showers and getting dressed up for church; which we again tag-teamed doing while getting the twins ready for the morning too.

I'm sure that I was right about Mark's mother appreciating the Jacuzzi, but that couldn't have been the only reason why Aunt Grace was smiling so happily this morning. Aunt Leanne probably needed some details, but I'm good with knowing that Aunt Grace and Mark are happy, so if you need more information than that; you aren't going to find it here.

While last night was more about getting to know Aunt Grace's in-laws-to-be, the wedding was our main breakfast conversation topic. Aunt Leanne led that chat, and they went over most of the schedule for this week – including the meet-the-Pastors time they had at, and after, dinner tonight. That part of the morning was fun, and we were kept entertained while cleaning up too, but my favorite part of the morning was walking to church with Michael, Rowen, and Rebecca; and getting teased by certain members of my family when he sat with me during the service instead of with his family. We had fun helping out with some work that the teens needed done during Sunday school to get ready for the service they're leading next Sunday; and I walked with Michael to the Inn after church before hurrying home to help Mom and Dad with the lunch barbeque they were hosting. There was some tweeird while we were at church too, but it's been too good a day to bother including any of the details.

Rowen met up with me at home after she got changed and packed an overnight bag for the sleepover we'd decided to have this morning after I'd gotten the schedule for the day. We were put to work setting up tables and chairs first before moving on to do whatever else Mom needed us to help with in the kitchen. The men were all outside as required when grilling is going on; and Ethan needed to be with them too while Ehlana wanted to stay in the kitchen and near to Aunt Deborah and Leah. When it was time to eat, Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana down to the river so we could have our lunch on the dock and let the adults entertain themselves.

There was more work to do after lunch, but that didn't take long, and then Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and I got to go along on the walking tour of the town that Uncle Adam, Aunt Grace, and Mark took Mark's parents on while the rest of our family and friends moved on to doing other things – like nap time for Aunt Leanne, Aunt Deborah, and Leah – for a few hours. That included a bit of shopping while we were wandering around town; a visit to the falls where I got to tell the Witch Falls Witch story; and a walk around the park path before we wrapped up our tour with a little playground time that Michael joined us for while on his afternoon break.

When we got back home, Michael, Rowen, and I took Ethan and Ehlana swimming for a while, and then we had time for an ice cream snack break before Michael needed to get back to the Inn. There was still a little time to play after he left, so Rowen and I kept the twins entertained while Mom and Dad were both working in the office until it was time for all of us to get ready for dinner at the Inn. I wanted to get dressed up because we were going out with Mark's parents for the first time, but the added bonus of seeing Michael's reaction when I stopped into the kitchen for some hugs with Jacob, Jake, Dillon, and Rebecca was pretty good too.

Yes, he got a hug and kiss too – and was teased about it by the other guys.

Backing up for a second, one of the highlights of our tour around town was at the Olde Bakery; where Mark's father had his first introduction to one of the best advantages of living in Witch Falls. His reaction to the buffet dinner was even more entertaining. Rowen and I were at a kids' table with Ethan and Ehlana, so we weren't in on a lot of the dinner conversation; but we did hear enough to know that Mark's parents both loved discovering our town's best-kept secret.

Our time at the Inn was as entertaining as always, and the food was amazing; but my highlight from there was when I went back into the kitchen before we left; 'borrowed' Michael for a couple of minutes; and had everyone in the kitchen laughing at us when I led him into the back room so we could share the goodnight kiss I'd been wishing we'd gotten together for last night. Hopefully Michael thought that the kiss was worth the razzing he was getting even before I was out of the kitchen. I was teased too, but a 'that's my girl' hug from Miranda and the comments from Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace were all much nicer than the jibes Jake and the other guys were dishing out to Michael.

Rowen needed to tease me too, but she waited until we were home with Ethan and Ehlana to do that while Mom and Dad went on with the rest of the adults to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for the meeting with the Pastors. Going along had been an option, but we had more fun going home; playing some games and music; and wrapping up our night with a movie and cuddle time in the lounge.

Ethan and Ehlana went to bed at ten-thirty; Rowen had a quick visit with my Jacuzzi; and we were in bed with Mandy by eleven. I had most of my nightly computing done by then, and Violet and Dillon are downstairs; so we don't need to wait for Mom and Dad to get home. Rowen's running out of chat material and steam; we're both going to be doing holiday weekend work around our houses; and that really is all I have for tonight, so...

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

***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.
