

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2016 – Part Two

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 – Steve Leggett

Cover Image by Kayla Leggett \- Copyright 2016 - Used by Permission

ISBN: 978-0-9940020-5-1
Books by Steve Leggett

Heirs of the Magi Trilogy

Magi Sanctuary

Magi Master

Magi Ascension – Part One – The Ascension Begins

Magi Ascension – Part Two – Light Your World (Forthcoming)

Heirs of the Magi Archives

 Cassie's Journal 2011

 Cassie's Journal 2012 - Part One

 Cassie's Journal 2012 – Part Two

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part One

Cassie's Journal 2013 – Part Two

Cassie's Journal 2014 – Part One

Cassie's Journal 2014 – Part Two

Cassie's Journal 2015 – Part One

Cassie's Journal 2015 – Part Two

Cassie's Journal 2016 – Part One

Cassie's Journal 2016 – Part Two

The Catalyst Chronicles

 The Catalyst is Born

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Table of Contents

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

Notes

July 2016

Friday, July 1, 2016

This has felt like a strange start to my holiday weekend because I've spent more time dealing with the marching band fundraisers than anything else. Since school is out, we received the fruit and vegetable boxes delivery this morning; and I was on the crew unloading the truck. Then I was busy helping with taking the load to Maple Valley; since it was our turn to do that for our Maple Valley friends. Rowen was with me for that trip, and her Mom did the driving, and since we were still in Maple Valley at noon; we had lunch there before heading home again.

I had to do my own deliveries after that, and Mom helped me out with that while Ethan and Ehlana played at the lab. For the record, I actually did the driving; but that was really only for show and because I haven't done much driving at all since getting my learner's license. That work needed to be done early because some of my orders were for families taking the boxes with them for holiday weekend trips to visit family – including Violet and Dillon. The Rice clan is in Woodvale this year for the holiday; but they were nice enough to order six boxes from me – with four of them for friends. I won't bore you with the details, but those deliveries kept us busy for a while; and then I needed to get back to the school to help with the rest of the pick-ups until I then needed to move on and take a turn at the snack booth we're running at the park again this weekend.

I'm not going to be able to help with the booth much on Saturday or Sunday; so I took shifts for tonight and Monday. That's going to mean more work this weekend by far than play time; since I'm booked for a lot of hours at the Inn too, but that's the way it has to be again this weekend; and I'd rather spend the time with Michael now that he'll be working hard every holiday weekend anyway.

I missed dinner, but Mom had food sent over for me; and she hosted a family barbeque dinner for everyone here at home and any early arrivals. We don't have weekend guests, and don't even have any of the cousins here with us tonight; but we will have our cousins taking turns for sleepovers – and we'll spend lots of time with them over the next week or two for the kids and teens staying with us for the next two weeks. That's news for later in the weekend and next week, though; so let's stick with the news from today.

The park was busy with kids – especially once visiting kids began arriving in town and coming to the park to play with cousins and friends. Our booth was busy; so our fundraising is off to a great start so far this weekend. We might need that a lot, since it's looking pretty bad for the weather on Saturday and Sunday; but we'll see how that goes. I worked the booth until it closed at nine o'clock; but didn't have to stay to pack up the food because other volunteers and parents were in charge of that. I went to the Inn once I was done to check in with Michael; and then ended up staying to help so he could get done and out of there for the night. We came back to my house; had a bedtime chat with mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we came up to the lounge for a bit of wind-down time.

A sofa sleepover was very tempting, but Michael and I are both working the breakfast buffet; so he went home at eleven-thirty instead of staying. I saw him out; got ready for bed fast; and then have been using a time phase to get a bit of work and the rest of my bedtime computing done as quickly as possible. I might not be sleeping by midnight, but I'll be well on my way there by then if I just wrap this up; so let's do that.

My shifts tomorrow are for the breakfast buffet and the dinner shift; with the rest of the day off to hang out with my family because I can't do that on Sunday. The rain might mess with that; but I'll keep you posted. I missed all of the incoming family fun today, but while I've mentioned that Violet and Dillon are going to be in Woodvale this weekend; I should add that Josiah and Christina are staying here and working. The McEwans aren't coming here, but the rest of the Johnson clan is here; and the Proctors are all here too. Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and the kids are with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace; and Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy are spending the weekend with my grandparents. With Violet and Dillon gone, it's a bit quiet here tonight, but don't take that the wrong way – I'm not suggesting that they're loud and crazy neighbors up here on the third floor! ;^)

That's a train of thought I don't really need to follow when I've so recently agreed to not having a sofa sleepover. I also really do need to get to sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

The first full day of our holiday weekend did not go at all as planned thanks to a very rainy, wet day.

All ball games were cancelled; the booths at the park did not open at all; and our new bike and canoe rental business didn't have any customers at all. Our family plans for the day were all messed up. There were no trail rides; play time at the park; or any outdoor meals. There was definitely no campfire. The families didn't even get together as an entire group to do much; though there was one shopping foray that ended early when getting wet between stores just wasn't any fun.

The rain totally changed up my day too. I worked the breakfast buffet as planned; ended up spending most of the day at the Inn – even when Michael and I were on our breaks; and I worked the lunch and dinner-to-close shifts too because the Inn was busy all day with campers coming into town for the day when being at campsites and stuck in tents or trailers just wasn't any fun either. We had one break in the rain in the afternoon for a couple of hours, but everything was soaked; and didn't come close to drying up before the rain started coming down again.

We're having a girls' night sleepover on the third floor tonight with all of the Johnson and Proctor girls; so I didn't get to hang out with Michael after work. I've also missed most of the fun around here, since we were late getting out of the Inn; and I'm multi-tasking this while getting cleaned up and ready for bed in my bathroom. That's mostly because I fully expect to fall asleep shortly after settling in to watch the next movie that the girls are waiting for me to start; so there's no chance I'll be doing any computer work later after the other girls go to sleep. Rowen isn't here for the fun, but Naomi is; and Ethan is hanging out with Jayden tonight at Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark's house.

Having a gang here for breakfast in the morning is going to be crazy-busy – especially since I'll need to be at the church early to get ready for the service. We won't be having that in the park this year because the rain isn't forecast to stop until maybe as late as sometime overnight on Sunday. We will get to see how well the expanded sanctuary helps with the extra guests for a summer holiday, though; and I'm sure we'll still have an amazing time even without the bonus great outdoors time.

I'm nearly ready for bed, though, and the girls are waiting for me; so it's time to wrap this up. This hasn't been a remember-forever kind of day for this holiday, and day two isn't looking great either; but then I was already booked for a full shift at the Inn anyway so the rain won't matter much for me. I do wish that we were going to have better weather for my family, but they'll manage to have fun anyway. I'll keep you posted on that, but I have a bit of fun to get to right now – at least until I crash and fall asleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Day two of our long weekend has been a rain-out too.

That meant Tai Chi was indoors; we followed that up with a crazy couple of hours of work and fun while getting ready for church and having breakfast; and then I was busy for another two and a half hours at the church with the holiday weekend service. The rain didn't help for that – at least when it came to getting to and from the church; but we still had a great service that included the usual skits and music that always makes for an upbeat teen service.

After that, I was off to the Inn; and worked a lot of the time straight through until we wrapped up around eleven o'clock. Yes, Michael and I had some breaks mixed in there, but we didn't venture out into the rain; and usually pitched in here and there to help keep everything running smoothly when the rain had the dining rooms filled to capacity for all three buffets with extra customers willing to come back as tables became available. Sure, that's great for business at the Inn, but not so hot for the other stores in town. It's also been lousy for our fundraiser booth at the park; since it didn't open at all again today. We'll need a miracle to hit our goal for the weekend with that now; but will hopefully still be ahead of schedule on the fundraising thanks to a really good batch of orders for the fruit and vegetable boxes.

For me, though, today was mostly about working. Once I got home at a bit after eleven; I said goodnight to the few parents and kids still awake; came up to my room; and have been soaking in the Jacuzzi while multi-tasking my bedtime computing that included a bit of family business work tonight. Mandy would have found somewhere else to sleep if I'd tried to go to bed without cleaning up, so she'll be happy, but I'm also ready to crash now; so let's wrap this up so that I can get out of the tub and finish getting ready for bed.

I should mention that Ethan has Aiden and Jayden here with him tonight, but I've missed out on their play time tonight while I was busy at work. Ehlana's here, but she was already sleeping by the time I got home. We didn't do a full story trade after I got home, so I don't know what everyone did today while indoors due to the rain; though I do know there were joint meal gatherings at two different houses for lunch and my family was at the late buffet so that the working members of the family could still go to it too. If there's anything good that I hear about tomorrow; I'll pass that along.

The rain has stopped now, and we might get a decent day for the Fourth of July, but there's still a chance of rain in the afternoon again; so I'll keep my fingers crossed for that. We do have the big parade in the morning, though, and I want to be ready for that; so it's time for me to return to the real world now and get to the sleeping part of my night soon. I've been doing this soak in the tub in a time phase; so I'll even manage to do that before midnight if I hurry.

I'll hope that the last day of our holiday weekend will be the best – and make up for the rest! You'll be able to flip the digital page in my future to find out whether that works out for me or not, but I've got to go and live that day; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, July 4, 2016

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Happy Un-Independence Day, Mom! ;^)

It has been a really great day, and while it was cloudy most of the day; we didn't get any rain!

That made Tai Chi by the river an option for starting our morning; breakfast in the sunroom was a lot of fun with Jayden and Aiden helping out with the entertainment; and then we were all busy with work around the house until I needed to get to the school for the parade. Michael, Rowen, Rebecca, and Lucas all went with me for that little walk; we met up with Tim and the rest of the band once we were there; and had lots of time to do our band warm-up as well as check out the floats and chat with some friends and neighbors before the parade started.

While the Memorial Day parade will always rank high on best band memories for me because it was our first parade as a marching band; this one was a lot more fun because we could, obviously, do more with the music. The two Disney songs we had for our little four-song rotation were big hits with the kids of all ages; and had the bonus of giving everyone a taste of what we were working toward as a band – the chance to play at Disney World. The highlights of the parade for me were when we played for our families and best friends at different spots along the parade route; but the fun was also over far too soon – or it felt that way after months of getting ready for the parades.

I should mention that we didn't have the full band with us today, but that's because if we had everyone; the rest of the parade would have suffered without enough teens for the teen praise team and other groups. We did have most of the Maple Valley teens, though; and had enough musicians on each instrument to still sound great.

Michael and I didn't need to stay with the band after the parade because other teens were in charge of getting some of the gear back to the school; but we did need to get to the fundraiser booth and take a shift helping out there. Other volunteers had it set up by then; so we just jumped in and started selling the snacks and drinks. We stayed in our band uniforms for that; and had line-ups of customers wanting to help us out with the fundraising for our trip after hearing us in the parade. I'm sure we didn't make up for losing two full days of sales on Saturday and Sunday; but we did likely have a better day than we would have if some of that money had come in earlier instead.

While we couldn't play while working the booth, we only had to work for three hours before getting to have the rest of the afternoon off as other band members took the next shift at the booth. That meant missing out on lunch with our families and the co-ed ballgame, but 'our' team wasn't playing in that game this year anyway; so I didn't miss out on a cheerleading duel with Miranda because there wouldn't have been one. Michael and I went back to our homes first to get changed into play clothes; met up with my family first; and played with them for a couple of hours. After that, we tracked down Rowen and Tim to have some teen-rated fun; and then we were with our collective families for dinner. The play time included game booths, playground time, and one swim in the river; but no bike riding because most of the trails in the park were too wet and muddy from all of the rain for that to be fun – even though there were some teens and kids willing to play in the mud anyway.

I haven't specifically mentioned our food donations, but that was part of the work this morning, and as usual; our contributions were mostly for the lunchtime menus at a couple of the booths. Our boxed meat donations would have been partially used for dinner too, depending on whether they were used up early or later; but then I'm not including the donations from the lab and family business. We don't deal with that personally; so it isn't something I have anything to do with anyway.

While I'm thinking about the lab, I'll also mention that Aunt Grace had a tough day today. I'm pretty sure that she'd be okay with giving birth right now instead of waiting another month. She wasn't comfortable at all today; and went home for two naps that were mostly to get her off of her feet and out of the humidity that was thanks to all of the rain on the weekend. She's doing fine other than getting tired, and so is the baby; so we'll just need to make sure that they don't overdo it between now and early August.

Dinner was a wild blast of fun as we rounded up food from a half-dozen booths; set up a bit of a pot-luck meal for everyone to fill plates from; and then Michael and I sat with Rebecca and Lucas while we ate – and found out what they'd been doing since the end of the parade. They had a turn at the fundraiser booth to get to after we finished eating, but Michael and I had time to help with the park clean-up and then catch the first part of the dance before we were booked for another turn at the snack booth. We finally got to see some sunshine by early evening, and we've had a perfect summer night for the dance and fireworks. Our booth was busy during the dance; we had a rush during the fifteen minutes or so before the fireworks started; and then almost nothing as the entertainment finale started at ten-thirty. The early start was due to it being a work night for a lot of adults; but the display is getting to be even more spectacular thanks to bonus donations from the lab and med center.

Michael and I stayed with the booth and watched the show from there. It wasn't the best view in the park, but it wasn't bad either; and we had fun cuddling while doing that. We also needed to help with packing up the booth after the fireworks – along with making any last-minute sales as the exodus from the park continued for a half-hour or more after the end of the fireworks show. We loaded up a pick-up truck with all of the leftover snacks and drinks; the booth fit onto a trailer with several other booths; and then we had to clean-up our area before heading home was an option. That's why it was well-after midnight before we got to my house, and by then; we'd missed out on most of the family action – though Mom and Dad were still awake and relaxing in the living room with cold drinks and not much energy left in them after a very long, busy day.

In addition to missing out on getting our day camp gear home and put away, we'd also missed out on the goodbyes with most of the visiting parents and grandparents for the Johnson and Proctor clans. They'd decided to head home after the fireworks instead of waiting until morning; mostly because they wouldn't have to worry about traveling with kids. There are a couple of exceptions; but Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden are now parent-free for the next two weeks; and they'll be spending a lot of time with us during the weekdays so that Aunt Grace doesn't have too much to do when she's already pushing her limits just keeping up with work at the lab now.

Since Michael and I will be helping out with the kid control and entertainment tomorrow, we only had a short chat and break with Mom and Dad; wrapped up our night with a goodnight hug and kiss out on the front porch; and then I came straight up to bed after watching Michael walk home. Some Jacuzzi time would have been nice, but I settled for a quick shower; did my hair; and then climbed into bed with Mandy. There was some family business work that needed to get done, so I took care of that too; and then did a full computer check – including a once-through of the Hathorne Industries systems. They had their annual party at the Hathorne Estates too, but I don't have anything to report from that check that won't be in the archive Mom has set up for them with the details of their business and family operations. It also isn't any fun to see the things they're doing around the world that we can't do anything about – though we will be able to do that some day.

That's a thought for another day when I'm not so tired out. I'll have work to do this week, but will make time for some fun with my cousins while they're here; so I'll do a bit less work at the Inn and try to keep my family business work to a minimum too. I'm really looking forward to Dawn and Jillian getting here in the morning too, and while Violet and Dillon are going to try to get here in good time so they won't miss much work at the lab; that'll depend a lot on the traffic – and how early they can get up after having a late night in Woodvale with the holiday celebrations there.

I can write about all of that tomorrow night too, though, and I'm about ready to drop even as I'm pushing through this update; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

When you're lamenting the lack of hot, summer days on holiday weekends; be careful what you wish for!

We've had a beautiful example of that today, and hot and sunny turned into broiling hot as temperatures kept climbing. The humidex, 'feels like' temperature here came very close to hitting one-twenty, and while we didn't cook lunch or dinner on the sidewalks; that was definitely too hot for spending the entire afternoon outdoors and playing – though we did play outside and swim a lot to stay as cool as possible when we weren't taking regular indoor breaks to get out of the extreme heat.

Tai Chi by the river was decent enough, and we played at the park for most of the morning until the heat really kicked up into the one-hundreds; and the fun included biking the trails; hanging out at the playground; going canoeing; and swimming in the river.

Michael had some chores to do at home before joining me to help with kid control, but I didn't actually have all of them without any help for very long anyway because Violet and Dillon had gotten up very early and were home with Dawn and Jillian by nine o'clock. They'd managed to get to the south side of Crystal Springs before running into rush hour traffic; picked up breakfast to go there; and kept on driving for home after just that one short stop. Dawn and Jillian joined right in for the play time; and we've had fun all day – even when the play time has been indoors.

While I'm thinking about them, though, I have a feeling that this will be the last summer holiday here for Dawn and Jillian. They are glad to be here, but they're also missing their boyfriends back at home; and Dawn's expecting that she'll get to work at least part-time out at the airport once she's fifteen – mostly because she wants to be out there with the planes and pilots; along with making money for extra flying lessons and flight time as she works toward getting her pilot's license. You can't hear her talk about flying for more than a minute without being sure that she'll be a pilot and fly the big jets some day too. The passion and determination are so obvious; and she's apparently really good at flying too. I can add a bit more to that, since I can sense her latent aura; and suspect that her gift for flying is similar to other latent gifts that have been documented by the Magi here in the past – including for things like the Landry family's excellence in sports.

While we've had an awesome first day of hometown vacation for my cousins, there really isn't anything too exciting to write about beyond what I've already mentioned. We considered a camping night, but the heat had us changing that and just staying indoors – without a major sleepover so that we didn't mess things up for Violet and Dillon. We do have Dawn, Jillian, Jaimie, and Jayden here with us, but Kaitlyn is at Aunt Leanne's house with Kara, Eddie, and Nicole; while Robyn is taking a turn staying with Aunt Deborah, Leah, and the boys. We had more outdoor play time after dinner tonight that included more swimming, but then we wrapped up our night with a movie in the lounge. Dawn and Jillian have the two guest bedrooms on the third floor, but the rest of the kids are on the second floor; and they're all sleeping as I'm writing this – even though it isn't all that late right now.

It has been a long, hot day, though, and we're all tired; which is why I've been doing my work tonight in a time phase – so that I can get it done and head off to sleep. Michael went home at eleven o'clock; and I've been working since then – for about a half-hour of 'real' time; and hours of actual work time. I am keeping up with my family business job, though; and will try to do that every night – even when we're having camping adventures.

I'll keep you posted on how that goes, but we have another big day of summer fun and play time ahead of us for tomorrow, and I need to get the sleep so I'll be ready for that; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace!

We had a dinner party for them that was cut a bit short due to a thunderstorm rolling through; but we managed to have most of our outdoor fun today before the wet arrived and we'll be dealing with more rain and storms again overnight and maybe into the morning tomorrow.

The heat was an issue again today, but not quite as severe as yesterday. Playing outside all day was an option as long as we went swimming a lot to cool off and kept hydrated. Michael was back to work today, so I didn't have his help for kid control today except when he was on his breaks; but I had some extra help from Rowen and Tim for a while; and Dawn and Jillian helped out with all of our younger cousins. We played at the park; did some biking when we were given a break from the younger kids for a couple of hours; went canoeing again; and played in the back yard. Nothing we did was particularly newsworthy, but we had a fun, lazy play day; and that's good-enough for me!

I was on kid control while the anniversary dinner was being cooked, so I didn't need to help out with that. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne hosted that dinner; and in addition to our family; they invited quite a few friends along too; so we had quite a gang there for the meal. The adults had fun roasting Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace, but I was out of the loop for that while dealing with the kids; and I didn't really even get to spend much time with the couple of honor. We all did still have fun whether we were in the loop with the adults or just playing and having fun in the back yard or river.

There was enough warning of incoming bad weather to get the outdoor party packed up and everyone either indoors or back at their own homes; and I was again on kid-control for that. We – the girls – added Brianna to our gang for the sleepover tonight because Aunt Leanne took Caleb so that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace could have a kid-free night. We had the same group of cousins again tonight, but added in Naomi and Aiden too because we'd originally planned a camping night that got cancelled due to the stormy forecast. I've got Brianna with me for a cuddle buddy; but we had all of the girls with us in the lounge for some movie-watching fun while the boys used the living room for some video gaming instead before going up to bed in Ethan's room.

Michael came over for a visit after work tonight, but didn't stay long because I was busy with getting kids ready for bed by then. He ended up spending more time with the guys and their video gaming than with me; but had fun with that – even if we're definitely missing out on having enough alone time. There's a good chance that won't be a problem we can fix over the next week and a half while my cousins are here; but I'll keep you posted on that.

Dawn, Jillian, Violet, and I had a nice bedtime chat once all of the younger girls were in bed on the second floor while Brianna snoozed in my bed; and then it was time for me to get to work on my family business work and the rest of my bedtime computing. Time phasing was an option, but I decided not to do that with Brianna in the room with me. That isn't because I was worried about sending her back home looking a month or year older; but that is funny to think about when that actually could be perceptible in a newborn or toddler even with just a handful of time phases.

Working in 'real' time meant that it's taken longer to get everything finished, but I do have the work done now; and it's time for me to join Brianna in nap mode.

Hopefully, she won't just wake up as I'm falling asleep and want to cuddle and party for an hour or two!

That is possible, though, so I'll try to get some sleep now while I can. It's been another fun day, and I'm sure there will be a lot of fun ahead whether we get a lot of rain again or not. I want to be ready to keep up with my sister, brother, cousins, and friends, though, and don't have anything else newsworthy to report from the work or bedtime computer checks; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

We had more rain and thunderstorms to deal with this morning, but that only affected our Tai Chi workout and early-morning play time while we waited for everything to dry before we could do things like play at the park.

Starting out the day with an indoor workout wasn't as much fun, but we had bonus fun with the extra kids and teens at breakfast while we also watched the last bits of rain from the comfort of the sunroom. Since we couldn't just run out and play, we took our time with getting ready for the day; I helped Mom with the morning chores; and then eventually headed out to play for the day. Dawn, Jillian, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara all helped with taking care of the gang of younger kids we had with us, and while I'm thinking about them; I should probably mention that Dawn and Jillian are getting a lot of attention around here from the appropriately-aged guys here – even though they're not available for summer vacation dating this year due to having current boyfriends back at home. That's true for some of the guys here too – including their favorite guys from two summers ago – Tommy Reynolds and Julian Sparks. I'll go ahead and lamely mention that I'm sensing continuing sparks flying between Jillian and Julian the couple of times we've seen him so far this week; but he's currently dating too and isn't the kind of guy to mess up by running around and flirting with other girls.

That's gotten a bit off-track; so let's get back to the report. Michael was working today again, so I only spent time with him on his breaks – and he didn't come over after work because he stayed until close and then will be back there again for the breakfast shift. The early rain and wet kept us from doing any major fun adventures today or a camping night again either due to the risk of more storms tonight; but we did still have fun – even if that was mostly more of the same as the past couple of days with park play, swimming, canoeing, and some biking in the afternoon. It was hot and humid again by this afternoon too; so there were bonus breaks for ice cream and an afternoon nap for a few of the youngest kids.

While we didn't want to risk having the kids outdoors if there are any storms overnight, it was nice-enough out for a campfire tonight; so we did that for a couple of hours instead of another movie and gaming night. We started that a bit early; wrapped it up by ten-thirty; and then we headed in and up to bed with time for a girl chat before Dawn, Jillian, and I took care of getting Ehlana, Naomi, Leah, and Robyn tucked in for the night in Ehlana's room. The two younger girls had felt left out when the older Johnson cousins were getting to do extra sleepovers; so Ehlana fixed that by inviting them to spend the night with her and Naomi – and earned a lot of bonus points for that with Leah and Robyn.

I came back up to my room after that and got ready for bed; met up with Dawn and Jillian in the lounge; and we ended up watching a movie together while winding down from a busy, toddler-rated play day. They texted with their boyfriends quite a bit while we did that too, and we had a bonus bedtime chat with Violet when she checked in with us after getting home from some hang-out time with Dillon's family.

All of that meant that I didn't get started on my family business work until a bit after one o'clock, and since I was too tired for time phasing; I worked in 'real' time to get that – and the rest of my usual bedtime computing – finished. That's made for a late night, but I'm ready to take the weekend off now; and we have a very important day ahead of us tomorrow – Brianna's first birthday!

I'm going to need to keep up with all of the fun and work that's going to be part of her big day, and if the weather cooperates; we'll do a camping night too. That won't be decided until sometime tomorrow, but I'm hoping we'll get to do that – especially for the cousins that are only here until Sunday and haven't gotten to have as much fun as we normally try to do with them so far this year. We do have plans for Saturday too, though, so that's another reason for me to get what sleep I can now – even though I'll need to do a bit of self-healing to make up for the lack of sleep too when I get up in a couple of hours or so.

The play time with my brother, sister, cousins, and friends is worth the extra effort; and I'm going to keep focusing on that as much as I can over the next week and a few days – except for when I need to be at the Inn to help out there too. Now I'm just dragging this out for no real reason, though, and I really am past-ready to be in nap mode; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, July 8, 2016

Happy 1st Birthday, Brianna!

I'm writing this update live from our tent in the Carrington's back yard because the weather has finally cooperated for us; and we're having our first camping adventure of the cousins' holiday to go along with Brianna's birthday. Rowen and I have Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna with us tonight too, but all four of my tent mates have crashed for the night; and Rowen wasn't even the last to finally fall asleep. Naomi had that honor; and our girl chat time was a lot of fun once we were all in here for the night – even when it was just the two of us.

That camping decision was made this morning, not long after breakfast; and that's why a lot of my day has been filled with work instead of play time – at least until Brianna's party started. I also needed to mow the lawn here at home and do some basic gardening; but had help from that from Dawn, Jillian, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara before we then moved on to Brianna's house to help out with the work there. Getting set up for the party was part of that, but we also set up four tents for the camping; and had to take a turn at kid control when Mom, Aunt Leanne, and the other volunteers needed to do other things instead – like making lunch for all of the kids, teens, and adult volunteers.

The kid part of Brianna's party started at three o'clock; and Dawn, Jillian, and I were on kid control from then on – sometimes with help from other teens; including Michael, Tim, and Rowen. Except for right at the start, while Michael was still on his break before the dinner shift at the Inn; that wasn't until later for the boys. Rowen came over before Michael left, though; and has stayed here since then. The afternoon games were all rated for one and two-year old kids; we made sure that all of Brianna's friends 'won' at least a few prizes of treats or little toys; and we had a highly-supervised swim for all of them too before we had some wind-down play time heading into dinner. Since that meal was late so that the doctors and nurses in the family could be here for it too; we also had snacks and drinks available; and had to try and keep track of the munchies intake for some of those kids to keep them from exploding long before we got around to the dinner, cake, and ice cream part of the fun.

While Aunt Leanne took the day off from work, Dad only left an hour early so that he could help Grandpa and some of the other guys with the grilling part of the cooking for our meal. Hot dogs and hamburgers were easy enough, but we had quite a few adults at the dinner too; so they also cooked up some steaks, chicken, and a few racks of ribs that took more time and effort. The meal was a crazy-busy adventure for those of us on kid control; and that's the only reason why I was close to Brianna at all while we ate – because I was one of the teens in charge of watching her little gang of daycare and Sunday school nursery friends. That meant getting to have bonus fun with Aunt Leanne too; so I had a blast even with all of the work.

There is one really great bonus to summertime parties for toddlers, and that's the ability to dunk them into the river to clean them off after they've made a mess of themselves during the meal. Ditto that for me, and while I love having long hair; it is a magnet for little kids – even when they're covered to the elbows in chocolate cake and ice cream; so I needed to be cleaned up as badly as some of the kids did. How messy was it? Bad enough that I hopped into the river later when I had a break from the kids with my travel bottle of shampoo to finish getting rid of the remaining bits of sticky grossness.

Most of the youngest kids headed home not long after that post-dessert clean-up swim; but we had some kids stay to play with the rest of us – and other kids and teens had tents set up for them so that they could join the camping adventure. That included Patrick, Scott, Jessica, and Lindsay; and they were all invited to join in so we'd have enough help for the younger kids that are here for the night too. We played more games in the back yards until it was nearly dark; followed that up with a campfire; and added in a few bonus bits of fun like having the kids play with sparklers for a while to go along with the music and scary campfire stories.

This time, other teens and parents took care of putting younger kids into sleeping bags and tents as they ran out of steam and fell asleep, but that was only because Michael and I were on music duty then and I also had Brianna in my lap for a lot of that time too. She is, by the way, such a ray of joy that I fall in love with her all over again pretty much every time I'm around her. She's a little Magi dynamo, and is as beautiful as her mother; but it's that gift of joy and love that's truly amazing – and something that everyone notices; whether they're consciously aware of it or not.

We've got another busy day ahead of us for Saturday, so I'd better move this along and wrap it up so I can get some sleep too – assuming Brianna doesn't wake up and want to start partying again!

The campfire wrapped up at midnight. Some of us went for a swim after getting all of the younger kids still standing ready for bed and tucked into their sleeping bags. Michael and I were among those swimmers, and we had fun with that too; but he was ready to crash by then so we didn't swim for long. I needed to retrieve Naomi from Ethan's sleeping bag once we got back to our tents – and did that despite the fact that she was pretending to be sleeping already; but we did take pictures first before I pulled her out of Ethan's arms and carried her back to our tent. She thought it was funny that Rowen and I didn't want her in the tent with the boys when Michael and Tim got changed out of their swimsuits; which has me wondering just how scary Liz must've been as a kid and teen! ;^)

I've already mentioned the girl chat; we listened to some music on my computer while I did my email check and a bit of family business work; and now it's time to finish this update so that I can head off into nap mode. We'll be doing a breakfast at the Inn surprise for the campers in the morning that most of the kids don't know about because Aunt Leanne did not want to feed this large a gang again. We also have a family and friends day planned for quarry Lake tomorrow after that; and some of us also have a teen birthday party and camping night there to go along with all of the family fun. Michael has to work too; but he's doing the breakfast and dinner shifts so that he can be out at Quarry Lake most of the day – and then again tomorrow night for the campfire and camping part of the teen fun. All of that news can wait for the next update, though, and I really do need to get what sleep I can now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Elliott!

This report is coming to you from our tent again, but we're at Quarry Lake tonight; and I'm writing this while taking a break from the late night fun with Michael and our friends – which is why I need to do this as quickly as I can.

Staring from this morning, Tai Chi by the river with bonus exercise buddies – but not with Michael – was really great. I miss getting to do that more often with Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, but they don't usually do their workout at the same time that we do ours anymore thanks to the kids; so that isn't likely going to change until Zack and Brianna start exercising with them too. The breakfast buffet surprise was fairly awesome for the kids – including Zack and Brianna; while getting everyone there was a crazy-busy rush of non-stop action. Miranda put on a mini breakfast buffet for our gang and offered it to other breakfast customers too; but that really just worked out better for Jacob and the kitchen staff because it was also a kid-rated menu for that buffet with two types of pancakes, waffles, bacon, and sausage – along with scrambled eggs for a bonus option for the adults. Michael couldn't join us for that either while he worked, but it might have been easier in the kitchen than keeping up with kid control was for Rowen, Tim, Dawn, Jillian, and me.

That was an hour-long blast of more crazy fun; and then it was time to get back to the campsite – and for some of us to get the tents packed up and the little campground cleaned up while others took care of kid control for a while. I then needed to get ready for the day at home; pack for my day and camping night at Quarry Lake; and get a ride out there to help out with the work going on there for Elliott's birthday. Violet gave me the ride out there, but I was only out there a couple of hours ahead of my family – and Michael came out with my family once he was finished work at the Inn for the morning. Elliott's parents had other teen volunteers to help with the set-up for the tents and for his party, but I only had a bit of help for setting up the three tents that I brought with me.

By the way, I haven't mentioned it before, because I've never used it; but Quarry Lake has a couple of group campsites that are only for tenting, and don't have much in the way of services for the spot except for two power outlets and one water tap; but are perfect for groups to use for things like birthday parties or small group weekends. When they're not actually booked by a group; they're used for tenting overflow when they run out of individual lots on busier weekends.

I don't really have time to get side-tracked, and have a lot of news to cover; so let's get back to the update.

While I was helping out with the party set-up, my family was at home getting ready for their day at Quarry Lake. They were ready to come out here by shortly after ten o'clock; came here with a caravan of cars, vans, and trucks; and then needed a while to set up their day camp before being able to play for the day. Michael joined me for the tail-end of the party work, but while lunch was offered to us; we did that with my family instead because Elliott's party didn't start until after lunch. That meal wasn't memorable enough to write about here; but we did have fun with everyone before heading out again to join Elliott, Nora, and the rest of our friends as they started arriving for the party.

We're beyond playing a bunch of party games these days, but Elliott's parents had time slots set up for us for climbing the rock wall and going for rides on the zip line; they'd rented a handful of bikes for us to use on the trails; and we were free to do anything else at the park – including hanging out around the small pavilion they'd also booked for the day and toss Frisbees and footballs around. While Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were together for most of the afternoon and we had a blast; we also weren't nearby for the top news event of the afternoon – when my grandfather broke his arm falling on the rock wall.

Yes, the safety equipment worked just fine, but he hit his arm against the wall hard-enough to break it; and then needed to be lowered back down to the ground. The news that most people won't find out about is that Uncle Adam did most of the healing for Grandpa's arm back at the clinic – with part of that happening before the x-rays were taken so that the break didn't look like more than a mild fracture; so the cast that Grandpa is apparently sporting now for the next couple of weeks is really just for show. Mom apparently also took care of dulling the pain before he left for the clinic with Uncle Adam; but I didn't hear about that until later – when I had a chance to talk with Mom and Dad before they headed home for the day so that they could get to the barbeque dinner they were hosting and their co-ed ballgame.

I wasn't thinking about baseball while writing my update last night, but Michael and Tim had a ballgame tonight too; and Michael had to miss it because I was being selfish and didn't take the shift at the Inn instead so that he could play ball instead. Okay, he'd have worked anyway because Miranda was a bit short-staffed tonight; but I'm just joking about that anyway; since I'd only agreed to work the buffet shift tomorrow while my cousins are here.

Michael did get a ride back to town in time for helping out with the dinner prep work, though, and then Tim headed to town in time for the game – along with some of the other guys on both teams. They collectively have a terrible group of girlfriends because we all opted to stay and Quarry Lake and play while they were busy with their game. Maybe that had a lot to do with why it was also a short game thanks to what was apparently a stellar pitching display from the Werewolves' pitcher. He only gave up three hits and two runs; and earned a lot of strike-outs and pop-fly outs to get a lot of three-batter innings. Tim and his buddies had eight runs, but he was motivated too; and earned five of those runs on two home runs; so their batting-halves of each inning were fairly short too.

It's amazing how motivated a group of teen boys can be when they're missing out on play time with their girlfriends in swimsuits! ;^)

They didn't exactly miss out on all fun and no work at Quarry Lake because Elliott's birthday barbeque had been early due to the ballgames; so once they left for town; some of us had to volunteer to help with the clean-up while others did go on to play or do other things – like get their tents ready for tonight. Rowen and I were among those volunteers; and then we went to play in the water for a while to cool off before going for a climb and ride on the zip line without the boys. We always have fun with them too, but it was nice to do that for a change with just the two of us – having a little competition on the climb; and then enjoying the thrill of the ride back to earth.

The party at the pavilion wrapped up not long after the dinner clean-up was finished; and party central moved over to the campground after that. There was minimal adult supervision for that because Quarry Lake required it; but even the two 'adult' tents were segregated from the rest of us; and they had their own little campfire for the night when they were lit at dusk. All of the guys except for Michael were back by then, and Rowen and Tim had even gone for a late-evening bike ride before the rentals needed to be returned and the new trails were closed to biking for the night. Being on my own at first for the campfire felt weird when most of the other teens were cuddling together around the fire; but then that did give me a chance to take a turn on the guitar to help with the music – and then not need to do extra playing later when I could cuddle with Michael.

Rowen and I got the baseball update from Tim when he got back, but I didn't get the co-ed game news until Dawn and Jillian came out here again with Michael once he was finished work – and that co-ed game was finished. That game was short too; but only because the Pub Pirates invoked the mercy rule after Mom, Dad, and their team had a nineteen-to-four lead. The cousins' cheerleading squad was given credit for the big win; though there were jokes about the win being for Grandpa too when he was there to support the family despite his broken arm. Dawn and Jillian also gave me the report from the family dinner I missed, and Michael told us about his shift at the Inn; but there wasn't any major news from any of that to include here.

I've had a great night since Michael got here; and cuddling with him has only been part of that fun. We took a turn playing and singing – including a couple of duets that were good-enough to get a bunch of our friends up and dancing to our songs; and we've had a blast – especially with Tim, Rowen, Dawn, and Jillian. We also had a cameo visit from Jenny and Evan, and while I haven't mentioned them much in my journals; Jenny does spend a lot of time out here at Quarry Lake – including some overnight camping adventures – including the one she's having tonight. While I'm sure they're going to be in for a newsworthy night that Rebecca and I will hear about tomorrow at work; that story isn't one that I'll be including in my journal.

Trying not to think about that does remind me that I have more fun to get back to; so let's get this report wrapped up so I can do that!

The campfire is being put out as I write this; but we had fun with that until a bit after one o'clock. We've been hanging out around the tents and doing things like going for walks around the campground since then; and this little break has been so that we can take washroom breaks and get ready for bed before meeting up for a bit of bonus teen fun that is mostly going to just be goofy and not worth reporting in any detail here. What I will mention, though, is that Rowen and I have every intention of having a tent mate swap tonight – which is why I brought three tents. Dawn and Jillian will be more comfortable in their own tent instead of packed in with Rowen and me – though they have teased me about a tent mate swap too.

Michael and I won't be the only teen couples doing that tonight; and our chaperones are likely just looking the other way – if they're worried about it at all. Since we're way overdue for some alone time; I'm very happy to be getting that cuddle time with Michael – and I'm sure that a bit of quiet, quality make-out time will be part of the fun for us tonight – even if that means we'll only be having naps before we'll need to start out morning at sunrise.

That'll be because we need to pack up our campground as well as get ready for the day and back to town in time for church. I'm sure that some of our gang won't make it to church tomorrow; but Michael and I have our orders – and a ride coming to get us – and Dawn, Jillian, Tim, and Rowen. Being late won't be an option.

Now I have one more good reason to wrap this up, and don't really have anything to add tonight anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

The make-out time with Michael before we had our nap was worth not getting much sleep for; and I used a bit of healing for both of us when we woke up so we were both happy and feeling great when we walked to the lake and did our Tai Chi workout there before returning to our tents and joining in on the rush to have breakfast; get ready for the day; and pack up our tents and gear for those of us that needed to get that done in time for our rides back to town.

Even with having too much to do, Michael, Tim, Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and I all managed to be out at the camp entrance with our gear in time to meet up with Dad and Dillon – our designated drivers. We even had time to drop off our gear on the way to church; but Dad drove there because he didn't have time for his stops at Rowen's and Tim's houses and a stop at home to leave the truck there. While I was glad to be at church with everyone; we had missed out on the fun here last night and this morning; and Ehlana, Naomi, and some of the other girls were happy to fill me in on their adventures when they could do a bit of that before the service started – and then again after it was over. It was already getting hot out by then, so Pastor John didn't have a long service; and that worked out for the traveling members of our family because Christina and Josiah were taking Nicole and Robyn to a half-way meeting point to return them to their parents – and also have a mid-afternoon visit with Christina's parents.

That's why our post-church time started out with a round of goodbyes for Nicole and Robyn; though we got to do that at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house thanks to the extra time that allowed all four of them to get changed into more comfortable clothes before hitting the road. After that, I was on kid control for a while; Michael was already at the Inn and helping out there by then; and the parents dealt with getting lunch ready for our entire gang – along with some bonus friends and neighbors. The fathers grilled burgers and hot dogs; Grandpa supervised because he wasn't allowed to do any work or play with the kids thanks to his broken arm; and the women dealt with rounding up the cold salads and side snacks – most of them leftovers or donations. I was with the kids for the meal too; and then helped out with them while canoes and the rest of the gear we'd need was rounded up and brought over to the dock at the Carringtons.

By then, it was really, really hot; so our canoeing adventure was given a doctor-imposed time limit of one hour. I have so got to get out in the canoes more often, and I'm reporting that because even though I have canoed past the new bridge a few times now; it still felt really strange to do that today – and this was my first canoe ride of the summer to last an hour. I'm not including canoe rides to the park or downtown when we stopped to play or shop; but you know what I mean. We paddled upriver for thirty-five minutes; stopped for a short swim; and then paddled back. That exceeded the time limit; but since we did have one of those doctors with us; he'd approved the extension because of the cool-down swim time.

Some of our cousins were disappointed that we didn't paddle out to the whirlpool, so we will try to do that sometime before they head home if the weather cooperates; but the shorter ride was more than enough for all of the younger kids. Several of those kids needed naps by then; so that was set up for them either in houses or just somewhere shady and slightly cooler. By the time we got back, Michael was nearly done the lunchtime part of his shift; so it wasn't long before he came over to hang out with me – with us – until he and I both needed to be there for the buffet-to-close shift. Since the younger kids had needed a break or naps, we took the rest of the gang for a bike ride at the park; and really got to have a decent chance to show my cousins some of the new trails we hadn't been able to use sooner thanks to the extra rain. That was a nice blast of fun, and so was the cool-off swim back at the Carringtons; but then I needed to stop at home to grab a shower and get changed; Michael decided to do the same at his house; and then we hurried over to the Inn and got to work.

It's been hot outside today, but that was nothing compared to the kitchen at the Inn. I think that I lost four or five pounds today while working that shift, and while losing a couple of pounds of weight is fairly normal during particularly hot days; I noticed it more today – and I'd say that pretty much everyone working the Inn today felt that way by the time we went home at a bit after ten o'clock. Michael and I had fun even with all of the too-hot work, and I learned a bit too much about how great Jenny's fun with Evan at Quarry Lake was; but there really isn't any other news from my work there worth reporting. It's a job; we did a lot of cooking and cleaning; and I was really glad to go home with Michael and jump in the river to cool off once we could do that.

Rebecca, Jake, and Stephanie joined us for that; and so did Violet, Dillon, Dawn, and Jillian. Mom and Dad just have Dawn, Jillian, and me here at the house tonight because the rest of our cousins, Ethan, and Ehlana are all elsewhere – possibly as much to give me a break as it is for Mom and Dad. Dawn's loved having Violet and Dillon to herself – or mostly; since Jillian stayed with her while they hung out together after getting home from the late buffet at the Inn and helping to get all of the younger kids off to their sleepover destinations. I guess that didn't end up being a lot of time before they came swimming with us; but we had fun together while we swam – and after that when we sat out on Michael's back porch with cold drinks and talked until eleven-thirty or so. Violet and Dillon led the charge to go home – or inside – and off to bed because they have to work in the morning, but I was ready to call it a night by then anyway – even if I didn't exactly get to do that thanks to the family business and computer work I needed to do once I was cleaned up and ready for bed.

I've been too tired for time phasing while doing that work; so it's taken longer than I would have liked – especially when I didn't get much sleep last night! ;^)

The work needed to be done, though, and I can't let it pile up when I'll be spending another week helping out with kid control pretty much every day. We're not making plans ahead of time this week due to some potential for more stormy-weather days, but rain or shine; I'll be busy keeping my brother, sister, and cousins entertained – and it might be more work on the rainy days. Monday is looking pretty good as of my last check of the forecast, so we'll likely play outside tomorrow; but I'll keep you posted on that. If the weather cooperates, I'll need to get back to other things like ball practices; and we have a make-up game to fit into the schedule somewhere too thanks to the holiday weekend rain-outs; but I doubt that'll happen this week when we already have a game coming up on Saturday.

I can write about any of that as the week happens for me, and you can flip digital pages in my future to read all about it, though; so I'm just going to wrap this up and get some sleep while I can. It's mostly been a fun, if unusual, first week of holidays with our cousins; and I hope next week will be even better, but that's all for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, July 11, 2016

I know that weather forecasters generally try their best, and that I have some advantages for predicting the weather should I want to bother using my Sight to do that; but it's a bit tough to plan summertime fun when it seems that they sometimes simply call up the forecaster a town or three up-wind from them to tell them what it's like outside – and then use that feedback for their forecasts.

The good news for us is that the weather held nice for us all day; and the bad is that we couldn't have a camping adventure again tonight because by the time we wanted to set up for that; the forecast had been changed from just a very small chance of a shower or two to a near-certain chance of thunderstorms and quite a bit of rain. At the risk of harping on this, can we even still call it forecasting when those forecast changes come just hours ahead of the incoming weather? Most farmers around here can tell what the weather will be like that far out – and they don't need fancy weather satellites and high-powered computers to do that!

Okay, that's enough ranting for one update. Let's get to the news of the day.

Tai Chi by the river was great; breakfast in the sunroom was fun; and we decided on our canoe to the whirlpool adventure then – after checking the forecast to make sure that we could do that. I guess I don't get to stop talking about forecasts quite yet, since I'll also mention that we picked to go canoeing again today already because the forecast wasn't looking as good for two or three out of four of the remaining four days of the work week. That's changed now too, but who knows what it'll be by morning; so I'll just wait and see what happens. Picking the canoe trip meant getting busy after we finished the breakfast clean-up.

Michael had breakfast with us, but he went home to do some chores while the rest of us either went to work or got busy getting everything ready for a canoe ride to the whirlpool – including packing a picnic; getting the canoes, lifejackets, and paddles to the river; and rounding up the kids, teens, and gear we were taking with us for the day. We did not take most of the youngest kids because of the obvious issues with that, but we did bring Brianna because she already has us wrapped around her little finger – and because she can travel with her diapers. Ethan, Ehlana, Jayden, Aiden, and Naomi were the next-youngest; and then we had the rest of the cousins with us too. Rowen was able to juggle her work schedule to come along, but Tim couldn't; and missed out on the whirlpool adventure this time while he was needed to help his father and uncle.

It took until nearly ten o'clock before we were ready to start paddling upriver; but then we were off and had a blast as we spent a couple of hours getting to the whirlpool. We played for an hour once we were there; had our picnic after that; and then played in the whirlpool for another hour before paddling home again. While everything we did was fun; the highlights of the playtime at the whirlpool for me all revolved around playing with Brianna. She'd been a lot of fun on the trip to the whirlpool too; and a great little cuddle buddy for most of the way back while she snuggled against my legs on a blanket and had a couple of naps along the way.

The morning plan was to set up our camp after getting home, but Mom broke the bad news to us when she welcomed us home; and we had to come up with a new plan for the night. While camping was out, the barbeque dinner that Mom and Dad were booked to host was still a go; and we decided to take the chance that we could go ahead with a campfire too. That left making new plans for sleepovers; and we ended up having the cousins split up for the night instead of all together – and we only ended up with Ethan, Jayden, and Aiden at our house for the night while Dawn and Jillian took their turn for a night with my grandparents; and Naomi took Ehlana home with her while the other girls were either with Aunt Leanne, Aunt Grace, or Aunt Deborah.

That's going to work out rather well for me, since I'm seriously thinking about keeping Michael here with me for a sofa sleepover with just Violet and Dillon up here with us on the third floor; but we haven't actually decided that as I'm writing this while he's getting the three younger boys into bed and having some guy talk time with them before coming up here when he's done with that. I do want to get this done now in case that happens, though; so you can probably guess that there's a very good chance that Michael will still be here in the morning when we wake up – assuming I let him get some sleep at all! ;^)

Where was I? For some reason, I'm suddenly distracted and not very interested in typing on my computer!

We took care of the post-canoeing work; Rowen and I joined the dinner work crew while Michael, Dawn, and Jillian took the lead on kid control; and we all had more help for the work and entertainment as the rest of the adults and other guests arrived. Dinner wasn't anything fancy – just your standard barbeque fare; but getting everyone fed took a while, and by the time the younger kids were finished eating ice cream; dunking them in the river was the best solution for getting them clean again. The swim time helped to get cooled off again too; and then we had a trip to the park meant to help tire out all of the younger kids before coming home again for the campfire. We had a blast with that too, and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I took a group of the older kids and younger teens for a bike ride on the trails while the parents and grandparents helped out with the younger kids. After that, we went for a swim back at home again; and Dad had the fire going by the time we were finished with the last round of water play time.

It was tough to tell at first whether the play time actually worked to tire out the kids – even though it definitely did that for the parents and grandparents; but the campfire music and appropriately-rated scary stories did soon have the youngest kids ready to cuddle in laps and drift off to sleep. Since Michael and I were the primary music providers, I didn't help out with carrying toddlers to bed at other houses; but we did help out with cleaning up from the campfire when it was decided to put it out at eleven o'clock so that the working parents could take their kids home and maybe eventually get some sleep – assuming the aunts don't end up staying awake and talking to the girls staying with them for half the night!

That reminds me that I haven't mentioned Eddie very often. He feels a bit left out because he's seven and a half; and a bit old for Ethan and Jayden, but doesn't have any guy cousins closer to his age the other way either. Uncle Adam and Uncle Nick are helping to make his holiday here fun anyway, though; and he really likes both of them a lot. I'm sure that the age difference to Ethan and Jayden won't be as big of a deal in another couple of years – and then be an issue for a while when Eddie crosses over ahead of them, but as long as he's having fun here; I'm sure he'll keep coming back for more.

I seem to be taking a few too many side-trips; but we are almost to the end of this report. After getting the back yard cleaned up and the fire put out, we said goodbye to the few remaining campfire guests – including Michael's parents, Jake, and Stephanie; and then we came inside for the night. Dad had a bit of work to do in the office, so Mom went with him to do some work too; I've already mentioned that Michael's taking care of the younger boys; and Violet and Dillon just came up to bed while I came up to my room to get cleaned up, changed, and deal with the must-do work and computing that couldn't be left for tomorrow. That turned out to be just one family business job; there wasn't anything pressing in my email inbox; and once I'm done with this update; I'm good to go for some quality cuddle time with Michael.

Yes, I cheated to get the work done, and Michael is supposed to have a time limit for that cuddle time with me before he's to be home for the night; but Miranda won't be surprised at all if I do keep him.

Oh, alright – I'm going to keep Michael here for my cuddle buddy all night! If I wasn't; this update wouldn't be happening until after he went home; and we all know that!

I feel so much better now! That's also all I have for tonight, and Michael should be up here soon; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Michael and I had a happy little make-out session before getting around to our sofa sleepover last night; and the wake-up call before Tai Chi was fun too! ;^)

The rest of our day has been a bit strange for me; but I think it's because I'm feeling rained out tonight. We had some hot, sunny weather to enjoy today too, but the rain overnight had things really wet around here for a while this morning; and then we had more thunderstorms and rain move into town by late afternoon that kept us from having any outdoor fun after that – again! I know we can't do anything about it; but can't help but feel a bit disappointed that we're not able to have as much fun as usual with our cousins when we're stuck indoors – and can't have as many camping adventures and other fun as we normally do.

Maybe I'm feeling that more because not only is this likely the last summer that Dawn will come for a summer holiday; but I'm running out of summers for these cousin vacations too. I know it's hard to believe, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are only two years away from going off to college; and I won't be home very much for the next five years after that. Writing about those plans is something to do another day – maybe when we're a bit closer to the start of college; so let's not go there tonight.

Tai Chi was indoors thanks to the last bits of rain still hanging around town at the time; Michael stayed for breakfast because the boys wanted him to do that; and then he went home to spend the morning helping out with chores there while I was on kid control for most of the morning – along with helping out with some chores after breakfast for a while too until our cousins gathered at our house by around nine o'clock. It was still pretty wet out, so we didn't go to the park or play in the back yard, but we did go for a bike ride to the new section of town; did a bit of shopping after that; and then went to the park once it looked dry-enough for the playground to actually be fun for the kids. I had to bankroll the stop on the way to the park for the ice cream, drinks, and snacks that were needed for my little gang to survive that play time; we had fun at the park until it was getting close to lunchtime; and then we collected Michael along the way when we went home and hopped in the river to cool off for a while until lunch was ready for everyone. That was an easy-meal, so we made our own mini subs; added sides of cold salads and snack foods; and then Michael and I sat with Dawn and Jillian on the benches by the river while most of the kids either sat on the dock with their food and drinks; or on blankets by the river. Aunt Leanne, Grandma, and Grandpa joined Mom for lunch; and then we had a small gang of teens and older kids only for a trip out to the ranch for a trail ride while Grandma and Grandpa took care of the younger kids with some help from Uncle Nick and Naomi's Dad while we were busy with the first – and probably only – trail ride we'll have for the cousins' holidays here.

That seems strange to think of too when it wasn't that long ago when I got to go trail riding every week and another dozen or more rides on weekends and holidays. Now it seems as though we're too busy all of the time and can't get out to the ranch very often at all – or we get rained out the way we have so many times this summer.

The trails, by the way, still had some muddy, wet sections even by that time of the afternoon, but we didn't get too messy going through those sections; and the horses were cleaned up when we got back to the corrals and barns. We had a lot of fun; Dawn and Jillian especially loved riding and talking with Pamela and two of her kids; and Michael and I had fun with Mom, Aunt Leanne, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and Eddie. Michael rode next to Eddie and helped him out a bit when needed; since this was his first time being allowed to go on the trail ride with us. He isn't as interested in horses as Kara is, but I think he liked spending that hour or so with Michael; and felt more comfortable with riding by the time we were finishing up the ride.

Our timing for that was pretty good, since we had time to go for a swim after we were home again and have an ice cream snack break before the storm clouds moved into the area and our outdoor play time came to an end for the day. Dinner for everyone in our family and a handful of friends ended up being at our house again, though that hadn't been the original plan. That decision was mostly because we have the extra space with the sunroom now; and we – the kids and teens – were split between the kitchen and sunroom while the parents and grandparents had dinner in the dining room. That's when they set up the last-minute plan for the rest of the evening, which for us meant a girls' night at our house while the boys were sent off to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for the evening – and a sleepover there for Ethan, Jayden, Aiden, Eddie, Caleb, and Sebastian.

We are so going to need to get Mom and Dad a kid-free night sometime soon to make up for all of the too-many-kids nights they've had lately! ;^)

Our evening here included mini makeover help from Mom and our aunts; and the only down-side of the plan for me was that Michael didn't get to stay with me. He couldn't refuse going to play with the guys either, but went and borrowed Ryan to join in on that fun – and then added Tim to the gang too after Rowen picked joining me for the girls' night over hanging out with Tim instead. We helped Mom and my aunts with the makeovers for the younger girls; we watched movies; and pretty much just goofed around for a few hours until we started to have our most-junior sleepover buddies start dropping off from exhaustion after a long, busy play day. All of the younger girls except for Brianna are on the second floor tonight; but Rowen and I got to keep her for a cuddle buddy while Ehlana has Naomi, Leah, and Sophia with her; and the other girls are in the rest of the guest rooms. Dawn and Jillian are up here on the third floor, but we didn't want to make things too weird for Dillon – especially when he and Dad are so outnumbered tonight!

Since I just mentioned Sophia, I probably should have added earlier that since Michael invited Ryan to hang out with him, Ehlana invited Sophia and Jessica to join us – and they were happy to do that – giving yet another set of parents a kid-free night. I'm sure that Michael's aunt and uncle appreciate that a lot; though I'll also mention that Michael took Ryan home with him instead of staying with the other boys at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

Getting back to the story at our house, the makeovers were done by ten-thirty; the other Moms were set free to go home; and Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and I watched one more movie with the older girls before they all went to bed shortly after midnight. Brianna was in my bed while we did that; and she'd snuggled in between Rowen and me now as I'm writing this; while Mandy had to settle for a spot at the foot of the bed because she didn't like getting kicked by Brianna if she tried to snuggle too close to my adorable cousin. Rowen and I talked for a while when I first got started on my bedtime computing and family business work, but she fell asleep an hour or so ago while I've tried to blast through all of the work I needed to get done tonight. I didn't quite get there; but did finish everything that couldn't wait until tomorrow night.

Tomorrow is supposed to be baseball practice day, but the weather might not cooperate yet again; with the forecast currently being for a near-repeat of today – rain ending in the morning; and then more storms in the evening and overnight. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear again and see how it goes; but it'd be nice to get at least a couple of chances to have camping nights for our cousins – and maybe another play day at Quarry Lake; since I didn't really get to do that with them last Saturday while busy with Elliott's party instead.

I'll let you know how that works out as we go along, but I've had enough fun for tonight and need to get some sleep now. Mom and Dad will need the help with this gang of girls in the morning – and that wake-up call isn't very far away from now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

We had some outdoor play time, but there was a thunderstorm late in the morning that kept us inside for several hours by the time things dried up enough for us to take the kids out to play; and then we've had rain and thunderstorms from around dinnertime through the rest of the evening. Our indoor time has included playing games and watching movies; but nothing particularly exciting to write about here.

Tai Chi was outdoors, and we had some park play time after breakfast; but we barely made it home before the rain hit this morning. The afternoon play time was mostly around here with just a short visit to the park; and included some swim time. Michael was here for most of that; and then he was back at the Inn for the dinner-to-close shift. Michael was needed at the Inn too because the rain brought in a lot of customers from the area campgrounds. I would have liked to help out there too, but Mom needed me to help with our cousins more – including getting them fed. I also wasn't booked because I was supposed to have baseball practice; but that was cancelled again this week – as were the other practices that weren't already done with before the second round of storms hit.

While we hosted dinner again, Mom and Dad only have Dawn and Jillian with us tonight; and we had a quiet night here at home. Ethan and Ehlana joined us in the lounge for a movie night; Violet joined us for part of one of the shows; and the twins went to bed after the second movie. I started watching a third movie with Dawn and Jillian, but decided to skip the rest of it so that I could get started on my work. They're in their own rooms now; but I did work on my computer while they were still in the lounge; and I couldn't do anything at Magi speed while they were in the other room – and the doors were open. I did kick up the speed after they went to bed, though; so I won't need to be up all night getting that work finished.

As of my last weather forecast check, we might get a nice day tomorrow, and if we do; I'll see what I can do about doing something special with my cousins; but I'll let you know how that goes with the next update. For this report, I've pretty much covered what has mostly been a non-news day. We're down to just three days left for the cousins' vacation here before they'll head home on Sunday, so I'm really feeling a bit of pressure to make those days as great as I can; and hope that Mother Nature will co-operate to help make that possible. Again, I'll have to let you know how that goes, but I'm ready to get some sleep now so I'll be ready for whatever we end up getting to do for fun tomorrow; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

The weather finally cooperated today for the entire day; though the forecast flip-flopped a bit.

We took the chance that we wouldn't get rain or storms, though, and went all out to have a great day for our cousins – and quite a few other teens, tweens, and kids around here.

Tai Chi by the river this morning was good; though Michael was working the breakfast shift and couldn't be with us for that. We decided on our plans for the day while having breakfast in the sunroom, and as sometimes happens; our plan morphed into a major event. Mom needed lots of help – and drivers; but the daytime fun was a trip to Quarry Lake. Some of us could have biked out there, but we instead decided to rent some bikes out there for riding the new trails; and have the bonus time at the campground for playing instead of losing the extra time for the biking there and back.

I won't write about everyone there, but Rowen was happy to be drafted to come and play with me – and help with kid control; and we had a blast all day with Dawn, Jillian, and our entire gang. The play time out at Quarry Lake started fairly early for some of us; since Mom decided to just get rides for everyone first; and then bring lunch later. We blasted through packing bags with towels and the rest of the usual summer play day gear; rounded up the first gang of kids and teens; and had a small caravan of vans and trucks heading out of town by a bit after nine o'clock.

While Rowen and I were basically in charge, we did have some adult support while out there all day – with some of the parents and grandparents taking turns as 'emergency' responders to help out if anything happened that we couldn't deal with. That didn't happen; but they did all join in for the fun here and there too.

Grandpa didn't get to go rock wall climbing again today so soon after his little accident, but only because Grandma out-voted him on that; with use of the all-powerful wifely veto that broke the one-one tie on the vote. ;^)

We – the kids and teens – did get a chance to play at most of the activities around Quarry Lake, and Rowen and I mostly did all of that with the younger kids; but we also all did a lot of swimming and playing around the lake and on the slides. As the day progressed, we had more teen and parent support; including from Michael when he was allowed to come out for an extended break that started with the trip to the campground with Mom when she brought lunch out with help from some of the other parents. He didn't have to go back again until late afternoon to help with the dinner rush; and hopped one of the early rides back to town with some of the youngest kids that were getting tired out by then.

Rowen and I were in the last group to leave Quarry Lake – mostly because we were still in charge and responsible for making sure that we hadn't lost any of our kids along the way. That's why we didn't get back here until a bit after five-thirty; and we missed out on most of the cooking and dinner set-up work for the fairly massive barbeque dinner we hosted. We also missed out on a lot of the campground set-up for the tents; but had to put our own tent up once we handed off the kids to other kid control volunteers. That didn't take long, but we also took that time before dinner to pack our overnight bags and get our sleeping bags and the rest of our tent set up too; so we barely got all of that done by the time the parents were all at our house after work; and we sat down to eat in the back yard.

That was a wild hour or so of fun, and we literally had people scattered all around the yard while we ate. Rowen and I were at the river with most of the younger kids and maybe half of the teens. Getting to have Brianna with us was a highlight of that little blast of food fun; and then we dunked about half of the kids in the river to clean them off before moving on to some play time in the back yard or at the park playground. Rowen and I were not on kid control for that because we were on the clean-up crew instead; so we were at home as the campground grew as more teens and kids were invited to join the camping adventure – or semi-invited themselves. I really won't list the names of everyone that's here tonight; but we ended up with fourteen tents lined up along the river in two rows; with an average of four kids and teens per tent. Rowen and I have Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna with us; and Michael and Tim have Ethan, Aiden, and Jayden with them. Most of the teens are paired up and have two or three junior campers with them; so there won't be any co-ed sleepovers tonight – even though Naomi once again attempted to sneak into Ethan's sleeping bag to be his cuddle buddy for the night.

There is no doubt that she's staked her claim to my little brother, and while I'm sure there are lots of people around here that think it's just a cute kid thing; some of us know differently.

More on that in the future!

Moving along, Rowen and I ended up staying here at home all evening and playing games here instead of joining the play time at the park. We did a bit of canoeing with the kids – just short trips upriver to the edge of the new section of town and back with a couple of kids in each canoe; but we also supervised a lot of the swimming. Dad lit a fire at dusk; and all of the kids and teens were rounded up for that last blast of semi-organized entertainment. Michael and I led the music once he was set free from the Inn; Tim and some of the other teens helped with the scary stories; and Mom had some bonus bits of fun for the kids – like glow-sticks of various types that they could use while running around and playing after dark. While I loved playing and singing with Michael, I also had fun cuddling with Brianna and Michael when we took breaks from the music; and that was a perfect way to wind down what has been a really awesome day!

It is a work night, so the campfire was given an eleven-thirty time limit – not for the kids and teens; but for the neighbors and parents that needed to get some sleep before needing to work in the morning.

We'll pretend that we believe that; and ignore the fact that the time limit also worked out rather well for all of the parents that are having a kid-free night while we have half the kids and teens in town here.

Okay, it isn't nearly half of them, but there are a dozen or more parental pairs that don't have kids at home tonight – including all of my aunts and uncles. No more information is needed to be added here, though; so let's once again move along!

We already had kids falling asleep long before eleven-thirty, but I left it up to other teens and some parents to take care of getting those kids tucked into the correct tents and sleeping bags while I stayed with Michael and Brianna and we continued the campfire entertainment. The campfire was wrapped up with two scary stories; so I left while that was going on and got Brianna changed and tucked into my sleeping bag. After that, Rowen and I were kept busy until after midnight with getting the rest of the younger girls ready for bed and tucked in; and then we finally got to have some time to just hang out with Michael, Tim, and most of the teens for a while. There were still a few issues with a few fired up boys that were interested in messing with us; but we – the girls – let the boys deal with them as needed. While we were all getting tired by then, and some of us have to work in the morning; we still stayed out by the river until nearly one-thirty before splitting up and heading into our tents to get some sleep.

I'd have liked to do that, but needed to get some work done first; and then ended up with more than I'd expected – which is why I'm just getting around to this when it's past-four. Rowen talked with me for a while when I first got to work, but she drifted off to dreamland by a bit after two o'clock; and I've only had a short chat with Brianna when she woke up at around three wanting a diaper change and a drink. She has been a very nice and warm cuddle buddy to have next to me while I've been working, though; so I was happy to help her out with that – and then sing her back to sleep once she was ready to do that again.

There isn't anything to write about for my work tonight, but all is well with my end of the family business. I did also catch the latest news from around the world, and I'm very tempted to write a minor diatribe about the attack in Nice, France; but I'm not going to do that – just as I've kept myself from doing that for other, similar events around the world. Without getting into the story, which you can read about elsewhere in the archives; I will mention that I always have to deal with the problem of being a Magi Master with a lot of power who isn't in a position to do anything about the horrors that people are capable of inflicting on each other. At times like this, it isn't any comfort to know that I'll be part of the coming Ascension of the Light – especially when I know that bad things are going to keep happening during the years and decades to come as we work toward that destiny.

Wow – that's a bit heavy for an ending to an update for a major play day, but I don't have any other news to report, and need to get what little bit of sleep I can before we'll be awake and going again at sunrise; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, July 15, 2016

This is going to be a short update because I'm tired and running out of steam fast.

Tai Chi by the river was great; but arrived a bit early for me. My workout for that wasn't normal, but it was great in a different way; and Brianna giggled her way through our workout while I 'helped' her to exercise with us. Her hugs and kisses were great too, and while yes, her one-year old version of a hug is more of a snuggle; she's very good at them!

Breakfast for our gang of campers was a bit of an adventure, but Mom picked up an early bakery order that included our primary food options; and the rest of the breakfast options were all options that didn't require cooking and had minimal clean-up. I did help out with the work before and after breakfast; helped to get all of the younger girls ready for the day; and then left the kid control to others for the rest of the morning while I got to work on the weekend chores for the rest of the morning. That included getting more than half of the tents packed up; and then I mowed the lawn while Mom had other volunteers – paid draftees – take care of the gardens. That doubled to keep some of the kids busy for a while too; and then we were all set free for the day after we had another easy-meal for lunch that consisted of self-serve mini-subs, cold salads, and snacks. After lunch, we headed for the park; some of us rode bikes on the trails; others played at the playground; and we all had a blast that included regular cool-down swims in the river.

We were back at home in time for another barbeque dinner; though this one was quite a bit smaller than the one last night. We're having another camping night too; but only with the cousins and just a few best friends – like Michael, Tim, Rowen, Naomi, and Aiden. It's been nice to have another decent weather day, and I would have liked to do even more with our cousins today; but another major adventure day just wasn't in the cards for us today. The quieter evening play time with our parents and grandparents was nice; and the campfire was good too – especially once Michael could join me after he was finished at the Inn for the night.

Rowen and I have the same three junior camping buddies tonight; and we're all tucked into our sleeping bags much earlier than last night – again because we're all too tired to stay up later. Most of the younger kids were sleeping before eleven o'clock; we put out the fire not long after that; and we had all of the kids in their sleeping bags by midnight. The teens and tweens had a bit of a wind down chat by the river after that, but we wrapped that up at twelve-thirty; and Rowen didn't stay awake past one – possibly because the tapping of the keystrokes on my computer lulled her to sleep.

I only had a bit of work to do that came up through my email, but I took care of that fairly quickly; and there's nothing new to report from the work or usual computer and email checks. It's been another fun day, but I've had enough, and we have one more family day ahead before the cousins head home on Sunday that I want to be rested up and ready for; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, July 16, 2016

I didn't get as much nap time as I'd hoped thanks to Brianna's wake-up call at around three-thirty, and while that meant not having much sleep at all; the quiet play and cuddle time with her was one of those remember forever moments that make me glad that I do have such a great memory!

Sunrise Tai Chi was as much fun because of Brianna again too, and while she won't be able to actually even really pretend to exercise with us for another year or two; I have a feeling that the indoor workouts at the Carrington house are going to get very entertaining this winter.

For those of you taking that thought about indoor Tai Chi, interesting workouts, and my aunt and uncle in a totally different direction – cut it out! ;^)

When the weather continued to hold for us this morning and looked good for the rest of the day except for a risk of a storm this evening, the winning vote for the cousins was one last blast of fun at Quarry Lake. That's why we ran around like crazy getting ready for that outing after breakfast; Mom and Aunt Leanne rounded up the drivers and volunteer helpers; and then we caravanned out to the campground and got there not long after it opened to the general public for the day. We rented some bikes; had a near-repeat of the fun from last weekend without the birthday party or grandpa breaking his arm events; and generally had a really great day together! I'm not going to drag that out; since it really was just more of the same kind of fun, but I did love spending a lot of time with Dawn and Jillian; Jaimie and Kaitlyn; and the rest of our families. Michael and Rebecca got a ride out with Jake and Stephanie when they all took an extended break together, and while they were heading back earlier than I needed to; I got a ride back to town with them so that I could grab a shower and have a little break before going on to my ballgame. Rowen and Tim did not come out to the lake with us; but that was because they were needed at the store and shop today instead.

I was ready for my game by the time the first Quarry Lakers returned to town, so I helped out with unloading the van and truck; but didn't go on to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's from there because I wanted to get to the school early-enough for some warm-up time after a too-long break without practices. That made Carolyn happy because she was doing the same thing and had a couple of other team mates with her for that; but most of our friends didn't join us until about fifteen minutes before the game because they were all busy with work or other plans. That included Rowen and Rebecca; with Rebecca coming from the Inn after helping out with the prep work for dinner.

Let's not drag out the baseball recap either, since it wasn't a really competitive game; and it turned out that Carolyn had nothing to worry about due to the lack of practice. We were up against the Comets again this week because we're still a game behind until we can get the game we missed on the holiday weekend re-booked. To make a long game story short; we took an early lead; kept growing it over the first four innings; and then coasted to an easy twenty-to-eight win that could have been mercy-rule worthy if we hadn't let up for the last three innings and done a few other things to keep entertained – like rotate positions and give other players a chance to do things in the game they wouldn't normally do – like pitch to a few batters.

No, I wasn't one of the pitchers, but then I don't do that on purpose when it would be too easy for me to let my natural competitiveness get the best of me. I wouldn't need to throw pitches at two hundred miles an hour or more to strike out batters when my math-coordination skills could do that at much slower pitch speeds.

I digress with that, so let's get back to the story. I had a snack before going to the game, so after it was over; I went on to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to catch the tail-end of the evening fun there – and let Aunt Leanne feed me some leftovers from the family barbeque that I'd missed while playing ball. I went for a hop in the river too; and then had time for a round of cameo visits before the party broke up and our families headed home to their own houses for the night. The cousins were split up for last visits with specific aunts, uncles, and cousins; so we only have Dawn and Jillian here tonight – and mostly so that they could spend these last few hours of the day with Violet and Dillon. Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden are with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace tonight; and Kara and Eddie ended up with Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah.

Once we were home, I needed to hit the shower again; and wasn't the only teen in the house feeling the need for that – or some tub time. Since the latter meant borrowing my Jacuzzi; Dawn and Jillian took turns doing that after I was finished my quick shower; and then we hung out in the lounge with Violet, Dillon, Ethan, and Ehlana to mostly chat and not watch movies while the tub time rotation rolled along – including baths for the twins and showers for Violet and Dillon. That was occasionally a bit amusing, but not too weird for any of us; and we had a lot of fun hanging out together while Mom and Dad worked in the office. He'll be in the city next week, and while he'll have some more time to work from his hotel tomorrow after doing the meet and kid swap with the Rice and Proctor parents; he's running a bit behind on getting ready for the trip.

I'd suggest having Mom going along to help with a bit of time phasing; but after two weeks with gangs of kids around; she'd likely just end up distracting Dad and making this, um, tougher for him to get his work done on time. ;^)

Yes, that was my fault; but try not to have too much fun with that train of thought!

Moving along, Ethan and Ehlana went to bed at eleven o'clock; Dillon went to his room not long after that; and Violet, Dawn, Jillian, and I wrapped up our day with about a half-hour of girl chat time before we decided to turn in too. I would have been okay with going to sleep them, but had work to do on my computer first; with most of that having to do with current events in Turkey and neighboring region. Check over at the current events archive for reference to the failed coup attempt in Turkey, since I don't want to get into that here; but I do have some family business interests at risk there because of the problems; so I did what I could to protect our companies – and in particular, the people working at those places. That can be a tricky thing to do in countries with some serious problems like Turkey has, but I'll also mention that Mom's computer systems are secure; and we'll never need to worry about anything we do being a problem for anyone in other countries solely due to where we're from – because none of them know the answer to that.

I'm getting off-track again; and that's a story for Mom to tell through her tech archive anyway; so I won't go there either. I will report that I worked for nearly three hours after Dawn, Jillian, and Violet left my room; and now I'm pretty much ready to crash and nap for the bit of time I can do that. After most of the past two weeks off, and since my cousins will hit the road right after church tomorrow; I'm booked to work the Inn for the full lunch-to-close shift. The good news after that is that Michael has his two days off; and sleeping in on Monday morning will be an option if I really need it after a few days without much sleep.

That's something I won't be able to let you know about until Monday night, and too far away from right now to even be a blip on my fuzzy mental radar. It's been great to have our cousins here, but I'm ready to get back to something closer to normal for a while too. Let's start that out with some normal nap time, and that isn't something I can multi-task with my computing; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, July 17, 2016

This update is coming to you mid-afternoon on Sunday because I'm multi-tasking a computer check while grabbing a shower before heading back to the Inn for the buffet-shift-to-close part of my work day. The reason I'm doing it now is because I'm already getting tired; won't have much of anything newsworthy to report after I get home tonight; and crashing into exhaustion is the most-likely scenario that I'm seeing for my post-work late evening.

Today started with Tai Chi by the river; Michael gave up his gourmet family breakfast to have breakfast with me – and a last visit with Dawn and Jillian before they headed home after church.

That was fun, and then we had to rush around to get the clean-up done; take turns getting ready for the day; and then get Dawn and Jillian's things packed into Violet's car while Dad's truck got loaded with all of his luggage and work for a week in the city before he went over to Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house to get all of the luggage for Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden. While he did that; the rest of us walked or drove to church; we all eventually sat together during the service; and most of the cousins went to Sunday school with us – or with local friends their own age. All of that was fun, but when it was time for the goodbyes after the service; Michael and I had to do that fast and then get to the Inn to help with getting ready for the lunch rush.

I haven't heard how the trips home are going for my cousins, but can tell you that the plan was to meet up at our favorite Mall; Dad, Violet, and Dillon were going to have lunch with the Rice and Proctor parents; and then Violet and Dillon were going to spend the afternoon with Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa before heading home while Dad went to check into his hotel and spend the rest of the day working. Mom stayed home to work, but Ethan and Ehlana ended up going to hang out with Naomi and Aiden; and have approval for sleepovers with their best friends. I'm sure they'd been having more fun that I have been at work. The dining rooms were packed for lunch; and Michael and I aren't getting much of a break compared to normal before we need to be back at the Inn to get started on the prep work for what Miranda expects will be another full house for both buffets.

Yes, that is part of the plan for the expansion that will be done in time for the summer holiday season next year; but we're a bit ahead of schedule for the busy without being up-to-speed on the staff.

Since that is why I'm expecting to be wiped out by whatever time we can get around to closing the Inn; I guess that I shouldn't mind the extra effort – especially when it's all really good news for Michael's family. I do need to get going soon, though, and still need to get my hair dried once I'm out of the shower; so it's time to wrap this up.

With Dad in the city, the only plans we have for Monday is house and yard chores after too much fun with our family and friends. I'll help Mom with that as much as she needs me to, since Michael will likely be doing chores all day at home too; but then maybe we'll see about having some teen-rated fun without a gang of kids to entertain.

Now that's a fun thought to head off to sleep with! Too bad I have to finish getting ready and get back to what is sure to be a grueling, hot shift in the kitchen. Daydreaming about that isn't an option either; since we do work with sharp knives and other equipment that requires your complete attention; but I'm just wandering along now; and don't need to waste your time with my tired-out musings.

I won't rank this as a best-ever kind of day, but I'm due to put in the work, and need to get to that now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, July 18, 2016

First up for today's report requires backing up to last night after we finished work at the Inn.

That isn't because anything particularly exciting happened; though it might have – if I hadn't simply fallen asleep on Michael – and on one of the sofas in the living room at his house. Suggesting that there might have been some excitement if I'd stayed awake isn't really fair either, since we'd have both seriously needed to take showers and get cleaned up and changed first before we'd have been interested in any of that kind of fun – not that we had that much energy left in us after such a long, tough shift at the Inn.

Just in case you think I'm joking about that, I'm not; and I even went and had a shower before Tai Chi by the river because I didn't want to either offend my family – or need to exercise downwind from them.

That reality did allow Michael and I to legitimately claim a truly accidental sofa sleepover; since we really hadn't wanted to do more than have a short goodnight cuddle before I went home and hopped in my Jacuzzi last night. I can't even report that it was fun having that sleepover with Michael, since I don't remember anything from the moment I closed my eyes until I woke up shortly before dawn; and I felt too gross to want to share any quality time with Michael after that – at least until after I'd had a shower and put on clean clothes! Some alone time after that would have been nice; but didn't happen because we had our Tai Chi by the river with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; I had breakfast with his family; and then we had to split up and help out with chores at our own houses for most of the day.

For me, that meant helping Mom with a major house cleaning now that the cousins are gone; including a top-to-bottom cleaning of every guest bedroom; the mounds of laundry that went along with that and the aftermath from the weekend. Add in some lawn and garden chores; and I was on the go all day except for some swim breaks and a lunch that Mom, the twins, and I had out by the river despite the extreme heat because we'd mostly been cooped up in the house to that point for most of the morning. The work was far from exciting, but I'm glad that I could help Mom; and was overdue for putting in time helping out with more than kid control for a day.

We did get finished by late afternoon, so Michael and I went for a bike ride on the trails at the park; we had dinner at my house mostly because Jake and Stephanie were having Violet, Dillon, and a few other friends over for dinner and the evening on one of their days off; and then we had a quiet night in the lounge after a bit of park play time with the twins right after dinner. The movie pick was Ethan's this time; we watched a lot of stuff get blown up while the heroes fought the bad guys for an hour and a half or so; and then we had a bit of wind down chat time until Michael and I took care of getting the twins tucked into their beds for the night. We then went outside and hopped into the river for a bedtime, moonlight swim; followed that up with some cuddle time while drying off on one of the riverside benches; and then Michael went home at a bit after eleven so that I could come up to bed and get started on my work and bedtime computing.

Violet and Dillon were home by then because they are working in the morning; but I only had a short chat with Violet before they went off to bed and I got to work once I was changed and in my own bed with Mandy cuddling next to me while I got to work. With everyone else in bed by then too; I was able to use a time phase to speed up that work; but it's still taken me a while to get everything done; and it's heading toward one-thirty now.

I need to get some sleep because Michael and I are planning on a play day for his second day off; and I don't want to be too tired by tomorrow night for some quality alone time with him that might include a sofa sleepover or co-ed camping adventure – if we're lucky! I'll have to go out and live the day before being able to let you know how that goes, so while you might just flip the digital page in my future to find that out; I'll wrap this up and get started on that nap time now.

I can't rank this day very high on the fun scale, but getting the work out of the way is making time for the play day ahead; so that will hopefully be worth the effort! Maybe I'll do a bit of dreaming about that next, or just be out for the count until morning, but either way, I'm ready to go there right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Let's start this update with mentioning how hot it was today – and that's not teen-rated hot; but the hot of the weather variety! With the 'real' temperature in the nineties; and the 'feels like' trying hard to hit one-ten; it was a good thing that we had a river to hop in regularly to cool off while having our play day.

While that blast of fun started quietly with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast at home for eight; the first bit of news to report for the day was the start of Tim's summer football training at the park. He didn't have a large turnout for that, but Michael was there; and I'm sure that more guys will being joining in as they start getting serious about training for the upcoming season. Their biggest issue for those workouts now is that most of the guys have summer jobs except for the newbies starting Grade Nine in September. Sure, that was a problem with the older teens the last two summers too; so maybe it just seems like a bigger deal when even Tim needs to fit those practices into his own summer job schedule – especially now that his father and uncle can use him for more jobs than they could when he was younger.

I didn't go to watch that workout, but used that time to help Mom around the house instead. That worked out for us; and then I was set free to spend the rest of the day playing with Michael. Rowen and Tim were working, so we didn't get to hang out with them too until later; but that's going to be a new trend into the future that we'll need to deal with because Rowen will want to take her time off when Tim can; and that isn't going to work out with Michael's schedule very often when he gets Mondays and Tuesdays off – and works most weekends.

While we thought about going somewhere like Quarry Lake or for a day trip on our bikes; we decided to stay close to home today instead – mostly because of the extreme heat forecast. We biked the trails at the park this morning; took regular swim breaks; had lunch with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we added the twins, Naomi, and Aiden to our play group for the afternoon. We took two canoes to the park; played at the playground; paddled over to the other side of the river for a visit to the Emporium for ice cream treats; and then paddled home after enjoying them while hanging out at the falls and doing a bit of window shopping on the way back to the canoes. We stayed at home after that; played in the back yard and in the river; and set up two tents so that we'd be ready for a camping adventure.

When I was hoping that we could do that tonight, junior campers weren't part of my vision for that part of my day; and co-ed camping definitely was. Ehlana and Naomi made sure that I couldn't say no to their request to camp tonight too; thanks to a devastating combination of dimples, hugs, and kisses. Yes, I'm a softie, and caved in; but I do still love camping with them – and Rowen – too; so it isn't as if I'm being asked to choose between something really great or awful. With the camping approved and set up, we also went with an easy-meal barbeque dinner; that was a quick blast of fun; and then we had Rowen and Tim join us not long after we'd finished the clean-up for some more play time and biking at the park.

With the twins and their friends along, we couldn't ride the toughest trails, but we did have fun with them; and the four kids are all junior thrill-seekers; so even riding with them can be very entertaining. The swim time after we got home again was great too; though Tim seems to think that he's not getting to have enough time with his girlfriend in a swimsuit this summer – a debatable fact that he probably shouldn't mention around four kids quite so often in one night. There was still some time left before dark, but we got the campfire ready to go and took care of a few other little chores to finish getting ready for our camping; and then we had our campfire from shortly after dusk until a bit after eleven o'clock. The early end to that part of our night was strictly because it's a work night; and we didn't want to bother Mom, Dad, Violet, Dillon, or the neighbors; but we didn't go right to sleep after that blast of food, music, scary stories, and general, all-around fun.

We had to get four kids ready for bed and into sleeping bags; we – the four teens – went for a moonlight swim once that was done; Michael and I had to switch Naomi and Aiden when they miraculously ended up in the wrong sleeping bags while we'd been swimming despite the fact that they'd been in the right tents when we'd tucked them in for the night; and then we sat by the river and talked until nearly-one. That was later than we should have been up because Michael is working the breakfast shift; but we needed the teen time – nearly as much as Michael and I really are overdue for some quality alone time that doesn't include me passing out before we get around to any make-out type of fun.

That isn't something I should think about too much right now; since switching tents with Tim isn't an option when there are junior campers in our tents; so let's move along.

We split up and got ready for bed; Rowen and I had a bit more chat time while I got started on my bedtime computing; and then she fell asleep by sometime around one-thirty. I'd have liked the extra nap time; but the work on the family business needed to be done; and it's taken longer to do that when I can't kick up the work into time-phase gear. I guess that isn't a huge deal for me, since I don't have to run off to work first thing in the morning or do anything else other than help with the post-camping and breakfast clean-ups, but the work still needed to get done; and I have more of it to do tomorrow too. The good news is that I'll have time to do that during the day or early evening; so going to bed in decent time tomorrow night might be an option.

Now if only I could stop thinking about doing that with Michael! ;^)

So much for not going there. Before I wrap this up, though, I should mention that the lack of marching band and teen praise team practices on Tuesday nights is just temporary. We will be doing both again soon – to get ready for the Labor Day weekend for the praise team; and for football season for the marching band. We won't exactly be working up major half-time show routines for the band; but we are going to play at the games; do a bit of a half-time routine; and fundraise for our trip at the games – just as we'll do for the parades too. I'll add more on that as we get closer; but it's going to be interesting to keep up with everything at those games for those of us in the band and also on the team or cheerleading squad!

Maybe we'll see if we can work that into the band routine – or our cheerleading! That could be fun; though I doubt the guys can do anything with football plays to go with a marching band; since I seriously doubt the other teams will slow down to marching speed during their games.

Okay, I'm obviously too tired to be going there, and it's time to crash for a few hours now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Hot!

That pretty much sums up the weather for today.

It's also part of the reason for why I'm so tired – and that this is going to be a very short update.

We had a normal morning; though Mom and I missed having our favorite exercise buddies with us while Dad's in the city and Michael was working the breakfast shift at the Inn. With my friends all busy working, I went to the lab with Mom, Violet, Dillon, and the twins; and spent the morning in the archives with Ethan – though I mostly worked on the family business while he played with his latest book arrivals. I haven't mentioned that in a while, but the archive relocations are continuing; Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor are leading that project; and they're having a blast with the ongoing world travel!

Miranda ended up being short-staffed at lunch, so I went to the Inn to help out for just that few hours from around eleven until two; and then I went home and worked in the office after hanging out with Michael during his afternoon break. He was working the dinner-to-close shift with a baseball practice break in the middle, and while he was busy doing that; Rowen and I – and our team – played our make-up game that we'd missed on the holiday weekend. We were up against the Solar Flares; won eight-to-seven; and to be honest, some of us were just glad to get the game over with because it was too hot out to have much fun with baseball anyway.

I didn't even want to celebrate after we were done – other than to come home and have a nice long soak in my Jacuzzi. I did that; Michael isn't coming over tonight because he's tired too; and once I'm finished this report, I'm going to be off to sleep very quickly and out for the rest of the night.

Let's consider that a done deal, since that's all I have for this update anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Happy 4th Anniversary, Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah!

My contribution to their happy day was taking the dinner shift at the Inn to help Jacob and Miranda when the dinner party plans were changed to be there instead of at any homes due to the extreme heat and total lack of interest in doing all of that work for a barbeque when the temperatures were in the mid-one-hundred-and-tens this afternoon. That worked out great for the members of our family that would have been the volunteers doing that work; but not so hot – or way too hot – for me; and for everyone else working in the kitchen at the Inn tonight.

That's why I'm pretty much going to make this a micro-report from here; so let's make it quick so I can pass out until morning!

Tai Chi by the river – too hot. Morning chores – too hot for the ones I did outdoors ahead of the weekend. Family business work in the office – good because I finished it during the day instead of tonight. Afternoon break with Michael – kid-rated while we played with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; though also way too hot for the wrong reasons while we went for a short swim that didn't really help to cool us off when the air was still too hot even above the river.

The shift at the Inn that started after Michael's break – already mentioned it as being way too hot; so I'll only add that it was exhausting as well. Michael, Rebecca, Jake, Stephanie, and I all worked until close; we all hopped into the river to cool off after we got back to their house; and then Michael and I said goodnight by the river in a mostly non-verbal way that wasn't really very enthusiastic because we were both too hot and tired to put much effort into it.

I still needed to have a shower to get cleaned up once I was home, but other than one last email and computer check; this update is the only computing I'm doing tonight. It's going to be hot again tomorrow; I have a lot to do that's mostly work-related; and I really do just need to crash for the rest of the night now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, July 22, 2016

Take yesterday; switch the anniversary celebration for a dinner and family evening at our house that I also missed; and you've pretty much covered my day.

It was still really hot out, though 'only' about one-ten for the high; I did some chores this morning; worked on the family business after that; and ended up doing both the afternoon break and dinner-to-close shift at the Inn with Michael because Miranda was again short-staffed and extra-busy due to the customers looking to beat the heat for a couple of hours – particularly the campers in the area. Ditto the repeat, post-work swim; shower; and ready-to-crash now rest of my day; and that's all the news I have; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

I'm repeating myself again today, but it was another scorcher out there, and since most of my day included outdoor chores and working the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn; you can guess that I'm pretty much drained and ready to crash again.

Tai Chi by the river was more fun with Dad home again, though Michael couldn't be here for that too while working the breakfast shift at the Inn. I'm not going to drag out the chores around the house and yard part of this report because those hours weren't a lot of fun with it so hot out. The work had to be done; we did it; and that's all there is to it. We did wrap up by a bit after one; had lunch; and then I had a couple of free hours to spend with Michael while he was on his afternoon break before we went to the Inn to get started on the dinner prep work. Michael could only help with that until he needed to get to his ball game; and that's why I was working the full shift – to help out while he and a couple of the other guys were busy with that game instead.

The work at the Inn was even more draining than my chores had been; which is why I'm exhausted and don't really want to drag out this update before crashing for the night. How tired am I? I skipped doing anything more than a goodnight hug and kiss with Michael outside of his house on my way here – partly because I really didn't want to even cuddle before having a shower and getting cleaned up. After working the breakfast shift and being busy all day, Michael wasn't interested in a late night either – though he would have been okay with a sofa sleepover with me. We're going to save that up for sometime when we don't feel quite so wiped out, though; and I definitely want to be awake for our next chance at some alone time. We're overdue; and I don't want to waste those moments by napping the entire time!

Before I just end this update and get to the unconscious time that's waiting for me next; let's do the quick baseball report for the games I didn't get to see tonight while I worked. That was games, since Mom, Dad, and the rest of their team mates had a game tonight too. Starting with Michael's game, the Werewolves won their contest over the Grocery Ghouls by a score of seventeen to eight. The heat was a factor; but Michael and Tim had a fairly good game too as they earned more than half of the runs for their team between them. For the co-ed division game, it was our Bandits up against the Raiders; and we earned the fourteen-to-six victory with help from some junior cheerleaders that included Ehlana and Naomi. I am missing out on all of that fun, but since a lot of Michael's games are on the same nights as Mom and Dad's games; I'll likely be working at the Inn for most of them – except for the holiday weekend matches – if their teams earn spots in the championship games.

Okay, I'm barely staying conscious right now, and there really isn't anything pressing that I need to add to this report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Happy 9th Birthday, Ryan!

Michael's cousin has had a good day, but I'm wiped out; so I'll include that news in a double-update tomorrow night.

Note to me – try to avoid working full shifts at the Inn on Sundays when it's a gazillion degrees out! ;^)

Yes, that's exaggerated just a bit, but I'm so tired right now; it could have been that hot and I'm just delirious now from too many hours of too hot.

That's something else that can wait for the next report, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, July 25, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Vanessa!

I don't have any birthday, party, or camping night report for you yet because I'm just getting ready to head out to Quarry Lake for that part of my day. This update is early, because I've decided to leave my computer at home and take the entire rest of the day and night off from work, studying, or anything else that isn't simply having fun with Michael and our friends.

There is the matter of what will now be a report for the past day and a half, though; so let's get that done while I'm multi-tasking getting cleaned up and ready for our play day!

Sunday morning was hot out even at sunrise, but we still went out to the river for Tai Chi – and the temperature was relatively-cooler compared to the past few afternoons. I went home with Michael for breakfast – after getting ready for church first; and then our only real involvement with Ryan's birthday was after breakfast when we went over to his house to give him the birthday gift we wouldn't be able to do with him at his party or birthday dinner at the Inn. There was one good thing about the extreme hot – Pastor John kept the service short; and we were set free in under an hour – including the part of the post-service socializing that was also shortened thanks to the hot weather. That allowed us a bit of extra time to go home and get changed before heading to the Inn; and then it was time to work after that – and do a fair bit of sweating in the process.

We missed Ryan's party in the back yard at his house; all of the fun with my family that Dad also missed while working in the office to get ready for his work week; and two family meals – though they were both easy-meal barbeques because nobody wanted to work hard in the heat. Michael and I took a shorter afternoon break because the Inn had been packed for lunch; and it took longer to get the post-lunch clean-up finished. Our break also consisted of a long swim; we drank lots of water; and split up to have showers and get clean, dry clothes on before heading back to work again for the dinner buffet rush. We ate some food too, but I should have eaten more; since that's part of the reason for why I was so burned out last night by the time I crawled into bed with Mandy and wrote that place-holder of a journal update.

There really isn't much to write about from the last half of our work day on Sunday. On the weird side, Rebecca and I are both honestly getting just a bit tired of Jenny's too-detailed reports from her summer fling with Evan. I won't omit admitting that we're both wishing that we had a bit more of that kind of hot going on with our boyfriends – if not to that level; but there is such a thing as too much information even among best friends! ;^)

While Jacob, Jake, Michael, and I didn't even try to go out into the dining room to join in for even cameo visits at his birthday dinner, Miranda, Stephanie, and Rebecca were able to do that while working the dining room. Since I looked like a drowned rat by then anyway; I wouldn't have done that without getting cleaned up and changed again anyway. I'm not saying that working the dining room is easier, because it isn't; but I will like that better once I'm old-enough to do that job starting next year – and I'll especially like that during the summers. The servers still spend time in the kitchen too, and some of them help with the prep-work before sittings for meals, so they don't completely avoid the hot; but the dining room air conditioning does keep up with the heat a lot better than in the kitchen.

That's not really a side trip I need to take while getting ready for our Quarry Lake adventures; so let's move this along.

The heat drove a lot of extra customers into the Inn, so we were again at full capacity and then some during both buffet sittings – with extra customers fit in as we could accommodate them. That made our job in the kitchen even tougher; which was also why the clean-up took longer too. We closed the Inn at ten-thirty, and while my comment with the last report about being delirious was just a joke; there's no doubt that we were all exhausted and wrung out far more than normal. I didn't even walk Michael to his front porch last night. I kissed him, kept the hug short because we were both sweaty and gross; and then I came home. Mom and Dad were still working in the office; I stuck my head in to wish them a goodnight and offer a promise to give them an update in the morning; and came up to my room to have that shower and get ready for bed. The crash into unconsciousness happened shortly after I turned off my computer and put it aside; and that was it until morning.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom that Michael stayed for made for a great start to the morning; and we had fun trading stories from our respective work and play adventures on Sunday – though there's probably something that should be said about the fact that Ethan and Ehlana had the most fun. We didn't have a lot of time for that, though, since Dad, Violet, and Dillon needed to get to work; and Mom, Michael, and I all had chores to get started on – once we'd finished the breakfast clean-up. That's mostly what I did all morning, including some outdoor chores, but I also spent some time working on the family business – and did that in a time phase to make sure I finished the must-do work before taking the rest of the day off. While it was cloudy this morning and not quite as hot as the past few days; it was still warm-enough; which was why I needed another shower before meeting up with Michael for the trip to Quarry Lake. He's been doing yard work all day too, so I expect he's getting cleaned up too as I write this; but let's not spend too much time thinking about Michael in the shower – or I might be tempted to set up our tent when we get to the campground and then just stay in it with him until tomorrow morning!

Okay, that won't happen, but it's still a fun thought. ;^)

It's also going to be a fun reality spending the afternoon and evening playing and swimming at Quarry Lake and then having another overnight camping adventure with our friends. That's one trend this summer that we're really enjoying a lot; and we'll likely have at least one or two more of these Quarry Lake camping parties before the end of the summer. Again, that isn't something to drag out in this report; so let's not do that. I've covered the news – at least for me – from yesterday through until now, though, and I will be ready shortly to grab my gear and go over to Michael's house; so I guess that's all for today.

Jake and Stephanie are giving us a ride out to the campground, and they might stay to play for a few hours too – or longer if they can convince some friends to join them out there after work; but that's something else that will need to wait for the next update. I can advise you that Rowen and I will be doing a tent mate swap with our boys tonight – if you hadn't already guessed that from my use of the word 'our' when talking about Michael, me, and the tent. The details will have to wait for tomorrow too; though don't expect me to include too many details – especially since I seriously plan on some quality make-out time with Michael once we do get around to the tent time part of our day.

Okay, I really need to wrap this up before thinking about that too much. My reputation will be shot if I get us kicked out of Quarry Lake for inappropriate behavior with Michael! ;^)

Yeah, that's not going to happen, but I am done with this update; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

It's been a long, fun day, and I didn't get much sleep last night; so let's get right to the news – starting from the end of my last update.

While we still had some very hot weather to deal with, that was a lot easier to take out at Quarry Lake; where jumping into the lake to cool off was an option whenever we needed to do that. Michael and I were among the first to get to the campground, so we had our tent set up before most of our friends even got there too. We helped Rowen and Tim with setting up their tent too once they caught up with us; and then it was time to play for a few hours. The four of us did most of that together – and with different groups of our friends; and the highlights of the afternoon included climbing the rock wall; rides on the zip line; and a lot of swimming and play time on the slides.

Most of the afternoon was open to do whatever we wanted, but Vanessa's family had an organized social hour before dinner; and then the meal was at one of the pavilions so that we could do that together too. Vanessa had fun yesterday too, and I'm glad that we're able to get along fairly well now – even as I also know that Rowen and I are only included in some of these invitations because of Michael and Tim. Yes, Vanessa and Nora are happy with their boyfriends, but I am a fairly talented empath; so I know how they still respectively feel about Michael and Tim. We did all have a good day, though, so let's not go there; and it isn't as if Vanessa was the only girl at the lake taking long, wistful or appreciative looks at my boyfriend!

All of the main birthday fun happened around dinner, and then we were free to play again until dusk. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I rented bikes and rode the new trails for an hour or so; swam to cool off and get reasonably clean again; and then headed back to our campsite where we all gathered for a campfire. That was an amazing blast of semi-quiet fun, with the highlights for me being the cuddle time with Michael and the music that we led – including a couple of duets. One of those duets was a request from Paul Sparks for Vanessa, and while that was a bit strange for me; Vanessa genuinely loved hearing our version of one of her favorite songs – though I suppose that dancing with Paul and the kisses they shared while we sang might have had something to do with what I sensed from her too. ;^)

Moving along, the music was only part of the campfire entertainment. There were scary stories; a lot of chat time; and some games around the campfire and campground. Michael and I went for a walk that included a loop around the lake; enjoyed some toasted snacks; and stayed up playing and having fun with our friends until way too late. When we did eventually make it to our tent – after splitting up for washroom breaks and to get changed; the quiet make-out time for two was worth the trade-off for the lack of sleep – especially when I might have cheated a bit and wrapped up our private play time with a bit of fatigue healing for two under the protection of very carefully constructed shields to make sure nobody else around us would notice.

We did have a short nap before waking up and getting ready for Tai Chi by the lake; and that was again very entertaining for us because we had an audience watching the show – including a few of our friends. Breakfast was all easy foods – including some Olde Bakery options, cereal, fruit, and Pop Tarts. In case I haven't mentioned it lately, having a gang of teen boys for any meal can be scary; and that's particularly true at breakfast – even though snacks had been available until two or three in the morning. That was just part of the fun, though; and at least our boys are mostly over the tween phase where they needed to have the eating contests too.

After having breakfast, it was time to pack up our campsite; and then most of our friends and the camping chaperones headed home again. That didn't include Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me because we got to stay and play for most of the day! For most of the morning, that was just the four of us. We went biking again; climbed the rock wall, and rode the zip line before heading for the lake to swim and play there for the rest of the morning. Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Grace brought all of their kids out to the lake in time for lunch; along with Naomi, Aiden, and some other kids and Moms so that they could all take a break for the afternoon. A few Dads were allowed to come too; but that was mostly for driver support – and Dad didn't get to be one of those guys because he and Claire were stuck at the office all day.

While that addition to the fun plans hadn't been made until last night and this morning; it was a great way to spend the afternoon – and I especially loved playing with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and my younger cousins – and Michael's; since Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia were brought out for the afternoon too. For the record, Patrick was there too; and yes, he and Jessica are still a couple. Michael and I spent some time with them too, but that was usually while we were all around the younger kids; and they did more with Rowen and Tim when they wanted to do things that the younger kids couldn't while Michael and I stayed to help with the younger kids.

I'm due for a baby update for Aunt Grace; and I can start that by reporting that she wishes that her due date wasn't still more than a month away! While it was hot out, and she had to be careful; the swim time helped out with the lower back pain; and an afternoon off from work helped a lot too. Aunt Grace and the baby are both doing just fine from a health perspective, and while she complains about being too fat and ugly; I think that she's as beautiful as the rest of my favorite Moms were during their pregnancies.

We played at Quarry Lake until around four o'clock; packed up; and headed home. A family and friends dinner was organized, and that included Michael's family and the Bassetts, Seagers, and Drapers; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I needed to eat and run because we had to be at the school for a band meeting and practice. The meeting was for fundraising – including getting ready for the fruit and vegetable boxes orders that would be arriving on Friday; and the practice was to start getting ready for football season. I know, we're just coming up on half-way through the summer, but football season starts early again this year; so we don't have all that long to get ready for the first game.

That practice was fun, and while we mostly just worked on new music – including the songs we'd be playing at Disney; we also did a bit of marching that was a bit more challenging than just walking a parade route. As I've mentioned before, we are not going to be working up any Super Bowl-worthy drills; but we also won't just stand there at mid-field and play a few songs either. Stay tuned for more on that when we get closer to our first game of the year.

The marching band practice wasn't the only practice of the day for some of us – including Michael and me. We had to move on from the school to the church for our teen praise team practice. We have a bit more time to get ready for the Labor Day weekend service, but Stacey wanted us to get the music and start learning it now; and we worked for about an hour tonight before she set us free and Michael and I could head home – to our respective homes. While I needed to come home and get to work on my bedtime computing, Michael was okay with a comparatively-early night too because he's working the breakfast shift at the Inn in the morning. It was still after nine by the time I was in the house after saying goodnight to Michael on his front porch; but I had a lot of work to get done tonight.

Fortunately for Dad, I also didn't want to stay up late, so I got my computer, went into the office with him – and with Mom – and got to work using a time phase. Ethan and Ehlana aren't home tonight – they're hanging out with Naomi and Aiden at Naomi's house for the night. Violet and Dillon are here; but they were out with Jake, Stephanie, and some other friends while we worked in the office. The time phase I put around the room allowed us to get all of our work finished – and then some – by a bit before eleven o'clock. We all headed for bed after that; I was in need of some Jacuzzi time after that; and time phased my tub time too so that I could still be in bed before eleven-thirty.

All of that extra work and use of Magi power has worn me out, but I'll be sleeping before midnight once I wrap this up; so it was worth the effort. We'll be back to work again tomorrow, and Michael will be busy through the weekend; but we'll try to have a bit of fun here and there around the work – even if it won't likely be co-ed camping and Quarry Lake kind of fun. That is all of the news for today, though, and I really am looking forward to some solid, consecutive hours of nap time now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

My day started with Tai Chi by the river without Michael while he was at the Inn for the breakfast shift, and while I missed out on those good morning hugs and kisses with him; that worked out for us because Michael didn't have to go back to work after baseball practice to work again until close. That worked for us because I brought him home with me for some cuddling in the lounge; and some quality make-out time was involved in that bit of wind-down time.

With Ethan and Ehlana away overnight too, our morning exercising was still fun with just Mom, Dad, and me; and we had fun at breakfast with Violet and Dillon too. After cleaning up, we collected Ethan and Ehlana on our way to the lab; and I spent the morning working on the family business in the archives while Ethan played with his books; Mom did some systems work for the lab computers; and Ehlana played in the lab with Dillon – and Uncle Adam once he got there from helping out at the med center for the first hour and a half of the morning. That was fun for me; I was glad to get my work out of the way by lunchtime; and then Ethan, Ehlana, and I had the afternoon off to play. Michael joined us for that play time during his afternoon break; our fun included some playground and biking action at the park; some swimming; and an ice cream run to the Emporium before Michael needed to be back at the Inn again to help with the dinner prep work.

While Michael worked again until the start of his ball practice, I went home with the twins; helped Mom with making our own dinner; and then we had to rush dinner and the clean-up a bit when Dad and Dillon were both late getting home from work and we ran out of time to get to our respective practices – or needed to get together with friends for play time at the park. I'm including Violet and Dillon for that; though their 'friends' were all five or younger as they helped with kid control while the parents were busy – with some grandparent support.

My ball practice went well-enough, but I wasn't all that motivated to play hard today. We have another week to get ready for our next game, and while Carolyn was as fired up as usual; I think that had as much to do with her upcoming departure for college – or more specifically; for her sports training. When you think about that, it's a bit funny; since there's a good chance she won't be here for the rest of our games – especially if she can't come home for the holiday weekend. We'll try to muddle through without her, though; and we do still have a pretty good team even without our best player.

Rowen and I met up with Michael and Tim at the park because we were finished our practice first; and then we all came back to my house to go for a swim that the twins, Naomi, Aiden, and some of the parents joined us for after hot, dusty practices or playground adventures that had all of us ready to cool off in the river. That was fun, but while we were tempted to hang out with Rowen and Tim tonight; they were even more interested in going off on their own for some alone time than Michael and I were; so they headed over to her house when the rest of the parents and kids went home too. Mom and Dad went to work in the office; Violet and Dillon went out for a while; and Ethan and Ehlana went to bed; so Michael and I were alone on the third floor when we got to the lounge – though we split up long-enough to get dried and changed before doing that. We didn't really watch the movie we picked; had fun with the make-out time; and then Michael headed home at a bit after eleven because we're both going to have a busy day tomorrow – with another early start for him that won't include Tai Chi by the river.

I haven't mentioned it much, but the football training is ongoing – even with the days off due to birthday camping nights. I'm not involved in that at all right now, but Michael is working it into his schedule around work at the Inn too; and Tim is getting a decent turnout with the other guys – even when that messes a bit with working on farms for some of the guys. We don't need to get into football mode yet – or at least I don't need to do that; so let's not add anything else to this report about it. I'm sure there will be too much football in these updates soon-enough; and we'll all be tired of it by the end of the year!

Moving this along, I had a quick shower after Michael left; hopped into bed with Mandy once I was ready for bed; and only did the basic email and computer check after that before getting to this report. It's nice having the work done early; and even better to be able to go to sleep before midnight again tonight. It's been fun, but the extra rest makes it easier to keep up with the work and play – especially when we're as busy as we are this week. I'm going to be glad for that extra down time over the next few days, but I can write about that in future updates, and I am ready to sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

I worked all morning from the time we finished breakfast until we stopped for lunch at around twelve-thirty; had a play afternoon that included some fun with Michael during his afternoon break; and then I worked at the Inn for the dinner-to-close shift. We went for a swim in the river at Michael's house after we were finished work for the night – along with Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca; Michael walked me home; and then I pretty much came straight up to bed with just cameo visits to the office and in Ethan's and Ehlana's rooms on my way up to my room. Add in a quick shower break so that I wouldn't offend Mandy while cuddling with her tonight; and that pretty much brings me up-to-the-moment for my day.

That doesn't sound all that exciting, partly because it wasn't, but that's okay now and then; and every day can't be great – or that would just be the norm! ;^)

I do have a busy day coming up tomorrow, though, including helping out with the fruit and vegetable boxes orders and my own deliveries, and need to get some sleep to be ready for that, so that's all for tonight; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, July 29, 2016

We're rolling into the last weekend of July; and I've had a very busy day filled with a lot of work; with a bit of fun tossed in here and there to keep the day from being complete drudgery.

Okay, that's too strong a word, since I do try to have fun with the work too, but all of the work does catch up to me now and then; and that's happened tonight – which is why I'm writing this now instead of staying up even later and hanging out with Michael, Tim, and Rowen. We're camping by the river tonight, and we have four junior campers with us; so there isn't any co-ed camping happening tonight – even though Naomi continues to find it funny to try and 'sneak' into Ethan's sleeping bag and then getting 'caught' by us and moved back into the girls' tent again with Ehlana. What's really funny there is that she'd stay with Ethan if we didn't catch her, and while that's adorable; we should probably hold off on letting them do that for at least another year or six – though I wouldn't dream of setting a specific age on co-ed sleepovers for them that could be used against me with future family jokes! ;^)

Let's back up and cover the news from the start of my day. Tai Chi by the river at sunrise was fun; and we had bonus exercise buddies because the Carringtons joined us today; Brianna had me exercise with her because my usual exercise buddy was working the breakfast shift at the Inn; and then we all had breakfast together. That made for a fun start to the day, but then it was time for me to get to work – starting with mowing the lawn to get ahead on the weekend chores. I had time to do that after helping Mom with the breakfast clean-up; and then I needed to get cleaned up a bit before heading over to the school to unload the truck with the fruit and vegetable boxes order for this month. We didn't have as many sales this time as we'd had the last two months, but that was entirely due to the lack of bonus orders from holiday weekend visitors or travelers; and was expected.

We did still have hundreds of boxes to unload, though; and then we were also loading cars, vans, and trucks with the band member individual orders as they stopped in to get them – and then do their deliveries. We also had a large van to load for the Maple Valley student orders that two of their students arranged and took care of this month; and I ended up spending a fair bit of the afternoon at the school – especially when Michael took a shift helping out during his afternoon break from the Inn. While working with Michael was fun, it meant not having any down time for him; and I headed home a bit early so that I could grab a shower and get ready for my own dinner-to-close shift at the Inn. We ended up meeting there by the time I was ready and he got away from the school; and then we got to work and kept busy for the next five hours or so.

That blast of busy was more work and less fun; I missed out on most of the Friday night family dinner and play fun; and Michael and I were already well on the way to being exhausted by the time we were set free from the Inn and came home to join the campfire already in progress. Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden had set up the camping night, and recruited Rowen and Tim to help them with setting up the tents and joining us for the fun tonight; so that had been a fun addition to our day – even though that didn't include any Michael and me alone time. I can't say the same for Rowen and Tim, since they're still hanging out together somewhere as I'm writing this; and likely having a lot more fun with some outdoors make-out time. Michael's been awake since an hour or more before dawn, though, and my day didn't start much later than that; so we were okay with crawling into our tents instead of staying up and talking with Rowen and Tim for another hour or two – and they were okay with going off to find something else to do to stay entertained until they're ready to sleep too.

I've gotten ahead of the story and skipped the campfire; so let's back up and cover that before wrapping this up. The family and friends dinner and play night was partly because Grandma and Grandpa are heading out on their summer work and play trip tomorrow, and while I missed out on most of that; they did stay long-enough after Michael and I got to the campfire for a visit with us before heading home to get some sleep. They'll be on the road to the airport early; and away for the next four weeks. This is another example of what I miss out on with the too-busy that is my life these days; since I've basically had no involvement in that part of my grandparents' lives – while it's been a big part of theirs while getting ready to spend a month on the road and away from their house.

My visit with them was short, but then that's true for nearly everyone else at the campfire too; since they started heading for home when Grandma and Grandpa did. Michael and I did get to spend a bit of time with our parents, Jake, Stephanie, Rebecca, Violet, and Dillon, though; and then we only had Rowen, Tim, and our four junior campers for the last half-hour or so of the campfire before Michael and Tim took care of putting it out while Rowen and I helped the kids to get ready for bed. WE had all of that finished by a bit after midnight; Michael and I sat on the benches by the river with Rowen and Tim and talked for a half hour or so; and then we were ready to call it a night while Rowen and Tim went for a walk. I'll guess they're at the park and making out somewhere – unless there are too many other teen couples there trying to do the same thing; but let's not go there or I might be too tempted to sneak into Michael's tent and climb into his sleeping bag with him – even with his two junior campers there with him! ;^)

That's a fun thought; but isn't going to happen. Instead of going on about that, though; let's cover a bit of college teen news and then call it a night. While we still have between two and five weeks to go before most of our collegians head off to school, Kyle and Carolyn Landry are both at their college by now; and they'll be getting right into their respective training camps. That's football camp for Kyle; and a more general sports camp for Carolyn; since she's planning on playing multiple sports – if she can make the teams for every sport she wants to play while she's there.

Just as a side note, I have actually thought about doing college sports before, and while that might be amazing, I don't want to get that kind of attention; and my education has to come first – especially when I want to earn my PhD in five years. That's news for another time, and I really am too tired to go there tonight; so let's wrap this up so that I can get some sleep.

I'm mostly mentioning Carolyn's departure for college because we won't have her on our team for the last two games of our season – and possibly not for the championship game if we earn a spot for that game – and she makes one of the college teams she'll be trying out for over the next few weeks. It's also a reminder that we're quickly running out of time before Violet, Dillon, Jake, Stephanie, Christina, and Josiah will all head back to college again; and then we'll be counting down to our return to school in September too.

We're only half-way through the summer, and I really don't want to go there either tonight. Getting some sleep is my immediate priority, and I'll be okay if there are some happy dreams waiting for me there with Michael in a starring role; since we can't be cuddling together instead. Maybe we'll see about a teen camping night for tomorrow night so that we can do that – or maybe we can have a sofa sleepover if that won't work. I'll keep you posted on that with the next update, but that's all for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Grandma and Grandpa are heading out of the country tonight, and I hope they'll have a safe flight; but I won't be staying close to my computer to keep track of them tonight because I'll be busy with a teen camping adventure instead!

That's why this report is coming to you early – and is going to be very short.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom made for a fun start to my day. The chores all morning weren't as exciting; but we did get done by lunchtime thanks to the work that I did early. That allowed me some extra play time this afternoon with Ethan and Ehlana – and with Michael when he was on his afternoon break. The park play, biking, and swimming were all fun, and that was a nice break from the work; but then I went to the Inn with Michael and we worked through until close again. We also set up the teen camping night, and had everyone confirmed for it by the time we started on the pre-dinner prep work; but Rowen, Tim, and Lucas took care of setting up the extra tents for us while we were busy.

We've got Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and Evan camping with us tonight, and there will be co-ed tents; since we conveniently have four tents and four couples. Michael, Rebecca, and I were the last to get here after closing the Inn, and while I'm doing this and getting ready for the rest of the night; the campfire that Tim got ready for us is already lit; and Jenny and Evan are out there with Lucas, Tim, and Rowen. They're waiting for the rest of us to join them; so I'll have to do the campfire and camping part of my day with the next update.

The good news is that you can flip a digital page in my future while reading my journals, but the better news for me is that I get to get out there and live it; and hopefully have an amazing night with my friends that will wrap up with some quality Michael and me time once we do eventually get to that co-ed camping part of the adventure! ;^)

Funny, that thought has me getting very sleepy! That could make for a very short campfire, but I'll let you know how that turns out too; along with the rest of the story. It's time for me to get to the campfire, though, and I don't have any other news from the rest of the day; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, July 31, 2016

I seriously need to get my priorities straightened out. After my last update, I went outside for the campfire, and while we had fun with that; I was dozing off while cuddling with Michael within a half hour. I got teased about that – especially when Michael didn't have any trouble convincing me to head for bed early too – and came with me. That would have been a brilliant plan too – if I hadn't then gone on to fall asleep before Michael and I had any serious make-out fun first.

All of that adds up to the news that I have no news from my co-ed camping night with Michael.

That isn't true for the other three couples, but to be honest; I don't want to go there tonight. Yes, I'm a bit jealous, but I'm more mad at myself; and wish that I'd done a bit of self-healing last night before going out to that campfire – even though I would have paid for that in other ways eventually.

Moving along, I don't have a lot of news for today either. Breakfast with our gang of campers was fun, and so was our time at church this morning, but we also had thunderstorms off and on all day; and then I spent most of the rest of the day after church and Sunday school at the Inn. Michael and I worked the full shift to close; and didn't even go outside for long because one of those thunderstorms was overhead during our main afternoon break. The rain also had a lot of people – including campers – stopping in for a meal at the Inn; so we had full dining rooms for most of the day.

Michael and I worked until close; we did our goodnight hug and kiss on his front porch; and then I came straight home and up to my room to get to work – and have a soak in my Jacuzzi. I've done that while in a time phase; took care of the must-do family business work; and once I'm done this update; I'm going to crash for the night.

Consider that done. Michael does have the next two days off, so we might get to have some fun if we don't get too tied down with everything else; but I'll let you know how that goes. For now, I'll focus on the nap time – and hope that the extra rest will have me ready to do better the next time we get a chance for some Michael and me time!

That's a happy thought to drift off to dreamland with; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
August 2016

Monday, August 1, 2016

Happy 1st Anniversary, Jake and Stephanie!

It's been a year already! How time flies when the newlyweds are away in Europe for nearly ten months of that year! ;^)

Their anniversary celebration wasn't European-vacation level fun, but they did at least have the day off; and didn't have to work all day at the Inn.

Unfortunately, they also didn't get very nice weather from early morning through until mid-afternoon; which is why their dinner party was indoors instead of a back yard barbeque. Jacob and Miranda made that decision fairly early when it was fairly clear that it would be too wet out for a party even if it did stop raining. That made getting ready for the party and doing the chores a bit tougher, so I helped out once I was finished my own chores at home by mid-morning. Michael and I worked together most of the time, so we had some fun along the way, but Jacob and Miranda needed worker bees for everything surrounding the dinner party; so we did a lot of work today and didn't play all that much.

That isn't exciting for us, but we did our part to make the day special for Jake and Stephanie; so it was worth it. I won't bore you with the work details, but the house was basically cleaned from top to bottom; we helped with the major meal; and Michael and I also took care of getting Jake and Stephanie's room at the Inn set up with everything Miranda and Samantha put together for them – including champagne on ice, Olde Bakery treats, and a couple of gifts that we didn't ask about because we were pre-warned that at least one of us wouldn't want to know.

Michael and I also took care of the dinnertime work with help from Rebecca and Lucas so that Miranda and Jacob could enjoy the meal with the rest of their family and friends, so we ate when we could; and kept busy running between the kitchen and dining room as needed. We still had some fun with that, but by the time we finished the clean-up after Jake, Stephanie, and most of their friends went out to the pub; I was on the way to being wiped out. That's why I went home not long after we finished cleaning the kitchen and dining room; though I stayed for a bit of cuddle time with Michael in the living room while Rebecca went home with Lucas for the night with plans to spend her Tuesday on the farm.

I came home early because I didn't want to be up all night doing my family business work – and had a lot to get done. Despite being tired, I got right to that while multi-tasking a long soak in my Jacuzzi while in a time phase. I stayed in that time phase through until I finished my work; and I was in bed and cuddled with Mandy by then. I'm back in normal time again, and have only done a quick, final check of my email and a scan of the headlines around the world before getting to this report. Now that I've added in that power drain from the time phase and everything else I did with a bit of Magi-powered help; I'm past-ready to crash for the night. Michael and I still have more chores to do tomorrow, and we have marching band and teen praise team practices too; but I'm hoping we'll get to have a bit of play time too.

Maybe that'll work out for us, since it didn't today, but I'll have to let you know how that goes with my next report; since I do still need to live it; while this is all near or distant past for you as you're reading this someday in my future. Heading off into nap mode now will at least have me ready to handle whatever happens, though, and I don't have anything else to add tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

This is going to be a short report because Michael's going to be here soon to hang out for a while now that we're done with the work and practices parts of our day; and I'm planning on keeping him here for a non-accidental sofa sleepover.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom was great; the morning chores weren't quite as much fun; and then our play afternoon with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden was pretty good – though it was getting a bit hot outside by then. That's why our marching band practice was so draining – the temperature with the humidex factored in was closer to one-ten than it was to one-hundred. We did manage to survive and have a pretty good practice too, but then Michael and I needed to move on to our teen praise team practice. That went well too, but we were both in need of showers and clean clothes after that; which is why we've split up to do that instead of just hopping in the river to cool off. The heat is also why we didn't pick a camping night; though having the twins, Naomi, and Aiden along for that would have been fun too – if not as fun as a cuddle night with Michael will be for us! ;^)

The twins do have their best friends over for the night, but they're hanging out in the living room as I'm writing this, and while I love them a lot; they're not getting an invitation to hang out with Michael and me this time. He'll be here soon, though, and I don't really want to write about anything else tonight anyway when I've got that sofa sleepover and some make-out time with him to get to next; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Yes! I actually managed to stay awake for a while with Michael when we had some alone time for a change! We enjoyed a fairly hot make-out session before getting around to the sofa sleepover part of our night; and then our wake-up call was fun too – even though that was early; and Michael needed to get to work at the Inn for the breakfast shift. Not having Michael with us for Tai Chi or breakfast meant that I had to settle for some fun time with my family instead, and that was an entertaining hour and a half or so, but then it was time to get to work for the rest of the morning.

Since I'd been awake early anyway, I'd gotten ready early too; so I took care of the kitchen clean-up and some laundry chores before we all headed out to work. For Dad, that was to the office; while the rest of us headed for the lab – after taking Naomi and Aiden home or to the bakery first. I ended up splitting my morning between a bit of play time with Ehlana in 'her' lab and some family business work time in the archives with Ethan; with the second part of that work-play done in a time phase so that I could get all of my work done – and Ethan could do more with his archives work. We stayed at the lab until one; went home for a late lunch; and then Michael and I went biking on the trails for a while during his afternoon break. We followed that up with some swim time that Ethan and Ehlana joined us for; and then we stopped at the Emporium for ice cream treats before walking Michael back to the Inn ahead of his dinner shift.

We had a fairly quiet rest of the afternoon, an early dinner, and then I was off to the school for my baseball practice while the twins went to the park with Mom and Dad. My practice went fairly well, but it was different without Carolyn there; and Coach Sarah wasn't as fired up without her favorite player there to push all of us to work harder. We probably tried harder to cheer her up because she was missing her little girl than we did with the actual practice, but that was okay; and I think that it did help a bit by the time we wrapped up our workout for the night. Rowen and I went to the park to meet up with Michael and Tim, but while Michael took the time for a quick swim in the river; he headed back to the Inn to help out with the close because Jacob and Miranda were short-staffed for the night and had been busier than expected for a Wednesday night.

I came home after that; spent a bit of time with Mom, Dad, and the twins while Violet and Dillon had gone somewhere else after helping with kid control at the park; and then I came up to my room to enjoy some quality Jacuzzi time. I'm still doing that while writing this; and plan on going to sleep a minute or two after I crawl into bed with Mandy. I'm glad that Michael and I were able to have that play time last night, but I do need to get some sleep now and then too; and that is an option that I plan on taking tonight – even though it would be more fun to have Michael here for another night.

That wouldn't be good for him because he has another breakfast shift to work at the Inn in the morning, though, and he's tired too; so we aren't doing that. I'm also going to wrap this up, since I don't really have any other news for the day – not to mention that I'm getting a bit wrinkled up from enjoying too much tub time already.

It had been a pretty good day, if not very exciting. That should change a bit starting tomorrow, since we have another Quarry Lake birthday party and camping adventure to look forward too – though we'll be juggling work and other responsibilities around that fun too. That'll be news for tomorrow, though, and I do want to get out of the tub soon and off to bed; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Denise!

I'm hoping that she's having fun by now, and she is happy that she got her driver's license this morning; but I wouldn't say that her birthday party had been a lot of fun yet up to the point where Michael and I came back to town to work the dinner shift at the Inn. That's mostly because Denise, and her boyfriend, Luke Taylor, are both farm kids; and farms don't stop running for family birthdays. While Denise was able to play at Quarry Lake this afternoon along with a few friends; Michael and I were only out there during his afternoon break – and we spent most of the time helping out with the campground and dinner party set-up. We were part of the volunteer crew, and while we had fun, it was also scorching hot out this afternoon; with the 'feels like' temperature soaring to one-fifteen. That was too hot to be working that hard, but the tents needed to be set up; and so did the pavilion for the barbeque dinner.

Doing all of that work meant that we only had time for a cool-down swim before getting a ride back to town for our dinner shift – especially since we needed to stop at our homes to get cleaned up and changed before moving on to the Inn. We knew that we were going to miss out on Denise's birthday dinner and some of the fun at Quarry Lake, but we weren't booked to work until close. Unfortunately, the heat drove more customers indoors – though that's good news for Jacob and Miranda. That meant that they were short-handed, though; and Michael and I were drafted to stay until close – along with working harder than expected to keep up with the orders and non-stop clean-up and dishwashing. For anyone reading this that has worked at the Inn – or some other restaurant – on a summer day as hot as this one; you know what it was like in the kitchen today. For those of you who don't have that experience – be glad of it! ;^)

To skip over that blast of too busy and way too hot; I'll only ad d that everyone working there tonight simply got through those hours by gritting our teeth and focusing on getting each little job done and moving on until we were ready to close up for the night and escape. Once we'd done that, Michael and I split up to hit the showers and get ready to head out to Quarry Lake again. I'm writing this update while doing that – and did a quick email and computer check first while I was still in the shower. I'm not taking my computer with me tonight, and while I hadn't planned on doing that anyway, after the day we've had; I doubt it will be because Michael and I are too busy doing anything else other than sleeping in our tent.

Maybe that was why Miranda really needed us to stay until close tonight! ;^)

Seriously, though, we will try to catch the tail-end of the birthday campfire, but I doubt that we'll last past midnight before crashing into nap mode. Maybe I'll be wrong about that, and I'd be happy with that too; but won't hold my breath. I do need to wrap this up and meet up with Michael, though; so let's cover the rest of the news for the day.

Tai Chi by the river was fun; breakfast in the sunroom was quick and only mildly entertaining because some of us were more focused on work than anything else. I helped Mom with chores after that; we worked in the office around the chores; and she did a Magi lesson with me because we actually had time to do that for a change. Ethan and Ehlana, by the way, were at the lab all morning; so we could do that work and lesson on our own while Ehlana played with Dillon in the lab and Ethan did his own thing in the archives. We had lunch ready by the time Violet and Dillon brought the twins home; I dealt with getting the tents and gear rounded up while waiting for Michael to be done at the Inn; and then we got a ride out to Quarry Lake with Jake and Stephanie. They didn't stay and play because it was too hot, though with everyone else out of the house all afternoon; they might have just been more interested in a different kind of hot for their afternoon break. I shouldn't go there, or I might decide that I'm not all that tired after all right now!

Moving along, while I haven't heard all of the news from home while I've been at the campground and working at the Inn, I do know that Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana mostly had an indoor afternoon to stay cool except for one swim in the river that Mom supervised. The twins are having a sleepover here while I'm gone; and Naomi and Aiden are happy to be spending the night with their best friends. They're also camping in the lounge, but if Naomi is going to try sneaking into Ethan's sleeping bag again tonight; I won't be here to witness that or take pictures.

That's one more thing that I need to do before heading out – say goodnight to them; so I really need to get this done and move on.

The fun level in my life will hopefully kick up a few notches before Michael and I run out of steam tonight, but the party and camping news will have to wait for the next report while I go out and live it. Flip the digital page in my future if you can't wait to find out what happens, but that's all I have for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, August 5, 2016

Before I get to the news from around here, I need to mention a family wedding that I haven't even written about this summer – mostly because I've had no involvement in it at all. Christina's sister, Michelle, is getting married to Neil Ryan tomorrow. I might not have even paid any attention to that today if it wasn't for the fact that the local members of the Johnson and Carrington clan headed out today for the weekend to attend that wedding. I was so oblivious to all of that yesterday that I didn't even notice that Christina and Josiah left for her home sometime on Thursday, since she's one of Michelle's bridesmaids along with Tory and one of Neil's sisters.

I was happy to get home in time to see Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Brianna before they left town; but I didn't see anyone else before they left – partly because I was working at the Inn while some of those departures were going on. Let's hope that they'll have a great weekend, and that Michelle and Neil get to have a wonderful start to married life, but other than offering those best wishes; there isn't anything else for me to add to that news – especially when you can likely read all about it from the perspective of other Magi who will be there for the big event.

With that said; let's get on with my own news – starting with the tail-end of Denise's party last night.

Mom ended up being our driver to Quarry Lake, and that ended up being very important to the rest of my night because she helped me out with warding the minivan while we drove out there; I healed Michael of his fatigue; and then healed myself too so that we could really enjoy the play time with our friends instead of just going there and falling asleep the way I'd expected. That was the good news. The good and bad is that we stayed up and partied with our friends until it was past-two; we followed that up with a fair bit of quality make-out time in our tent after that; and then we only had time left for a nap once we were finally ready to get a bit of sleep. We woke up to a fairly energetic thunderstorm just before dawn – not that we got to see a sunrise while the storm was rolling through.

That caused quite a few problems for us because we needed to get packed up and ready to go; and that doesn't work out very well when the tents and some of your gear is wet. Michael and I skipped Tai Chi; dealt with packing up; and then had a ride back to town with Rowen and Tim. While the boys headed over to the park for a football workout; Rowen and I took care of setting up the tents again in my backyard so that they could dry out; and then she headed to the store to work while I got busy with chores. I fit in the goodbye visit with the Carringtons around the work; and then gave myself extra chores by deciding to mow their lawn too once I was finished cutting the grass at our house. While that hadn't been requested, it needed to be done; and I'm overdue for helping out a bit more when my family needs it. All of the yard work and chores in the house kept me busy through until I needed to get ready for my dinner-to-close shift at the Inn; and I didn't end up spending any time with Michael during his breaks because he wasn't really taking breaks anyway.

It wasn't quite as hot out today, but it was still hot in the kitchen when I got there to help with the dinner prep work; and stayed hot all evening. We were busy, but not as crazy as it's been for some of the other shifts I've worked over the past couple of weeks. This time, the lack of sleep last night started to catch up with me, though; and I had to push myself to keep going. Michael, Rebecca, Jenny, and I still mostly had fun along with all of the work, but by the time we were set free for the night; I was ready to walk home with Michael; kiss him goodnight; and head for my room and some Jacuzzi time before going to bed for the night.

Mom and Dad were still up and watching a movie with the twins, but Violet and Dillon were out for the evening, I hadn't missed any major family fun with most of our relatives away from home for the weekend; and I kept my bedtime chat with my parents, brother, and sister very short before coming up to my room. I've been in the tub since getting it filled; did my basic bedtime computing while enjoying the Jacuzzi action; and I'll be getting out of the tub and ready for bed shortly after I finish this report.

All of the work today hasn't been very exciting, but Michael and I did have a fairly amazing night of camping; so I'm not going to complain about the not-so-much-fun parts of my life. I'll have more work to do this weekend, and a baseball game to play tomorrow night if the weather is decent, but we don't have any other major plans; so some fun with Michael after work on Saturday and Sunday might be an option. I'll keep you posted on that; and hope for the best!

For now, though, that's all of the news I have for tonight; getting some sleep will help out in case I do get the chance for some Michael and me alone time; and I mostly want to wrap this up because I'm exhausted and ready to stop thinking for a while.

There is something I should mention before moving on – the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The opening ceremony was tonight; so millions around the world are focused on the Olympic Games. I won't be one of them, but that's entirely a personal choice that I wouldn't dream of pushing on anyone else. I'm not against international sports or competitions; I just don't think that the Olympics are what they were meant to be anymore. Maybe they will be again someday, but until that happens; I won't be watching the show or supporting the Olympics in any way.

Okay, time to not go there and start some ranting that isn't needed; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Congratulations, Neil and Michelle Ryan!

I have no news from the wedding yet, but we have had a decent day that wasn't too hot and rain-free; so I hope they've had an amazing day with their family and friends.

My day hasn't been wedding and party-level fun; but I'm hoping that Michael and I will make up for that when he gets here to hang out with me for the rest of the evening.

First up for my news from today is that I got called in to help out with the breakfast rush at the Inn when Miranda had a call-in shortage; so I skipped Tai Chi; got ready quickly; and headed to the Inn to help out in the kitchen for a few hours. That made for a busier-than-planned start to my day, and the busy continued when I got home and needed to jump in to help out with the chores already in progress. Yes, I'd gotten a head start on them with the lawn mowing yesterday, but we still had a lot to do; so we worked until nearly one-thirty before wrapping up for the day and having lunch. After that, I had some play time with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana that included a bike ride; play time at the park; and a swim before Michael and I needed to be back at the Inn for the dinner shift.

I had my ball game too, so I only worked until about twenty-to-six before heading over to the school for my game. We were up against the Flares tonight, and while we didn't have our star player, we managed to earn a close, ten-to-seven victory that we needed a big sixth-inning to put away after battling back-and-forth through the first five and a half innings. We didn't have a bit turn-out of spectators for the game, but Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana did come and cheer us on; so Rowen and I had a pretty good game with three RBI's each. We went home for ice cream treats and a swim; but then I headed back to the Inn to help out with the rest of the shift until close. Michael went home after that to grab a shower and get changed before coming over here; and I've already cleaned up and gotten changed too while multi-tasking the usual bedtime email and computer checks before getting to this report.

Ethan and Ehlana are going to bed soon; and they're only waiting for Michael to get here so we can tuck them in and spend a bit of time with them before we move on to the alone time I hope will keep us entertained for the rest of the evening. Violet and Dillon are out for the evening again; and Jake and Stephanie have likely already met up with them and the other friends they're hanging out with as they all get ready to head back to college soon. That does work out nicely for Michael and me, since they'll likely be out late tonight; but I'll have to let you know how well that works out for us with the next update.

I don't have any other news for tonight, though, and Michael will be here soon; so that's all for tonight, folks!

It hasn't been a lot of fun today, but I am going to work on that right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, August 7, 2016

This report is coming to you during my afternoon break because I'm hoping for a second sofa sleepover with Michael tonight after we're finished work – though we should do that at his house instead of mine to at least pretend that it isn't intentional. ;^)

I can honestly report that the sofa sleepover last night wasn't planned; and I'll take the blame too; since I literally fell asleep on Michael. The good news for us is that I didn't do that until after we'd had a fairly hot make-out session first! We also had a bit of fun with Ethan and Ehlana while tucking them in for the night; didn't watch the movie we picked to ignore while we played; and then I crashed for the night while we were cuddling and not watching a second movie.

The lunch shift at the Inn was crazy-busy, and the dinner shift is likely to be worse, so I don't expect that Michael and I will have the energy for a post-work play time for two tonight, but cuddling with him again all night would be great; so that's my current plan.

I'll let you know how that goes with the next report. ;^)

For the news from today, though, I should start with the morning wake-up call. No, that wasn't a hot round of morning make-out fun – it was a tag-teamed pounce from Ethan and Ehlana that had us quickly awake and then getting ready for Tai Chi by the river after sharing a bit of five-year-old-rated goofiness. We had fun with our morning workout too; and then I got ready for the day before heading over to Michael's house for breakfast with his family. We're running out of time to do that with Jake and Stephanie before they go off to their last year of college; so we wanted to spend time with them while we can – now that we're down to just days until they leave for New York.

That's true for Violet and Dillon too, and I haven't been able to do as much with them this summer as I'd like, but that's the way it is; and I'll just have to do the best I can with them too.

Having the gourmet breakfast was a bonus; and worth the clean-up work after we ate while the chefs took their turn getting ready for church. We ended up walking to church with my family; Michael and I sat with Mom, Dad, and the twins while Violet and Dillon sat with Jake and Stephanie; and we had fun during the part of the service we were there for – and during Sunday school too. The service went long, so Michael and I had to hurry to the Inn to help with getting everything ready for the lunch rush; and we worked hard straight through until we were set free for our afternoon break.

It started raining before we went to the Inn after church, though not hard-enough to make that little walk unpleasant; but the wet was a bit steadier off-and-on all afternoon; so we came home to my house for our break so that we could spend some time with Ethan and Ehlana. They had Naomi and Aiden with them to play indoors too; so we've had all four of them to hang out with – mostly in the sunroom. We went for a swim too; which is why I'm currently getting cleaned up and ready to go back to the Inn again. Michael's currently doing the same at his house, but let's not spend too much time thinking about him in the shower; or I won't be interested in focusing on the work once we're back at the Inn again. ;^)

Speaking of that, I need to finish up here and meet up with Michael so that we can get back to work. I did my email and computer check for the day too, and while there's some work to do; it can wait until tomorrow. There wasn't any wedding news in my email yet, and since this is a travel day for Grandma and Grandpa; I don't expect an update from them until they're settled in their next hotel and destination. I won't bother with second-hand news for them this time; since you can read all about their travels in their journals instead. I really need to go, though, and don't have anything else to add to the news from around here; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, August 8, 2016

I'm heading out on a back yard camping adventure with Michael, the twins, Naomi, and Aiden now; so this is going to be a micro-update.

The buffet-to-close shift was one of our toughest so far this summer; I went home with Michael; and we had a nice little sofa sleepover in his living room that did not include any major make-out time because we pretty much passed out not long after his parents, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca went up to bed.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast at my house was pretty good; and then we spent the morning working. For me, that meant helping Mom with chores around the house and some time-phased family business work in the office while the twins were at the lab and archives. We had some rain around lunchtime; Michael and I were both set free for the afternoon; and we played with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden for the rest of the day. Dinner was a Stone-Proctor families potluck at our house; Michael and I were on the clean-up crew; and then we set up a tent for our camping adventure.

Yes, that's one tent; two teens; and four kids. I'm sure the parents have nothing to worry about – unless Naomi's Dad is worried about her sneaking into Ethan's sleeping bag again tonight! ;^)

We've had a bit of play time and a swim since then; I'm doing my email and bedtime computer checks – and this update – now instead of later while getting ready for bed; and we'll be doing scary stories and maybe some music by the river next before getting to the camping part of the night. I won't say that there won't be any cuddling with Michael and me tonight, but we will be good; so our camping will definitely be kid-rated fun!

I'm ready to get to that now, though, and there isn't anything major to add tonight anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

There's probably something wrong with the picture when I'm running out of steam at the end of Michael's two days off – and that isn't because of fun overload!

The camping last night really was fun, and we liked spending that time with our four junior campers as much as they were happy to hang out with us. I don't have anything all that newsworthy to write about from last night, though I did end up cuddling with Michael. We were in our own sleeping bags, and we did have our chaperones, but then I could say the same about Naomi and Ethan; since they were next to each other and between Ehlana and Aiden.

Tai Chi by the river with the extra exercise buddies was great; so was breakfast in the sunroom; and then it was time for Michael to head home for the morning while I got ready for going to the lab with Mom, Violet, Dillon, and the twins. Some of us walked there and dropped off Naomi and Aiden along the way. Violet and Dillon are done with their summer jobs tomorrow, so I did a tour of the lab and heard the latest research news before moving on to the archives with Ethan. I spent the rest of the morning working on the family business; and then we headed home in time to have lunch at around twelve-thirty. Michael came over by the time I was dealing with the clean-up; and we went biking on our own for an hour or so before coming home again to go swimming with Ethan and Ehlana. We had time for an ice cream break at the Emporium after that; but then it was time for marching band practice at the school.

That went pretty well, but it was a bit on the hot side of things; and marching out in that heat wasn't all that much fun. It was hot in the church sanctuary too; which is why we had our teen praise team practice in the music room because it's in the new section of the church and is air conditioned now. We had to scale down the music a bit, since we didn't set up the drums and just went with the keyboards and Michael's guitar; but we were happy with the trade-off to get the cool instead. The only news I have from either practice is on the fund-raising side of things for the band. The fruit and vegetable boxes sales for the holiday weekend deliveries is looking good; and we're pretty much set up for the snack booth we'll be running at the park again on the Labor Day weekend. We're getting parent-volunteers to help with the booth because we'll also have the football game on Friday night and baseball games on the weekend, but then we have a fairly large group of parents on the volunteer list that was set up back in the spring; so it's easy to get the extra help when we need it.

Michael and I went for a swim after we got back from the church, but he's working the breakfast shift in the morning; and I have a busy day ahead with baseball practice and a going away dinner for Violet and Dillon to help with; so we decided not to stay up late again tonight. I had a visit with Mom, Dad, and the twins in the office after getting inside for the night; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in to their beds; and then hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak while multi-tasking a bit more family business work. I had that done by the time I was ready to get out of the tub; followed that up with a bedtime chat with Violet while Dillon was doing some packing to get ready to head for Woodvale on Thursday morning and then on to college on the weekend for their senior year; and once I have this report finished; it's time to crash and nap for the rest of the night.

That is all of the news I have for today, so let's consider that done!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

It's been another scorcher around here today; I'm cooked, baked, or whatever else you want to call it; and this is going to be a short report.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast were fun and uneventful. I worked all morning on chores and family business jobs with Mom while Ethan and Ehlana spent one last morning at the lab with Violet and Dillon. Some of my chores included prep work for the going away dinner for Violet and Dillon; but some of that work needed to wait until later in the afternoon – which is why Michael and I stayed close to home during his afternoon break. The too-hot afternoon had something to do with that too; though we did go swimming with the twins, Naomi, and Aiden a couple of times to go along with some indoor play time that kept us all cool for a while.

The heat had Mom deciding to have the dinner party in the dining room; but that was easier for me than setting up the back yard with tables and chairs would have been if the party had been outside instead. I took care of that job along with helping Mom with all of the cooking, but I didn't get to stay for the dinner because it wasn't starting until I needed to be at the school for my ball practice. I wish I could have done both, but that wasn't an option; so I went to the practice and wished I was at home instead. Missing out on the meal was just part of that, since I wanted to spend the time with Violet and Dillon too, but it wasn't a lot of fun playing baseball with temperatures hovering around one-hundred and ten; and that had a lot to do with why we didn't have a full team there to work with tonight.

Rowen and I did meet up with Michael and Tim after our practice and we went for a swim; but then Michael headed for the Inn to help with the rest of the close; and I came home to get cleaned up and ready for bed. I did at least have my family business work finished, so I was able to get away with the basic email and computer checks before starting this update. Mom, Dad, and the twins are home from the park and co-ed ball practice now too, and Ethan and Ehlana stopped in to say goodnight and pretend to tuck Mandy and me into bed instead of getting me to do that with them; but I wasn't quite ready to call it a night when they did that. Violet and Dillon are still out and hanging out with his family tonight, so I probably won't get to talk to them until we have breakfast in the morning; but I don't plan on waiting up for them to get back just to spend a few minutes with them tonight.

It's hard to believe that they'll be gone in the morning – and away for another school year except for holiday visits, but we're out of time again; and it'll only be another couple of days before Jake, Stephanie; Josiah, Christina, and quite a few of our favorite collegians will be heading out too. That's going to mean more work for us at the Inn without our college workers, and I'm going to help out more where I can; but let's not worry about that until the weekend.

For right now, I'm tired, and have had enough fun for one day; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Yes, it is mid-August, and I have lived other places where it gets hot in the summer, but when the 'feels like' temperature around here climbs above one-fifteen; it's time to stay indoors for a while!

The good news is that I did that for most of the afternoon. The bad is that I also worked the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn tonight too; and it was probably hotter in the kitchen for most of that time.

I've gotten ahead of the news of the day; so let's back up to this morning and go from there.

It was still hot and humid out at dawn, but we were outside for Tai Chi by the river anyway; and had fun with that – even though I didn't have my favorite exercise buddy with me. After that, it was time for a quick breakfast that was all about spending a last bit of time with Violet and Dillon before they headed for Woodvale; and then I helped them with getting Violet's car loaded so that they could be on the road in time to hopefully make it to Woodvale by noon and lunch plans they had with Dawn and some friends. The house felt emptier after that even though they'd have been at work all day anyway if they hadn't left; which was why I felt motivated to get a head start on my weekend chores again today after the morning chores in the house were finished except for the ongoing loads of laundry. I only managed to mow the lawn before the heat had me changing my mind about doing chores all morning just to keep busy and not thinking too much about things that can't be – like spending more time with Violet and Dillon.

I worked on my family business jobs instead; did that using a time phase; and had everything done by the time Mom and I stopped to make lunch for six that included the twins, Naomi, and Aiden. It was time to play for a while after that, and Michael joined us for some of that fun while he was on his afternoon break, but we spent most of the afternoon indoors except for one swim in the river. The water was nice-enough, but the air was hot-enough to take your breath away; so we didn't play in the water for very long before going back inside to have an ice cream sundae afternoon snack break. Knowing what it was going to be like in the kitchen at the Inn, I grabbed a shower and got changed before meeting up with Michael at his house and going on to work from there; and then we get into what was definitely the hottest part of my day.

Too bad for Michael and I that it was the weather-related kind of hot! ;^)

I won't put you to sleep with the drudgery that was our work shift tonight. It was too hot; and too busy because the heat drove the camper-customers into town and the comparative cool of the dining rooms at the Inn. Fortunately, we still have most of the college teens around, and many of them were working a last shift tonight before heading away to school, so we weren't short-staffed; but we will be this weekend if the trend continues – especially when we lose our nearly-fully-trained second chef on Saturday morning. That's something to deal with starting on the weekend, though, so let's move along.

While we pretty much had a full house tonight, the hot weather did at least mean that our customers mostly came into town early instead of later; so the main rush was over with by seven o'clock. We had the Inn cleaned up and closed by a bit before ten o'clock; and then I went home with Michael and his family so that we could have a visit with Jake and Stephanie. We won't be able to do that tomorrow night because they'll be hanging out with her family instead, and then they'll be gone to the airport early on Saturday morning; so this was my last chance to hang out with them when we aren't busy working our tails off at the Inn. That visit was still too-short because Jacob and Michael need to be up early for the breakfast shift again; which is why I came home at a bit after eleven o'clock.

Everyone else in the house was in bed by then, and while not everyone was sleeping; Mom and Dad did not need me stopping in for a visit on my way up to my room. No added details needed there, so if you must use your imagination right now; don't ever tell me if I'm still around whenever you are reading this in my future!

I had a quick shower; got ready for bed; and only needed to do the usual bedtime computer and email checks before getting to this report. Once again it feels as though the third floor is emptier without Violet and Dillon here tonight, and it is just as insubstantial as my feelings this morning; since they wouldn't likely have been home yet tonight if they had still been here – they'd have likely been out with Jake, Stephanie, and some other friends instead.

By the way – Jacob and Michael may have needed to get to sleep when I left, but Jake and Stephanie did go out to the pub for awhile to meet up with Josiah, Christina, and a few others. I don't mention that kind of thing much, since it doesn't affect me very often at all; but my favorite collegians do have a life outside of our families and the Inn. Maybe Michael and I will be able to do stuff like that with them in another seven years or so once we're finished college, but then we'll have our own adult lives by then too, and their lives could be very different by then too; so we'll have to see how that goes for all of us.

Since I'm not worrying about the work and problems at the Inn this weekend tonight, I should probably leave off thinking too much about the future seven years from now too. In fact, I'm ready to stop thinking about anything and just get some sleep. We have three very busy days coming up, and while extra shifts at the Inn are going to be part of that for me; we also have some ball games and what I hope will be some chances to say goodbye to some of my college friends before they leave town. I'll keep you posted on all of that, but that's all for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, August 12, 2016

This is going to be a micro-update because it's been a long day; and I'll be up early to help out with the breakfast shift in the morning.

Let's start with the news from around here that I missed out on today. First up, Josiah's parents put on a going away barbeque for Josiah, Christina, and some of their friends – including Jake and Stephanie. Michael and I did stop in after the Inn was closed for the night, but the party was pretty much over by then; so our visit was pretty much a short visit to say goodbye to Josiah and Christina; since they'll be leaving tomorrow too. Next up, Mom and Dad had a game tonight with their co-ed team. They were up against the Pirates, and won the high-scoring game nineteen-to-sixteen; so I missed out on a fairly entertaining evening while working the dinner-to-close shift. I also missed a work morning at the lab that Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had fun with while I opted to work from home and do some more of my weekend chores along with a couple of hours of family business work.

I did have some play time this afternoon with Michael while he was on his break. We went biking at the park; swam for nearly an hour with the twins; and then had a snack break before it was time for us to get ready for work. Other than a bit of fun here and there, it's been all work and not really any play time since then; which has a lot to do with why I'm wiped out now and ready to crash for the rest of the night.

I'm doing the breakfast shift to help Miranda out, and will be working dinner-to-close again too for the same reason – especially since Michael has a game tomorrow night too. This isn't going to be a very exciting weekend for me, but I knew that already; and we do at least have some fun to look forward to on Michael's days off – our fifth-annual amusement park adventure. Let's save that news for when we go on the trip, though; and I'm just going to call it a night and head off to dreamland now instead of dragging this update out anymore than I already have.

Yes, my Friday night has been way too dull, even compared to most other teens around here, but it can be fun and games all of the time! Dreaming about what might have been – or could be – instead sounds like more fun than lamenting about what isn't happening tonight instead, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

I don't have much time before Michael gets here, and I plan on keeping him for a sofa sleepover; so this is going to be another short report.

The breakfast shift at the Inn was busy; my chores time at home after that was okay, but meant that I didn't have much down time today; and the dinner shift was crazy-busy because we're short-handed this weekend with the college kids off to school and the new hires too new to keep up with the workload that the more experienced teens had been able to handle.

Michael had his ballgame tonight; and the werewolves lost their first game of the season to the Vampires. The score was twelve-to-eleven, and the Vampires did have a good rally to win the game; but Michael wasn't really upset over the loss anyway.

He worked in the kitchen before and after the game, and was busy all day too; so I don't expect that we'll be ending our day with a major make-out session. I hope that we will have a bit of fun before falling asleep, but I'll keep you posted on that one. For now, though, I just want to finish getting ready for the rest of my evening and then get to it. We didn't get out of the Inn until nearly ten-thirty, and we split up to grab showers and get changed first; so it's already getting late – and we have another long, busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

Whatever happens for the rest of tonight, we do at least only have one more busy work day to get through before starting our two days of fun and adventure; so we do have that to look forward to – even if that full shift at the Inn is sure to be a tough one. We're going to think happy thoughts tonight, though, and 'sofa sleepover' is my happy thought for the night!

It's time for me to take that thought, add a bit of pixie dust, and fly and be free; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

I should begin this report with the news that Michael and I didn't exactly fall asleep last night as early as I'd expected when writing my update last night.

That might have something to do with a bit of Magi Healing for two that had us both feeling much better not long after we got comfortable in the lounge, and while that worked out great for us at the time; the lack of sleep and extra use of power has caught up with me tonight. The good news, though, is that we did have a lot of fun last night; so it was worth the cost to me!

We did eventually get around to some nap time; Tai Chi by the river was great; and then we were at Michael's house for breakfast – mostly because Miranda needed us there with Jake and Stephanie now safely in New York again. Rebecca was at the farm with Lucas last night after work too; so that was one more reason not to leave Jacob and Miranda alone and missing their kids. I'm glad that Jake and Stephanie will be back to stay before Rebecca and Michael leave for college. That'll be a lot easier for Miranda than if they'd all be gone at the same time.

The gourmet breakfast was a bonus, but it was the time together that was really great; and I'm glad we were able to do that before getting to the rest of our busy day. We walked to church with my family; the service and Sunday school were pretty good too; and then it was time to get to work at the Inn for the rest of the day. I don't think that the weather made any difference today for how many customers we had; and it was crazy at the Inn keeping up with the business while short-handed. This is an annual event, so it isn't new to Jacob and Miranda, but it is tougher this year because of the extra dining room space that's being readied for when we have two chefs instead of one starting next May. Without dragging out the details, I'll simply report that we worked our tails off all day; Michael and I were among the group of worker bees that took fewer and shorter breaks to help keep up with everything; and we're all pretty much wiped out now.

Okay, I'll guess that everyone else that was working at the Inn tonight is sleeping as I write this, but I've been working in a time phase tonight; so I won't be far behind them with getting around to the napping part of my day.

We had a full house in here for lunch; and I'm sure we were closer to two and a half buffet sittings than two; since there were customers waiting in line for tables most of the evening. We still managed to get the Inn closed by ten-thirty or so; and then I came straight home with just a micro-stop to say goodnight to Michael, Rebecca, and their parents. Mom, Dad, and the twins were all in bed already by the time I got back; mostly because we do have an early start to the day coming up in not very many hours. For Dad, that'll be heading to Crystal Springs for his work week in the city. The rest of us will be heading out on our fifth-annual amusement park adventure.

I'll write more bout that over the next two days, but should mention tonight that we aren't going to have a very large group with us this year – just Mom, the twins, Naomi, and Aiden with me; and Michael's parents, Rebecca, and Lucas with him. Rowen and Tim aren't going this year; Dad opted for his week in the city this week instead of changing it up and working there next week instead; and our aunts and uncles decided to skip it this year too. Rowen and Tim aren't coming because Tim needs to help out with work instead, and while I'm going to miss having them along; that is happening more and more as we get older. They will always be our best friends, though; and there's nothing wrong with having our own lives – even if that we sometimes don't get to have fun together.

Once I was up here in my room, I needed to pack for the trip; I multi-tasked that while spending some time in my Jacuzzi; and I also got started on some family business work that needed to get finished. I had most of that done by the time I got out of the tub; finished the family business jobs shortly after getting into bed with Mandy; and then I spent a bit of extra time on my computer and email checks. That was mostly to do a full check at Hathorne Industries ahead of our trip, but there aren't any hints that we have anything to worry about while we're away; so I don't expect to have any problems with the Hathornes at the amusement park.

That would be ironic if we did; but I digress. ;^)

The work is done now; all of my favorite collegians have checked in and are either safely back at school or still in transit for various reasons; and Grandma and Grandpa are having fun with their work and play travel adventure. I don't have anything else to add, and while the time phasing will still allow me to get to sleep before midnight, I really do need to make up for that power drain by getting to the napping while I can; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, August 15, 2016

We were up at a bit after four; loaded up the minivan and truck; and then it the road in the pre-dawn light that wasn't even hinting at the cloudy, sometimes-rainy day ahead of us. Dad was on his own after that for his trip to Crystal Springs, but Mom had Miranda in the van with her and the four younger kids while Jacob had Rebecca, Lucas, Michael, and me in the van with him. The trip to the amusement park wasn't newsworthy, but the showers in the forecast had us choosing to spend the first half of our day at the water park side of the place; since it didn't matter if we got rained on a bit while playing in the water anyway.

There was some rain too. It started not long after we arrived and cleared the gates; and we really didn't mind the bit of extra wet – mostly because we really did only get some light showers and sprinkles instead of anything heavy. I'm sure the boys wouldn't have cared if it poured, since they did get to spend all of that time with their favorite girls in swimsuits; but let's not go there. Then again, before I move on from that thought, I'll not that the sons in our group did find it a bit scary to have their Moms getting a bit too much attention from some of the other guys at the water park. That might have been scarier for Ethan, since Dad wasn't around, but having Jacob there didn't keep some of those guys from watching Miranda; so maybe it just wouldn't have mattered if Dad was with us or not.

Yes, Jacob got noticed by the women too, but Miranda and Rebecca have fun with that; and let's be honest – who can blame those girls? ;^)

Okay, moving along, we had a blast playing on the water slides and in the various pools and other water features around the park until around one o'clock. After that, we stopped for lunch; and then made the decision to move over to the amusement park for the rest of the afternoon. We took a bit of a chance that there might be more rain, but the percentages were on our side, and though it remained cloudy most of the afternoon; we didn't get rained on again while we played on our favorite rollercoasters and other extreme rides. The four kids couldn't do all of the coolest rides, but we took turns going on rides with them or watching them while they went on some of the kiddie rides so that the parents could take turns on the extreme rides too. Miranda and I took turns going on rides with Mom after she was hit on twice by guys looking to pair up with her while waiting in line.

Now that might have been scary for Ethan, since one of those guys was probably closer to my age than Mom; and the other had four tweens and teens of his own.

If you are currently having memory flashbacks to the Brady Bunch or Eight is Enough episodes, then you're either not reading this far-enough in my future; or you need to have a talk with my little brother if he's added that sort of thing to our archives!

I'm mostly joking about that, but for all I know, that will be possible; since collecting as much of the total human knowledge is part of the long-term plan for our Magi archives; and television shows and movies are a great way to preserve contemporary culture.

That's getting way off-track for an amusement park adventure day report; so let's get back to the news of the day.

We played until dinnertime; headed for the hotel; checked in; and then went out for dinner after getting cleaned up and changed. That meal was at a nice, family-run, Italian restaurant; the kids were happy with pizza; and the rest of us got to enjoy trying out some different dishes that were really great – though we each had at least one slice of pizza too while sampling as many different things as we could in the hour and a half we spent there. Jacob made a new friend and acquired a couple of recipes; so there's a good chance that we'll see those dishes in upcoming buffets or even on the menu at the Inn sometime in the future – once he's had time to experiment with those recipes for a while.

Note to me – don't turn down any experimental dinner invitations for the next month or two! ;^)

By the time we'd finished eating, we were all running out of steam; so we headed back to the hotel. Mom has her own room tonight, and the teens and tweens are in girls' and boys' rooms. Rebecca and I have Ehlana and Naomi with us, and while we were teased about that; the set-up wasn't to avoid any co-ed sleepovers.

Speaking of that, I have no idea whether the joke will ever get old, but Mom has pictures of Naomi in Ethan's bed; and she'd tucked herself in with him shortly before the parents stopped by to say goodnight to all of us while we stayed up to watch a movie in the boys' room. It is still funny now, though; and Naomi really is adorable.

There were some hugs and kisses to go along with that fun before the parents moved on to get some sleep. We watched a fairly-bad action-comedy; and then it took three tries to get Naomi out of Ethan's bed and on the way to our room because she kept getting away and then jumped back into the bed again. I'm wishing that I could have done that with Michael; but let's not go there either or I might start thinking too much about going back over to the boys' room and doing that. Since Michael might have Ethan and Aiden in his bed; that would just be too crowded!

I have Naomi with me tonight, though I'm not in our bed right now because I'm doing my bedtime computing at the desk instead. That was mostly so I could work without being observed by Rebecca; though all three of my roommates are sleeping now. While I didn't plan on doing much family business work, a few things came up that needed to be dealt with; so I've been dealing with that – and couldn't kick up my work into high gear – not even with any speed-typing. It's strange to have this be my latest night in a while when it's on a play day, but then that's part of the reason I was stuck working tonight instead of earlier in the day. I'll still manage to get more sleep than I did last night; if not by much. Since the plan is for a full day at the amusement park, with an option for some afternoon water park fun; I should probably just wrap this up and get to sleep soon.

We've really had a great day, and while it would have been great to have more of our family and friends along; I'll admit that it was nice to be able to spend more time with everyone thanks to having a smaller group. There's still one more day of extreme fun ahead of us, though, and I really do want to be ready for that; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Day two of our amusement park adventure was amazing; and we had awesome weather to go along with the fun!

Tai Chi out by the hotel pool was great – and entertaining; since we had a nice little audience by the time we were done. Hopping in the pool for a swim to cool off after that was good too; and then we headed back to our rooms to take turns showering and getting ready for the day before checking out and meeting up to go out for breakfast. We did that at a pancake house; had lots of time to enjoy the food; and then we headed over to the amusement park in time for the park opening.

Michael, Lucas, Rebecca, and I went off on our own for an hour or so of extreme rides; we met up with everyone else for some family play time and to watch a couple of shows; and then we had lunch together before doing another round of extreme rides that included the parents while we again took turns keeping the four kids entertained too while taking turns on the rollercoasters and other high-octane thrill rides. We had an afternoon ice cream snack break, but decided not to switch to the water park even though it was hot-enough that we'd have had fun with that instead; and stayed at the amusement park until around five o'clock before heading out and on our way home. We picked up fast food before hitting the highway, and the only difference from the trip to the amusement park was that we started out with girls' and guys' minivans for the first half of the trip.

That was fine with me, since it did give me one more chance for some quality time with Mom, Miranda, Rebecca, Ehlana, and Naomi; while Rebecca and I still got to have some cuddle time with our respective boyfriends during the last half of the trip after our mid-way stop for washroom breaks, drinks, and snacks.

Mom ended up with just the four younger kids in the van with her; and Naomi conveniently ended up in the back seat with Ethan instead of Ehlana. Michael and I did our best to cuddle together anyway, but Rebecca and Lucas won the non-battle for the back seat in 'our' minivan; so we had to cuddle across the bucket seats to do that. We did have fun chatting with Jacob and Miranda while Rebecca mostly napped and Lucas mostly just listened in while cuddling with her. We were home and had the vans unloaded before midnight, but while Lucas could have headed home then; he decided to stay the night at Rebecca's house instead of taking the chance of waking his parents and family when he did get home – a near-certainty; since his truck isn't exactly the quietest vehicle around here.

I won't be surprised to find out that Rebecca has a cuddle buddy tonight; but I'll let you know about that if I find out the answer tomorrow. Having Michael for a cuddle buddy would be nice, but he's working the breakfast shift; so we didn't even spend much time together once the first load from their van was taken into the house. I pretty much just said goodnight to him after doing that; and then came home to help Mom with the work at our house. Naomi and Aiden are with us tonight, so we put them to bed after dealing with unloading the van; and then we started a load of laundry so that we could get at least one load done and into the dryer before heading off to sleep. We both had work to do too, so we used a time phase and worked in the office to get that done while waiting for that load of laundry to finish washing. I needed some tub time after that, so once we were finished most of the work; I came up to my room and hopped into my Jacuzzi.

This update is being written while I'm soaking in the tub; and I've finished a last round of email and computer checks already too. I haven't written much about the actual rides and shows we've been entertained by for the past two days, but that was all just what we did; while it was the doing everything with people I love a lot that means everything to me. It makes up for all of the times when the work or other commitments have to come first – and it will be that real world we'll be getting back to in just a handful of hours.

Before I wrap this up, though, I want to mention one bit of future plans news from today. Rebecca, Jenny, and I have talked about it now and then, but Rebecca, Lucas, Michael, and I spent some time talking about the idea that Rebecca and Jenny could start up their own fast food business here at home after college – and go to college for restaurant management. Up to now, they've mostly just talked about it as more wishful thinking than real possibility, but I'm fairly sure that Rebecca is much more serious about it after our talk today. Part of the reason for that is because, while she would have a place at the Inn if she wanted it; she also knows that it is going to be Jake and Stephanie running the place in the future – not that Jacob and Miranda will be retiring anytime soon. I think that she really likes the idea of being her own boss instead; and bringing the fast food to town that she and Jenny have only wished for until now would be really awesome. We've promised to talk about it more; I've promised to help out with researching it, since Jenny is definitely not into that sort of thing; and Michael and I have volunteered to help out too whenever she needs us if they do come up with a plan and go for it.

Now we'll just have to help her make that dream come true! ;^)

Okay, that's all I really want to report for tonight, and it's time for me to get out of the tub and into bed now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Roger!

He hopefully will have a happy day, and there's going to be another Quarry Lake party and camping adventure, but I don't have any details about that yet; since the party hasn't started yet.

My day started too early with Tai Chi by the river with Mom and four junior exercise buddies. We then had Naomi's parents and brother with us for breakfast; they took all five kids with them when they left with plans to drop Ethan and Aiden off at the bakery while the girls were going to start their day with hair appointments before moving on to a play day together. That gave Mom a free morning to work; and I've split my time between helping her with chores and working on the family business all morning.

I'm writing this update now because I don't plan on being around my computer at all for the rest of the day or overnight. The current plan is to have lunch with Mom; go with Rowen and some of the other teens to set up our tents at Quarry Lake; and then get back here to town in time to help out with the dinner prep work at the Inn. I can't work the entire dinner-to-close shift, but Michael may be doing that if they're really busy while I go to my baseball practice. Whether he gets to his practice or not, we'll both be at the Inn after the practices so that we can help with the post-dinner clean-up through to close. After that, we'll get a ride out to Quarry Lake and catch the tail-end of the campfire. A co-ed camping night is nearly certain; which is the main reason for why I expect to have better things to do than play with my computer.

It's time for me to get on with my day now, but I'll take up this story with the next update; so feel free to flip the digital page in my future to find out what happens next while I go out and live it!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

I've been busy since my last update!

Lunch at home yesterday wasn't anything newsworthy, but then Rowen and I headed out to Quarry Lake with tents and gear to get set up at the group campground that Roger's parents had booked for us to use. We spent an hour and a half or so doing that, including helping with other work once our tents were set up. Once that was dealt with, we had time to play for a little while, so Rowen and I climbed the rock wall and took rides on the zip line; we went swimming with some of our friends; and then we headed back to town in time for me to help out at the Inn ahead of our ball practice while Rowen had dinner with her family at the store and did some work there too while waiting for our practice – and while Tim was busy anyway.

The work at the Inn wasn't too tough; the ball practice was long and tough because we have a game on Saturday; and that's why I only had time to help with the last hour or so of the clean-up at the Inn by the time I made it there and was personally clean-enough to help out. Michael and I split up to get showered and changed before getting a ride out to Quarry Lake. Rebecca did that for us; and then we were able to join the birthday campfire fun already in progress. We had a lot of fun with that; stayed up too late; and then spent some quality time making out in our tent before eventually crashing and having a nap before needing to wake up at dawn for Tai Chi by the lake.

That was a great way to start the day; breakfast was fun, but the food was largely forgettable; and then Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I needed to pack up and catch a ride back to town. For the boys, that was so they could be at the park in time for their football workout; Rowen needed to be at the store; and I was home in time to head over to the lab with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana for the morning. I was in the archives with Ethan for most of that time; managed to get a fair bit of family business work done; and ended up doing a Magi lesson with Ethan to teach him something he'd been reading about in the archives while I'd been busy with my work.

We went home for lunch; I ended up mowing the lawn after that to get ahead of the weekend work; and then I had time to play with Michael while he was on his afternoon break before we both got cleaned up and I met up with him at the Inn for the dinner-to-close shift. Unlike last night, the dinner shift today was a bit too busy; and we had to work our tails off to keep up with the extra customers on a short-staffed night. There was also extra work to do to be ready for the breakfast buffet that Miranda and Jacob are putting on in the morning for the shoppers; so it was heading toward ten-thirty by the time we were done.

Oh yeah – the annual back-to-school shopping trip is tomorrow! ;^)

How time flies when you're having fun. I honestly haven't really thought much about it at all this week; though it was part of the girl chat last night around the campfire. It's a good thing that Mom and Aunt Leanne have everything under control; since we do have another large group heading for Crystal Springs tomorrow. That was something that they finalized tonight while I was busy working; and they got together for dinner too while doing that. I would have loved the play time with the twins and my cousins, but Miranda needed me more; and I expect to keep missing out on some of the family and friends fun while helping out at the Inn – especially when Michael and I will both be needing Friday nights off starting next week.

I need to move this along; since I should be getting all of the sleep I can to be ready for all of that shopping. Michael and I did our goodnight hugs and kisses on his front porch after his parents and sister wished me a good night and headed inside. Since we both need to be up early, we didn't drag that out; and then I came home and had a nice little bedtime chat with Mom while she wrapped up some work she was doing in the office. Ethan and Ehlana were in bed by then, but I stopped in their rooms for goodnight kisses on my way up to bed.

I needed another quick shower, so I took care of that; got ready for bed; and have just been doing a quick email and computer check before getting to this report. There isn't any news to add from any of that; though I did deal with one bit of family business work too. I should also mention that I've been doing everything from the shower to this update in a time phase to get it all done while still having a chance to be sleeping before midnight for a change. It's funny that I was doing so well with that for a lot of the time this summer; but have totally blown it this week.

Note to me – work on that for this fall. I really don't want to go back to only having two and three-hour naps every night!

Okay, it's time to get to the sleeping now. Even with all of the work, this has been a really good day following a really great night of camping and fun with Michael and most of our friends. The shopping trip is going to be amazing too, but I'll go over that with my next update. For now, that's all I have; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, August 19, 2016

I'm tired; so let's try to keep this short tonight – if that's possible for a shopping day in the city update!

My day started early, and since I was awake earlier than expected; I got ready for the day; headed over to the Inn; and helped out with the prep work for the breakfast buffet. Jacob was happy for the extra help; and spending that time with Michael was pretty good too. I did head out into the dining room when it was time to join Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana for breakfast; and ended up at a table with Rowen, the twins, Naomi, and Aiden while Mom was busy with Aunt Leanne and some of the other Moms. That meal was a blast of fun and good food; and then it was time to saddle up and hit the road for the city!

Our group of shoppers was a bit smaller than last year, but we still had more than one-hundred and forty adults, teens, and kids in a total of thirty-two vehicles – including the teen drivers and their friends' groups. Rowen and I were together, but we didn't have our boyfriends with us today because Michael and Tim both needed to work. The trip to Crystal Springs wasn't newsworthy, though Rowen and I had fun with Rebecca and the rest of our travel buddies.

Once we were at the Mall, it was every small group of shoppers for themselves as we fanned out and got started on the hunt for best sales and back-to-school gear. Rowen and I shopped together all day, but did that with different groups – including an hour or so with Rebecca and Jenny. We spent more time with Mom, the twins, and their group – including having lunch with them; and eventually being part of the gang that went to Wal-Mart for a round of supply shopping that included both school supplies and the normal supplies that we pick up whenever we're in the city.

News flash for me – Ethan and Ehlana were being outfitted for going to school in September!

Okay, that isn't news for me, but it was more-real for me today; and it still somehow doesn't seem possible that they're starting Kindergarten in just a bit over two weeks from now. That is particularly amusing when you consider that they will be the only kids in their class being home-schooled as they work on their Master's degrees; but even teen Magi Masters have to deal with normal, human perceptions like this. Ethan and Ehlana are growing up on me; and I'll just have to deal with it!

Moving along, Rowen and I picked up about three-quarters of our fall wardrobe; most of our school supplies; and a handful or two of gifts that we'll need over the next couple of months. We also had fun playing dress-up with Ehlana and Naomi, but mostly tried to stay away from doing that with Ethan and Aiden; since Aiden finds that a bit weird and usually ends up blushing a lot when we do that. The two boys, by the way, managed to survive the shopping trip without too much mental scarring; and Ethan only has three new outfits that match Ehlana!

We headed over to Wal-Mart at three-thirty; spent nearly two hours there; and then Dad met up with us after he was finished for the day so that he could help out by hauling most of that stuff back home in his truck. Dinner was fast food to go; and we came straight home without stopping for any shopping in town. I helped Rebecca with getting her purchases in the house; we both helped Mom and Dad with unloading the van and truck; and then we headed over to the Inn to help out with the rest of the dinner-to-close shift. By then, that mostly meant helping with the clean-up; though Rebecca did that while working the dining room while I worked with Michael in the kitchen.

That meant that we didn't get to any of the sales in town, but we'll survive – and there's always the holiday sales to check out on the Labor Day weekend!

It was a bit after ten o'clock by the time we closed the Inn; I went home with Michael so that we could have some cuddle time before we needed to split up to get some sleep; and then I came home at a bit after eleven. Mom, Dad, and the twins were all in bed by then; so I only stopped in for kisses with Ethan and Ehlana; and didn't try to bother our parents. Yes, that can get weird, but then I also always know when not to walk in on them at a bad time! ;^)

Moving along – again; there isn't actually much more to report. I took care of putting my new clothes away; got ready for bed; and only did a quick email and computer check before getting to this update. There wasn't any family business work that couldn't wait for tomorrow or later; so I didn't bother with doing anything extra tonight. We're going to have a busy work weekend, but I also have the baseball game tomorrow night; and Tim's birthday is on Sunday. Michael and I will have to work on Sunday too, and while that won't leave us much time to celebrate with Tim; we'll do the best we can to help make his special day a good one.

I will have weekend chores to get to in the morning, and I'm pretty much just rambling now anyway; so let's call it a night. We've had a really good day; and I especially loved getting to spend all of that time with Rowen. We haven't been able to hang out as much as normal this summer; and I'm glad that we'll be able to do that more as we get ready to go back to school over the next two weeks.

That's news that I can write about as it happens, though, and I really am ready to get some sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

It's been a long day; so let's make this a micro-report.

Tai Chi by the river was fun; we had a nice catch-up chat with Dad at breakfast; and then it was time to get to work for the morning. The chores never end; and that kept me busy until I went to help out with the lunch shift because Miranda was short-handed and called for the extra help. Doing that did get Michael a bit of extra time off for his afternoon break; and we spent the afternoon biking at the park and having fun with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad mostly worked in the office after their own chores were done.

We were back at the Inn for the dinner shift; I worked until I needed to be at the school for our ballgame against the Comets; and Rowen and I led the way to an eleven-to-four win in what was a pretty easy game for our team. This wasn't our first game without Carolyn, but we still seemed to surprise our friends on the Comets with just how well we were playing; and we're now one final win away from earning the championship title for our division. We're already assured of the 'home' team spot in that game on the Labor Day weekend thanks to having an undefeated season; and I like our chances to finish the job in two weeks.

I skipped the post-game celebration to go back to the Inn to help with the close; followed that up with some cuddle time with Michael at his house until midnight; and then I came home and got ready for bed instead of staying for a sofa sleepover – though we really wanted me to stay and do that instead. Compared to that, the bedtime email and computer checks; the family business work I ended up doing thanks to two of those emails; and this report haven't been much fun. Using a time phase for the work did at least help me to get done without staying up half the night, but it has also tired me out; which is why that's all I have for tonight.

We'll have a very full day tomorrow, and I need to be ready for that; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Tim!

Being the kid of a business owner in town isn't always fun for teens – especially once you're old-enough to help out. Tim didn't have a problem being the kid of an auto and farm equipment sales and service business today when he found out that he was the proud new owner of a use, but really awesome, convertible Corvette!

He was all grins today, and we had fun with that this morning while hanging out with him at church, but that's getting a bit ahead of my story today; so let's take it from the top – or from my morning wake-up call that was courtesy of Ethan and Ehlana.

I must have been tired when I did finally get to sleep because they needed to come up to my room and pounce me to life, but that was fun too; and we had a fun little tickle fight and cuddle before I got up and ready for our morning workout. Tai Chi by the river was especially nice thanks to a gorgeous sunrise and perfect workout temperature. Michael and I had breakfast at my house after that; we split up to get ready for church; and then headed there with enough time to visit with Tim and Rowen; admire his new car; and give him our birthday gifts. That didn't rank even close to his Corvette, but he did like the new toys; and even played with one of them a bit later, but Michael and I weren't in on that; since we were busy most of the day at the Inn from the time we left the church until I got home at ten-thirty or so.

The church service was more fun without the too-hot weather; ditto that for Sunday school; and that's about all of the news from church today. Tim had some extra attention because of his car, and I guess that's news for him; but then I could say that for most of the birthdays with my classmates this year as we each turn sixteen and get to start driving on our own.

Moving along, the work at the Inn was a bit on the crazy side today, and contrary to the jokes; that was not simply because the Landrys were having a family and friends birthday dinner at the late buffet! ;^)

I won't say that it isn't a bit scary when the big men of Tim's family all get together at the same time, but the same could be said when the football team gets together.

Oh wait – most of the football team was there with Tim too – including Michael.

That's right – we took our main break of the day during the second buffet so that we could share the fun with our best friends. It was a bit tougher for Jacob and Miranda to let us do that, but we did work harder before and after that break; and we weren't really much later than normal getting out of the Inn for a Sunday night. I really loved getting to spend that hour or so with Tim, Rowen, and everyone else around us. Tim had more gifts to open, and considering what some of those gifts were; some of his family members had been in on the Corvette surprise. He'll need the help too, since I expect that it's a bit on the expensive side to get insurance for a sixteen-year old teen on a sports car.

I'm going to wander off for a moment or two here; but that has me thinking about several things I want to include in this update.

First up, Tim did get to drive his car today, but couldn't do that with Rowen because he has to wait until tomorrow to take his test. He'll also need to do that around football camp; since that starts tomorrow too. I don't write about it much, but getting his license won't be a problem either; since Tim probably does more driving than Michael, Rowen, and me combined. Michael should probably start getting out more often, since he will be able to get his license next month, but then it won't be a problem for him anyway; and usually isn't for any Magi teen. It will, by the way, be nice for Rowen and I to have boyfriends that can drive during this coming school year; though I have no idea whether we'll have time to actually go anywhere when we'll be so busy with football, band, school, and everything else we'll have on the go.

I'm not putting football and band ahead of school or anything else on that list – they're just what I'm thinking about tonight with our first football game coming up on Friday. Rowen and I will have cheerleading tryouts starting tomorrow, and while I doubt we'll have any Grade Eleven challengers; we will have at least two new members of the squad to work with; and I'm not actually sure about how things will go this year when we'll also be trying to juggle marching band responsibilities with cheerleading at games. That'll be even tougher for the football guys in the band; and we'll need to work all of that out over the next five days. Finally, I think that I'll mention that Tim will be the only one of us to get a car for his birthday this year. That isn't all that unusual for the town kids, but Michael's sure to get razzed about it when his best friend does have a car now; and I expect to get some jokes when it's my turn because Violet did get a car for her sixteenth birthday.

Michael and I will need a car for college, but that's still nearly two years away; and I have that worked out in my personal future plan anyway. That's news for another day, though; so let's move on and get back to the update for today.

The lunch shift at the Inn was one of the busiest of the summer for a non-holiday weekend. That worked out for Michael and me because we put in more time then while others took longer breaks in the afternoon. We did get a lunch break, but then we also helped out with other jobs – including getting a couple of the rooms cleaned after guests checked out. Before you go and start thinking that we had overnight guests at the Inn that are insane, I'll point out that it is possible to check out early and still stay in town for the first buffet sitting! ;^)

When it was time for the buffet prep work, we were there for all of that; worked straight through until the first wave of food went out for the second buffet; and then we joined Tim's birthday dinner party for an hour or so before wishing him a good night and getting back to work. The food, birthday fun, and chat time with Tim and Rowen was collectively the highlight of my day, but then I don't have a shiny Corvette in our driveway; and I'll guess that Rowen made sure that Tim had a much more entertaining rest of the night after they left the Inn.

By the way, there wasn't a Quarry Lake adventure, and we aren't camping tonight, but I'll guess that Tim's birthday budget was more than blown on the car and dinner; and we couldn't exactly stay up late with a camping adventure tonight when football camp starts in the morning – no matter how great that would have been.

After we got back to work in the kitchen, it was tough to keep going for the rest of the evening, but I managed to do that – and have a bit of fun here and there too. When we were finally ready to come home, I walked with Michael, Rebecca, and their parents; but didn't stay for a visit at their house. Michael and I cuddled for about ten minutes on his front porch; said our goodnights in a mostly non-verbal way; and then I came home while he went in with plans to get right to sleep. I would have liked to do that, but had work to do first; and seriously needed some Jacuzzi time too.

I multi-tasked some of the work with the soak in the tub; took a break to do my hair and mostly get ready for cheerleading tryouts tomorrow; and then I got back to work once I was in bed with Mandy. The family business to-do list took longer to finish than I'd hoped, but I didn't have any major time phase energy in me tonight; so I didn't go there. The work that had to be done got finished; and I'll have a bit extra to do tomorrow night – whenever I can get to that with everything else I have on the go tomorrow. There isn't anything important to add to my report for tonight, though, and I really need to get what sleep I can to be ready for those tryouts; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, August 22, 2016

Football season has begun!

Some of the future Magi reading my journal might wonder why I even bother being a cheerleader when I don't write about the sport like a fan at all, and that's a valid point; since my cheerleading really is to support Michael more than anything else. Sure, Rowen and I do have fun most of the time too, but if Tim wasn't a football fanatic, and Michael didn't play because he really likes playing football with his best friend; then Rowen and I wouldn't be cheerleaders.

Our boys are into the game, though; so Rowen and I were at the school with time to spare ahead of the cheerleader tryouts. The temperature was still in the sixties as we got started; and we had a perfect weather day for both the football camp and cheerleader tryouts. Jenny is our team Captain this year, and even though Rowen and I will be in Grade Eleven this year; it still felt a bit strange to have Jenny and Tammy Morris as our senior cheerleaders this year. Tammy, Rowen, and I don't have any competition for our spots on the team this year, but Shannon and Diana do; and we have six girls interested in earning the Grade Nine spots. Emma Norton is one of those Grade Nine girls, and I'm rooting for her; since I'd like to have her on the squad with me.

As for the actual tryouts, Jenny pretty much just followed the routine from last year. We started out with a half-hour of warm-ups; had another half-hour of a mostly-cardio workout; and then we worked on learning one of the half-time routines from last year. That was mostly about getting a look at the younger girls in action, and while there were a few gymnastics-level moves in the routine; it wasn't anything too difficult for any of us to keep up with. We worked on that until lunchtime; Jenny put us into two groups for that; and Rowen and I ended up with half of the younger girls so that we could talk with them and answer any questions they had so far to that point. Our afternoon was split between finding out how versatile our prospective cheerleaders are and working in groups to come up with new routines for our squad. Jenny had me lead the exercises to find out which of the girls could handle increasingly-difficult gymnastics. We spent an hour doing that; and then Rowen and I were again in charge of one group when we worked to come up with new routine ideas.

Rowen and I haven't done any of that this year to get ready for tryouts, but we are pretty good at it; and tried our best to help our little group with learning how to do that too. Having younger kids around in my family helps too, and while Jenny and Tammy are more into targeting teens and young adults with their routine ideas; I'm more family and kid-orientated with mine. Thankfully, it's a good year for that; we came up with an Elena of Avalor themed routine and another one using Zootopia that included some sloth-related humor.

For the record, cheerleading at sloth speed is tougher than you might think! ;^)

We wrapped up our day nearly an hour earlier than the boys did, so Rowen and I sat on the bleachers and watched the rest of the football workout while we waited for our boys. They were having a scrimmage; so we got to have quite a bit of fun with that – especially since Michael and Tim were having a blast out on the field. First up, let's talk about some of our favorite players. We didn't have any doubt that Michael and Tim would be back as wide receivers on offense and cornerbacks on defense. Lucas will have top spot at running back too, and from what we saw today; I'd say that Reid Spencer already has the quarterback spot locked up. Reid isn't actually on my personal list of favorite players, but he is for Michael and Tim because he has good timing and accuracy with his throws to them. The three of them really put on a show today, and with Lucas able to pile up yards on the ground too; they have a lot of potential on offense this year.

I didn't see a lot of surprises during the scrimmage, but I'll mention that Elliot Roberts is looking to replace J.J. as team kicker; we have all of the returning players that are going into Grades Eleven and Twelve; and there is a pretty good turnout of Grade Nine and Ten boys. Let's not comment on the niners, since we won't likely end up with more than one or two of them on the team; and it's a bit early in the camp to guess at that. Reid is sure to get some of his classmates on the team with his this year, and while I won't pick favorites there either; I'll suggest that Julian Sparks was next-best to Reid during that scrimmage; and he's obviously been working with his older brother, Paul, on his football skills.

If he didn't have a girlfriend right now, I might be tempted to invite Jillian to a game or two this season, but the timing is all wrong; so we'll have to look at that another year.

Yes, that might be a hint about something we see in our collective future; but I won't go into any details about that tonight.

Moving along, Rowen and I had to continue waiting for Michael and Tim until they'd hit the showers and gotten cleaned up before we could hang out together until dinnertime. We did that at Michael's house; and then I stayed to have dinner there. Rebecca went out to the farm with Lucas after he was finished his practice, so it was just four of us for dinner; and Michael and I enjoyed getting to spend that time with his parents. After we cleaned up, I needed to go home for a family business meeting, but before I did that; I helped Michael out with a bit of healing so that he wouldn't be sore in the morning after a tough first day of football. I'd have rather spent the evening with him, but we were overdue for a future plans meeting – especially with back-to-school issues to discuss – including for some of the high school seniors this year; and some of the college students we're helping in various ways.

Rebecca and Jenny were included in the chat about our senior class this year; and I'll be involved in that with them much more this fall. It's time to move beyond nudges to actually getting a plan together for them – especially when they need to write their SAT's this fall; and decide on what they'll take at college – and where. That might seem like we're trying to run their lives – and the lives of other teens around here, but that isn't true; since what we're really doing is trying to help make the future we see easier for the people we care about most. I won't suggest that there aren't times when the choices some of us will make aren't tough, but they will always be voluntary; and I am sure that my own choices will be among the toughest.

Being one of the leaders for an ascension of the light isn't going to be all fun and games, so I'll take the good parts and be happy; since the bad parts are truly going to be hard on me.

I don't really want to go there tonight either; so let's get back to the meeting.

We talked about the latest news from the summer construction season, including the news from the work at the Inn. The top story this fall will be the start of the construction for the third and final apartment building. That will begin the week after Labor Day; and it will be ready to open by the end of next May. That's convenient for some of our graduating collegians, and with this apartment building being the only one being built along the river; it'll be very popular with the new group of young adults – including Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, Josiah, and Christina. Jake and Stephanie will be the only couple needing a new home to come back to next May, but our other favorite collegians will be coming home again over the next few years; and this building is mostly meant for them as an interim home during the transition from college students to young families.

That's where the homes and townhouses in the new section of town will come in, though in cases like Jake and Stephanie; the transition is likely to be from living in an apartment to owning the family home. It'll be the younger kids in some of our families that will need to look for other houses to by and live in – though that won't be true for me; since our family home will definitely be Ethan's when it's his turn to take on that responsibility. That's definitely getting a bit ahead of things on our future plans; so I'll try to get back on topic and stay there.

We don't usually talk about my own future plans much, but since I am going into Grade Eleven; it did come up at the meeting tonight. There is still a bit of time to get started on my plans, but one thing that is going to happen this fall is that Aunt Leanne is going to start looking for property to invest in for a townhouse project that will be reasonably close to the college I'll be attending. I guess it isn't too early to report that I'll be going to our State college; since this part of my journal won't be opened up until years after I graduate from college anyway. There are two main reasons for why I will be going to school there. The first is that we'll be within driving distance of home; and the second is that State has the only program around here for Interpreters and Translators – along with the languages department that is large-enough to allow me to take all of the foreign languages I want to have too. They have good programs for Rowen, Tim, and Michael too; but I'll save that news for sometime next year when it will be a bigger deal for us as we collectively get ready for going off to college.

The search for land and the townhouses I want built is mostly for our own needs; and we will need a home-away-from-home for the five years we'll be at college. I have other reasons too, but that's a longer-term part of the plan – including for when Ethan, Ehlana, and some of our cousins and their friends all go off to school too. That's ten and more years out, though; so we don't need to go there either. I'll keep you posted on that too; but don't expect any progress until we need to get going on that by sometime next year. I won't bore you with the details for my college education and the rest of it; since we mostly just talked money and about things I won't need to really deal with until a year from now. There isn't actually anything I need to do right now – or at least there isn't anything that I'm not already doing.

Being a top student in my year is important – even if that is just a fiction we're continuing to run with for my 'public' image. The cheerleading, bands, praise team, and baseball are all important too – especially where I'm one of the leaders. Being in on the fund-raising for the band is a bonus too; and I'll need all of that on my resume for college – especially when I want to be taken seriously about wanting to earn my PhD in just five years. I really don't want to go on about that tonight; so let's keep going with the rest of the meeting news.

Mom had a lot of updates to cover for us; with the highlights including news from the lab; updates on the progress for the repatriation of the archives; and local news that included things like the financials for the Solar-Wind Farm project. Pretty much everything we're doing is going as well or better than planned, and while that doesn't mean that we don't have a lot of challenges; it does mean that we're collectively really good a dealing with all of our family business and future plans issues.

The meeting wrapped up at ten because Dad had work to get done; and I was good with that because it allowed me to get an early start on my own family business work. I took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night first; came up to my room after that; and started working as soon as I was changed and tucked into bed with Mandy. A time phase has allowed me to get the work done in decent time; and I'll be glad to have the extra sleep so that it's easier to keep up with day two of the cheerleading tryouts. It's been a good day, and I hope that trend will continue all week. That might not work out every day, since there is some rain in the forecast for this week, but maybe we'll get lucky; and it'll only rain at night. The famers around here really want some rain, though; so I won't complain if we get wet during our tryouts or band practice.

Speaking of that, I should have mentioned that the BMR crops being grown around here this year are doing great; and much better than anything else. That'll be good for the lab – and for everyone as we expand our agricultural projects and products. Ehlana's doing other research too, but most of those projects will take years more to develop – or even decades for some of the ideas she has for the future. That's going to be fun to watch, since I'll be too busy to help much; but then the lab is going to be just part of the future plans for Magi around here; and we will eventually get everyone involved in exploring and experimenting – whether that's with our Magi talents; or in other areas of our lives.

It's been a long day, and I think I've written myself into nap mode now; so let's wrap this up so that I can get to the sleeping part of my day. I was about to write that I don't have anything else to add; but do need to mention that Tim did get his license today; and he did keep his Corvette close after that – including driving it to Michael's house with Rowen going along for the ride while Michael and I walked home. We didn't go for rides with him too; but likely will sometime this week. He and Rowen were going to go for a longer drive after dinner, but I haven't heard about where they went or what they did with their first chance to get out on their own beyond the usual restrictions the non-driving teens have in our little town.

If I hear anything really good about that at cheerleading practice tomorrow; I'll let you know!

Okay, I think that's it for today, and I really am wiped out now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

This update could be a bit ragged, since it's been a very long day; and feeling that way could very well show up in my writing tonight.

We had rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for most of the day, so it was nice to dodge pretty much all of that during football camp; cheerleader tryouts; and our marching band and teen praise team practices today. The weather was really nice for Tai Chi too, but I won't say that was the case for the rest of the day. Sure, we avoided the rain, but the downside of that was a higher temperature than forecast – higher to the tune of over one hundred on that 'feels like' scale. That made our afternoon workouts and marching band practice fairly draining; but I'll get to that part of the story in a minute.

As I mentioned, Tai Chi by the river was good; Michael and I split up for breakfast; and then we walked to the school together once we were both ready to go there. Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana spent the morning at the lab after Mom did a bit of work around the house first; and then I missed out on a play afternoon with Naomi and Aiden – though they ended up spending half the afternoon indoors when it got too hot out to play. Dad's busy at the office this week; and there seems to be more work for him heading into the end of the month – particularly with some of his farmer clients as we head toward harvest and they deal with changes and plans that often have to do with work going on through the lab. I'm sure there are better places in the archives to read all about how that part of the lab business is going, but I will mention that every farmer working with the lab is doing better with the new crops that Ehlana has helped to create.

Our tryouts ended up being a bit different today compared to my first two years of doing them. That was because Jenny surprised pretty much all of us by going ahead and picking her squad at the end of the afternoon. I don't know if it was the heat or some other factors, but while I wouldn't have done it that way; I also didn't disagree with her choices. Our six returning cheerleaders are back; and the Grade Nine picks were Emma Norton and Bethany Cane. Shannon's boyfriend, Gil, is Bethany's brother; so they're both happy to be on the team together. Emma's just as happy to be on the team with Rowen and me; and I know she'll have a lot of fun with us.

I've skipped over the morning workout news, but as I think about it; having Jenny pick the squad really is the main news of the day. The other girls are disappointed, and Jenny could have handled that a bit better too; but the rest of us picked up the slack on that and I think we'll all be okay. Of course there is the possibility that we were all just too drained by then to think anything; but my day wasn't even close to being over; so let's move this along.

Jenny wrapped up our day with those announcements at around three-thirty, and today, instead of waiting for Michael and Tim; Rowen and I headed for our homes to hit the showers; get changed; and bring food back for all four of us before we'd be starting marching band practice. That was partly because I needed to be back at the school early to help with incoming orders and money for the fruit and vegetable boxes, and since they'll be here on the Friday of the long weekend; that kept me busy right up until the practice started. This is the last holiday weekend order until Thanksgiving; so I was really happy to see that most of my fellow band members took advantage of the opportunity to sell the extra boxes to visiting family and friends – or to family and friends they'll be going away to visit this year.

Band practice was longer than usual despite the extreme heat, but we needed to make sure that we were ready for the game on Friday night; and also needed to work out the logistics of that. We won't have all of the Maple Valley members for most games because they're either on the Maple Valley football team or cheerleading squad; but we'll still have more than enough musicians on each instrument to make do; and we'll shuffle a few parts around for the games. As I've mentioned before, our half-time routine isn't going to get us an invitation to a college bowl or pro game – or even a big high school match, but we do sound good; and we'll likely surprise our small-town crowds.

So, we worked late at our band practice; that meant that we were late getting started on our teen praise team practice; and putting in some extra time on that practice too all added up to no time for any Michael and me time once we could finally go home for the night. The teen praise team practice went great too, but we were also all running out of steam by then; and that contributed to the need for an extra run-through on some of the songs we'll be singing on the holiday weekend. I didn't stay for long at Michael's house, but by then, he was in need of some proactive healing; so I helped him out with that; kissed him goodnight; and then came home so that I could get to work on my family business to-do list.

Before getting to that, I had a visit with Mom and Dad; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then filled the tub so that I could enjoy some Jacuzzi time while multi-tasking the work. Despite the fact that I was already pretty much fried by then, I time phased the soak in the tub and all of the work too; which is the only reason that I'm not still awake and writing this report at three or four in the morning. The work is done, though, and I can still get a handful of hours of down time before I'll need to be awake and going at full-speed again; so it will hopefully be worth the effort.

I'll let you know about that, but that's all I have for now; I really do need to crash and nap sooner than later; and I can always add anything I might have missed with the next update anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

We had some thunderstorms before dawn this morning; and more again tonight; but rain didn't get in the way of our daytime activities.

My day started out with Tai Chi by the river, and while it was still a bit wet out thanks to the storm; it was still nice to be out by the river for that workout- even though Michael couldn't join us today. He was working the breakfast shift for as long as he could before football practice; so I didn't even get to see him much before we were both busy with our respective practices. Since we already had our squad picked, Jenny had us get right into working up the cheers and routines we'll need for the game on Friday; and Rowen and I led that effort. Jenny only did a short warm-up and round of exercises; we spent an hour split up into two groups to work on those routines; and then we spent the rest of the morning learning the cheers and routines she liked best. I was surprised when she called it a day at lunchtime and gave us the afternoon off, but while I'd have preferred to work all afternoon too; her decision was popular with everyone else – including Rowen.

With Michael busy at football camp, I decided to go to the Inn after getting cleaned up; and Miranda was happy to add me to the crew for lunch and the afternoon. She's having a tough time this week with being short-staffed thanks to football and cheerleading every day; so I was glad to help her out when I had the unexpected chance to do that. Jenny could have done the same, but I soon found out from Rebecca that we were given the afternoon off because she's spending the rest of the day – and likely the night – at Quarry Lake with Evan. He is heading off to college, but doesn't start until September; and apparently gets a nice bonus for working through to the Labor Day weekend.

I don't have anything newsworthy to report from my time at the Inn, but I ended up working through the afternoon except for a mid-afternoon break that Rebecca and I took together; and then we worked on the dinner prep line until it was time to get to our ball practice. Michael was there for a while too, but he really only had time to eat and do a bit of cleaning before his ball practice; and he was already pretty much wiped out before heading to the park.

Rowen met up with Rebecca and me at the school; we had a pretty good practice with our team; and then two out of three of us headed for the park to meet up with our boyfriends while Rebecca went back to the Inn to see if her parents needed help with the close. Michael had been told not to do that, so I went home with him for a while; and Rowen took Tim home to his house because he was wiped out and really sore by then too. I can't help him out with that, but I could help Michael again – and did. I'm glad that I could do that, but it also tired me out a lot after an already too-busy day, so we had a bit of cuddle time until his parents and sister got home from the Inn; and then I came home to get started on my bedtime work.

The storms had started by then, so I got fairly soaked just with that little run home; and only stopped in the office to say goodnight to everyone on my way up to my Jacuzzi. I really needed a soak in the tub by then; multi-tasked that with family business work; and did everything while in a time phase right up until now. There wasn't any other way to do everything and still be sleeping in decent time; but that's also used up pretty much every scrap of energy I had left in me tonight.

Sleeping is now at the top of my to-do list; there isn't anything else I absolutely need to write about now; and I'm way-past ready to crash even if there was; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Take yesterday without the afternoon rain and evening baseball practice; and you pretty much have everything you need to know about my day. Instead of baseball, I worked at the Inn until close; and saved the Magi-powered healing for my boyfriend until we got back to his house after that. I had an afternoon break too; spent that time at the school watching Michael's football camp and part of the game scrimmage; and then went back to work at the Inn nearly an hour before he was done with football for the day.

While I don't have any other personal news, the football team was picked this morning; and the workouts today were all about getting ready for the game tomorrow night. I'll add more details about the team with the update tomorrow, but there weren't any major surprises; and Jimmy Sheldon was the only Grade Nine guy to make the team this year. From what I've seen this week; I'm predicting a really good season for our team. They're a lot better than a year ago; and could very easily be better than our championship team from two years ago.

After getting home, I pretty much repeated the tub time and family business work scenario from last night; including the time phase. That has me wiped out again, and we'll be having an even longer day tomorrow with the football game; so I'm not going to drag this out. I will add that we'll be out of town for that game, and we'll have an especially-long day because Winfield Farms is a two-hour bus ride from here, depending on traffic; so we'll have that trip home to look forward to after the game. Add in all of the work for the band, football, and cheerleading gear that we'll need to deal with here at home and at the game; and it is going to be a real challenge to handle everything – especially when this is a first for us with the marching band!

That all adds up to one very good reason for me to call it a night and get some sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, August 26, 2016

There's a lot to write about today, so let's start from the beginning; and I'll try not to skip around too much.

Tai Chi was indoors thanks to the tail-end of the overnight thunderstorms that kept things wet for us. Breakfast was normal weekday fare, but I was glad to have that time with Mom, Dad, and the twins when I knew that I'd be gone most of the day. Michael was at the Inn for the breakfast shift again, so I didn't talk to him much; and he was busy with football after that. Jenny only had us do cheerleading practice for the morning again, and that worked out better for me because I was able to help out with the lunch shift at the Inn before going back to the school to help with getting everything ready to go for the cheerleaders and marching band.

Thanks to football practice, we didn't have a lot of help getting the music gear together; so we barely had that done when the buses arrived for the band and team. We were mostly dealing with the larger musical instruments and all of the gear for the color guard, but that was still enough gear to fill half a bus; and the rest of the space on our two buses was for the band members while the football team had their own bus. I would have rather gone with Michael, but that wasn't an option; and the players were going to be kept busy with ongoing team meetings anyway. We were ready to hit the road by three-thirty; and we collectively had a very excited gang of teens and tweens in all of the buses. Rowen and I sat together; and we had some of the younger kids around us – most of them looking for support while heading out on their first big adventure of this type. That group included Jessica, Patrick, Scott, Lindsay, Emma, and Geraldine; and we had fun hanging out with them and keeping ourselves entertained during the long trip.

By the way, the farm kids might be used to buses, but I'm not; and starting out this season with one of the longest bus rides we'll have reminded me of why I was glad that we didn't need to use buses over the past two football seasons! ;^)

I'm not going to get into much detail for the interaction of our band members, but there are some stories developing with the younger tweens and teens; and some of those stories include friendships between kids from our school and Maple Valley students. There is sure to be news of the teen drama variety now that we'll be getting together every Friday for Football games along with the Tuesday practices; and that part of our adventures is going to keep life interesting. This was my first visit to Winfield Farms. We drew them for this opening match because of our playoff game against them last season; and haven't been up against them in our past two regular seasons. Winfield Farms is a bit bigger than Witch Falls, but not by much; and their high school is a few decades older than ours. Everything was in good shape, though, and the locker room that was set aside for the visiting team cheerleaders has likely had a recent make-over.

We were at the school in time to have a band warm-up; though the football players couldn't be with us for that while they continued to get ready for the game. We then had time to have dinner, which was a bag lunch for Rowen and me while the rest of the band and our fellow cheerleaders were about evenly split between those of us that brought our food and the group that picked up food to go from the stores or restaurants in town. Rowen and I didn't want to do that because we had extra work to do between band and cheerleading; and we needed to be ready to switch from cheerleading to marching band mode very quickly at half-time. We also need to help Michael and Tim out; since they had even less time to get ready for band at half-time – just the time allotted for the half-time shows for the cheerleading squads from both schools.

I'm missing lots of those little details for the pre-game activities, but the what we did isn't as important as the fun we had doing everything together with our friends. That does bring us up to game time; and let's start with the cheerleading action first.

Jenny is a very out-going girl, and she loves the attention that comes with being head cheerleader; so she was in her element tonight as we took to the sidelines and got ready to cheer for our team. Emma and Bethany were very nervous compared to the rest of us, and since Jenny and Tammy didn't even seem to notice that; Rowen and I took care of our junior cheerleaders to make sure they were okay. I also want to mention that Rowen and I got a lot of attention tonight, and while this will sound conceited; that's because we're the two hottest cheerleaders on our squad this year. Please don't take that the wrong way, and I'd certainly never say that to anyone, but it's true; and we don't want most of that attention. Yes, that is inconsistent with joining the squad in the first place; so just keep in mind that we are doing this to be around Michael and Tim while they're immersed in football from August until Thanksgiving, and while they don't really like the attention we get from other guys; they don't seem to mind that we are attractive-enough to earn that attention! ;^)

Moving along, our cheerleading work got started when our team was introduced and ran out onto the field – and eventually to the sidelines on our side of the field. We've had another hot day with rain and storms in the area, and Winfield Farms has had a fair bit of wet this week too. The football field was in fairly decent shape despite that; which was good for the game and our half-time show activities. There was a bit of an opening ceremony at the fifty-yard line that was mostly all about the Winfield Farms team and their achievements from last season; and then the game started with the kick-off to our team as Winfield Farms won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.

There's a very good chance that they almost immediately regretted that decision; since we scored a touchdown on that first drive and never looked back from there. Michael earned that first touchdown, so I was fired up about that; and he went on to have a great game! Reid Spencer gets credit for that – and for helping Tim with really great passes too; but Michael and Tim were simply too good and too fast for the Winfield team to keep up with them. I won't bore you with the play-by-play, but in the first half, Michael had three touchdowns, including one pick-six on defense in the second quarter; and Tim had one touchdown to get us to a twenty-eight to ten lead going into the break. Tim might have only had the one touchdown to that point, but he and Michael both had a lot of yards and catches; and Reid had a scary-good completion percentage too. The eighteen point lead was closer than the game actually was – mostly because the one touchdown that Winfield Farms did earn was thanks to just one good play; and the field goal was a short-field opportunity that they couldn't turn into another touchdown.

Okay, we're up to the half-time part of our night; and it was time for some of us to kick it into high gear. That started out with the half-time routine for our cheerleading squad; and we were allowed to go first so that we'd have time to get into band mode while the Winfield Farms cheerleaders did their routine. Jenny went with a routine that she and Tammy had put together; so we were a hit with the teens and young adults for our music choices; and the acrobatics were fairly intense too – thanks to Rowen and me. That works for us, since we each have our own strengths, and while I still prefer the themed or story-telling routines more; it is sometimes fun to just rock it out and get a bit crazy with the tricks!

We didn't have time to enjoy that success, since we needed to do a quick change and get with the band. I also got Michael's saxophone ready to go; so it was ready for him by the time that he joined us – along with the other football players that are also in the band. When it was time; we marched out onto the field; began playing the first of the songs we'll be playing at Disney; and worked through our simple marching formation that ends with us standing in a double 'R' that could likely be seen from the top rows of the bleachers above us. As I've mentioned, it isn't a great feat of marching, but we do sound good; and our little show seemed to be a hit with the Winfield Farms fans.

By the way, fundraising was going on at the game, and while I was out of the loop for that; I have already heard that we earned a nice bit of money – and sold at least one hundred fruit and vegetable boxes in addition to the raffle tickets sales that are part of another fundraiser that isn't really going to get started until next weekend at the game and at the park during the holiday festivities. I'll add more on that sometime next week or weekend; mostly because there are actually still details being worked out on that for the list of prizes.

After we marched off the field again, the cheerleaders and footballers needed to hurry up to get back in uniform and out onto the field. That was tougher for Michael, Tim, and the other guys; but we all managed to do that; and then it was back to the football game! Winfield Farms started out with the ball, but they didn't keep it for long when Tim got an early interception. He didn't score on that play, but Michael did earn his fourth touchdown two plays later thanks to yet another really good throw from Reid. Winfield Farms answered with a long, drawn out possession that ended in a field goal; and then we came back with Tim's second touchdown – a long run after the catch spectacle that really showed off just how much bigger and stronger he is this year as he broke several tackle attempts on the way to the end zone.

We were ahead forty-two to thirteen by then, and Coach Robinson made the call to ease up after that – on offense. Winfield Farms tried big plays after that to try and get back into the game; which is why Michael and Tim each had one more interception; and Winfield Farms only managed one more field goal before the end of the game. Our team had three field goals in the fourth quarter. Michael and Tim weren't thrown many passes after that last touchdown because Coach just kept getting Reid to hand Lucas the ball and let him run with it. He didn't score any touchdowns tonight; but he did get one hundred and forty yards on the ground – a really good number for any high school player. The final score was fifty-one to sixteen, and while that was tough for the Winfield Farms team and fans; it was a great start to our season – and much more fun for us than that first loss was last year.

We did take some time to celebrate after the game, and Rowen and I had extra fun with Tim and Michael; but then we needed to get moving again – starting with hitting the showers and getting the cheerleading and football gear packed up and into the buses. Most of the band gear had been loaded by then already thanks to the rest of our band mates, but while they did have to wait for us; nobody seemed to mind doing that – especially when getting snacks or other treats had been an option after the game – sometimes at a discount for food or drinks that would need to be tossed out if not sold. Rowen and I got to have a few of those treats thanks to Jessica and Patrick; but we didn't get around to that until we were on the bus and heading for home.

Here's where we get to the part of the day where the trip was getting tough for some of us; though we still kept ourselves entertained as we talked about the game; our first 'gig'; and all of the usual teen chat topics. It was past-one by the time we were back at the school; some of us needed to stay there for another forty-five minutes or so to get all of the gear put away; and then Michael walked me home. Tim and Rowen went with us as far as Rowen's house; and then we left them there because they didn't need our help with the goodnight hugs and kisses – anymore than we needed their help with ours. Michael came inside so that we could do that – and so that I could share a bit of Magi healing with him. He was one of the best players out there tonight; but he still took some hits; and had a tough game from that perspective. Most people don't realize just how many yards a wide receiver can run in a game, since the only yards that count are when they have the ball in hand; but that doesn't include the running in every other play – which is both on offense and defense for most of the players on our team. I was glad to do that for him; but doing that has helped to wear me down even more than I already was.

Unfortunately for me, my night wasn't quite over yet after Michael went home – and he needed to do that because he's working the breakfast shift; and will be doing that on just about four hours of sleep. Mom, Dad, and the twins were sleeping by then, so I only stopped in for goodnight kisses with my brother and sister. Ehlana woke up long-enough to ask about the game and advise me that Mom, Dad, and their team beat the Raiders to win their last regular season game of the year; and the bandits will be the home team for their co-ed division in the championship game a week from Sunday.

Once I was in my room and ready for bed; it was time for the email and computer check; and then I had to deal with some family business work that needed to be dealt with sooner instead of later because the opportunity was time-sensitive. That added an hour to my night, but I didn't have a time phase left in me; so I worked as fast as I could; and got the job done. There were some family and friends emails to read and answer too, and while that didn't take long; it did still add more time to the conscious part of my day.

That's why I can be sure that I'll be unconscious once I get to the nap I still have time for before getting started on my chores and work day at home and the Inn. My weekend is going to be more work than play time from here, but there will be some fun mixed in – especially with the camping or sleepover we'll have tomorrow night while the parents are out at the annual end-of-baseball-season party at Sheldon's. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I will be among the babysitters – whether we're all here and camping or split up with the kids at several houses; so we'll have to make that a work and play night that will hopefully include a bit of cuddle time with Michael for me – even if we won't be able to have a co-ed sleepover.

I can report on that tomorrow, though, and it's way-past time for me to crash now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

This report is coming to you from one of the girls' tents by the river in our back yard. With just over a week left to go in our summer holidays, I'll be honest and admit that I'd rather be having another co-ed camping adventure with Michael; but that isn't an option when we literally have dozens of kids with us – including my brother, sister, cousins, and a lot of their little friends. I'm already getting the story for the day out of order, though, so let's back up and start at the beginning.

My morning plans for Tai Chi and breakfast at home changed when Michael called and asked for help at the Inn. I was happy to help out, and had fun working with Michael, Jacob, and Miranda; but that did mean messing up the start to my chores part of the day – and we had a lot to get done today to get ready for the holiday weekend. That also meant that I've pretty much worked all day – if you include the babysitting as work too. I got home again from the breakfast shift at nine-thirty; got right to work on mowing the lawn and the rest of my chores; and worked at them until three o'clock except for a short break to eat a sandwich and drink a bottle of water. Then it was time to set up the tents and get ready for the camping part of our adventure in babysitting.

I had about an hour to do that, because I needed to be at the Inn for my scheduled dinner shift so that I could help out while Michael was at his ball game, but Mom and Dad had teen help from some of the other babysitters tonight – including Rowen and Jessica. We really do have a major camping event going on here tonight, and while not all of the teens are babysitting too; we do have at least one babysitter for every two or three kids. We had eight tents set up by the time I needed to hit the shower and get ready for work; and then I was on the run again and off to the Inn to help with the dinner prep work. There was some end-of-season baseball dinners going on at the Inn tonight too, but Mom and Dad weren't in on that because we had family and friends barbecue at our house instead. It would have been great to be there for it, but that wasn't an option, and if I hadn't been working; I'd have been at the park for Michael's game anyway.

The start of our dinner rush was more of a flood of customers; and that was almost entirely due to the one blast of bad weather that we had today – a thunderstorm that rolled through town starting a half-hour or so after I got to the Inn. For some reason, we had quite a few people decide to stop in to eat while getting out of the rain too; though I don't think we ended up with many extra customers – they just stopped to eat a bit earlier than planned. While that was true, the sports dinner parties ahead of the fun at Sheldon's didn't get started until six-thirty so that store owners could join in for that fun if they wanted to do that with their team mates.

By the way – yes, the rain affected the barbeque at my house, but they didn't eat until six-thirty either; so the only change to the plan was that they ate indoors instead of outside – and the rain had mostly moved on by the time Dad and the other grillmasters needed to get to work.

Michael's game was delayed too, but he was still at the park on time, and while the ball diamond was a bit damp; it wasn't bad-enough to cancel the games tonight. I did hear that there were two of the three o'clock games that were shortened due to the imminent thunderstorm, but they were far-enough into those games to call winners too. I won't bore you with second-hand details from Michael's game, but the fifteen-to-four victory for his Werewolves team over the Ghouls should give you a pretty good idea of how well Michael and Tim did today. Tim was motivated too; since he doesn't like losing – even when it's after a big football win that would give them a good reason for being too tired to play a good baseball game.

I worked at the Inn until Michael was finished his game; he came straight to the Inn; and then he stayed to work until close while I got home to start in on my babysitting job. Mom and Dad were already getting ready to go out; and Rowen and Tim were in charge of the kids and junior babysitters while they – and most of the parents – were busy doing that. The campfire had been set up too; but we didn't start it until shortly before nine o'clock. Instead of doing that, we played tag with the kids; and everyone playing had glow sticks, bracelets, or other options so that we could find each other as it became dark outside. I had a handicap in that game while running around with Brianna in my arms, but we had a blast; and the snuggles, giggles, and kisses were worth the effort – even though we rarely tagged anyone without getting help from kids and teens willing to 'let' Brianna tag them.

By the time we sat down for the campfire, I was ready for a nap. That wasn't an option, but I did get to have more cuddle time with Brianna – and we both cuddled with Michael for parts of the night after he joined us at a bit after ten o'clock. We also took turns playing my guitar and leading the campfire songs; but Brianna was happy to cuddle with Ehlana and Naomi for a while; Rowen had a turn with her too; and then Michael and I had her during the toddler-rated scary campfire stories that Tim and Lucas told the kids right before we took a break to get our most-junior campers ready for bed and tucked in for the night at eleven-thirty.

That last bit of news seems far too clinical for the fun we had, but that says more about how tired I am than anything else; and all you really need to know is that we've had one of those really good nights here – even with all of the babysitting work that has gone along with the entertainment. The work and fun can co-exist, and if you doubt me; try having a campfire with a lot of kids and teens; add a dirty, fragrant diaper to the mix; and let the fun begin! ;^)

Sorry, Brianna, but you have a pretty good memory too; so you'll likely remember this anyway – even without the help of my journal to remind you. The good news for you with this little moment in your life is that I'm sure that our family will collectively have much better stories to tell about you than this one in the future. Then again, Mom does still occasionally bring up that story about me trying to change my own diaper every now and then; so I could be wrong about that!

Moving along, once we had the youngest campers tucked in, and most of them were sleeping; it was time to get to work on putting the next batch of kids to bed. Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden were among those kids; and Rowen and I were two of the babysitters getting the girls ready for bed. The campfire rolled on without us while we were busy; and it was twelve-thirty by the time we could rejoin Michael, Tim, the rest of the teens, and the older kids and tweens for more music and some scarier stories. We stayed around the fire until one-thirty; doused it then; and then we all started to take turns getting ready for bed too. Rowen took a gang of girls up to my room to take turns using the bathrooms on the third floor while I stayed and kept an eye on the sleeping kids; I took a turn once I had babysitting relief; and then a group of us teens sat by the river to wind down and talk until nearly a half-hour after Mom and Dad got home.

They stopped by to say goodnight and make sure that all was well, but then they left us to our work and headed for bed. We didn't get the party report yet, but it did sound as though they had fun too. I'll also mention that my parents were not two of the designated drivers tonight, and while they don't ever drink too much; it was nice to see them get a break from all of the responsibility for a few hours and even get chauffeured home from their night out!

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I weren't the first to head for our tents, but we weren't the last either – mostly because some of the teen couples were still too busy with some moonlit make-out time. I'd have been okay with taking Michael somewhere to do that too, but we really aren't into doing that kind of thing in public; so we'll have to find another time for that kind of fun.

We tell ourselves that far too often, but it's the way it is for us; and we'll survive.

Once Rowen and I were in our tent with Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna, we got into our sleeping bags; Rowen fell asleep about ten minutes later; and I've been doing my bedtime computing while everyone else has been sleeping. A bit of family business work came up that I've dealt with too, but I've mostly been doing the usual bedtime computing and this report. There's a good chance that I'll regret staying up this late when I'm working another full Sunday shift at the Inn tomorrow, but to family business work wasn't something I wanted to leave undone either; and it has just been that kind of day anyway so I'm not surprised at how it is ending.

The key word there is 'ending' and that's what I need to be doing with this report. Our wake-up call is going to be very early; we have a major gang to feed and get ready for church; and that's only the start of my day. While I will be tied up with work, Grandma and Grandpa are also getting home from their trip too; so it is going to be a busy family day as well. I can write about all of that tomorrow, though, and you can flip a digital page to read all about it whenever you're doing that in my future; so let's just wrap this up and I'll get started on my nap. It's been fun, but it's time for me to run – or stop running for a while; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, August 28, 2016

This journal update is coming to you from the waiting room at the medical center. I'm surrounded by sleeping kids; and the parents are busy with various jobs while we all wait for Aunt Grace to give birth to the newest member of our family. I'll get to the rest of that story-so-far in a minute; but let's go back to the start of my day and start the rest of this recap from there.

My wake-up call came earlier than I'd have liked when Brianna needed a diaper change and some cuddle and chat time while drinking a bottle about an hour before dawn. That was fun, but I didn't get even a real nap in last night – just some light rest where I was half-conscious and mentally drifting along while Brianna quietly entertained me until it was time to get up for Tai Chi by the river. I had Brianna with me for that too, so that helped to get the day off to a great start; and then it was time to get busy through until we got to church with our gang of campers and all of the parent-volunteers that helped to make doing that possible.

This time, my jobs included kid control; getting all of the younger girls fed and ready for church; and we helped out with the campground tear-down too – a job that happened as we went along because there were thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon and we didn't want to leave that work for after lunch. Rowen was with me for most of the girl-time; and we had Michael and Tim with us to help out with the kids during breakfast. That meal was a bit of a work overload for the parents, but Mom and Dad did get lots of help; and it's amazing how many pancakes and sausages you can cook up in an hour when you have enough hands at the task – and can use the barbeques and a half-dozen electric griddles and frying pans in addition to the stove and oven. I really am glad that Mom put me on kid control, and while that was just as much work for those of us with that job; we definitely had more fun playing dress-up and doing hair and make-up with our girls than the parents had with the clean-up from feeding half the kids and teens in town.

Okay, it wasn't half; but we did have more than fifty at breakfast – including the parents.

Even the walk to church was fun this morning, and since we picked up friends and neighbors along the way; we practically had a parade by the time we reached the church. Maybe all of that fun was the start of things for getting to where I am right now, but Aunt Grace was actually looking really great during that walk; and she was in a great mood too after a kid-free night – or as close as she could get to having that while this close to delivering their baby. ;^)

I can admit that welcoming a new cousin to the family wasn't even remotely on my mind this morning, and while we enjoyed the service and Sunday school; my focus was already more on the imminent shift at the Inn – and spending the day with Michael – than on anything else. With just a week to go in our summer holidays, we were expecting a big crowd for lunch and the buffets today; and our customers didn't disappoint us on that. The new student-employees are coming along, and that's helping a lot, but we still have more seating space than the staff to keep up with everything right now; so we all need to work harder to keep up. The church service wasn't a long one today, and that helped to give us more time to get ready for the lunch rush; but it was almost all work after that for me – except for the afternoon break that Michael and I took together once the clean-up was finished from the lunch crowd.

That break was also the only chance I've had to see Grandma and Grandpa today. They didn't get home until shortly before Michael and I needed to be back at the Inn for the buffet prep work, so even that visit was too-short; but I am glad that they're home safely and had a fun adventure. I haven't written about their trip this time, and don't expect to include any of their travel stories in my journal, but they have their own journals; and their storytelling will be better than my second-hand recaps could ever be anyway. I don't know how much time I'll get to spend with them this week, but I'll also add that they aren't here at the med center tonight because they're jet-lagged and need the sleep more to start getting back on home time again.

Not only have I missed out on the first round of storytelling from Grandpa today while I've been working; I missed out on the family buffet at the Inn fun too. The jokes are already flying around here that it was the buffet that put Aunt Grace into labor, and I'm sure that Miranda and Jacob will find that amusing when they hear about it tomorrow. Jacob, by the way, will not be able to hear the entire story; and we'll likely keep most of the Magi-related jokes in the family anyway. I don't plan on investigating whether buffets at the Inn have an impact on pre-natal Magi power development, but if Ehlana really wants to do that; she's welcome to go for it!

This does seem like a good spot to take a side-trip; so let's do that and talk about the Magi gift in relationship to the Proctor family.

Mom and I were not surprised to see that Zack and Brianna are strong Magi, or that Leah and Sebastian are strong too; considering how talented their parents are – though that is especially true for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne. We are surprised with Caleb and our about-to-arrive cousin, though; and that does seem to be something that has changed in our family. Yes, Mom's pre-natal program makes a difference for all newborns, but this is more than that; and could be part of the changes that will come naturally as we move toward the Ascension of the Light. That is something we'll research, though I doubt I'll be involved in that very much; since I'll be too busy with other responsibilities.

Getting back to the news of the day, Michael and I were back to work in time to help with the pre-buffet action in the kitchen; and our break time after that was very limited as we all struggled to keep up with having a full house plus extras two times over with the buffets. We didn't really serve every person within fifty miles of the town, but by the time we were done; it sure felt like it. While I missed the family time today; I'm not missing out on the most-important family adventure of the day – even if some of us are missing out on getting some sleep. I'm also missing the sofa sleepover I wanted to have with Michael. He came home with me after we closed the Inn, and I had every intention of keeping him with me all night, but then the call came in about Aunt Grace less than an hour after we got home; and I needed to send Michael home so that I could help out here at the clinic.

I would have liked to have Michael with me, but that wasn't an allowed option; and he needs to get some sleep too so he'll be ready for football practice in the morning. After seeing him out, I grabbed a quick shower and got changed; helped out with getting kids from three families to the med center; and then played with the kids that were awake while watching the sleeping kids and helping out with the wards around the clinic. We'd considered putting the kids all at one house and having me stay there, but while Uncle Mark is handling the delivery and Aunt Grace is busy for obvious reasons; Mom, Uncle Adam, Aunt Deborah, and Aunt Leanne are all needing to help out with the baby. Having me handle the wards makes it a bit easier for them; and we – the kids – all want to be here anyway.

Being allowed to do that is a change from the norm around here with Magi kids, but we still have more to do on that; since I couldn't invite Michael or Rowen; and most Magi kids won't get to know about any of my cousins' talents until they're eighteen.

Going through what has been hours of labor already has been tough on Aunt Grace – and on most of us; since we didn't get a lot of sleep last night. We still have some time before the baby will be here, but I'm writing this update now because I've had time to get some work done while the kids are sleeping; and I'll need to put my computer away when it's closer to the time for the last big push to delivery. When we get there, I'll need to focus on my wards – and keeping my younger cousins safe from the mental blasts that are inevitable from a strong baby Magi.

By the way, yes, we know the baby's name, but I'm saving that news for my next update – even though that's a bit silly for a journal that Magi can read in batches in my future. I'm not trying to wrap this up to get sleep that I can't have while using my gifts for the wards and shields here; so let's take a quick look at the week ahead.

We're obviously going to have a new member added to our family by sometime Monday morning; and then I'll likely be trying to get through my day – and cheerleading practice – on no sleep. We'll have football and cheerleading every day this week; the rest of my music and sports practices; and a very busy start to the holiday weekend that is going to include the next batch of fruit and vegetable boxes deliveries on Friday in addition to the second football game of the season on Friday night. I'll try to help Mom out with the ongoing holiday weekend prep work too, and I may need to help out with more kid control if my aunts and uncles need it while helping Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace with the new baby.

That has me thinking about baby showers, and I should mention that my lack of comments on baby showers in our family is all about the fact that we haven't had many of them. We do get gifts for the new parents and babies, but while we're happy to help out other new parents around here; we don't have baby showers for parents that don't need the financial help. Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace have both done fairly-well for themselves in the years before they got married; and they definitely don't have to worry about money now either. I'm only mentioning this to explain why you don't hear about things like that with me, and while that's sometimes because I'm not involved in those events; that isn't the case here.

That brings us up to next weekend in the look ahead, but there isn't a lot for me to write about with that; since I expect to be working nearly all of the time except for while I'm playing ball in the championship game and when I'm cheering for Mom, Dad, and their team in the co-ed championship game. I'll probably miss Michael's game while helping out at the Inn; but I'll keep you posted on that; since I might be able to work that into my schedule. Michael and I also have the Sunday service that the teen praise team will be leading; and I expect to be working the rest of the time either at the Inn or helping out with the fundraiser booth at the park for the marching band.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone there when I'm this tired; since now I'm thinking sleepy thoughts. That isn't an option, though; so I'd better wrap this up and see about getting a cup of coffee to help with staying awake.

I'm heading toward twenty-four hours of being awake now, and it'll be at least eight or ten more before I can think about having a nap, but I'll be busy most of that time; and this next few hours will be fun!

Feel free to flip the digital page to find out all about my newest cousin, but I'm going to go and get that cup of coffee now, and then wait for that to happen in real time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, August 29, 2016

Congratulations, Aunt Grace, Uncle Mark, and the rest of our collective family – it's a girl!

Welcome to the family, Faith Anne Everett!

Faith was born at five twenty-two in the morning; weighed in at eight pounds, two ounces; and arrived with a Magi-powered mental blast that was very impressive for such a sweet, adorable little bundle of joy. I'll add that part of our perception of that was due to fatigue, and Faith isn't as strong as other Magi kids like Naomi and Brianna; but she is still a very strong Magi – something quite interesting when you consider that she's descended from a mother and grandfather that each did not inherit the Magi abilities. We do know that happens now and then, but this makes twice with one non-Magi mother; so Caleb and Faith will be worth keeping an eye on as they grow up.

She is adorable, and while I didn't get to spend much time with her; we did have a fun little cuddle. I didn't try any mental connection of any kind with her so that she didn't get overwhelmed by that, but Aunt Leanne helped Caleb with an empathic link with his new sister; and that's part of the new program Mom has worked up that she is sure will help Magi siblings to have a better relationship with each other. That, by the way, is something that she thinks that Dad and Aunt Leanne did on their own without knowing it at the time; and she thinks that there is a connection between that kind of bonding or lack of it when looking at other sibling relationships that we know of from around town.

That's getting this update a bit off-track; so let's get back to the story.

The last hour or so of Aunt Grace's labor was tough for her, for Faith, and for those of us helping out with either the physical or mental needs of the delivery. Faith was stressed out for quite a while after she was with us in the 'real' world; so I needed to keep my wards up for more than an hour before she was ready to settle down and get some sleep. By then, it was time to get kids fed; I needed to go home and get ready for cheerleading practice; and I eventually made it to the school in time for that – after one more quick stop at the clinic to make sure that everything was still okay there. The parents had some grandparent support by then, so I wasn't needed for babysitting; but that was a job I helped out with a lot today once I was done with cheerleading at noon.

My cheerleading practice was a bit too easy, and while that makes Jenny a very popular Captain; our work ethic is definitely a bit light this year so far. I won't complain about that today, since I was tired and didn't really feel all that motivated to push hard all day; but practicing like this will affect our cheerleading a bit – if only with how detailed we can make our sideline and half-time routines. Maybe we need to do that when keeping up with marching band too, but I'll keep you posted on how that's going for us; and I hope we'll still do our part to entertain the spectators at all of the games!

Jenny wrapped up our practice by a quarter-to-twelve; so I had time to get home and help Mom with making lunch for a small gang of parents, grandparents, and kids. We hosted both the lunch and dinner meals today for the family and some friends; so I did a fair bit of cooking and cleaning to go along with my afternoon and evening babysitting gigs. I had some help for all of that work; though the doctors and nurse in the family were busy all day at the med center; and the parents were either working too; busy with a new baby; or helping Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace. I had some grandparent support in the afternoon; Rowen joined us for a couple of hours at the park followed by a swim in the river and ice cream snack break; and Michael was with me from the time he was finished his baseball practice until he went home at ten o'clock so that he could get some sleep and be ready for football again in the morning.

He helped out with kid control while I was busy in the kitchen with Mom and the other dinner-cooking volunteers; we had a gang of kids with us by the river while we all ate that meal; and then we were both on clean-up duty while the parents and grandparents kept up with the kids for a while. After that, we had another trip to the park for some more playground action; one more, fairly short swim; and then a communal bedtime snack at nine o'clock before parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents took kids home for the night. The kid exchange included Caleb, Leah, and Sebastian – mostly because their parents were wiped out from a night with no sleep; and Zack went home with Grandma and Grandpa because they've missed their grandkids while they've been away – and possibly because he was still bouncing off the walls while Aunt Leanne and Brianna were both ready to go home and off to sleep.

I didn't get to do that, but Michael and I helped with the post-snack clean-up; we took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night; and then we had a front-porch kind of goodnight hug and kisses moment before Michael went home for the night. I really wanted to keep him for a sofa sleepover, but had work to do too; and didn't think that I'd get that done if he stayed. It would be nice to say that we'd be too busy having a make-out session instead, but it's much more likely that we'd have simply fallen asleep instead. That would be nice too, but the work needed to be done; so that's what I did once I was ready for bed and tucked in with Mandy and my computer.

Exhaustion has been a problem since then, but I still used a time phase when I had even more work than expected waiting for me via email. I won't bore you with the details, but I did get everything done, and once I've finished this report; it'll be time to crash and nap until morning.

While I didn't mention it yet, Aunt Grace and Faith are home tonight, and while that's mostly thanks to Uncle Adam and Mom helping them out a bit; nobody else will know that – or find out just how much Aunt Grace was helped with recovering from a tough delivery. I'll keep you posted on how they're doing, but they are both very healthy; and we'll have to wait and see whether Faith is one of those good, quiet babies; or she'll want to party all night with her Mommy and Daddy. I hope to get to spend some time with her over these next few weeks, but I won't hold my breath of that; since I am going to be very busy as we head back to school next week.

Before I go, though, I'd better mention that Faith's birth means that we'll have the family home for the holiday weekend. That's a change in plans for the Rice clan, but this will be their best chance to see her before Thanksgiving, and while Violet and Chris can't be here too; we'll have the rest of them here. Aunt Grace's family will be coming too, and I expect that Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Duncan will come here early. I'll keep you posted on that too; and I expect those plans will be nailed down by sometime tomorrow – especially since Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace will not be allowed to have a house full of guests while dealing with their new baby. We have room at the other family houses, though, so it won't be a problem.

Okay, I've had enough fun for tonight. There is sure to be more babysitting for me tomorrow, and with cheerleading, marching band, and teen praise team practices too; I'll need all of the sleep I can get. It's been a fun, sometimes crazy ride today; and I'm sure we'll have more of the same for at least the rest of this week now. That might mean I'll be tired a lot too, but it'll all be fun; and I'm looking forward to everything – even if my vision is a bit blurred right now. Getting started on my nap will help with that little problem, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

I'm totally wiped out right now; so here's a micro-update before I crash for the night.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast were good; cheerleading practice for the rest of the morning was fun; and then I spent the afternoon helping out with some chores around the house and kid control while Michael was busy with football all day. My afternoon play time included a long swim with a handful of kids and some parents and tweens after an hour of too-hot fun at the park playground. I was off to marching band practice after that, and while we did get a dash or two of rain; we dodged the thunderstorms today.

We worked a bit harder with the marching band to get ready for our first home game, and that's a big deal for our Maple Valley members; since we're playing against their team this week. The longer band practice meant another late start to our teen praise team practice, but we needed to do a full run-through of the Sunday service too; so that put us even later getting done with our practices for the night. By then, Michael was worn out, so I only stopped in at his house long-enough to help him with a bit of Magi-powered healing; and then I came home for the night instead of hanging out with him for a while.

I had a visit with Mom and Dad after that in the office; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then got to work on the family business while enjoying some quality Jacuzzi action while in a time phase.

That all adds up to be being exhausted; there isn't anything major to report that can't wait for my next update; and I'm already half-asleep anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The last hour of the month is winding down fast as I begin writing this report, and with it; the end of our summer holidays truly feels imminent.

As I think about that, I'm not at all sad about getting started on our school year. There is a lot to look forward to with the start of our third year of high school. Having Ethan and Ehlana at the school with us when they're in Kindergarten in the mornings won't really affect me much, but I am glad that we'll be at the school at the same time for a couple of years before I head off to college. What I'm really looking forward to with getting back to school is getting to spend time with Rowen and Tim every day again – and the rest of our friends. Sure, that's been better since football and cheerleading camps started, but we're all still too busy doing our own things with work and other commitments to spend much extra time together. Next week, we'll have classes together every day; homework to do together whenever we can; and, hopefully, more chances to hang out together when we're not all too busy to do that. I'll still have a crowded schedule, but need to work on that too; so we'll see what I can do about making a bit more time for having fun with Michael and our friends this year.

Don't laugh – it could happen! ;^)

Okay, I don't want to be awake doing this for long; so let's get to the news of the day.

We've had a decent weather day, and while we did have a sprinkle or two of rain and a couple of cloudy hours this morning and afternoon; it was a nice summer day for outdoor fun. For me, that included Tai Chi by the river; cheerleading practice all morning; and a play and work afternoon. I don't have anything newsworthy to write about from the home and cheerleading time, but we had our lunch break with Uncle Mark, Aunt Grace, and the kids; brought the food with us; and had a nice visit that included getting to have some cuddle time with Faith while her Mom and Dad got to enjoy another catered meal. I do mean that about catered meals; and their family and friends have been taking turns do that for them this week. That has the added bonus of keeping the visits to small groups that are spread out a bit; while still giving them time without gangs of visitors around.

That has partially ended today, since Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Duncan are here now; and will be staying through the holiday weekend. I haven't seen them yet, but they were on the way here by lunchtime; and would've been here in time for dinner. My baseball practice was the main reason why I didn't see them; though they didn't go to the park to watch the co-ed practice either because they got to babysit Faith instead while Uncle Mark went to that practice; took Caleb with him; and they all let Aunt Grace have a nap that she needed a lot by then.

I'm not skipping the afternoon news; so let's back up and cover that. Mom and I took care of the lunch clean-up at the Everett's house; we rounded up some cousins and friends on the way home; and then I split my afternoon between helping Mom with kid control and chores. We now know for sure that most of the out-of-town Proctor and Rice clans will be here for sure for the weekend; and we get the Rice family at our house while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne take the Proctors so they'll be next door to Faith.

By the way, I'm sure that the Everetts will be in for an entire series of jokes that will be centered around having Grace and Faith in their family and home – not to mention that they'll have Mercy too whenever Grandma's in the house! I love it that they're carrying on that tradition for daughters that goes back generations with Grandma Mercy's side of the family.

Moving along, we played at the park for an hour; went for a swim after that; and then I helped about half of the kids to play in the gardens with me to help with getting them ready for the weekend. That was mostly some weeding and watering the plants; with the watering part of the job turning into a water fight that also helped with hosing the kids down after they got dirty from the work. We went for another swim after that; the kids had a snacks and drinks break in the sunroom; and I helped out with making dinner while Ethan and Ehlana took care of entertaining our cousins with help from Naomi and Aiden. We kept most of the kids for dinner; I helped out with kid control while we ate and then took care of the clean-up; and then it was time to split up for our baseball practices at the school and park.

Rowen picked me up for that; we had a long final practice with our team; and then we met up with Michael and Tim at the park; brought a handful of kids home with us; and went swimming while Mom and Dad went to Sheldon's for a drink with some of their team mates and other friends. For all of the parents of the kids we had with us, that really was just for one drink and a bit of fun; and then they came back here and either collected their kids and went home or went into the office and got started on their work homework. Ehlana and Ethan kept Naomi and Aiden, but they also went to bed then – though they all hung out in Ehlana's room for a while first.

Tim and Rowen went home to her house then too, but Michael stayed for a while; and we had a minor make-out session in the lounge before he needed to go home and get some sleep. I really wanted to keep him tonight, but needed to do some family business work instead; and picked being responsible over having fun.

That just proves that a Magi Master can be both brilliant and an idiot! ;^)

Let's not dwell on that; or I'll be tempted to sneak down the back stairs and over to Michael's house.

After I saw Michael out, I came up to my room and got ready for bed – starting with a soak in my Jacuzzi. The only way to do that and all of the work without staying awake most of the night was to use a time phase; so I did that and multi-tasked the tub time with the family business work. That is always tough to do after a long, busy day, but I did get the work done; and will still be sleeping before September starts – if I don't drone on while writing this update.

I can skip the non-news that I haven't written about yet and don't need to take another look at the near-future when you can flip a digital page to find out what happens next as you read this in my more-distant future; so I guess that I can wrap this up right now and head off to dreamland.

Hopefully our September will be as much fun as August has been – though I'd be okay if we can do that with a bit less work – as unlikely as that suggestion is for becoming a reality in my life. No work or even being conscious is an option for my immediate future, though, and I'm ready to go there; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
September 2016

Thursday, September 1, 2016

It's the first day of September; the holiday weekend starts tomorrow; and this is going to be a very short update.

My morning workout by the river; breakfast, and cheerleading practice were all fun but uneventful. Rowen and I had lunch at the school with Michael and Tim; and then I spent the afternoon working on chores at home – getting all of my normal weekend lawn and yard work finished before helping Mom with making dinner and a tail-end bit of pre-cooking for the weekend family meals. We only had Grandma and Grandpa with us for dinner while others took care of dinner with the Everetts; and then we had more pre-cooking to do after dinner that I helped out with while Ethan and Ehlana went out for some play time with our grandparents and some cousins.

I didn't have to work at the Inn tonight because they weren't very busy with most people in town getting ready for the holiday weekend too, but while Michael was finished work earlier than usual for a Thursday night too; we didn't get together tonight. He needed to get more sleep to be ready for his game tomorrow night; and I needed to get extra family business work done before taking the weekend off – from that kind of work. I'll be busy with football, cheerleading, band, baseball, fundraising, work at the Inn, and a bit of family and friends fun here and there for the next four days; and that's why I really need to crash now and get what might be the only decent night of rest I'll have between now and Tuesday night.

We're all going to be too busy this weekend, but there will be lots of fun packed into the next four days too; and I'm really excited about that – or will be once I'm not as exhausted as I am right now! Sleep will help with that, and I can use a bit of self-healing tomorrow if I need to do that too while keeping up with everything; but I'll have to keep you posted on that tomorrow night. For now, I just want to spend some quality time in unconscious mode; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, September 2, 2016

Happy 49th Birthday, Miranda!

Yes, I am including a number with those best wishes, but unlike Grandma Eleanor; Miranda doesn't mind admitting her true age; and that's easy to do when you look as great as she does! ;^)

I wish that she could have had time to really enjoy her special day, but that wasn't an option – and rarely is when her birthday falls on the working days of the holiday weekend. Michael and I also didn't get to spend much time with her at all today; and I wish that we could have done that too instead of being busy with cheerleading, band, football, and band fundraising. We did go to the Inn for a bit of birthday fun before going on to the school, but Miranda continued to work around opening gifts and having a birthday cupcake and coffee; Michael had been helping out with the breakfast shift to that point too; and that really was just a handful of cameo moments between orders that Miranda continued to deliver to the dining room with help from Rebecca and the other servers working with her.

Michael and I didn't have time after that to spend any time with his parents. We walked to the school together; split up for football and cheerleading practices; and then I didn't see him much after that until he picked up his fruit and vegetable boxes orders after football practice ended. While he was busy with the morning workout and then their afternoon team meetings and game plan studying; I was on the go most of the time with cheerleading until lunchtime; helping Mom out with lunch at home; and then an afternoon working at the school and elsewhere with the fruit and vegetable boxes deliveries. We had perfect weather for that – warm, but not too hot; and that made it much nicer for unloading the truck full of boxes; and then re-loading trucks, vans, and cars with the orders as they went out again with the band members for delivery to their customers. I didn't go to Maple Valley this time, but did help load that truck for our Maple Valley band members; and we had two volunteers from 'our side' of the band take care of that delivery this month.

Let's not drag out that part of my report. It was a lot of work; we had fun with it too; and I'm glad that I could help out with the most important fundraiser we're doing with the band. We still have months to go before the trip next February, but I'm sure that the fruit and vegetable boxes will continue to be more than half of our fundraising income – even with the other fundraising efforts we'll be launching between now and Christmas. That's news for another day, so let's not go there tonight; and keep this story moving along.

I had dinner at home, but not with my family because they were doing a family barbeque at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's tonight; and I couldn't wait for that before needing to be back at the school for the football game. Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and the kids were here by then, and I got to have a quick visit with them; but that was only because I was dropping off the fruit and vegetable boxes orders on my way home. The Rice clan didn't get here until later; and I haven't even seen all of them yet – even though they're all in the house with me as I'm writing this report. Some of the guys in my collective family came to the game after they ate dinner, and I saw them there; but didn't have time to hang out with them at all while I was busy with cheerleading and band. I'm not being sexist about that statement, since they didn't bring any of the girls with them; but Mom and Aunt Leanne did bring a handful of girls over to the school to catch the half-time cheerleading and marching band show. Dawn stayed to catch the second half of the game, though that seemed to have more to do with hanging out with some of the teens she knows; and checking out the guys both out on the field and hanging out and watching the game too.

That brings us up to the game report, and as I've mentioned; we were playing against Maple Valley tonight. Now that we've been hanging out with students from Maple Valley through the marching band; that's put a new dynamic into our football rivalry – especially since some of those band members are cheerleaders and football players too. I wouldn't say that the rivalry has eased at all, and we've always been friendly; but tonight felt a bit like a family scrimmage at the park – if those games were played with full-contact instead of touch or flag-tackles. Both teams still played hard, but that didn't keep them from having a lot of fun too – even when our team proved to be much better than Maple Valley again this year.

Nobody on their team will ever read my journals, but I still won't drag out the details of the game. We won by a score of forty-nine to fourteen; and the score was that low for us because Coach Robinson had our team run the ball during the fourth quarter; and Lucas still scored two touchdowns while we were really only trying to run out the clock. Michael had two touchdowns in the first half; Tim had three, including one in the third quarter; and Maple Valley earned their two touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters – one on a great offensive play; and the other thanks to a great kick-off return to set up a short field opportunity that they were able to beat our defense on with a handful of short-yardage plays.

The win is big for our team and school, but I'll be honest and admit that I really loved the cheerleading and marching band action more. For the cheerleading, Jenny wanted to show off for the home town crowd, so she used one of the routines that Rowen and I made up for our half-time show, and as I've mentioned before; we really like the kid-friendly, story-telling routines. Jenny got what she wanted; we wowed the crowd; and had a blast while putting on our Elena of Avalor-inspired display that included some fairly spectacular gymnastics. We're modest about that in public, but I'll admit here that Rowen and I are really good at those tricks; and it helps to be a pair of thrill-junkies when it comes to trying the coolest, airborne stunts.

Now if only the Magi council would allow us to add a bit of Magi power to those routines! ;^)

Okay, that's never going to happen; but it would still be amazing!

Moving along, we couldn't do the same thing this week with the marching band as we did last week; since we have band members on both cheer squads; so we instead had breaks between our cheerleading routine; the marching band performance; and the Maple Valley cheerleader routine to allow for the costume changes. That worked out better for the football players because they had time to change before and after the marching band part of the show; and Michael and Tim helped Rowen and me by making sure our flute and saxophone were ready for us by the time we got changed and met up with the rest of the band. Our show this week was the same for the marching band; though we improved a bit since our first game; and we will change things up as we move along into the season so that we don't do the exact same show at every home game – even if we could get away with that for the road games. We'll change up the music a bit too, but will still mostly do the Disney songs we'll be doing in Florida because our performances will hopefully help with the fundraisers – including the raffle tickets sales we were selling again tonight – and we'll continue to sell them at the park this weekend; at our upcoming games; and through both schools.

Being at home for this game was much better for me; though I still ended up at the school until nearly eleven; and then I went home with Michael to have a very short visit with his parents, Rebecca, and Lucas before Lucas and I headed for our homes and Michael, Rebecca, and their parents all headed for bed with another very long, holiday weekend work day ahead of them. That's true for me too, but I had a bedtime visit with my parents, aunt, uncle, Martin, and Dawn first; and then Dawn and I had another, longer chat in my room after we all came up to bed for the night. Grandma and Grandpa Rice had already gone to bed before I got home; and so had the twins – though I stopped in for goodnight kisses with Ethan and Ehlana on my way up to my room. They slept through that; though I'll add that they are aware of me when I do that – even if they choose to stay asleep sometimes – like they did tonight.

It was heading toward one o'clock by the time that Dawn went to bed in Violet's usual room, and while I was ready to crash by then; there was some family business work that I needed to deal with, so once I was ready for bed; I got started on that. A time phase was beyond me, so it took longer than it would have if I hadn't worked in 'normal' time; but I am done now; and hope that'll be it for the rest of the holiday weekend – at least until Monday night. There isn't much time left for my nap now; so I'd better just wrap this up and get started on that. I'm helping out with the breakfast and lunch shifts at the Inn on Saturday, but will have the afternoon and evening off – unless I decide to help out for a while at dinner too before Michael, Rebecca, Jenny, and I will all be busy with our championship ballgames. That's going to be tough for Miranda and Jacob, but they'll manage; and we'll try our best to get a pair of wins for them to brag about in exchange for the extra work they'll be doing while we're playing with our friends again.

You'll be able to read all about my entire holiday weekend with a few digital page flips, though, and since that really does make writing about any of it ahead of time fairly pointless when I'm this tired anyway; let's call it a night. It hasn't been all fun today, but we do have a win for our first home game of the season; and everything else was really great even with all of the work; so I'll score this as a really good start to our last holiday weekend of the summer.

Let's hope the next three days will be even better, but I need some sleep before getting around to finding out whether that happens for me or not; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

I'm in grabbing a shower and getting changed between baseball and our campfire; so this is going to be a short report because we're also having a teen and kid camping night after the campfire.

The top baseball news of the day is that Rowen and I helped our team win the championship for our division with a fourteen-to-four victory over the Solar Flares. Michael and Tim did the same for the Werewolves; and they beat the Ghouls by a score of nineteen-to-twelve in a game that was much closer than ours until the final two innings.

The rest of my day included working the morning breakfast and lunch shift at the Inn; I went on the trail ride at the ranch this afternoon with the small gang of riders that Mom set up the ride for; and then I ended up helping out with the dinner prep work at the Inn until I needed to be at the park for our championship game. Dad had the campfire started by the time I got home from the park; but I really needed the shower before joining in for that fun. The camping tonight was set up by my brother, sister, and cousins; and I had no involvement in getting the tents and everything else ready for it. We have extra teens – including Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, and Lucas camping too; but it's mostly family cousins and just a few friends – including Naomi and Aiden.

I'm missing out on the campfire fun in progress, though, and can write about the campfire and camping with the next update; so I guess that's all for now. It's been fun and too busy, and tomorrow will be more of the same with a trade-off of work at the park fundraiser booth instead of at the Inn; so I want to be ready for that too.

You can flip the digital page in my future to read all about it, but I'm going to go out and live it right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

The campfire last night was really great, and while we couldn't have co-ed camping; Dawn and I had fun with our junior camping buddies – Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna. We're having another camping adventure tonight, which is why I'm writing this now while getting ready for that; but we're rotating the campers so that Jaimie and Kaitlyn are with Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna while Dawn and I get Leah, Nicole, and Robyn. We don't have as many campers tonight, but that's mostly because most of the teens wanted to go home after the dance tonight instead of sleeping on the ground again. I need to get out to the tents, though; so let's move this report along so that I can get back to the fun.

The campfire last night was a fairly large gathering of family, friends, and neighbors, and while I really enjoyed everything we did; the cuddle time with Michael and two duets we were talked into singing were the highlights of the night for me. We kept entertained with that until around twelve-thirty; and then the parents helped out with getting the younger kids ready for bed and out to the tents for the night before leaving our group of teens in charge and heading home. Michael and I were among the teens that stayed up a bit longer to sit by the river or on the dock and have a bedtime chat with our friends, but then we split up and headed for our tents; with Dawn coming with me while Rowen may or may not have ended up in Tim's tent for the night instead of in a tent with Rebecca. That might have been convenient for Rebecca and Lucas too; but I'm going to leave it there instead of thinking about why Michael and I couldn't do the same instead of having junior campers in our tents.

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night because I was awake later than I should have been; and then Brianna woke up and wanted to party for a while with me. Okay, partying might be a bit of an over-statement, since diaper changes aren't usually part of the entertainment at parties and warm milk bottles aren't something that they likely serve very often at Sheldon's; but you know what I mean. We did have fun, though; so I'm okay with trading those memories for the sleep I didn't get before it was time to wake up and get our Sunday started. Brianna was awake at sunrise again; so I had her for my bonus Tai Chi exercise buddy – and we had her parents with us for that too today. That was a really great start to our day, and the fun kept coming as we also did a lot of work to get everyone fed and ready for the day before Michael and I needed to be at the park to set up for the Sunday service – along with more than half of the teens in our camping group.

The action was fast and furious after that; and I'd need to skip the camping tonight to write about every little detail – so I won't do that. We – the teen praise team; and the rest of the teens helping out with the service – had a really amazing hour and a quarter of high-energy fun while ministering to a congregation of more than two thousand at the park. I'll not-so-humbly add that the duet that Michael and I sang as part of the music was another highlight for us and for everyone at the park, but while we were given a lot of compliments for hours after the service; I'll also point out that what was important was that the message in the music – and the skits and the rest of the service – was heard by our audience. That's particularly great for us on a day when we're not just preaching to the choir.

We didn't have time to bask in the spotlight – not that we'd want to do that anyway. Michael and I helped with packing up after the service; we moved on to help the parents and grandparents with getting food and drinks for the kids we were watching during the co-ed championship game; and then I had to get to work with my cheerleading squad for the sidelines competition we had against Miranda as we supported 'our' team and she led the effort to cheer for the team her brother was sponsoring this year.

The good news for us is that our team won the game; but Miranda had the consolation of winning our cheerleading battle. She managed to 'steal' some of my junior cheerleaders; several dozen of our fans; and worst of all – my boyfriend to earn that victory. I'm sure that Michael and I will both enjoy that future day off he's going to get, but then he took the 'bribe' to make his Mom happy; not because that offer actually meant anything. Michael doesn't ask for many days off other than for football; and his parents would never refuse him a day off for something important anyway. While I was getting beat at cheerleading by Miranda; Mom and Dad helped the Olde Bakery Bandits to the fifteen-to-seven victory over the Ridge River Raiders. Hannah was very happy about that, and is glad to have the bragging rights to the co-ed championship title for her store – a victory that was especially sweet after she lost Hailey to Miranda's cheerleading squad when Hailey and Leah were among the junior cheerleaders that Miranda scooped from me.

While that co-ed game was among the highlights of the day for me, I didn't spend much time enjoying the post-game festivities because Michael and I needed to get to the marching band fundraiser booth so that we could take a shift working there. This time, in addition to the snacks and drinks; we were selling the raffle tickets; and we sold a lot of them during the next five hours or so that we worked – staying there for more than an hour past our scheduled shift to help out when the dinner rush was busier for us than expected. That was entirely because a lot of people picked up their dinner drinks from us even though it meant an extra stop, and I was glad of that; since every sale means just a little bit more money raised for our trip. Doing that work cut down on the play time I had with my family; Michael and I ended up having dinner on our own when we didn't get around to that until after nearly everyone else had eaten except for other volunteers; and then we split the rest of our evening between our families and teen friends while at the dance.

That was a few hours of music, dancing, and chat time; we added a bit of playground fun to the mix when we took a turn on kid control with the younger cousins; and I had to deal with Ehlana, Naomi, Brianna, and Aunt Leanne all taking turns to cut in on me for dances with Michael – a group comedic effort to mess with me that added to the entertainment for everyone.

I am so glad that I could help with that, but I may need to have a talk with Michael; since he seems to have a problem with picking other girls over me today – whether that's his Mom, beautiful women, or cute, younger girls.

Moving along, the dance began to wrap up at eleven o'clock; it was heading toward midnight by the time we had everyone home and our gear mostly put away; and then I was busy getting younger kids ready for bed and into sleeping bags before coming up to my room to take my turn at getting ready for bed while some of the other teens are watching the younger kids and hanging out by the river. I needed a shower, so I did that first; have dried my hair; and finished getting ready for bed. I multi-tasked a quick round of email and computer checks before getting to this update; and I guess we've pretty much covered all of the news for today; so it's time to wrap up, get outside, and enjoy another night of camping adventures with my family and friends.

Monday is going to be mostly work for me with just a bit of fun here and there, but it's the last big business day for the Inn – and most of the stores in town – until the weekend of the fall festival; and I'll do my part to make that work for Miranda and Jacob. If I can fit in a bit of shopping and some more time with my family before they head home, that'll be great too; but the work will come first. I can write all about that tomorrow, though, and it really is time for me to get back outside now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, September 5, 2016

It may seem strange in other places to have the holiday on Sunday and a work day on Monday, but I've always loved that since moving here; and it works for us.

Work was the word of the day for me; which is why I'm going to keep this update short; though I don't really have much to write about anyway.

I was up early to get to the Inn with Michael in time to help with the breakfast buffet; we kept busy with that until mid-morning; and then I took a break to go shopping with some of the girls in my family – including Dawn and Ehlana. That gave me time to get in on the sale at Palmers; I picked up a few outfits; and plan on wearing one of them tomorrow to our first day back at school. By eleven, I was back at the Inn; helping out with getting ready for the first of four buffets; and I worked most of the time from there until the Inn closed and we could go home at a bit before ten o'clock. Yes, I had breaks too, but spent one of them saying goodbye to our outbound weekend guests; and had dinner with Michael during the only other, longer break we took. It was a great day for Miranda and Jacob from a business perspective, though; so I was glad to help them out.

Michael and I had a bit of wind-down time at his house after work; but then I came home by eleven o'clock so that I could get ready for bed and deal with my bedtime work.

Resuming my language studies will have to wait for tomorrow night – or maybe Wednesday night; since I had too much family business work to deal with to add that in tonight too. I used a time phase for the work; and that's the only way that I managed to get everything done before sunrise. It's still past-one now; I'm exhausted; and need to get all of the sleep I can before getting started on our new school year.

There is lots of news that I'm not writing about for our family, but then I haven't even heard most of that news tonight because everyone else in the house was in bed by the time I got home. With Ethan and Ehlana starting Kindergarten in the morning, it is going to be a big day for all of us tomorrow, so I might not even hear most of those stories anyway; and you might need to look elsewhere in the archives for better holiday reports from today. I can't do anything about that, and really do need to crash now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

We've started school today; had crazy-hot weather for the big event that marks the start of kid-free weekdays for a lot of parents for another school year; and my day has been so full that I've run out of steam and will need to go with a double-update tomorrow.

There just weren't enough hours in the day to keep up with everything, and I need to crash for a few hours; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

It's time for that double-update; so let's get right to it!

Tuesday morning started out hot and kept getting hotter, but we were still outdoors for Tai Chi by the river; and Michael stayed for breakfast so that we could have fun with Ethan and Ehlana's first, special, first-day-of-school breakfast. Dad did that for them, but while they were amused by it, since their home-schooling is at the post-graduate level right now; we all still appreciated the effort and love behind the gesture.

The food was pretty good too! ;^)

Ethan and Ehlana had an entourage with them for the walk to school; and that included some of my friends too as we collected Rebecca and Rowen along the way while also meeting up with Naomi, Aiden, and most of their families so that the four friends could walk there together. Michael and I had to move on before the younger kids were invited into the school by their teachers, so we had to do our goodbyes before the twins were put into their Kindergarten class; but Mom and Dad stayed with them until then – along with most of the other Kindergarten-student parents.

I'm not going to write a lot about my classes and teachers, but do want to record the basics for posterity; so let's do that for both yesterday and today. Our home room teacher this year is Jane Connor. Mrs. Connor is also teaching our Algebra class – our first of the 'Day 2' schedule; but that's the only class she's teaching in Grade Eleven that I'm taking this year because I'm not taking Art – and she doesn't have any of the other classes I am taking that she could teach. Spanish with Mrs. Morris and Computers with Mr. Sparks rounded out my morning classes on Tuesday; and then I had Phys-Ed with Mr. Robinson; Geography with Mr. Sparks; and English with Mrs. Morris for my afternoon classes. We started with the Day Two schedule because that's normal for Tuesdays, but we'll still have two Day One days this week by starting the bi-weekly rotation with the Day One classes this Friday.

We had our first taste of those classes today; and I have Physics with Mr. Seager, Music with Mrs. Robinson, and Economics with Mrs. Reynolds for the first-half of my Day One classes. We follow that up after lunch with Calculus – another class with Mrs. Reynolds; Chemistry with Mr. Seager; and History with Mr. Robinson. That looks like a fairly awful schedule, and some of my friends and classmates would agree with that, but while I won't actually need all of those sciences for my college plans; Michael and Tim both do; and they will still help Rowen and me for our future education plans too – at least when it comes to having impressive high school academics. Our schedule – and we are all taking the same classes and optionals – is tougher than most, but while it might have been nice to take it a bit easier; the Grade Eleven work won't be hard for me for obvious reasons; and I'll be busier with my 'real' work and studies.

Moving along with the report; our first day of classes was a lot of fun – though that was mostly thanks to hanging out with Michael, Rowen, Tim, and the rest of our friends. I didn't get to spend any time with Ethan and Ehlana after school, but did get a short report from them at lunchtime; so I did get to hear a bit about their first day in Kindergarten with Mrs. Norton before they went home with Mom and Aiden. Naomi was with us for that little chat, since she wanted to see Ethan and Ehlana before they went home too; but she was still mostly-happy to be staying for the rest of the day too – even though she would have preferred to do that with the twins and Aiden instead of being a year ahead of them.

While we were kept busy in our classes all day, the fun level kicked up after school on Tuesday with cheerleading practice. Jenny wasn't as down as I expected her to be now that her summer fling is over and Evan has moved on to college. I guess she just has a different perspective on that than I do; and that was especially obvious later when she was having fun flirting with some of the guys from Maple Valley during our band practice. Before I get to that, though, I'll mention that we've picked our half-time routine for the game on Friday already, and while we'll have practices on Wednesday and Thursday this week too; we won't practice every day starting next week – mostly because Jenny only wants to have two practices a week plus the games on Friday. We're still discussing that; so I'll keep you posted once we've agreed on how to fit those practices into our collective schedules. I have mixed feelings about Jenny's plans for that, but two fewer practices a week will make my life a bit easier; so I should be happy about the plan.

I could have used one fewer practices tonight. Instead, most of us had to eat on the fly between cheerleading and marching band practices – or football practice for the guys. We're still working on our half-time shows for the football games; but will be adding in more music as we go along – particularly for plans we have at Halloween and to get ready for the Christmas parades after that. This practice was all about the football games, though; and we worked hard on a new routine that we'll use to mix things up for home games – and some of the away games too. We are getting better every week, though, and the football games are as much to help us get ready to play in front of thousands at Disney as for any other reason.

While we probably could have taken the week off from our teen praise team practice, we went ahead with it anyway; and started working on the music we'll be doing for the next two teen-led services – the fall festival and Thanksgiving weekends services. Michael and I are out of the rotation for any major duets or other special music, but we are still in the middle of the music for playing keyboard and guitar; and we're always a big part of the songs when it comes to the vocal harmonies. We were both getting tired by then, but music is always fun for us; and we really love getting to sing and play with some of our friends.

I went home with Michael after we were done at the church; we did our homework together; and then I helped him out with a bit of Magi healing before heading home so that I could get started on my work. The rest of the story for Tuesday night is mostly a blur; and you already know that I was pretty much wiped out by the time I wrapped things up last night with that little placeholder of an update before I crashed and napped for a couple of hours.

That down time really wasn't much more than two hours, so I needed a bit of self-healing this morning before going outside for Tai Chi by the river. While his parents were back to work at the Inn this morning, Michael didn't stay for breakfast again today because Tim had the guys starting up their weight training already this morning; so Michael had to hurry up and get to that instead of hanging out with me. As I've mentioned before, that isn't always fun for him – or for me either; but those morning workouts are making sure that my boyfriend is very hot; so I won't complain about Tim's over-enthusiasm for doing all he can to help make his football team great.

By the way, I should mention that I actually think of the team as Tim's, since he is one of the leaders; but he isn't the Captain this year – Lucas was given that job and honor. I think that Lucas was a great choice; and certainly much easier for some of us to put up with this year – though we don't need to bring up the problems from last season to prove my point. The only other thing about this that I will mention is that Lucas is fine with deferring to Tim when it comes to motivating their team; while quietly doing his own part for that by leading through example as he always works hard and tries his hardest all of the time.

Getting back to the story, I've already covered my classes and teachers for the Day One schedule; so I'll only add that some of the classes are a bit different this year as we don't have all of our classmates in every class now that more optionals are available to us. We do still have everyone in English and Spanish; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are the only students in our year taking the same two sciences and maths. Spanish is an optional, but I helped to convince all of my classmates to keep taking it because many of them can use four years of high school Spanish to earn a pass on second-language requirements at college. That won't matter to me, since I'm going to be in the interpreter/translator program when I go to college; but it will help Michael, Tim, and Rowen.

I'm off-track again. All I wanted to point out about our classes is that we don't have the full gang for every class; and some of our friends are taking lighter classes – and fewer for those that picked taking the allowed spares instead of full schedules. In my case, I actually wish that I could take more classes; since I'll miss taking Art and some of the other classes that are more fun than Calculus and Algebra.

Yes, that might be shocking, but even teen magi Masters do not find advanced math all that much fun – even if we are really, really good at it!

Our second cheerleading practice of the week was pretty good; and short-enough that Rowen and I had time to do our homework at the computer store before I went home for dinner and she stayed there to work until close. Most stores in town are open late every night this week for any back-to-school needs, but they'll all be switching to fall hours this weekend – including being closed on Sundays for a lot of the stores. Michael and Tim didn't get finished their football practice soon-enough to join us for that studying; but Michael would have needed to get to the Inn after that anyway even if they had been done early. I was glad to get that work out of the way; and really enjoyed having dinner with Mom, Dad, and the twins for a while before getting back to work after dinner.

We all needed to do that, and for me; that included working on the family business; getting back to Magi lessons with Mom; and starting my next language – Tagalog. I'm going to spend the entire school year learning it; mostly because it will take time to become proficient in all of the variations of the language. Taking the time now with this language will also help me with other related languages I'll be learning in the future; and this seemed to be a good time to fit that into my languages schedule so that I can also take it a bit easier with those studies while my schedule is so full with everything else I have on the go this fall.

While my Magi studies have been self-directed for a while now; I'm glad to get back to working with Mom more regularly. My Magi studies are really important, and while I can self-learn now; there are still a lot of things that Mom can and will teach me – and we do need to do that now; since I'll be off to college in less than two years now. Sure, we'll be learning and studying for the rest of our lives, but I need to be ready to be out on my own too; and have a lot more to learn before I go away to school. Mom didn't push me too hard tonight; and we did a lesson that Ethan and Ehlana could help out with – though the lesson was for me; and they were assistants and observers. That was a blast of extreme fun; and made for a nice break between the rest of the work and studying.

Work was the name of the game tonight for Mom and Dad; Ethan and Ehlana got back to their Master's degree studies; and I split my time between the family business work and my language studies on either side of the Magi lesson. We did all of that in a time phase that I handled for the first half and Mom took over for the second; which is why I'm able to write this report while it's still comparatively-early. I even had time for a soak in my Jacuzzi before climbing into bed with Mandy; and I'll still be sleeping well-before midnight for a change.

That's good for me, since I'm still worn out from yesterday; and nearly as exhausted as I was in the wee hours of this morning – though obviously not so tired that I couldn't write this report too before calling it a night. I do need to get all of the sleep I can; and since I have pretty much covered all of the news anyway; I'm going to get to that nap time now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

We had thunderstorms roll through here overnight, but the rain was out of the area by the time we went outside for Tai Chi. It was a bit damp out still, and humid; but we'll take all of the outdoor workouts we can get now that we're heading into the fall and won't get to do that as often. The rest of my pre-school morning was uneventful, and while I didn't mention it yesterday; Rowen and I are walking Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden to school in the mornings so that the parents don't have to make the trip too. We won't do that every day, Naomi can go to school with her father too, and Aiden will be at the bakery some mornings before we start school; but I expect to help out with kid control a lot over the next two school years.

I don't have anything newsworthy from our classes today, and while we've had our second round of Day Two classes; we didn't get a lot of homework because we're still being eased into the school routine. We had a fairly easy cheerleading practice today too; and Jenny didn't work us for very long – just a light warm-up followed by a run-through of the sideline and half-time routines we'll be using tomorrow night at the game. That might have been sped up by the imminent thunderstorm that we avoided by minutes and then waited out in the school; so she's continuing to be a very popular head cheerleader for her squad! ;^)

The boys on the football team didn't get to avoid the rain; and they were soaked and uncomfortable for the rest of their practice – though I didn't talk with Michael about that until he came over to my house after helping out with the dinner shift at the Inn. Once that little storm moved out of the area, I came home; helped Mom with making dinner; and multi-tasked my Magi lesson for the night while we did that work and the twins told me about their day at school and the lab. Kindergarten is working out for them with that, and for Mom too; since she can work around home or run errands in the morning; and then go to the lab with the twins after lunch. That works for Aunt Grace too, since Mom can help her out with pretty much anything while she's off taking care of Faith – though she's working from home too and is already stopping in at the lab for regular visits too.

It was just the five of us for dinner, and then we had time to do a bit of time-phased work in the office until Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana with them and went to the Inn for the first game night of the school year. I didn't go along because Michael came here instead so that we could do our homework, have a music practice, and wrap up our evening with a moderately-hot make-out session. We might have glossed over the fact that we didn't have much homework to do, but the music practice was really needed; and so was the Michael and me alone time.

There was still a lot of work and studying for me to do after that, though; so Michael went home shortly after Mom and Dad got back from the Inn with the twins. We did have a bedtime snack and drinks with them first, but then Michael left; and I took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night while Mom and Dad went to work in the office. We had fun with that, and I spent more time in Ehlana's room than I should have; but I was still in bed and working by eleven o'clock. More time phasing was needed to get all of my planned work and studying done, so I'm getting really tired again; but I'll have enough 'real' time to get enough sleep tonight – sleep that I'll need to be ready for another long day at school and the football game tomorrow night. That game is in Brookbridge, so we'll have the travel time on top of the evening of football fun; but I'll write all about that with the next report.

For now, that's all I have, and getting to the nap part of my night is now at the top of my to-do list; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, September 9, 2016

This is going to be a very short update because it's late; I'm beat; and have a long day ahead on Saturday with chores and possibly some work at the Inn ahead of me.

My early morning exercise by the river and breakfast with Mom, Dad, and the twins was good; school was fun; and then it was time to get to work as we loaded up the buses with band, cheerleader, and football gear for the trip to Brookbridge. That isn't a tough bus ride, but we had to reverse the process at the other end of the trip; and then I was busy with a band warm-up and getting ready for the cheerleading part of my evening.

This is a good time in the report to mention that we've had a fair bit of rain this evening – pretty much throughout the entire game; and for a couple of hours before it started. We were prepared for it; but it wasn't fun for any of us – players, cheerleaders, band members, or spectators. We also had one thunderstorm delay during the game; but continued playing once the lightning threat was out of the area.

The good news of the night is that we won the game; and won big. Michael and Tim had three touchdowns each; Lucas had two; and we kicked four field goals to earn the sixty-eight to seventeen victory. While all of that was great for us; it probably made it harder for the Brookbridge fans to put up with the lousy weather. We did get some laughs for dragging out our singing in the rain – umbrella mash-up routine; but I have to tell you that I really didn't enjoy the band half-time show – not to mention that I'll need to do a full cleaning of my saxophone sometime this weekend to get it cleaned up and make sure that the water hasn't ruined any of the parts – like the pads and joints.

Packing up and the rest of the work at both ends of the return bus trip weren't fun either; which is why we didn't have many volunteers to help out at the home end of the ride; and the rest of us were stuck at the school even later while doing that work. I came home after that, and didn't bring Michael with me. We were both wiped out, soaked, and uncomfortable; so we'll have to see about some quality time together tomorrow or Sunday – if we can manage that around everything else we have on the go.

I had a hot shower after coming up to bed; and everyone else was already in bed by the time I got here; so I've only been doing the basic computer and email checks since getting into bed with Mandy; and didn't work on anything else. There are a couple of family business jobs I'll need to deal with tomorrow, but they don't need to be done right now; and I've had more than enough fun for one day.

That's enough for this report, since I really just want to crash and nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, September 10, 2016

There was just a hint of fall in the air today, and while the cooler weather was welcome after such a long spell of hot; it was also still sunny out for most of the day; and that was much nicer than the rain last night.

I can't say the same about the work, since most of my outdoor chores today were fairly messy thanks to all of that rain; but that's just part of life sometimes – even for teen Magi Masters.

Too bad I can't do those chores using my Magi talents, since that would be easier and cleaner; but you know how parents can be about such things! ;^)

Moving along, I did get called to help with the breakfast shift at the Inn, but didn't lose much time for the chores at home because it was a quiet morning there; and I was set free by nine o'clock. Dad and I worked on the chores until about three – except for a quick lunch break; and then I had some time to hang out with Michael on his afternoon break before getting cleaned up and heading to the Inn with him. No, he didn't help me out with that; but I'm sure we'd have fun with it if he did!

I obviously need to make more time for Michael and me, but that's easier wished for than done; and we didn't get any alone time tonight.

We worked at the Inn until eight; were set free again and didn't have to stay until close; and then we met up with Rowen and Tim on our way to my house. While a teen night had been the plan, we ended up having four junior movie-night buddies for the first movie; and then the twins, Naomi, and Aiden went to bed after that while leaving us alone to watch a second movie that didn't require a kid-friendly rating. Maybe we should have stuck with Disney shows, since that movie was fairly terrible, but we still had fun with it – even though I doubt the people involved in making it would appreciate the fact that our entertainment came at their collective expense. I won't name the flick here, but it definitely gets put into my personal category of movies that should never have been made; and reminded me again that my perfect memory isn't always a gift when you can never forget anything you see or hear.

Michael, Tim, and Rowen went home after that movie ended; mostly because Michael and I were worn out by then. A sofa sleepover with Michael would have been nice, but we decided to be good; and I had some work to get done anyway after they left. I got ready for bed; did the family business work and a bit extra while in a time phase, and once this is done; I'm off to dreamland.

This hasn't exactly been a best-ever kind of day, but it has been a good one; and an average, normal day now and then is good for me. Getting some sleep before I'll be awake and at it again will be good for me too; so, until next time;

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

I'm going to begin this update with what might sound like a minor rant about 9/11, so if that might offend you whenever you're reading this in the future; flip the digital page and skip this journal entry.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were awful, and I know that because I remember everything – even though I was only seven months old at the time. While my memories are perfect; my perspective is changing as I get older – and hopefully a bit wiser. My problems with everything I've seen and read about for the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11 boils down to the hypocrisy that is so blatantly on display at moments like this. Sure, that hypocrisy is there all of the time; but it is more obvious on a day like today.

Maybe I should include myself as one of the hypocrites, since I wouldn't dream of ranting about any of this publicly, but that would be pointless and just get people mad at me, and while I don't speak out; I do live my beliefs as best I can – and can do that in fairly significant ways through our family business.

My thoughts about this have been brewing all day, and while I love my home town and everyone here; I also have to admit that we're collectively at least a bit hypocritical too. The only example I'll use for that is from church today. Pastor John led us through a prayer for the surviving victims of 9/11 – something that I'm sure has been done all around the country today. I prayed too, and am all for that, but the hypocrisy comes from the fact that we don't do that for the casualties on the 'other side' of the so-called war on terror. I'm not referring to the terrorists here – though we should pray for them too; since their souls are in gravest danger. I'm talking about all of the innocents that have been killed in the conflicts and aftermath of 9/11.

The usual responses would include comments that revolve around 'us' and 'them' for the most part, and that just reinforces the hypocrisy; since we need to think about everyone in the world as 'us' – and that needs to happen for every person before we can collectively change our lives for the better. There will always be bad people in the world – even after the next Ascension of the Light, but as I've mentioned before; the armies of the world won't be able to fix that problem because they're a big part of the problem. I'm not going to offer any platitudes here, and instead suggest that the trillions of dollars that have been spent on weapons could have done more to end worldwide violence if the money had been used for providing all basic needs for the poorest billions of people in the world. I'm also not suggesting that we put all of those soldiers out of work – just that we give them better jobs helping out around the world.

Yes, there's a place for the military. I'm not against fighting when there is no other choice – and I'll need to fight for the Ascension of the Light; since the Dark Magi are not going to give up their power willingly. The difference between what we – the Magi – are doing and what military forces around the world is that we care about all people first; and act accordingly. We'll continue to do that – even when we're ready to become more involved in the world and become more involved in the battle against the Dark Magi – and all who follow that dark path.

I'm dragging this out too far, but before I get on with the actual news of the day for my life; I'll also mention that we collectively spend too much time on the pomp and ceremony of remembrance in general. I'm not suggesting that we do away with Memorial Day, Easter, and all other occasions we have for mourning and remembrance; but I am saying that they shouldn't be ego-driven events. If we want to truly honor the people we memorialize, we need to remember and learn from history; and then do better in the future. In response to what I saw and heard around the internet and on television today, I'll predict that most of the politicians that went out of their way to look and sound good at different memorial services won't actually do anything to help the ongoing problems that we've helped to create in the fifteen years since 9/11. Being wrong about that would be great, but I do have a gift for the Sight; and don't see that happening anytime soon in our near future.

Okay, I think I'm ready to move on to the news of the day.

Tai Chi by the river was chilly by comparison to the hot weather that has temporarily left us, but we still had fun with it; and then I got to enjoy a gourmet breakfast with Michael and his family. That meant missing out on breakfast with my family, Naomi, and Aiden; but I was overdue for a breakfast at Michael's house and we haven't had much time with his parents – at least when it comes to spending time together when we're not working. The Sunday service and our Sunday school classes were themed for the day, and since I already mentioned how I feel about that; let's just move on. I went home after church; had lunch with about half of our home town family; and then I spent the afternoon playing and doing homework. The homework fun was during Michael's break from the Inn; and Tim and Rowen joined us for that. The play time was with the twins, Naomi, Aiden, and some parents and grandparents.

We kept busy and entertained at the park for most of that time; the studying came after that; and then I got ready to go to work at the Inn for the buffet shift. I don't have any news from those hours of work; other than to mention that we did have a major drop-off in business compared to most of the summer. Yes, we still have a good turn-out for the buffets, but we don't need all of the extra seating we have right now; so the heat was off for us in more ways than one today. We finished up earlier than what has been normal lately; so I was home by nine-thirty tonight. My work wasn't done for the day then, but I multi-tasked some of the work with a soak in my Jacuzzi; and time phased everything so I could still get to sleep in decent time. Mom also came up to my room after my bath for a bedtime Magi lesson, and since I was working in a time phase anyway; she made that lesson about juggling time phases and phase shifting; with an emphasis on the impact of both on different objects.

That might sound simple, but it really isn't easy to do things like maintain an internet connection while in time phase and walking through a wall. Keeping track of every bit and byte of data when it's coming at you at full-speed in 'normal' time and then at something less than snail speed in the time phase alone is tough – which is why I normally do my surfing in 'real' time instead. I won't bore you with other problems – like keeping a computer or cell phone working while in a phase-shift transmutation. My lessons now are more nuanced as I advance in my abilities, but while it has now been years since I started learning how to do phase shifts and time phases; there is always something new to learn about them – and more that I can do with them too.

While I'm thinking about Mom and my lesson, that reminded me that I don't mention Silkie in my journal very much. She's a much bigger part of Ethan's and Ehlana's lives, but I do see her every day; so the only reason I don't mention her is because she's just part of everyday life for me. I don't write about cleaning Mandy's litter box either; but that does get done regularly – along with the rest of the daily chores I don't write about either. Silkie does love me too, but she is definitely bonded to the twins; and hangs out with them most of the time when they're home. She hangs out with Mom when they're at school now, but that might be a temporary change; since that separation from them is so new to her.

Anyway, I did my family business work before and after my lesson with Mom; took care of my language studying after that; and then did a full computer and email check before getting to this update. Even with all of that, I'll still be sleeping before midnight – as long as I don't drag this out much longer.

The week ahead is going to be busy. We'll be adding in our concert band practices on Tuesday after school, and while we won't be doing as much with that band; we will still have concerts and parties to play at; and we can work on music for the marching band too if we have the extra time. Dad has an extra week this month to get ready for his week in the city, but he'll be doing that this week; so he'll have less time for anything else. We'll be going with two lunchtime cheerleading practices, and that will help my schedule a bit, but we have another away game on Friday; so that's going to make for another very long day on Friday. We don't have any major plans for the weekend, so if that works out for us; I'm going to shoot for some fun time with Michael and our friends – maybe even a camping night if the weather is nice. Dad will have to work a lot this weekend too, but we might be able to get a ride out to Quarry Lake for a play afternoon too.

Those are happy thoughts to take into dreamland with me, and I have covered what bit of real news I have for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, September 12, 2016

The top news for our town today is the ground-breaking for the third apartment building in the new section – the only one that will be along the river unless or until we need to grow again. It's going to be a bit different than the other two new buildings because the design will be very modern while designed to fit in with the estate houses like ours; and will be geared toward young, professional couples – like Jake and Stephanie, Christina and Josiah, and Violet and Dillon. They'll be among the first groups of college grads that we've helped and will need to support the lab, med center, and other projects; and a lot of the new housing projects are being built to support them in return for their commitment to our collective future.

Moving on to my own news of the day, there really isn't a lot to report. Thanks to Jenny's change to twice-weekly cheerleading practices; I don't have any practices on Mondays or Wednesdays now. Tuesdays will be busy with a total of four practices in addition to our classes and homework; but that does work out for me the rest of the week. My pre-school morning was uneventful; we had a fun day at school; and then I came home while Michael was busy with his football practice and worked on the family business until he came over and joined us for dinner. I did that work in a time phase so that I could get everything done for the day; and Ethan and Ehlana joined me in the office so that they could work on their college studies in the time phase too.

We missed out on a gourmet dinner at his house, but Michael and I were due to spend some time with my parents, brother, and sister; so Rebecca and Lucas got to have some alone time with her parents instead. Having Michael with me also allowed us to have a Magi lesson with Mom after we did our homework; and then we managed to have a bit of alone time in my room that included a minor make-out session to go along with the music practice that was all about getting ready for our practices on Tuesday. I helped Michael with a bit of Magi-powered healing before he went home too; and he left at ten o'clock so that neither of us would be up too late on a school night.

I still had my usual bedtime computer and email checks to do along with the language studies after that, but with the family business work already out of the way; one more time phase allowed me to get all of that done before eleven o'clock. Once I was finished with all of that, I took a short break before getting to this update so that I could go downstairs and say goodnight to Mom and Dad. They were still working in the office, but decided to wrap up their work for the night; and came up to bed after our little chat.

That's pretty much it for me, and if every Monday works out this well for me; it'll be a good day every week. That's something to hope for, but I'll have to keep you posted on that over the next few weeks and months; since something else always seems to come up every time I think that I'm getting a handle on my too-busy schedule. Getting a decent night of rest is an option now, though, and I really want to go there; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Karla!

We had a bit of a birthday moment for her at lunchtime, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I could only stop by for a visit to her birthday party between practices. That party, by the way, was at Brock's house because none of us would have had time to go out to Karla's farm for a birthday party; and that included Karla and Brock because they're in the marching band too. Karla got her license today, though, so that was what she cared most about – just as pretty much every farm kids do when it's their turn to reach that level of teen freedom.

I'm glad that Karla has had a good day. Mine has been pretty good too; though it has been too long; and I'm exhausted as I write this report. My morning started out quietly-enough; and the birthday fun at lunchtime was the highlight of our school day. Life got busier for me with the start of our concert band practice. That wasn't as much fun without Michael, but as usual; he was at football practice instead. Rowen and I still had fun with that practice; we managed to work on four of the songs we'll be learning over the next couple of months; and then we did a bit of work on the fundraising side of the marching band until Michael and Tim were finished their practice and we could run over to Brock's house for our cameo visit to Karla's party. I needed to be back to the school quickly so that I could deal with more fundraising issues as the band members arrived and wanted to deal with things like new orders for the fruit and vegetable boxes; helping with the raffle tickets and money coming in from them; and a bit of work with the band uniforms – particularly for teens looking to get the heavier clothes that we'll all need this fall and winter.

Our marching band practice was busy as we continued to work on both the music and our half-time marching routine. Michael and I had a lot of fun with all of that, and though he was getting tired after a long football practice; that didn't get in the way of playing great and keeping up with me.

Don't laugh at that – keeping up with a hyper-active Magi Master is tougher than you might think! ;^)

The marching band practice went long again; so our teen praise team practice was delayed by nearly a half hour. Stacey doesn't mind that delay, and she was at the school for the last bit of our marching band practice to watch the show while waiting for those of us on the praise team to be ready to practice with her. We do have a bit of time to get ready for the next church service the teens will be leading; so that practice was kept shorter so that we could get home and start in on our homework – for those of us unable to do that earlier. It was still past-nine before Michael came home with me and we could get started on our homework. We did that in the office so that we could talk with Mom, Dad, and the twins while they worked or studied too; so we had fun with that as well; and Mom did another Magi lesson with both of us after we had the studying finished – and before Michael headed home for the night at a bit after eleven o'clock.

I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after seeing Michael out with goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch; and then it was time for me to get to work on everything else I still needed to get done once I was changed and into bed for the night too. I didn't feel up to a time phase, but did work as quickly as I could using other Magi-powered talents. It's still been hours since I started that work; which is why I'm beyond exhausted now. There was a lot of family business work to do – more than I'd expected; and then I got bogged down with my language studies for a while – partly because the work was so boring and made me sleepy. Since all of that took so long, I kept the final computer check shorter; and didn't bother dealing with a handful of email that can wait for tomorrow.

This update is all I have left before crashing for the bit of nap time I have left before it'll be time to get up and going again. I won't say that all of the work and studying has been fun tonight, since it hasn't been, but I wasn't kidding about it being a good day; and that isn't always true for these extremely-long days. Getting some sleep now will be really good too, though, and I've had enough fun for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

It rained off and on today, but we were outdoors for Tai Chi by the river; and the rain didn't get in the way of my day – though the guys got a bit damp during their football practice this afternoon.

I don't have much news for today. We had a normal morning; it was a quiet day at school; and Rowen and I were able to do our homework at the computer store after school while Michael and Tim were busy with football anyway. She went to work at the store after that; I came home; and spent the rest of the afternoon and working on the family business and studying except for our dinner break. All of that work was done in a time phase; so I was finished my work for the night early. Michael was busy at the Inn, so we didn't get together, and while that would have been fun; I'm ready for an early night anyway. Some Jacuzzi time was an option; so I actually did that without any multi-tasking. After that, I joined in for the bedtime snack and drinks with the twins; tucked them in for the night; and then came back up to my room and snuggled into my bed with Mandy and my computer.

While I didn't really need to do it, I did one last round of computer and email checks before getting to this update, and once I'm done with this; it'll be time to get a decent night of down time. I'll need that extra sleep; since we're sure to have another busy end to the week and weekend. I don't want to think about that, though, and don't have any other news to write about; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Note to me – next time that I get a chance for some quality make-out time with Michael when we're alone in the house; take Silkie outside for a potty break first! ;^)

I can't say that's the weirdest thing to ever happen to me in my life, but it was odd to be interrupted by her in mid-make-out, and while Mandy found that very amusing; it was a bit inconvenient for Michael and me – not to mention that taking a break to pick up the little gift that Silkie left on the ground for me is a bit of a mood-breaker!

That's a strange way for Silkie to get mentioned in my journal, but she is adorable; so there was no way that Michael and I could be upset with her for messing up our play time for two. We'll just have one more fun and odd memory to share – though considering our families; this might be a story we won't share with anyone else.

Okay, that will only be true until this journal is available to all Magi to read, but that won't be for years; and I'm sure there will be many more stories about us that will be much more entertaining than this one.

As I'm still musing about that, it occurs to me that I don't really have anything else very exciting to write about tonight. We had our cheerleading practice at noon, and while we're not working as hard as I'd like to; we are ready for the game tomorrow night. Our school day wasn't exciting at all; Rowen and I did our homework after school again while the boys were busy with football; and then I was home again for dinner while Michael was busy at the Inn until game night started. He still had his homework to get done once he got here, but we multi-tasked that with our music practice; so we still had lots of time for our make-out session. Yes, Silkie's interruption changed things up from fairly hot to something that ended up being more comedic and playful – once I got back to the lounge from taking Silkie out into the back yard; but that was pretty good for both of us too.

Mom did a Magi lesson with us once she and Dad got home from the Inn with the twins; Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night; and then I saw Michael on his way home before coming up to my room again and getting ready for bed. I've been doing all of my usual bedtime work and studying since getting cuddled in bed with Mandy; that was done in a time phase to get everything done without being up all night; and now I'm pretty much ready to head into nap mode now.

It's been a pretty good day, if not filled with earth-shaking excitement. The fun level is sure to pick up a few notches tomorrow with the football game – especially since we're on the road again; and have all of the extra work that goes along with those trips both here at home and at the high school we're visiting. That also means we'll be late getting home; I need all of the sleep I can get to be ready for that; and it's time to wrap this up so that I can get started on the napping.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, September 16, 2016

Let's begin with the top news of the day – we won our football game tonight with a fairly-impressive, seventy-six to forty-four shoot-out in Three Rivers. Michael and Tim had four touchdowns each; Lucas had two on the ground; and we kicked two late field goals once the game was out of reach for Three Rivers – and after they made offensive mistakes while trying for the comeback. The Three Rivers players did not ever give up, though; and their five touchdowns and three field goals would have been enough offense to win most of their games.

It just wasn't enough tonight against our team.

I've started out with that news because I am exhausted and ready to crash for the nap I still have time for before I'll need to be up and get at it again for another breakfast buffet shift at the Inn. The rest of this report is going to be very short.

We were indoors for Tai Chi due to rain; there was more rain at lunchtime that kept us indoors then too; and we got a nice, annoying drizzle after school just in time for us to get damp while loading the buses so that we could be damp and uncomfortable for the entire two and a half hour bus ride to Three Rivers. There wasn't any rain before, during, or after the game, so that was great for everyone; but we got damp back here at home while unloading the buses again and walking home. It was going on two o'clock by the time I said goodnight to Michael out on the front porch here, but my night wasn't quite over; since I ended up needing to do a bit of family business work while having a soak in my Jacuzzi that I really, really needed by then. That work and tub time started about an hour and a half ago; so I really am down to enough time for a nap – if I hurry this up a bit and get to it soon.

There are a lot of details that I've skipped. We had to skip part of our last classes so that we could leave early for the bus ride, but still got our weekend homework assignments before we were set free for the weekend. Rowen and I did our homework on the way to Three Rivers so that we didn't have it to do on Sunday as we usually do. Our cheerleading was really good tonight, and while I'm partially comparing that to a miserable, rainy night last week; we were also really on for our routines; and our half-time show was awesome! So was our band performance, and while I'm thinking about that; our little fund-raising booth at the game sold a lot of raffle tickets again this week. At the rate we're going, by the time we have the draw at Halloween; the prizes could end up being even better than we'd hoped; and we'll definitely make more money for the band than projected. Sure, some of the prizes are fixed, but the top prizes are cash and depend on the total ticket sales.

The trip home seemed very long tonight, and while some of my friends don't seem to have a problem napping on a bus; I didn't even try to do that. Rowen and I did have fun, but it was of the quiet, girl-chat variety instead of the partying that some of the players and band members did as they celebrated the big win. We are way overdue to actually have a party for the team, but since we've had three away games so far, and our one home game was on the holiday weekend; that just hasn't worked out for us so far this season. We do have a home game next week, though; so maybe we'll be able to do that sooner instead of later.

I don't have any partying left in me tonight – or anything else, for that matter. There is likely news from around here that I haven't heard about yet, since everyone here was in bed and sleeping by the time I got here, but if I do hear anything really good; I can add it to the update tomorrow night. That's it for now, though, and I might be sleeping before my computer is once I shut it down for the night; so I'm going to test that theory out right now!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, September 17, 2016

This report is being written early because Michael surprised me with a date night in tonight; and I'm planning on thanking him for that by keeping him here for an unplanned, planned sofa sleepover!

I was awake early; got ready for the day; and met up with Michael and his Dad for the walk to the Inn so that we could get started on the pre-breakfast work in the kitchen. It wasn't a very busy breakfast rush, so I was done by nine; came home; and got to work on my chores. That kept me busy until we finished up and stopped for lunch at one-thirty; and I was already showered and had finished eating by the time that Michael came over to advise me that he was done at the Inn for the day too; and planned on having a dinner and movies night with me. He had some parental support for that, since we're going to be in the lounge for that, and while we're having dinner for two; his Dad is sending enough food for my family – and for Naomi and Aiden; since they're going to be here tonight too.

Do you need to guess why my brother and sister invited their besties over for the night? I don't, but since it hasn't been that long since I was a kid and had fun with things like that; I'm not surprised. I'll let you know with the next report how many times Michael and I have to deal with visits from four junior comedians; and I'm sure that my family will collectively enjoy whatever payback I get from my youthful indiscretions. ;^)

Michael and I had some afternoon play time with the twins, Naomi, and Aiden; he's busy getting everything together for our date night now; and I've been getting ready for our play night too – in addition to getting my usual bedtime computing out of the way early. I'm there now; Michael will be back soon; and it's time for me to wrap this up; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Date nights in Witch Falls might not be exciting compared to life in cities for teens before we reach driver freedom; but I think that there's a lot to be said for date nights at home – even with the sideshow entertainment that my brother, sister, and their friends provided for us last night. Before I get to that part of the story, though; I need to first mention the entertainment that came with our morning wake-up call.

Michael and I were enjoying our sofa sleepover, and might have had a bit more fun first thing this morning, except that when we woke up; there was another couple cuddled together on the other half of the sectional sofa pretending to have a sofa sleepover too. I know they hadn't been there all night, since they were already dressed for Tai Chi; but that didn't keep Naomi and Ethan from having fun with it – and Ehlana and Aiden joined in for the fun as they came into the lounge to supposedly wake all of us up. Since I haven't mentioned it lately, I'll add that Naomi loves to come up with excuses to cuddle with Ethan; she's definitely still staking her claim to him; and none of us have any doubt that they'll be officially dating about a second after she can convince him that they're old-enough to cross over to that next level. That would likely sound crazy to most people, but it's the way it is with them, and while Ethan rarely says anything about it at all; he loves Naomi as much as she loves him.

Okay, let's back up to the news from last night.

Michael came over bearing dinner for eight; split into two packages so that we could have our dinner for two at the table in the lounge while Mom and Dad had dinner with the twins and their friends in the sunroom. I set our table with a candle and full place settings; provided the drinks; and made sure that Michael knew how much I loved and appreciated both his efforts and the food that he and Jacob had cooked up for us.

For the record, yes, dinner for my family was definitely a bribe; and it worked to keep the four kids busy while we enjoyed our meal.

While Michael brought dinner; Mom and Dad provided the Olde Bakery desserts. We had three choices, and because I can; I sampled a bit of each while Michael went with seconds of one of his favorite chocolate treats. Sometimes there really are advantages to being a teen Magi Master; and having a hyper-metabolism is one of them! ;^)

There was a short work break after dinner, but while Mom likely would have cut me some slack on doing the dishes; I didn't want to leave her – or Dad – with the work when they were already busy with four kids and work to do in the office too. Michael and I cleaned up; and then we came back to the lounge to get started on our movie night. It's maybe a bit early for starting Halloween movies, but we were in the mood for some semi-scary fun; so we went with a triple-movie pick that began with The Corpse Bride because we expected to have some visits from the four kids and didn't want to go with anything that might scar them for life to see.

For my second teen Magi Master observation; I'll report that you should never, ever be too advanced in any way for Tim Burton movies. If you can't have fun with these shows; then the problem is definitely you!

We also had fun with the junior spies and spooks that alternately tried to spy on us or attempt to scare us when they saw that we were watching Halloween movies. They also got into watching the movie by their third visit; and they ended up staying to watch the rest of it before Mom came upstairs and ordered them back to the living room to watch their own shows. Michael and I weren't left alone after that, but the visits were done for the night before we started our third movie; and everyone else was in bed by then so it was fairly safe by then to have some quality make-out time while we didn't really watch that third show. That play time was definitely a highlight of the evening for both of us, but we did eventually need to get some sleep; and I was out for the count by sometime around one o'clock. Michael was still awake then, though he probably didn't stay conscious for much longer; since we were both tired out after starting our day so early.

I've already covered the wake-up call fun; we went outdoors for Tai Chi by the river even though it was cooler than we're used to with temperatures down to the mid-fifties. That workout and breakfast in the sunroom was great; we had fun at church; and then I had time to play with my family while Michael went to work at the Inn. I worked the buffet shift, but had lunch at home; played with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden this afternoon – including for an hour or so with Michael during his afternoon break; and then I went to the Inn with him in time to help out with the buffet prep work. The pressure is off now that summer is over, and since we now have teens that want the extra money and hours; I didn't need to stay at the Inn until close tonight. I really only worked until about a half-hour after the second buffet went out to the dining room; and then I came home to get started on my 'real' work and studies.

Mom, Dad, and the twins were all working or studying in the office by then; we started using a time phase when I joined them; and we were all finished our work for the night by ten o'clock. I came up to my room after saying goodnight to all of them; and I've been soaking in my Jacuzzi since then. I've multi-tasked my bedtime computer and email checks while enjoying the tub time, but it's time for me to get out and ready for bed; so I need to wrap this up too.

Dad will be leaving for Crystal Springs in the morning, so I expect to have a busier week while he's away; though it isn't easy for me to find extra time to help Mom when I have so much on the go every day. I will try to do that, though; and I know that the twins will help Mom too. Maybe we'll even try to convince her to go to the city for a sleepover with Dad sometime this week. She's overdue for that – and for a visit with the Malloys too. We'll see if that's even an option, though; and I'll have to keep you posted. For now, though, I really need to get ready for – and off to – bed now; and that is all of the news for today; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, September 19, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Eli!

My only involvement in his birthday was my contribution to the gift that Ehlana, Ethan, and I got for him; though I've spent some time with Naomi tonight too when she got back here with Ehlana from his birthday party. I know that he's had fun today; with that fact based on how annoyed Naomi was when she got here – thanks to Eli and Zack bugging her constantly with help from some of their little friends. Zack's staying at Eli's for a birthday 'all-nighter' that Naomi didn't want to be there for; which is why she's here for the night with Ehlana instead.

Or maybe that'll be with Ethan! I'll let you know with the next update if I find them sleeping on the sofa in the lounge again in the morning. ;^)

Have you ever noticed that those jokes are so much funnier when they're not directed at you?

Moving along, we were all awake early to see Dad off on his trip to the city; Mom had all kids and pets in her bed for nap time after that until we needed to get ready for Tai Chi by the river; and then we met Michael out there for the morning exercise fun. He stayed for breakfast, but then needed to run to get to the school on time for his morning weight training; and I had more fun playing dress-up with Ehlana while we had more time to get ready for school. I don't have any news from our school day; but we've had a fairly fun day since being set free after last class.

Rowen came home with me; we did our homework while the boys were busy with football; worked on a couple of ideas for new cheerleading routines; and did a Magi lesson with Mom after Ethan and Ehlana left for Aiden's and Naomi's houses respectively. Mom wants to do more lessons with Rowen again; so we'll try to work that into our schedules this fall. We also convinced Mom to go to Crystal Springs for a sleepover with Dad tomorrow; and I'll have Rowen here for a sleepover while the twins will be with Aiden and Naomi respectively. The boys will likely come over for a while tomorrow night, but we won't be doing a co-ed sleepover; and won't have much time to hang out by the time Michael and I are finished with our teen praise team practice anyway.

Michael and Tim joined us after football practice, and because the 'feels like' temperature was around a hundred and five this afternoon; we all went for a swim in the river. It was fairly cold after some cool nights here, but that just made the swim refreshing compared to the air temperature. Mom had four teens with her for dinner, but we just grilled some burgers and jumbo dogs to go along with some cold salads; and then had our meal in the sunroom. Rowen and Tim didn't stay too long after dinner and the clean-up because they had other plans. When they left, Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me so that we had that done before the twins got back here with their best friends; and then I helped Michael with his homework – not that he needed it. We also had a music practice and a bit of make-out time before we spent an hour or so with the four younger kids until they went to bed and Michael went home at ten o'clock.

I came up to my room after seeing Michael out and sharing out goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch; and got right to work as soon as I was ready for bed and tucked in with Mandy. I used a time phase for that; and even managed to get a bit of extra language studying finished by the time I decided to stop for the night. It's nearly eleven-thirty now, and with four practices ahead of me tomorrow along with school and the rest of my work and study plans for tomorrow night; it's time to wrap this up and get some sleep – especially since I'm bound to have a much later night tomorrow.

No, that won't just be because Michael and Tim hang out with us too long – or 'accidentally' fall asleep on the sofa with their respective girlfriends. I'm not saying that won't ever happen when the parents are away; but it won't happen this time for sure.

Yes, Mom and Dad can trust me, but we do have a public image to keep; and that kind of thing always makes the gossip network in a small town.

I don't really want to go there, and really should get to the sleeping part of my night now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

It's time for a micro-update!  
I had a standard morning at home with Tai Chi and breakfast; with bonus exercise and meal buddies. There wasn't a sofa sleepover happening in the lounge when I woke up; but only because I was already up and ready for our work-out when Naomi and Ethan came upstairs to try to play that trick on me again.

School was good; though I spent more time at our four practices than I did in our classes today. Cheerleading at noon was good, concert band after school was fun; our marching band practice was too hot with temperatures still over one hundred; and the teen praise team practice was just something to get through so that we could go home. Michael and I collected Rowen and Tim at her house on the way home; we did our homework after getting there; and then had some cuddle time before getting to have some cuddle time with our respective boyfriend or girlfriend for a while. We followed that up with a bedtime swim in the river at a bit after eleven; the boys headed home after that; and Rowen spent some quality time in my Jacuzzi after that while I got to work on my job and studies. I've been doing that since then; Rowen talked with me for a while after she was finished in the tub; and she fell asleep an hour or so ago.

I'm exhausted, but got everything on my to-do list finished; so that at least went well-enough for me. That won't be true for a good night's sleep, but I'll survive. Since I already mentioned in the last update that Rowen and I would be on our own tonight, I don't have any other news for that; since I haven't talked with Mom, Ethan, or Ehlana at all tonight. I'm sure they're all having more fun than I have; but you can read all about their adventures in their journals - though I reserve the right to add news here if it's really good! ;^)

Getting started on my nap is now my top priority, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Happy 17th Birthday, Lucas!

Maybe it's because I'm exhausted, but as I think about Lucas' special day; I'm feeling as though the end of our high school adventures is rushing toward me. Sure, Lucas, Rebecca, and their classmates are seniors and will be done in about nine months, but I've barely started the second-half of my high school years; so I shouldn't really feel that way. This was a last birthday party at home for Lucas for a while; since he'll be at college for the next four or five of them. That didn't make a difference for the plans his family and friends had for him today, but being Captain of the football team was a factor; and he had one of the biggest school night parties I've ever attended.

Before I go there, though; let's quickly cover the news of the day to that point.

I was up early-enough to meet Michael outside for Tai Chi by the river. Being on our own for that was both different and really special. The extra spectators were mostly-entertaining too; though getting whistled at for our hugs and kisses was a bit weird. Rowen and I had breakfast; took turns getting ready for the day; and then went to meet up with Ethan, Ehlana, and their besties for the walk to school. They told us all about their sleepovers; decided that our night was boring compared to theirs; and then it was time to get to work once we were at school and split up for our respective classes or home rooms. There isn't anything newsworthy to write about from our classes today, and we didn't really have much of a birthday celebration for Lucas at lunchtime because all of his friends were going to the party at the farm anyway.

The boys still had football practice after school, so while Michael was busy with that, I went home; got my homework out of the way; got ready for the party; had Mom tell me the condensed version of her night in the city; and then I went to the Inn to help out with the dinner prep work while Rebecca had gone out to the Norton farm early to help out with the party set-up there. I would have loved to do that instead, but Miranda needed help at the Inn too; so I drafted myself to help her with that until Michael was done football and could head out to the farm too. Lucas came along with Michael; and we got a ride out with him while Rowen went with Tim in his Corvette.

This will be a little side-trip, but while I'm thinking about Tim and his car; I'll mention that he does drive it pretty much every day now. That isn't something I've written about, since it doesn't affect me at all, but he does love his car; and makes up any excuses possible to get a chance to drive it. A trip out to Lucas' home was a great reason for taking it out – and explains why Rowen and Tim were among the last teens to arrive at the party.

No, they didn't go for a late-afternoon parking session; and I seriously doubt that would be very comfortable in his car. Lucas' truck and an air mattress in the bed would be way better for that sort of thing!

Sorry if that scared you, Miranda – though by the time you read this; Rebecca and Lucas will have crossed over from that stage in life anyway and you'll have nothing to worry about.

The football players weren't the only guests that were busy doing other things right up until the start of the pre-dinner social time; and there were a few guests that didn't arrive until shortly after we sat down to eat. While this really was a fairly large party for our little town; I actually don't have a lot of news to write about from it. Dinner was standard barbecue fare; there was football and other games after Lucas had the usual, post-dinner birthday fun; and the girls had fun hanging out together. I spent some extra time with Emma and the rest of her family, but while that might sound a bit odd when Rebecca is Lucas' girlfriend; I do have the connection with them through Dad's office – even though we don't do very many things together through work. That's why it was so nice to visit with them at home tonight – because we don't get to do that very often.

I am really hitting the exhaustion wall right now; so let's speed this up so that I can crash for my nap time.

The party was outdoors until shortly after it got dark; we went inside to hang out for a while longer and either play video games or watch a movie; and the party wrapped up at eleven o'clock because we all either have school or work in the morning. Rebecca is spending the night at the farm, and might even have plans with Lucas for after they get their homework done; but I won't take that line of thought any farther. Michael and I had an alternate ride back to town, since Tim doesn't have room for four in his car, but while I stand by my comments about going parking in Corvettes; there is a chance that Rowen and Tim did go and give that a try after leaving the party.

Maybe I'm just jealous; since Michael and I came home; we shared a few hugs and kisses on my front porch; and then he went home for the night while I came up to my room and got to work. That was the right thing to do – especially since I'd have likely just fallen asleep on him anyway; but a sofa sleepover with Michael would have been a lot more fun than this work and studying has been.

I don't even want to think about all of the work and language study anymore. My brain is fried and scrambled enough for a while; and the boring would put you to sleep anyway – regardless of whether you're reading this early in the morning or at bedtime.

I'm dozing off just going that far; and there isn't anything else to add anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Okay, this is really going to be a micro-update because I need the sleep to be ready for the Friday school and football fun - as well as the weekend work and play adventures.

We had a normal morning; average school day; and our lunchtime cheerleading practice went pretty well too. Rowen was having a make-up work night at the store or tech center; so I came home and did some of my family business work while Michael was busy with football practice. He had to help out at the Inn for dinner, so I got to help Mom out with our meal for both the cooking and clean-up; and then she headed for the Inn with Ethan and Ehlana while I waited for Michael to come over so that we could do our homework; have a music practice; and enjoy a minor make-out session that wasn't interrupted by Silkie this time because we took her out back for a relief run around the yard first.

Yes, teen Magi Masters need to learn from their mistakes too. ;^)

I'm dragging this out too much; so let's speed it up. We managed to have time for all three items on our to-do list before Mom was home again with the twins. She did a Magi lesson with us after that; Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana in bed for the night; and then he headed home. Once I finished seeing him out; I joined Mom in the office and we both worked in a time phase until shortly before midnight. That took care of getting everything on my work and study list done ahead of the weekend; and then it was Jacuzzi time for both of us. I enjoyed my hot soak in the tub; got ready for bed; and will be out for the count within minutes of wrapping this up - hopefully before one o'clock if I can manage to drift off that quickly without any distractions.

That is all of the news I have, though, and I can give that a try right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, September 23, 2016

This has been one of those crazy-busy days with a lot of awesome that went along with the work. There were a lot of highlights for me, and I don't want to miss anything; so let's try to keep this report in order – starting with my Tai Chi wake-up call.

I needed that wake-up call; and Ehlana delivered that to me while Ethan took Silkie outside. A bit of self-healing was needed too while I got ready for our morning workout; and then I was good to go for the day – and as fired up as my brother, sister, and their dog all were. Mom was in a good mood too; though that had more to do with knowing that Dad would be home again tonight than anything else. We all miss him when he's away; but it is toughest on Mom – even when she gets to go to Crystal Springs for a mid-week sleepover!

Tai Chi by the river was good; Michael joined us for breakfast; and then he needed to hurry off to his weight training at the school while I took care of the clean-up before taking my turn to get ready for school. Ehlana, Ethan, and I met up with Rowen, Naomi, and Aiden for the walk to school, and while I'm thinking about that; let's take a little side trip to mention Patrick. He doesn't get written about here very often anymore now that he's gone and gotten his own life; and that's why I'm thinking about him now. He hasn't been walking to school with Rowen for a long time anyway, but that's now because he's walking there with Jessica Bassett instead of his buddies – though they do all walk together when the timing works for them. I also haven't mentioned Jessica much, and I actually do see her quite a bit through the marching band and around school. We haven't done anything with her through Michael's family, and I'm not doing any saxophone lessons right now; but Michael still finds time to do lessons with her now and then; and we both work with her during band practices. Patrick and Jessica are a really cute couple, and while he'd hate that description; it's true all the same.

Moving along, my school day wasn't very exciting while we were in classes, but we had fun at lunchtime; and I got out of classes early to do some work for the band that was partially fundraiser-related and party work that needed to be done to get ready for a big home game. That kept me busy after school for a while too; so I didn't have a lot of time after that to go home, have an early dinner, and get ready for the game before I needed to be back at the school for a pre-game warm-up with the band. I missed out on the barbeque part of the family dinner and a football game night, but Dad missed that – and part of the game – too; and I did get to have some fun with them during the game. Having my own cheerleading section while working with the squad or band was pretty good too – including a very entertaining cameo moment when Aunt Leanne had Ehlana, Naomi, Leah, Brianna, and a few other girls attempt to follow our sideline cheers while lined up about half-way between where we were standing and the bleachers.

We had a lot to cheer about during the game; and all of the guys seemed to be especially fired up tonight. That wasn't good for Winfield Farms; and the outcome of the game wasn't really in any doubt pretty much from the kick-off. I wouldn't dream of saying anything bad about any of the other football teams, and Winfield Farms played hard all night; but our team is just really, really good this season. Michael and Tim are a big part of the reasons for that; and they both played great tonight. They had two touchdowns each in the first half, and while Coach Robinson put the run game in play after that for the rest of the game, Michael also had five defensive interceptions; Tim had three of them; and they ran the Winfield Farms' defense ragged trying to keep up with them – even when it was obvious that we were holding back to avoid running up the score. Lucas had one of his two touchdowns in the first half too, so we needed to do that because we were already ahead by thirty-five to nine by half time. Sure, that doesn't sound like a big lead; but it could have been worse by then – and much worse if we'd played full-out all night.

That brings us to the half-time show; and the Winfield Farms cheerleaders were happy to help us out with making that go fairly smoothly – though that helped the football players more than the cheerleaders this time. The Winfield Farms squad went first; that gave the guys time to get out of football gear and into band uniforms; we did our marching band show after that; and then there was a short break before Jenny led our squad out for our kid-rated half-time routine. Rowen and I blatantly stole the Disney princesses theme from a YouTube video we like; though our music montage was our own creation; and we only went with eight princesses – mostly because we would have had a tough time doing costume changes in the middle of the field.

Please don't go there; though I'm sure that at least some of the teen guys at the game would have enjoyed that kind of behind-the-scenes entertainment! ;^)

I'm not going to drag out the half-time news, but I do want to add that it is a lot more fun for me to play with my friends while having my family and neighbors around to entertain – and to share the adventure with them. The second-half of the game wasn't boring without all of the touchdowns; though I'll admit that I do like watching my boyfriend score touchdowns more than when our team is holding back to avoid running up the score. Lucas scored his second touchdown on our first possession of the second half; and then it was all field goals after that – for both teams. We had five of them; and Winfield Farms had two more; so the final score was fifty-seven to fifteen. I'm sure that the Winfield Farms players, coaches, and fans are disappointed with the loss, but I'll also add that they seem to be a really nice group of guys; and the rivalry tonight was very friendly – even when the guys were happily pounding on each other.

Being at home meant that we could spend some time with our families and friends after the game; and we had perfect weather for that as the temperatures cooled off from the highs that nearly reached one hundred by mid-afternoon. Not having a long bus ride also meant that we could have a post-game party once we finished packing up from the game and getting cleaned up and changed. Since our Captain lives on a farm, heading out there after the games won't really work out for us; so Tim hosted the party tonight. I should say that his parents did; since they did a lot of the work for it before we even arrived; so they deserve most of the credit. They also set a time limit of one-ish for the party to wrap up, and that would sound way too early for most teens our age, but we have a lot of farm kids in our group; and most of them are still busy in their spare time helping with various crop harvests; so partying all night and then getting up to help with the work isn't a good idea – especially when you're operating big farm equipment.

Michael and I aren't doing that in the morning, but we are working the breakfast shift at the Inn; so we ended up leaving early. The farm kids might work harder; but we'll be at the Inn earlier. That early departure also meant that I could help Michael out with some Magi-powered healing before we got around to the good night hugs and kisses in the living room at my house; and he really needed the help. The Winfield Farms players might not have been able to stop him, but Michael did take a lot of hits; and was seriously bruised up by the time I healed him. I'm glad that I can help him out with that, but if the other guys on the team ever find out; they might collectively decide to lynch him.

That's not a suggestion for any of the guys reading this in my future; so don't even think about it!

Mom, Dad, and the twins were all sleeping by the time I got home, so I'll have to hear Dad's work week in the city recap sometime tomorrow; though I did at least get to welcome him home at the game before he came home and crashed for the night. I did stop in for kisses with Ethan and Ehlana on my way up to bed, but they didn't wake up; and I didn't stay long with either of them. My day wasn't quite done yet, but while I'd hoped to be able to skip doing any work; a small family business issue came up that I needed to deal with sooner instead of later. That took a half hour or so; there were a few email for me to deal with after that; and then I did a Hathorne systems check because I haven't done that in a while and wanted to get caught up on the latest news from my favorite Dark Magi. Okay, 'favorite' isn't the right word for them; but you know what I mean. There is never any good news from Hathorne Industries, but we do always find new opportunities to thwart their worldwide efforts to exploit and pillage; and I found out a few things that we can do something about – along with others that we can't help with at all. I never like finding out about those things, but I could say that about every bad thing that happens in the world that we can't stop.

This isn't a good time to go off on a rant about that; though it is sometimes very hard to be a Magi Master and know that I'm still so limited with what I can do even with my extraordinary abilities. That's hardly a feeling that's unique to me, since I expect that most people with an ounce of compassion in them wish they could do more than they're able to do to fix all of the problems in our world – or even just a few of them. Unfortunately for all of us, there will always be bad people willing to keep messing things up for the rest of us.

Yes, that will be true after the Ascension of the Light too, so while we will have a better world to live in; don't expect an eternal Utopia. It isn't all evil and madness during a Dark Ascension either – a fact that we know for sure from the archives written during past periods of darkness.

My thoughts are obviously wandering off to places I don't need to go when I need to be sleeping instead of pondering weighty issues past, present, or future. My go-to-work wake-up call is going to be arriving too soon, and since I really don't have any other news to add to this update; it's time to wrap it up and get started on my nap time. I'll take all of the happy from today with me into dreamland; forget about my responsibilities for a little while; and then I'll hopefully be ready to get back to the real world again in the morning.

It's been fun, but I'm done; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Michael's coming over soon, and I'm getting ready to spend some time with him; but won't be surprised if I crash and nap instead of doing much of anything with him. That's why I'm writing this update now; and just finished doing a basic computer and email check. Even if I manage to stay awake for very long once we get to the movie and cuddle part of our plans for the evening; I don't want to be doing any computing later when all I want to be doing right now is sleeping.

The breakfast shift at the Inn came too early; the fall clean-up chores were tough and occasionally unpleasant when the weather got a bit damp this afternoon; and we worked until dinnertime with only a short break for lunch and an afternoon snack break. If there is any news to write about for the rest of the evening; I'll add it to the next report, but that's all I have in me for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

This is going to be another short update, and while that isn't because it's all that late; I am in real need of some solid, consecutive hours of down time.

Since my last report, Michael came over; we started to watch our first movie with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden in the room to keep us company; and I fell asleep before we were a half-hour into the show. Naomi and Ethan apparently fell asleep cuddled together too, but her plan for a sofa sleepover with Ethan didn't work out; since Mom and Dad simply moved them both to separate beds when they came upstairs to get all four kids. Michael had still been awake then, but knew he could stay if he wanted to do that – even if it was a bit boring for him with me in unconscious mode.

The good news for him is that I woke up later; we had some quiet, clothing semi-optional fun; and then we went back to sleep for a few more hours until we needed to come to life again and get ready for Tai Chi by the river. That work-out was a lot cooler than most mornings for quite a while, but we were glad to be out there; and had fun with our bonus, junior exercise buddies. Michael and I were at his house for breakfast, and while I always love the bonus gourmet food; we also wanted to spend some time with his parents when we aren't all busy at the Inn. I had gotten ready for church first, so I took care of the clean-up; and then we walked to church together with a fairly large gang of family and neighbors. The church service and Sunday school were fun; we were late getting out of there; and Michael and I had to hurry to the Inn to help out with the lunch shift.

Michael worked all day, but I only worked the lunch shift; we came home after that for Michael's break; and did our homework before spending some time playing with the twins and some other kids and teens at the park. Ethan, Ehlana, and I walked Michael back to the Inn; headed home after that; and I got to work in the office while they opted to do some college studying. Mom and Dad were working in the office all afternoon, but I used a time phase once I was there; and we all worked or studied until we were done for the day before stopping to have a late dinner. I helped with the work on both sides of the meal; we watched some television in the living room after that; and I came up to my room for a soak in my Jacuzzi when Mom and Dad came up to the second floor to do bath time with the twins. I didn't multi-task while in the tub; only did a last email check before starting this report; and that's all the news I have for tonight.

We have another busy week ahead of us; and the bonus fun is going to come from Michael's birthday on Thursday and Mom and Dad's anniversary on Sunday. There are three more family and friends birthdays this week, but I'll be out of the loop for most of that fun because two of them are out of town; and I'll be away at a football game for the third one. Add in some work at the Inn and another fall clean-up day on Saturday; and it's going to be a very long, busy week.

That's enough of a reason to crash and nap early tonight, and I'm ready to do that now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, September 26, 2016

I don't have much news for today. Tai Chi by the river was a bit chilly with the temperature dipping into the forties, but we dressed warmly-enough; and this was just a reminder that our opportunities for being outdoors for our morning exercise are going to be more limited as we move toward winter again. Michael went home for a quick breakfast after that before moving on to the school and his weight training with the team; and I had fun with my family while we ate and got ready for the day. Ethan, Ehlana, and I met up with our best friends for the walk to school; and my classroom adventures were not exactly exciting today.

A side-trip for some of that might be in order, but to be honest, we'd be better off with Mandy as our next President than the options available this year; so I should stay away from political commentary for this entire election. Instead of wasting my time with that; I'll stay focused on the things I can do something about – like all of the work we do through the family business and charities.

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the word 'charities' when that's one part of the kabuki theatre that is the presidential elections this year, but since I did; I can assure you that we are not involved in any way with the Clinton Foundation – or with any of the political campaigns going on here or anywhere else in the world.

We'd rather use our money for more important things – like making life better for everyone we work with in our businesses or help through the charities. I know it's a novel concept; but it works for us!

Moving along, it really was a quiet day at school, and since Michael was busy with football after school; I decided to do as much of my family business work then instead of now. After getting home and having a short visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; I worked in the office using a time phase; got all of my work and studying finished; and helped the twins with their college studies too while Mom took care of some other work around the house and made dinner for four. I wasn't part of those dinner plans because Michael and I were at his house for dinner and the evening; and I went over there with him when he stopped by to pick me up on his way home from the school.

Dinner was nearly ready by the time we got there; the gourmet meal was a bonus; and the dinnertime entertainment with his parents, Rebecca, and Lucas was pretty good too. Lucas couldn't stay after that because he needed to be home to help out on the farm, so it was just Rebecca, Michael, and me for the post-dinner clean-up; and then we all got busy with our homework. We did that in the dining room; had a visit in the living room with Miranda and Jacob again; and then Michael and I went up to his room for a music practice and minor make-out session before I needed to come home again.

I was back here by ten o'clock; did a Magi lesson with Mom; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then came up to my room to get ready for bed too. Other than my usual bedtime computer and email checks, there wasn't anything else left for me to do tonight; so I'll be able to get to sleep before midnight for a second night in a row! With four practices on the schedule for tomorrow that won't happen three nights in a row; but I'll enjoy them when this does work out for me. This hasn't been a top-ten most-exciting day, but the fun level – and the work – will be kicking up a few notches tomorrow; and I want to be ready to keep up with everything; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Happy 11th Birthday, Jaimie!

Other than sending a gift and a breakfast phone call to wish her a happy day, we didn't have any involvement in Jamie's birthday; and I don't have any other news to report from her today either – mostly because she was likely having too much fun with her friends to email me with the birthday report yet. I will mention that birthdays with Jaimie and Kaitlyn feel different for me than for any of our other cousins now that they're edging into the tween years; since it doesn't seem very long ago that they were closer to Ethan and Ehlana's current age – or Jayden's.

Next thing you know, it'll be Uncle Blaine's turn to worry about his little girls hanging out with the local boys around here whenever they're visiting for holidays and vacations! ;^)

I've had enough fun in my day, if not birthday party kind of excitement, but it's been a long, tough day too; so let's move this along so that I can get to nap mode sooner instead of even later than it already is now.

Tai Chi by the river was chilly again; I've already mentioned the only breakfast highlight; and we were kept busy in our classes all day. Some of our studies every day now seem to be linked to the presidential elections, and while I would really prefer to ignore the entire circus; that apparently isn't going to be an option. today, for instance, we spent a bit of time on the math and systems used for post-debate analysis in Algebra and Computer classes; the debate last night came up in our Spanish class; and we spent some time in English class learning all about the bad habits that crop up in modern debates. We did not, however, talk politics at all during Phys-Ed; which could be why that's one of my favorite classes so far this year! ;^)

I didn't get to have much of a lunch break when we had cheerleading practice too, but even though I wouldn't do just two practices a week; it does work out well-enough for us to get four of our practices out of the way in one day – and have three school nights each week when we aren't busy with practices or games. We worked on two new half-time routines; and we'll have one of them and a back-up routine ready for Friday evening. We'll make the pick depending on the weather; though the forecast looks okay so far for game day. Our concert band practice after school was mostly Halloween-themed; and we're confirmed to provide music for both a seniors' party and the Haunted Halloween Walk. I didn't get much of a break between band practices because I was busy with marching band fundraising work, but we need to keep up with all of that; and this is a fruit and vegetable boxes delivery week too. We also have a lot of money coming in for the raffle; and there is always extra coming in from the Maple Valley teens; since we don't see them every day.

Our marching band practice went really well, and while I've mentioned that we're not ready for college or pro football half-time shows; I'm a bit surprised at the simple little marching tricks we are adding into our half-time routine now. We're already doing more than I expected we would; so the second half of the season should be fun – as long as we don't end up with a bunch of lousy-weather games. I'm willing to admit that I'm a fair-weather band member; and will be very happy if we get through the season without any more messy-weather games – or parades; when we get around to the Christmas parades in December. Speaking – or writing – of, we haven't started in on the Christmas music yet; but will need to do that before too much longer to be ready for those parades. I'll keep you posted on that, but it isn't just about the music; since we'll also need to work up color guard routines and plan out any special marching routines we might want to use in the parades – especially since we'll use those opportunities for more fundraising.

After band practice, Michael and I headed for the church with the rest of the praise team; we had a longer practice because we need to be ready for the fall festival weekend service; and that meant that we didn't get home to my house until a bit after ten o'clock. We did our homework while Mom, Dad, and the twins were still studying or working in the office; Mom led a Magi lesson for Michael and me; and then we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed before Michael went home at eleven-thirty. I came up to my room after that; hopped into my Jacuzzi; and began multi-tasking my work while enjoying the time-phased tub time. I stayed in a time phase for as much of the work and studying as I could, but still had more than an hour of 'real' time work to do to; and a half-hour or so of online language studying that included a multilingual chat with some teens from three other countries.

Don't worry, Dad – I won't be setting up any meetings with anyone I meet online! ;^)

I guess that pretty much covers the news of the day, and it is really late; so let's call it a night.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Happy 4th Birthday, Valerie!

For the second day in a row, my only involvement in a birthday was through a breakfast phone call. Mom and Dad left Valerie's gifts with her parents last week, so she opened them while we talked with her; and she was a very happy camper by the time we ended our call to make way for other incoming best birthday wishes calls. The Malloys had a busy day planned for their kids, family, and friends; and I'll guess that they're all worn out by now – though I haven't heard the stories yet.

My school day was pretty good, if not very exciting; and then I came home to work once we were set free and Michael moved on to his football practice. I worked in the office; used a time phase; and got all of my studying and work finished by dinnertime. Ethan and Ehlana worked in the office with me – studied; and Mom split her time between the office and kitchen so that she could cook dinner too. While I didn't help with the cooking; I did take care of the clean-up after we had our meal in the sunroom; and then the twins and Silkie came with me for a walk around town that included some front porch visits on our way to the Inn to meet up with Michael.

He didn't need to work until close; so we were home again by eight o'clock. We did our homework first; had a Magi lesson with Mom; followed that up with some music play time in my room; and then we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. That didn't leave us much time for any sort of quality make-out time; so I 'made' time for that with a time phase before sending Michael on his way home at ten-thirty. I had a bedtime chat with Mom and Dad on my way up to my room again; had a nice soak in my Jacuzzi; and did a bit of surfing on the web along with the usual bedtime computer and email checks. With my work and studying finished early; going to bed before midnight is an option that I plan on taking advantage of tonight. I'm sure to have a few late nights ahead of me through the weekend; and I'll need the extra rest now.

That's going to be especially important for me tomorrow, but I'll save that news for the next update; and just wrap up this report without dragging it out – especially since you can just flip the digital page to read on anyway. Cliff-hangers don't work when you can do that, and I don't have a good one to offer anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Michael!

I'm still working on that; so I'll keep this update short and fill in the blanks with the next report.

Tai Chi by the river was chilly; we had a fun birthday breakfast for Michael here while his parents were busy at the Inn; Rebecca joined us for that; and then Michael had to hurry to the school for the weight training with the team that Tim wouldn't let him skip just because it was his birthday. The rest o my morning was fairly uneventful until we got to school; there was more birthday fun here and there for Michael all day – including going out to get his license during second class and a mini party at lunchtime. He had to get to football practice after last class because, for some inexplicable reason, Coach Robinson didn't give him the day off from that as a birthday gift either – despite the fact that Michael is one of his favorite players. I came home and did my family business work and language studies in the office while Michael was busy. A time phase helped to get that done with time to spare so I could get dressed up a bit and ready for Michael's birthday dinner at the Inn; and then Mom, Dad, and the twins came with me for that dinner – and the game night that we all stayed for after celebrating Michael's big day.

Jacob and Miranda had quite a gang at the Inn for the meal, since all of Michael's team mates were invited – as were all of our classmates; significant others as needed; and all of his home town, extended family. This was one dinner party that I got to be at the center of with Michael, so I was in on most of the birthday entertainment – including the roasting that Michael had to deal with as part of the dinnertime entertainment. We were at a table with Rebecca, Lucas, Rowen, and Tim; and Miranda and Jacob took turns joining us when they could take little breaks while also continuing to work in the kitchen and dining room to keep up with the dinner rush that was only busy because of the big party that they were throwing for their son.

While most of the birthday fun was during dinner, Michael and I stayed for game night – as did most of his dinner guests; so game night was a fairly crazy couple of hours of fun with more than double the usual gang. That wasn't a problem thanks to the new dining rooms; and Miranda just spread out the gaming into all three rooms to accommodate the overflow. Miranda loved having so many teens there for the gaming tonight since she doesn't get many of us anymore when we're all busy with football, band, and everything else we all have on the go in the fall; but staying for that meant that Michael and I still had to do our homework after we got home to my house. Maybe it's a conspiracy or something, but our teachers didn't feel that we should get a night off from the studying for Michael's birthday either. He did get the night off from working at the Inn, though, and Miranda is letting him stay with me for a sofa sleepover tonight; so I guess we can handle those little academic and sports injustices.

We've done our homework now; Mom did a Magi lesson with us while Dad was doing his homework; and Michael and I took care of the bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana that included taking Silkie out for a bedtime bathroom break and walk. I'm currently getting ready for our sofa sleepover now while Michael's doing the same in the guest bathroom; and I'm multi-tasking this update and the rest of the basic bedtime computing I've already finished while doing my hair and getting ready for the major birthday make-out session I have planned for my boyfriend.

Don't worry, guys – I'll make sure that he's healed in the morning if needed so that he won't be too tired for the game tomorrow night! ;^)

Okay, most of the guys will never hear about that, but Tim did joke about it before he and Rowen headed home from the Inn, and if the team loses tomorrow night; there is a good chance that I'll get blamed for it – especially if Michael has a bad game. I don't think that will happen, but if it does; that's going to be another story that we'll never, ever live down. Then again, if we have that much fun tonight; maybe we won't care!

I'll have to let you know how that goes tomorrow night, though; since it's time for me to wrap this up and get back to helping Michael out with what I hope is at least a top-five birthday if not a best-ever-so-far kind of day.

It's been fun; our evening is about to get hotter in a really great, clothing-optional sort of way; and I really need to get to that now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, September 30, 2016

Happy 29th Birthday, Uncle Nick!

Thanks to everything else I had on the go today, I didn't get to help him with the birthday celebration except for when Michael and I had a short visit with him before school that included dropping off a gift with him. I do want to mention that this is one of my 'aunts and uncles' birthdays that feels different as we all get older. The thirteen years difference between Uncle Nick and me seemed like a big deal when I was ten; but not so much anymore. In a few more years it will feel more like I have older cousins instead of aunts and uncles. That's likely already true for Violet; but maybe she won't feel that too strongly until she's finished school and comes home to stay.

While I didn't do much to help Uncle Nick with his special day, I can report that Michael and I had a lot of fun during the hours after my last update! There wasn't much time left for that sofa sleepover by the time we got around to having a nap, but we didn't have a problem with that; and I healed both of us in the morning when it was time to get going again and ready for Tai Chi by the river. We had to deal with some teasing about our sleepover at school today; which is why I'm going to also report that I am not using any secret code words when writing about making out with Michael. We have our rules about the sexual part of our relationship; and we stick to them – even when that isn't either easy or what our human desires might want instead. Yes, Magi Masters have those same issues and decisions to make as any normal teens, but I will suggest that our training allows us to stick to what's best for us. For the record – no, we haven't 'done it' yet, and while that's a decision that every teen and couple needs to make for themselves; it's important for Michael and me to wait.

That isn't a commentary on what's best for anyone else either – and I'm including my parents for that. You should know from reading my journal to this point that Michael and I are healthy, normal teens too; and it is possible to have a lot of fun without going all the way. The only point I'll add for tonight is that I can assure you that Michael and I will not be waiting until we're in our thirties to get married! ;^)

Okay, moving along, Tai Chi by the river was chilly but fun; Michael stayed for a quick breakfast before heading over to the school for weight training; the rest of my morning until we got to school was uneventful; and I've already mentioned the tiny bit of birthday fun that we did have with Uncle Nick. I only had my morning classes today because I was on the crew dealing with the fruit and vegetable boxes delivery and pick-ups. I didn't help with the truckload that was taken to Maple Valley because I needed to be here for when we loaded up the buses for the football game in Varney. I did help with unloading the truck; handled the outbound orders after school; and had Mom help me out today with my own deliveries while I was then busy with the marching band and cheerleaders. We had more adult volunteers than usual helping out with the fundraiser when we needed to leave for Varney; and another group that came to Varney with a load of fruit and vegetable boxes that they sold at the game along with the raffle tickets.

The trip to Varney wasn't newsworthy; we were busy at that end getting everything ready for the game and half time show; and then we had time to get something to eat before the game started. Our team is still undefeated, and it was a better game than the fifty-eight to twenty-one score would suggest; but that was entirely due to game-time decisions that the Varney coaches made tonight. Sure, that was partially in reaction to being behind on the scoreboard, but the overall choice to only go for touchdowns instead of field goals didn't work out for them when they kept losing possession on blown fourth-down plays. Michael and Tim had some fun with earning interceptions on defense too; but they both had a great game on offense. Tim had three touchdowns; Michael and Lucas had two each; and we kicked three field goals in the fourth quarter when the game was all but over. The reason I say that the game was close at all is simply because Varney was able to move the ball on us; they did score three good touchdowns; and the only reason we ended up with the big lead was because of those fourth-down misses – and the fact that their defense wasn't as good as their offense.

On the band and cheerleading side of the game, we had a lot of fun on the sidelines; the half-time show for both our cheerleading squad and marching band was a hit with the spectators; and the weather was near-perfect for the last day of September. The win for our team is also a bonus because Michael and I can't get razzed about messing things up for the team with our sleepover. The post-game fun took longer because of the nice weather, so we were even later getting packed up and on the road for home again. It was past-one by the time we reached the school; going on two when Michael said goodnight to me on the front porch of my house; and it's heading toward four as I write this because I've had some family business work to deal with thanks to me making the mistake of checking my email first. It had to be done, though, and I'm going to have a busy day tomorrow; so I didn't want to leave it.

I'm booked for the breakfast shift at the Inn and a fall clean-up day at home; so it's past-time to wrap this up and get started on my nap time. There is going to be more self-healing in my near future, and that will catch up with me eventually; but I'll be able to keep going through the weekend – and need to do that; since we also have a fairly-important anniversary coming up on Sunday that I definitely don't want to sleep through.

Okay, that's all for tonight. It's been a really good day, and I hope the weekend will be great; so let's hope that works out for all of us. I'm going to get started on getting some quality nap time, since quantity isn't an option; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
October 2016

Saturday, October 1, 2016

The top news of the day is that Michael and I got to go on our first 'real' date to the city today!

That was a surprise for me that I found out about while working the breakfast shift at the Inn; and it immediately helped to finish reviving me after not getting much sleep last night. It also made the fall clean-up yard work much easier; and I got a lot done before wrapping that up for the day when we stopped for lunch at one o'clock. I ate quickly; hit the shower; and got ready for my date with time to spare before Michael came top pick me up in his parents' minivan.

Rowen and Tim were going on the date with us, but Tim drove his Corvette; and led the way out of town after we met up with them at Rowen's house. While I haven't even driven very much since getting my license, it was exciting to be on our own for a trip to Crystal Springs for the first time! The boys were good, safe drivers all the way there; and we began our adventure with some mall shopping time that included picking up gifts that we'd need for the next month or so until we'll be back again for the Christmas shopping trip in early December. From there, we went out to an early dinner; and then went to the movies.

We probably showed off our small town background with our movie pick, and it would be at least mildly ironic too if anyone there knew about us; but we still also enjoyed watching Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. That was fun, and has me wondering what Hollywood would do with our story; but we will hopefully never find out the answer to that question! It was time to head home after that, but we stopped for snacks and drinks to take with us on the way out of the city. One thing that isn't as much fun about being able to drive ourselves for these dates is that we don't get to cuddle or nap on the way home while someone else drives. The trip home is definitely less-exciting; though I expect that we'll continue to enjoy these occasional date nights for quite a while – especially since we won't likely get to do them all that often. I certainly don't expect that we'll be able to fit another one into our schedules for the rest of this year when we already have something on the go pretty much every weekend between now and New Year's Day.

When we got home, Michael parked the minivan at his house; we checked in with his mother because she'd stayed awake until we were home safely; and then Michael came home with me for a minor make-out session in the lounge before we were ready to say goodnight and he went home again. I've had some computing and family business work to do since then, but we have another big day ahead of us; and I need to get some sleep to be ready for it. This really has been a great day; and a first, driving ourselves date that I'll thankfully be able to remember forever. Michael and I will be making up for the time off today with extra work at the Inn tomorrow, but we'll have a lot more fun too.

I'll save the why for that until the next report, though, and really do need to get some sleep so I'll be ready for the second half of our weekend; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Happy 6th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Can you believe it's been six years already? How time flies when you're having fun!

I'd say that Mom has had fun today too; since her day started out with getting a fairly large gift. I'm not sure how much iron actually goes into them anymore, or why iron would be an appropriate metal for anniversaries in any year; but Mom does like her shiny new minivan. Yes, her 'old' minivan was only a bit over five years old, but Dad wanted to do this; and told us that the old minivan already has a new family ready to adopt it as soon as Mom has it ready to go on to Landry's for a once-over before going to its new home. The new van is burgundy, has pretty much the same bells and whistles as the old one with some minor additions like a video system that can play digital files and Blu-Ray movies instead of DVD's. Mom did not take it to church, since she's not into showing off her new toys, but she did take it for an afternoon drive – and let me drive for a while too while I was on my afternoon break from the Inn.

That's really the main news of the day; though there was a family and friends anniversary dinner at the late buffet tonight too. Michael and I took our dinner break after the first round of food went out for the second sitting; so we were able to join in on that blast of fun with everyone. The rest of my day has been filled with a lot of work. Dad and I took care of the anniversary breakfast and clean-up for a small gang that included our grandparents, some aunts, uncles, and cousins; and Michael and his family. That clean-up took a while; I had to hurry to get ready for church after that; and then we had a good morning there between the service and Sunday school.

Michael and I worked the lunch shift; we had that ride in the new minivan during our break and did our homework the rest of the time; and then we were back at the Inn for the buffet shift. Our dinner break was only about half of the time that my family was there, but Miranda and Jacob needed our help in the kitchen; and we worked until close. I pretty much came straight home from there; had a visit with Mom and Dad before they went to bed and I came up to my room to get started on my work and studies; and that's what I've been doing since then. A time phase has helped so that I'm not doing writing this report at four or five in the morning, but it's tired me out too because I might have 'accidentally' included Mom and Dad's room in that time phase. ;^)

You're welcome, but it was also cool to find out that I can do a time phase that includes a room that is shielded and warded! While I'm glad that I could give them that extra time as a bonus anniversary gift; no details for what they did with those extra hours is wanted or required!

That also isn't a mental picture that I want to take into dreamland; so let's wrap this up with a look at the week ahead. There actually isn't a lot of extra entertainment booked for this first week of October; but there will be lots of work to do. We have one friends' birthday during the week; another fall clean-up day on Saturday; and I'm booked for another full shift at the Inn on Sunday – the only shift I'll have this week. That doesn't sound very exciting, but we do have our football game on Friday; and the fun level will be going up as we get closer to the Fall Festival and Halloween!

Now thinking about things like that is a good way to head off to dreamland, and that will be even better if Michael meets me there for those dreams! I'm going to check that out now, and need to get what sleep I can after a long, busy weekend; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, October 3, 2016

I've had enough fun – and work – for one day; so let's just cover the highlights; and then I'm going to crash and nap for the rest of the night.

We had a normal morning with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom before we got ready for work or school and heading out – or in Mom's case; staying home for the morning. My school day was pretty good; I did my homework after school with Rowen at the computer store; had dinner with Michael at his house; and then we went to a marching band planning meeting with our Moms.

That's the top news story of the day. We're currently at sixty percent of our fundraising goal; and fully-expect to hit our target on time. I'll mention that not all band members are raising funds equally, but that's normal; and the group fundraising will more than make up for that difference.

I can also report that the travel arrangements are dealt with; and first payment has been made for the trip. That's being handled through our charity travel; Rowen's grandmother is coordinating; and there won't be any issues with that part of the plan. The raffle is doing better than expected; so we'll be ahead of the plan for it by the time we do the draw at Halloween. We worked on getting everything ready for our fundraising booth for the fall festival tonight; and that's ready to go now too. Finally, we're getting ready for our Christmas fundraiser – special, musical Christmas ornaments that we'll have programmed with a Christmas song that the band will play and record. The supplier has been picked, the order will be placed soon; and we'll deal with the music sometime soon too. Sales for the Christmas ornaments will begin the week of Thanksgiving.

We dealt with the rest of the current-event issues for the marching band – all of those little details that need to be kept up with to keep things going and be ready for the upcoming events. None of that is very interesting, though; so I won't bore you with any of that. Everything is set up for the rest of the football season, Halloween, and the Christmas parade and concert season; so we might not even bother with a major planning meeting again until early December. I'll keep you posted on that.

This isn't exactly a micro-report; but let's wrap it up that way.

Michael came home with me; he did his homework while I played the music and we practiced for the teen praise team practice tomorrow night; and then we both practice for band. Mom did a Magi lesson with us after that; we tucked the twins in for the night; and then Michael went home while I got to work on my studies and family business work. That's what I've been doing since then; worked in a time phase so I wouldn't be up doing that for most of the night; and now I'm done and ready to crash; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

I've over-used and over-written my so-called micro-reports; but I'm really going for a short one tonight because I'm wiped out and need to crash.

I had a standard school day morning; fun in my classes; and four practices today that kept me busy until nine-thirty or so before coming home again was an option. Michael and I did our homework after that; a Magi lesson with Mom; and then he went home at eleven o'clock. I needed a soak in the tub by then, since we got rained on for one of those practices and on the walk home; I used a time phase for that while multi-tasking the work; and then kept that going once I was in bed with Mandy and continued to work and study until just a few minutes ago.

That's all for tonight, and while I've skipped all of the details for everything, I just don't have that in me anymore tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Sally!

It's been more than six years since Mom and I moved here, but since Sally was one of the first home-town kids to invite me to her birthday party; the anniversary of that day will always be special for me too.

She's had a good day too; starting with getting her driver's license, and while she didn't get a car or truck for her birthday; she is looking forward to being able to drive on her own now and have the freedom that all farm kids around here love getting to have once they're old-enough. I still don't mind that I'll be among the last in my class to reach that milestone, but after our first teen-only date in the city; I can at least appreciate the sentiment more than I did even a couple of weeks ago.

Sally had a party at her farm tonight, but that didn't start until nearly an hour after the guys were finished their football practice; so I had time to do my work and studying at home while waiting for Michael. I used a time phase for that; Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana took advantage of that opportunity to work and study too; and we wrapped that up in time for me to get ready for Sally's party. We had a blast there, but I don't really have much actual news to pass along. We had a fun, but fairly-standard teen dinner and party, though now that I think about it; one bit of news is that Michael drove us out to the party and back again instead of needing to get rides each way.

I've skipped over the news from this morning and our school day, but there isn't any news for me from that anyway. Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana did spend some time at the lab after they were finished school at lunchtime; but there isn't any news from there either – or at least no major breakthrough stories.

The party wrapped up at ten o'clock because not only is it a school night; but Sally's family is busy with harvesting some of the fall crops; and that means a very early start to the day for all of them – even if that's just for pre-school chores. Michael and I didn't stay together for more than a couple of goodnight hugs and kisses once we were back at his house; and then I came home to get ready for bed and finish a bit more work that came in for me via email while I was gone.

That didn't take long; I'm worn out again and ready to get as much sleep as I can; and that's all of the news for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

We've had a good day, but I'm done my work and studying now; I'm being lulled to sleep by the rain we're getting a lot of overnight, and I just want to crash; so let's keep this short.

We had some rain this morning too, but it wasn't raining when we went outside for Tai Chi; and it didn't really start raining again until mid-evening tonight. My school day was uneventful; cheerleading practice at noon was good; and I was able to do some of my family business work after school while Michael was busy with his football practice. He helped out at the Inn after that; and then came over here instead of going to game night with our families. Once he was here, we did our homework; had a music practice; and then had some time left over for a moderately-hot make-out session. Once my family got home, we did a lesson with Mom; tucked Ethan and Ehlana into bed; and then Michael went home while I came up to my room and got to work.

That was two hours or so ago, but I didn't have a time phase in me tonight; and needed to work at normal Magi Master speed. I need to get to sleep to be ready for our usual busy Friday school and football, and don't have anything newsworthy to report from my work or studying tonight anyway; so, until next times...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, October 7, 2016

I'm getting run down, and have a busy day to start in too-few hours from now; so I'm going to make this another short update.

That isn't because I'm getting tired of football season, but while that is happening; football isn't the only reason I'm tired tonight. We were up early; Tai Chi by the river was chilly and damp thanks to the overnight rain; and we had a hot breakfast to make up for being chilled with wet feet. Michael stayed for that before heading home to get changed and ready for his morning weight training; and I had some play time with Ehlana while we got ready for school after taking care of the clean-up.

I have absolutely no interesting news from school today. Once we were set free, I was kept busy getting the buses loaded with our band and cheerleading gear; and then we headed out of town for Meadowvale. Once we were there; we reversed the process; Rowen and I went out for a quick dinner with some of our friends while the boys were busy with the team; and then we were back at the school in time to cheer our heads off for our team!

We had a lot to cheer about; and Michael had a particularly good game with three touchdowns and an even better defensive game that helped to keep Meadowvale from scoring any touchdowns. They did get four field goals, but we scored a total of six touchdowns before we switched to field goals and a running-only game for the entire fourth quarter. Our band and cheerleading half time shows were really good too; and that helped us to sell a lot of raffle tickets for the marching band fundraiser. The fifty-one to twelve final score was an accurate reflection of the real game; and this was one match that wasn't in doubt even early in the game. This year; we are just that much better than Meadowvale – and we're now still undefeated with three games to go in the regular season!

Having another party tonight wasn't an option, but while we still had all of the work to do at each end of the bus ride; the trip was shorter; we weren't at the Meadowvale school as long as we sometimes are after other games; and we were done the work back at our school by shortly after midnight. It was colder by then, and the temperature could touch the forties by morning; but the cool weather during the game just made it comfortable for the guys compared to the too-hot games we've had earlier in the season. We didn't have rain, though, and every week we get this fall without that problem – or an early snow; is a bonus in my books.

After we were done at the school, I brought Michael home with me; we had some cuddle time in the living room instead of the lounge so that we didn't wake everyone up by stomping around the house; and he went home at a bit after one – once we'd helped to warm each other up a bit first with a minor make-out celebration for two. That was fun, and I would have been good with going to bed after seeing Michael out, but I ended up needing to do some family business work; and that took me an hour and a half to get finished.

This hasn't been as short as I'd hoped, though, and I don't want to bore myself with the work details; so that's going to be it for tonight. We've a long, tough work day ahead – starting in just a few hours for me, and while that isn't really going to be exciting; I'm overdue for helping out at home and need to put in the time. I have no other plans for Saturday night, but we'll see how that goes; and I might just be ready to crash if we have a particularly tough fall clean-up day.

That's something that I can write about with the next update, and I'm past-ready to crash into nap mode now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

I was not ready for there to be a 'three' at the front of the temperature this morning when I went to meet up with Michael and go to the Inn for the breakfast shift. Sure, it barely dipped below forty, and not for very long; but I'm not ready to be reminded that winter is on the way!

Those reminders were unavoidable today. Everyone was bundled up for the chilly weather around here – at least until it warmed up a bit by early-afternoon. A full, tough fall clean-up day had the same effect – especially when some of the jobs include getting everything ready for winter use or winter storage. We worked our butts off today, and got a lot done; but I had fun too while spending a lot of that time with Dad – and with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana when they were outside and helping too. I'll also point out that some of the physical work is easier now that Dad has his multi-purpose lawn tractor, and while it can't do everything for us; it is much easier to deal with cleaning up the leaves and most of the fall debris thanks to the mulcher-bagger-vacuum attachments.

Moving along, I worked at the Inn until around nine o'clock; got to work at home as soon as I got changed into scruffy clothes; and we worked until nearly seven o'clock by the time we finished our to-do list and could stop for a late dinner. Michael had a lot of the day off after the breakfast shift too, but he was doing yard work at home instead; and needed to be back at the Inn for the dinner-to-close shift. He isn't coming over after he's done because we both decided to make it an early night; though some quality cuddle time would have been nice. Instead of doing that, I'm going to be sleeping early tonight; which is why I'm multi-tasking this update while having me bedtime soak in the Jacuzzi. I've finished a light version of my usual bedtime computing too; took care of one minor bit of family business work; and I'm about ready to get out of the tub and ready for bed once I'm done with this report.

Tomorrow is going to be a work day too; and I'm working the full lunch-to-close shift because Miranda had a lot of requests for time off this weekend to make up for the extra work we'll all have for the fall festival weekend. That's a big part of the why I want the extra sleep tonight; since I'll likely be up late working and studying after I get home from the Inn. None of that work is romantic or exciting, but it does help me to appreciate the really great fun days even more; and I really do want to do my part to help the people I love the most.

Right now, I'll help them – and me – most by getting into bed and off to dreamland; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Micro-update time!

Tai Chi by the river – cold; but still fun.

Breakfast at Michael's – really, really great!

Church service and Sunday school – heart-warming.

Work all day at the Inn after that except for afternoon and dinner breaks – exhausting.

Afternoon break-time homework study session – wish Michael and I could have made-out instead! ;^)

Family business work and studying from bedtime to now – too much to do for the end of an already too-long day.

Journal update – done!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, October 10, 2016

We've had a fairly-typical fall-weather day around here, and while there was a dash or two of rain; that's been more like spritzes of water; and didn't get in the way of our work or play.

I did have some play time today too; though there's been a lot of work as well because I'm trying to do more now to be ready for the play and work we'll have this weekend for the fall festival. My pre-school morning was standard issue action for a Monday morning; we had a good day at school that wasn't at all exciting from the classroom perspective; and added a bit of fun here and there that had absolutely nothing to do with our education. While the boys were busy with football after school, Rowen came home with me and we mostly played for a couple of hours. Mom did a Magi lesson with us; we spent some time with Ethan and Ehlana; and then had some girl chat time in the lounge before we needed to meet up with our respective boyfriends again.

For me, that meant meeting up with Michael at his house for dinner; we had fun doing that with his parents, Rebecca, and Lucas; and then Lucas had to get home while Michael, Rebecca, and I did our homework in the dining room; talked about more entertaining things like the fast food joint Rebecca and Jenny are now dreaming about opening in town; and Rebecca caught us up on the latest teen drama from the senior class – though in our little town; that doesn't ever take very long. Once we had the homework out of the way; Michael and I had a music practice in his room to get ready for tomorrow; there was a moderately-hot make-out break after that; and then we had a visit with his parents in the living room until it was time for me to come home again at ten-thirty.

Once there, I had a bedtime visit with my family; took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night; and then came up here to my room to get started on my 'real' work and studies. I've time phased most of that, so it's only going on one instead of five, but that has still tired me out; and I'll need the extra nap time and possibly a bit of self-healing too in the morning. If I keep going like that for the next couple of nights, though, I might have everything on my schedule finished by Wednesday night; so it's worth trying to do that ahead of the fall festival weekend.

While I do want to get started on my nap soon, I'm overdue for some updates that I keep slacking off on when I'm more interested in sleeping than anything else most nights when I get around to this report; so let's at least go over a few things before I need to crash and sleep.

Since I already mentioned it, Rebecca and Jenny are getting serious about their future career plans, and while they dream about that on their own too; Rebecca likes to talk with Michael and me for some reality checks to go along with Jenny's less-practical interests in having their own fast food business. A pizzeria is the most-likely choice right now, but they could still change their minds; and that wouldn't really even affect the overall planning they need to do to get from here to being junior entrepreneurs. I'll keep helping out with that, and Mom and Miranda will be consulted eventually too; but Rebecca and Jenny still need a bit more time for the dreaming stage before they'll be fired up enough to get started on the real work that will go into making those dreams happen.

Moving along; let's do a lab update. Uncle Adam and Ehlana are working on a half-dozen different research projects, and while Dillon can't work at the lab; he has been doing some work with them from school when he can. The specialized crop developments continue to be the most commercial research they're doing so far, but we didn't expect instant results for the bigger challenges – like cancer research or curing the common cold. As I think about that, I can't help but wonder if you'll find that funny reading this in the future – especially if Ehlana, Uncle Adam, Dillon, and everyone else working at the lab actually have found cures to the major diseases of our time. My future job is going to be flashier that Ehlana's, but she loves working at the lab; and we know she's going to do amazing things there!

For Ethan's part, the archives are slowly filling up as Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor continue to lead the team that is bringing the archives home from around the world. Ethan is leading the way for getting the archives organized; he'll be completely re-doing our digital archives; and then he'll really get to work after that! You might not consider that a big deal in the future if that work is done by the time you read this, but trust me – Ethan's job is going to be a lifetime commitment as important as the jobs Ehlana and I will be doing. He's going to take what Mom's been doing with Magi training and everything else she's done on that side of the family business and take it to the next several levels. You may already know that, depending on how far into the future you're reading this, and I won't add anything else right now; but will add updates now and then.

On the family front, I haven't spent nearly-enough time with Faith since she was born, but I can tell you that Mom is impressed with her – and with how great Aunt Leanne is doing as Faith's primary Magi mentor. Yes, she has a fair bit of experience now, but she has a talent for teaching neo-natal Magi too; and that is going to make a huge difference for the kids she's helping. There's more going on with the new Magi kids that have been born since Mom and I moved here, but I'd hate to spoil any future surprises; so let's not go there. I am hoping that I'll get to spend some extra time with my cousins this weekend, but that might not be possible when I'll also have work at the Inn, our football game on Friday night, and shifts helping out with the fundraiser booth at the park too.

Let's hope for great weather from Friday through Sunday! ;^)

Let's see – what else should I mention? The new apartment building has the foundation pretty much finished now; and the steel framing is going up very quickly. Every good-weather day is helping to keep that project ahead of schedule; so the building should be up and closed in by winter; and then they'll do all of the inside work through the winter and into the spring. The outdoors phases of construction on other houses and townhomes in the new section are winding down now too; so the construction work should be completely indoors this winter. With most of the major work finishing up this fall, we'll have some construction workers moving on by next year; though we will still have enough ongoing work to keep most of them here for years. The good news is that the workers that are staying have come to love living here; and the workers that don't like small-town life are happy to get back to their favorite cities and the faster lifestyle they prefer.

That, by the way, isn't a hit on cities or meant to be insulting. I'm just stating a fact that small towns are not for everyone – and not simply because if they were; there isn't enough room in this country for that many small towns!

Okay, that thought process clearly demonstrates my need for a nap – especially now that I'm busy mentally calculating how many small towns this size we'd need just for the people living in New York and Los Angeles. Then again, considering the goofiness surrounding the Presidential elections right now; creating one small town for every Congressman and Senator might be a good start – especially if we fill up each of those towns with the lobbyists, bankers, and lawyers that help to make such a mess of our political system! Better yet, let's put those towns in places where they can find out first hand just how horrid some of the decisions they make really are for people all over the world.

Sure, that wouldn't be fair or a nice thing to do to the people in places like Syria, Libya, Pakistan, or dozens of other places; but they might be willing to help us out if it would stop the madness in Washington D.C. for a while.

Now I've completely gone off the rails with this update, so I'll quit before I go into political rant mode and call it a night. It's been a good day, if not of the best-ever-so-far variety, but while we do still have a couple of busy days to get through ahead of the fall festival fun; I'll be happy to do the extra work so that we can all have a great weekend together. Getting the nap time now will help with that, and now I really am just rambling on and on and on and on anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

System... Overload... Must... Shut... Down!

This is not the beginning of a bad science fiction movie; though it sounds like it in my current state of exhaustion.

That's why you'll need to flip the digital page for a double update while I crash into nap mode now. Maybe I'll manage to be in better condition by then – and can write that report a bit earlier than this one too; since I don't want to be awake this late two nights in a row.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Zack!

I'll get to the birthday news soon, but this is a double update; so let's back up and deal with the news starting with Tuesday morning.

My day began normally with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom; our school day was uneventful; and I was busy at lunch with cheerleading practice; so there weren't any breaks in the action as I went from class-to-class-to-practice all day. Our concert band practice after school was good, but not as much fun without Michael; the marching band practice was really great as we added more complexity to our half-time show routine; and our teen praise team practice started and ended late while we finalized everything for the service this Sunday. Michael came home with me after that practice; we did our homework; Mom led us through a Magi lesson after that; and then we had a bit of bedtime fun with Ethan and Ehlana while tucking them in for the night. Michael and I had a bit of cuddle time in the lounge after that, but he didn't stay much longer because I had a lot of work to get done once he went home for the night.

You already know that my work and studying kept me busy until it was past four o'clock last night, and while I won't bore you with the details here; I will mention that some of the work I'm doing right now for the family business includes trying to help out where we can in the Middle East hotspots. The dangers involved there don't affect me directly, but we care about the people involved – including everyone that works for companies or charities that we own; so I always have to be very careful with everything I do in those places.

Now, moving along to today, Zack's birthday has had two impacts on my day. The first is that my after-school work day got messed up because of his birthday dinner and party; and a sleepover with Brianna, Naomi, and Ehlana tonight is the second part of that – because Brianna didn't want to stay at home while Zack had Eli and a few other buddies staying overnight there. Aunt Leanne wanted to come to our sleepover too, but decided not to leave Uncle Adam on his own with a small gang of two and three-year old boys.

Apparently, you need more than a doctorate in medicine to handle a gang of toddlers! ;^)

We've had rain off and on today, so Zack didn't have any birthday fun outdoors. I didn't have much outdoor time either, since Tai Chi was indoors; and it was too wet out at lunchtime to bother hanging out in the school yard. Getting rained on while walking to school wasn't fun either, but we've been fairly lucky about that so far this fall; so I'm not complaining. There isn't anything to report from my school day; I came home after last class while Michael was busy with football; and then I did a bit of family business work in a time phase before we needed to get over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house to help out with Zack's birthday party and dinner prep work.

Michael couldn't join me for that – or Zack's party; but he did stop by after football practice long-enough so that we could be together while Zack opened his gift from us before hurrying on to the Inn to help out with the dinner shift already in progress. When I wasn't helping with the cooking, I was on kid control; and that kept me busy through dinner too as I took care of Brianna, Leah, and some of the other younger girls while the guys in our family took care of Zack, Eli, and their buddies. Ehlana and I had fun with that; Zack had a blast; and those of us who could escape after the dinner clean-up was finished were glad to do that.

Zack and Eli are scary with just the two of them, but when you add in the rest of their pre-school buddies; they're Halloween-scary!

I still had homework to do once we were home, so I got started on that while Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna watched Halloween cartoons. Having a junior girls' sleepover here meant that Michael couldn't come over; but he's likely happy about the chance for more sleep tonight. That would have been nice for me too, but by the time I had three sleeping kids; my work and study schedule was totally messed up. That's why it's again around four o'clock as I'm writing this; and I'm just as exhausted as I was last night. I didn't want to defer again for a triple-update, though – especially when we only have one more day until the start of the fall festival!

That, by the way, is something that I haven't had time for this week – I haven't been able to go over to the park to watch the midway set-up! Even Ethan and Ehlana got to do that with Mom on the way back from the lab this afternoon, and while they liked doing that and watching the rides being assembled for a while; they'd trade that in a second for a chance to actually go on some of the thrill rides they're too young or short for right now.

I've been there, and done that recently-enough to relate; so I'll just try to make sure they have as much fun as possible instead.

Okay, as I've mentioned, we're down to one day to go until the fall festival. Staying up late tonight has helped to have me nearly-ready to take the three-day weekend off from the family business work and my language studies, so while I won't get much sleep again tonight; I should be able to get some extra sleep tomorrow night I hope.

I'll let you know how that goes with my next update, but that's all I have both for you and in me tonight, and it's time to get started on that nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

We didn't quite need snowsuits for Tai Chi by the river today, but it was too-chilly out, and since we had junior exercise buddies today; we stayed indoors for our work-out today. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but Brianna has my boyfriend wrapped around her little finger; so Michael stayed for breakfast because she didn't want him to go right after Tai Chi. That was fun for me too; but I may decide to marry Michael before Brianna's old-enough to try stealing him from me! ;^)

Moving along, our last day of classes for the week was quiet from a work standpoint – mostly because our teachers don't expect us to do much homework while we're busy with the fall festival – especially for the teens when we're also going to be busy with work, football, and fundraisers in addition to whatever fun we can fit into the next three days.

Speaking of fun, I'm writing this while taking a break between getting the twins tucked in for the night and some cuddle time with Michael in the lounge. I'm seriously considering keeping him for a sofa sleepover; and that would be a great way to start our fall festival adventure!

I really want to get to that part of my night; so let's wrap this up with a condensed version of the rest of my day.

We had cheerleading practice at lunchtime; I came home after school and did my work and language studies before dinner; Mom and I cooked dinner; and then we enjoyed that meal with Dad and the twins before they all headed for the Inn for game night and I waited for Michael to come over after helping out with the dinner shift so that we could do our homework and have a music practice together. We didn't end up having time for a make-out session before Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana got home – which is why we're about to have the cuddle time once I'm done with this report. Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me; we took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night; and that pretty much covers the news to now.

I'll have to let you know how the rest of my night goes with the next report, but while I really need to get some sleep too; I'll be okay with a bit of quality Michael and me time first; and the sofa sleepover will just be a really awesome bonus!

That's a great reality to get to as I wrap this up and get out of the digital world; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, October 14, 2016

We're having a sleepover here, so while I have a lot of news from today; this is going to be as condensed as possible because I have some cuddling and Halloween movies to get to with Michael – and with Rowen and Tim; since they're spending the night here too.

It's been a cloudy fall day, but we haven't had more than a few drops of rain; and the temperature was in the low sixties for our first day of the fall festival. We had a fun morning with Tai Chi and getting ready for our school day at the festival; we were only at school long-enough to get ready to head for the park; and then it was time to play! Michael and I took a turn with helping the Kindergarten class, so we got to play for several hours with Ethan, Ehlana, Aiden, and Sophia; we then had our first shift of the weekend at the fundraiser booth for the marching band at lunchtime; and followed that up with an afternoon of fun with Rowen, Tim, and a group of our friends. We won some prizes; went on all of our favorite thrill rides at least twice; and generally had a blast until it was time for us to head for the school to get ready for the football game.

We played against Mount Pleasant today, and before I get to the game news; I'll mention that they came to town early and spent the day at the festival too. They aren't normally one of the schools that come to the festival, but this football game gave them the chance to do that while also bringing a lot of fans with them for the game.

Okay, I'm supposed to be making this quick; so let's get to the football game report.

We won!

A bit too quick? ;^)

We won by a score of fifty-four to forty-four, and if you think that makes this our toughest game so far this season; you're right about that. Our team came out fast; built a quick lead; and then Mount Pleasant fought back right to the end of the game. We only had a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, and Mount Pleasant was giving it all they had to finish off the comeback; but Michael put an end to that attempt with a rather amazing interception and defensive touchdown that gave us the two-score lead and wrapped up the win for our team. Michael, Tim, and Lucas had two touchdowns each plus the four touchdowns that we had to settle for while Mount Pleasant was pushing hardest for the comeback, but while we gave up a lot of points too; I'll add that Mount Pleasant earned every one of those points with really good plays. The difference tonight was that we had two or three more really good plays than they did. Along with the early lead; that was really all that separated two really good teams.

I haven't mentioned the cheerleading or marching band action, and I think that I'll just skip it. We had a lot of fun; our fall festival half time routines for both the squad and band were a hit with the game spectators; and that's pretty much it. With the festival in full swing, the post-game festivities were short-lived; we wrapped up at the school as quickly as possible; and then we headed for the park and the teen dance already in progress. Michael and I spent some time with our families first; danced for a while; and then made one last round of the thrill rides before the midway closed for the night. We were with Rowen and Tim for that; and then I brought all three of them home with me for the night.

Ethan and Ehlana have Naomi and Aiden here too, but they were already in bed and sleeping by the time we got home. Mom and Dad are still working in the office; but that's mostly because Dad needs to do more work whenever he can so that he can play with our family and friends during the next two days. As I mentioned already, we're going to have a cuddle and movie time next; there's a good chance that we won't get much sleep; and I'm okay with that plan even though Michael and I need to be at the Inn early to help with the breakfast buffet. We'll survive the lack of nap time because I'll figure out a way to take care of any healing we need to make up for that; but I'll update you on that with the next report.

For now, I have more fun to get to now, and I'm already the last to get to the lounge; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

It's been a long, amazing, exhausting day, but I'm going to need to defer this update until tomorrow; so flip the digital page whenever you're reading this in my future and enjoy the double update that I'll write tomorrow night.

Right now, I'm going to meet up with Michael in the lounge, there might be a minor make-out session if I don't fall asleep right away; and then I'm going to keep him for a sofa sleepover.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Happy 35th Birthday, Aunt Leanne!

I'll get to the birthday report soon, but this is a double-update; so let's back up to Saturday morning and go from there.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did not get much sleep on Friday night; and Michael and I needed some Magi-powered healing before we got to the Inn for the breakfast buffet shift on Saturday morning. Since we had a few too many people at home, we stopped in at Michael's house to take care of that bit of healing; and then we got to work. The buffet breakfast was a hit; and we had a good crowd that included a lot of weekend visitors that are here for the festival. I'm not going to drag out that news, but I worked at the Inn until nine; headed for the park from there; and took my shift at the marching band fundraising booth until a bit after twelve. We had a cloudy day on Saturday, but it was warm too; so we sold a lot of drinks and snacks – along with a lot of raffle tickets and fruit and vegetable boxes pre-orders for the next delivery.

It was time for me to play with my family and friends for a while after that; and I spent the afternoon having fun with Mom, Dad, the twins, and the rest of our family and friends – though the family and friends times were usually cameo moments playing games or going on rides together; since there were too many of us to just hang out together the entire time. Michael was with me for his afternoon break; and we mostly played in the midway while he was able to do that with me; and then I went back to the Inn to work the dinner rush. There was a rush for that, but it was mostly visitors and store or festival workers coming to the Inn to eat while most of the locals supported the fundraiser food booths and had dinner at the park while continuing to play there or watch the ongoing stage shows.

I only worked at the Inn until the last main rush was over; and then I went back to the park for some more play time. Michael didn't join me until after the Inn was closed for the night; and we split our time between the midway rides and the country music dance. We only stayed at the park until it started to rain; and then we took Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden home while the parents decided to stay and see if the rain stopped as the farmers predicted and contrary to the weather forecasting experts. That worked out for all of us, since the kids were tired out by then, and so were Michael and I; while the parents were ready for a bit of kid-free time. You already know from my deferred update last night that Michael and I were cuddling in the lounge by eleven-thirty or so; we'd put the kids to bed before splitting up to get cleaned up and changed after a very long, busy day; and there was a minor make-out session that was more playful than hot before I needed to snuggle with Michael and go into nap mode until morning.

The rain did end; the parents stayed at the park until around one o'clock after helping out with some marching band fundraiser work at the booth; and I was sleeping before they got home. That's likely why I was the first to wake; and then we were off and running again as I did some prep work for the breakfast we hosted for Aunt Leanne before we headed out to the river for our Tai Chi workout with the Carringtons, Naomi, and Aiden all joining us for the workout. Grandma and Grandpa were with us for breakfast too, and we had a lot of fun celebrating Aunt Leanne's big day; but I was also running myself ragged to help out with the work on both sides of the meal; handle the kid control with Michael; and get ready for the teen-led service that was at the park because it was warm-enough that we could do that. The church service venue had been, by necessity, a last-minute call by Pastor John, so we also needed to be at the park early to do the set-up on stage.

Michael and I helped with that; we warmed up while the congregation was arriving; and then we took the tempo of our morning up a few notches with a very busy, energetic service filled with music, skits, and fun for all! Having the service at the park meant that nearly everyone stayed there and started having fun at the festival as it started up again after the service. Michael had to get to the Inn for the lunch rush, but I stayed at the park; helped with packing up the gear from the church service to make way for the first act of the day for the festival; and then I took another, shorter shift at the fundraiser booth for an hour and a half or so. The weather today was unbelievable for mid-October; and the temperature soared into the eighties with a feels-like temperature in the nineties! That was awesome for the festival; the park was packed; and the only down-side was that we had to wait in line for nearly every ride. I didn't go on a lot of rides, since Michael and I didn't get to have much time for that while he was on his afternoon break; and then we needed to be back at the Inn to help with what ended up being a packed house for both buffets with as many extra turnovers as we could manage.

The buffet diners included my family for the late buffet. They were continuing Aunt Leanne's birthday celebration, and while I couldn't take the time off to have dinner with them; I did take a break to be there for the gift opening and birthday cake moments. While I missed out on most of that family and friends fun, I was happy to help Jacob and Miranda – and they really needed the help as we don't really have enough staff to handle that much business without any of the college-student staff that Miranda counts on having during holidays and the summer season. Being short-staffed is why we didn't get the Inn closed until after eleven by the time we had the clean-up finished and the dining room set for breakfast. Michael and I were worn out by then, so our goodnight hugs and kisses were on his front porch and then I came straight home.

Exhausted or not, my day wasn't done – and neither was Dad's as he was still trying to get everything ready for his week in the city. I helped him out with that by working in the office too; using a time phase; and blasting through my language studies and family business work until he was finished everything and had his bags packed for the trip to Crystal Springs. We headed for bed then, but I took a shower first before climbing into bed with Mandy; and then did a bit more computing before getting to this report. There isn't much time left for napping before we'll be getting up again to see Dad off on his trip, but I am caught up on my work and studying; and should be able to keep up with that this week. I'd like to help Mom a bit more than usual too while Dad's away; but we'll see how that goes.

We're half-way through October, but still have a lot of fun ahead of us even though the fall festival is over now. I really need to get started on my nap, though, and you don't really need a look at the week ahead when you're reading this in the future anyway; so that's all for now!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, October 17, 2016

I am so tired; this is going to be as short an update as I can manage while still covering the news highlights.

We were up early to see Dad off to the city; had the usual cuddle and nap with Mom after that; and then got up and ready for Tai Chi by the river. I used a bit of self-healing to get through the day; helped Mom with the work before and after breakfast; and had some dress-up and hair play time with Ehlana before we went with Ethan to meet up with Rowen, Naomi, and Aiden for the walk to school.

The weather was awesome again today; and it's weird to have the fall colors and summer-like temperatures – even though we'll be back to normal season temperatures again soon. That did allow us to have bonus outdoor time at school; and we took two extra classes outside for no good reason other than it was too nice out to be stuck indoors. We had lunch outside too; and I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park after school for a bit of playground fun while they also watched a bit of the midway tear-down. That was nearly finished by then, but we didn't stay all that long because I wanted to get started on my family business work and studying until dinnertime. I did that in a time phase while Ethan and Ehlana did some of their college studying; and we wrapped that up before Michael came over to have dinner with us after his football practice.

We had dinner in the sunroom; Michael and I did the clean-up; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with us before we moved on to do our homework and have a music practice. That didn't take too long because we don't have the next round of music for the teen praise team yet; and we only practiced the music for the marching band. We had a bit of music play time too; but then we had Ethan and Ehlana join us to watch a Halloween movie and talk costumes with them. Our tentative picks are PAW Patrol pups for Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and the twins think that I should go as Elena of Avalor with Michael as either my guard or the young, royal wizard. I'll keep you posted on that; but I especially love the idea of the twins, Naomi, and Aiden being PAW Patrol pups – especially if they take Silkie out with them on Halloween night!

Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in after the movie; he went home at eleven o'clock after a very, very minor make-out session; and then I hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak while using a time phase and multi-tasking the rest of my work and studying. It still isn't midnight yet, so getting a decent night of rest is possible tonight – and I'm going to make that happen!

It's been a fun day, but I'm going to have a very long day tomorrow with school, four practices, and the rest of what I need to get done; and that won't leave much time for sleeping – unless I can learn how to use time phases while unconscious.

That's an interesting idea, but probably not possible.

Going to sleep now is possible and a sure thing once I'm done with this update; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

As expected, this has been a very long, busy day; so I'm going to try to keep this report short and then crash and hap for a while.

The weather was again great today, with temps rising to near-eighty. It was cooler in the morning for Tai Chi by the river, but comfortably in the low-sixties; Mom, Michael, and I had fun with the twins while doing that work-out; and then Michael moved on to his weight training workout while I had breakfast and got ready for school with some work on both sides of the meal and a bit of play time with Ehlana. I don't have anything exciting to report from my classes today, and while I had a lot of fun with cheerleading at lunch, our two band practices after school, and the teen praise team practice once we were finished with the marching band; there isn't really any news there either.

I should report that marching band practice is now regularly messing with the start of our teen praise team practice; and it was heading toward ten o'clock by the time we were finished at the church. Michael came home with me after that; we did our homework; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then we spent a bit of time with Ethan and Ehlana having a bedtime chat on Ehlana's bed once they were changed and ready to get some sleep. They, by the way, had fun at school; played at the lab and archive in the afternoon; and did their college studies after dinner while Mom worked on the family business.

That's what I needed to get started on after Michael went home at eleven-thirty; and it's what I've been doing in the long hours since then. I used a time phase for some of the work, but needed to be in real time for my language studies because that was online chatting and 'live' typing as I practiced both verbal and written skills on the fly – something that will be fairly important to me as an interpreter and translator. There was some other multi-tasking while I did that for work that also needed to be done online, but the computers did a lot of that work; and I just needed to keep an eye on the data flows.

It's now past-three; I'm worn out; and ready to nap. Tomorrow is an after-school work day, so I plan on doing all of this sort of work and studying while Michael's at football practice – or as much as I can get done then; and follow that up with an early bedtime after he comes over and we get our homework done. Okay, he'll probably need to go home first before I go to bed, but keeping him for a sleepover is a fun thought to go off to sleep with; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Happy 19th Birthday, Chris!

Having your nineteenth birthday on the nineteenth of October is a bit spooky; but probably no scarier than having a birthday while living in dorms at college. I'll guess that he's having fun today, but we didn't get a chance to talk to him all day; so our only involvement will be the gifts that we sent him – including a college teen's favorite gift from Mom and Dad – cash!

My day was not birthday party fun, but we've had a good day around here. The weather was back to near-fall-normal, so Tai Chi by the river required warmer clothes; and we at least needed sweaters or light jackets for most of the day while at school or elsewhere. School was good, but uneventful; and then I came home and got to work on my studies and family business work while using a time phase to blast through it as quickly as possible. Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana worked or studied then too; we kept going until I was done; and then we had a slightly-late dinner that I helped to cook and then clean up after while Mom did bath time with the twins. Michael came over after work at the Inn; we did our homework; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then Michael went home because I was ready for a bath and early bedtime too.

I'm writing this while wrapping up my soak in the Jacuzzi; I'll be in bed and off to sleep as soon as I'm done getting my hair dried and finish the rest of my bedtime routine. That's all the news I have for today, and I really am ready for a decent night of rest now – as well as ready to get out of the tub; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, October 20, 2016

It's definitely back to fall weather again, but it was a nice fall day around here; so that was still nice-enough for the bits of outdoor time I had today.

We had a normal morning before school without anything particularly exciting to report even while it was still filled with fun along with the usual work. My school day was nothing special, but the time with Michael and our friends was still good; and the lunchtime cheerleading practice went well – and we're ready for the game tomorrow night. While Michael was busy with football, I again came home from school and worked on the family business in a near-duplicate of yesterday afternoon – including the time phase that Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana took advantage of too while working on the family business or studying.

Dinner wasn't delayed at all because they needed to be at the Inn on time for game night; and I needed to be ready for my family-free time with Michael while they were gone. When Michael did get here after the post-dinner clean-up at the Inn, we went with the make-out time first; followed by the homework; and wrapped up our alone time with the music practice until Mom got home again with the twins. She did a Magi lesson with us; we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed; and then Michael went home after a lengthy goodnight hug and kisses. I had a bedtime chat with Mom; came up to my room; and got ready for bed.

Mandy and I have been cuddling in bed since then; I've only had a bit of work to do along with my bedtime email and computer checks; and I'm going to get to have two nights in a row where I'll be sleeping before midnight!

That's good for me, since I'll be busy with the usual football game day on Friday and a work and fun-filled weekend for the next three days. I'm looking forward to all of that, but am ready to get to the sleeping right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, October 21, 2016

This is going to be a short update because it's really, really late; and I need to get my busy Saturday going very soon.

Our morning started out with a very chilly Tai Chi workout by the river that required bundling up thanks to the temperature being close to freezing. Mom cooked a hot breakfast after that; I took care of the clean-up because I had the pre-breakfast time slot for getting showered and ready for school; and then we all got on with our school or work day. I have no major news from my classes or school work; we did have fun all day; and then I was busy after school getting ready for the football game with the marching band and cheerleaders.

We had a perfect fall-weather evening for the game; and the temperature was right around sixty degrees at kick-off. That was perfect for our team – and for our cheerleading squad and marching band too. We were hosting Westburg this week, and while the weather was perfect for them too; they likely felt as though they came up against a force of nature in our team tonight – and maybe they did. Michael and Tim led our team to a fifty-nine to twenty-three victory over Westburg with three touchdowns each. Lucas added two more; and we only kicked one field goal – though we would have kicked more if not for a couple of plays that were so badly broken that it would have been more embarrassing to Westburg if Lucas or Tim had simply stopped and taken a knee – or run laterally until one of their players could tackle them.

The highlights of the game for me tonight was having my family there – including Dad once he got back from Crystal Springs; all of the cheerleading fun that included a kid-friendly half-time routine; and our marching band half-time show that included our best precision marching ever so far! The post-game hugs and kisses with Michael were pretty good too; and so was the meet and greet time with our families and friends; but then it was back to work for a while as we needed to get everything pack up and put away before going to hit the showers and get ready for the post-game party that Tim's parents were again hosting because our Captain's farm just doesn't work as party central for most of us town kids – or for any of the farm kids that live on the other sides of town from him.

That's the main reason for why I'm still up and writing this in the wee hours of the morning. Michael and I stayed until the very end of the party; we helped with the clean-up after that; I brought him home for a minor make-out session after that; and then he headed home in time to have a nap before we'll both be getting up to help with the breakfast shift at the Inn. I would have just kept him for a sofa sleepover, but wanted to do my bedtime computing first; and that ended up taking longer than expected when I had some must-do family business work to deal with that hadn't been planned. I kicked it up into a time phase to get that done; but I'm still only going to have time for a nap now; and some self-healing will definitely be needed to help out with getting through a day of work at the Inn and the fall clean-up fun that I'll be having with Mom, Dad, and the twins.

This is also the weekend to do the Halloween decorations, so that really will be fun; but that's something that I can report on after I've finished living it. All I should be doing now is getting every minute of sleep that I can instead of dragging this report out for now reason other than that my brain is still slowing down while my body already wishes it was asleep. I'm going to grant that wish right now, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, October 22, 2016

It's been as busy a day as I expected, with a lot of work, but this is going to be a short update because I'm about to get started on a Halloween movie night with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and then I may decide to keep Michael for a sofa sleepover after we put the four kids to bed and hopefully wrap up our day with an overdue make-out session!

The breakfast shift at the Inn came way too early, but I did a self-heal before leaving home; helped Michael out when I met up with him at his house while we waited for his Dad to be ready to go over to the Inn with us; and then we were kept busy working the breakfast rush for the next few hours. I came home and got to work on the fall clean-up after that; and the highlight of that work was doing the Halloween decorations with Ethan and Ehlana. Dad picked up some new decorations for them – an inflatable, two-stack jack-o-lantern that's now lit up in our front yard and decorated to be boy and girl twins. We also have new, spooky blue LED lights flashing across the front of our house – including shining into the windows for Ethan's and Ehlana's rooms so they get that haunted house effect while sleeping at night too. We also used a lot of the family Halloween decorations that have been saved up over the years; there's a graveyard in our front yard; skeletons hanging from the front porch eves; a scarecrow sitting in a chair near the front steps; and a dozen other decorations.

While all of that decorating was fun, and we got a lot of work done too; I was getting tired by the time we stopped for a late dinner. Having a nap wasn't an option, but after eating and helping with the clean-up; grabbing a shower and getting changed into comfortable clothes for a spooky movie night was an option; and I've been doing that while Mom went with the twins to collect Naomi and Aiden – and have little visits with their parents along the way. They're back now, and Michael will be set free from the Inn soon because he isn't going to have to work until close; so I need to wrap this up; finish getting ready for our movie night; and go and get the lounge ready and the first movie – Spooky Buddies – cued up so we'll be ready to get right to it once Michael gets here.

It's been a really good day, and if I don't just fall asleep on Michael; it will hopefully be an occasionally hot, Halloween-themed night! I'll have to let you know how that works out for us with the next report, so feel free to flip the digital page to find out about that; and I'll wrap this up and go live it in my 'now' while you do that sometime in my future.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Movie night with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden was a lot of fun – until I fell asleep; and then I don't remember anything after that!

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Michael was still with me when we woke up in the morning, so that was great too; though I'm not happy about missing out on the make-out time we might have had last night if I hadn't gone into nap mode even before the kids in the room did – and that apparently happened too. Mom and Dad did come for the kids, though; and left Michael with me because I have really awesome parents. ;^)

Tai Chi by the river was fun with the bonus exercise buddies; Michael and I had breakfast with his parents, and that was particularly nice because we had them to ourselves this morning. That isn't meant to be anything against Rebecca, because she knows I love her too, but she was out at the farm last night with Lucas and his family; and it is nice to get some time with Michael's parents when we're not competing with anyone for their attention. Now that I think about that, it's been a while since that's happened with my parents too; so we should work on that sometime soon.

Moving along, we had a nice breakfast and chat; cleaned up; and then headed for church. The service and Sunday school parts of my day were filled with music, fellowship, and fun; and then we headed home to have lunch before heading out on our pumpkin patch adventure. I took the day off from the Inn to do that instead, but Michael had to work; so he couldn't come along. We did have some other teens along, including Rowen and Tim, but I spent most of my time running around with Ethan, Ehlana, their best friends, and most of our younger cousins. We played in the corn maze; went on a hay ride that included pumpkin picking; some of us braved the haunted barn; and there were other games and rides geared toward the little kids – like pony rides, pumpkin bowling; and a hay bale pirate ship. We also picked up some Halloween treats and bakery goods; but didn't buy any fruit or vegetables from the market; but only because we're getting all we need of both through the band fundraiser this year.

We headed for home in time to get everything put away, clean up, and then head for the Inn for the late buffet. I wasn't planning on working, but Miranda was short-handed; so I drafted myself to help out for a while – and hang out with Michael in the kitchen. That meant missing the family dinner, but I was glad to help out instead; and had fun even while we worked hard until things were caught up in the kitchen, I didn't stay until close; and instead went home with my family after they'd finished having a leisurely dessert and visit with everyone they'd met up with for dinner – along with some friends and neighbors.

Dad had a lot of work to do tonight, so I got my computer and school gear; used a time phase; and did my homework, family business work, and language studies in the office so that Dad could get his work done faster too. Mom worked too; Ethan and Ehlana studied for their college classes; and we worked until about eleven-thirty before we were all ready to call it a night. I came straight up to bed; used another time phase while grabbing a shower and getting ready for bed; and if I wrap this up now; I'll be sleeping my shortly-after midnight. That's worked out for me tonight, but all of the time phase power drain was a bit tough tonight; so I might need to cut back on that for a few days.

I'll let you know if that works out for me or not, but that's all for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, October 24, 2016

Happy 17th Birthday, Jenny!

It's getting late; so I'm going to keep this short – at least comparatively for a friend's birthday party news day.

My early morning and school day were normal and uneventful – except for the birthday fun with Jenny at lunchtime. After school, Rowen and I did our homework; got ready for Jenny's party; and then went over to her house in time to help her parents with some of the work while we waited for Michael and Tim to join us after football practice.

Jenny had the biggest party I've been to so far this school year, and while some summertime parties were bigger; they were also out at Quarry Lake when it was hot outside. A major, mostly-indoor party is a bit tougher to do, but while it was a bit much for me; Jenny had a blast – and that is what's most-important on her special day. In addition to the cheerleaders and color guard friends, Jenny had most of the football team players at her house tonight; along with other band members that weren't already covered in the other three groups. Add in family and classmates; and you can imagine how packed the Warren house was tonight.

We had a nice fall day, and temperatures were near-seventy for a short while this afternoon, so having a barbeque dinner had been an easy option for Jenny's parents; and we were able to spend some time outdoors too – at least until it started to cool off after dark. Michael and I ended up helping with the work nearly as much as we played with our friends tonight, but we did have fun; and Jenny's parents appreciated all of the help they could get. There was all of the normal birthday fun with cake, candles, the birthday song, and lots of gifts for Jenny to open. She isn't really dating anyone right now, but does have several admirers, so she had fun with that tonight too. I'm not going to go there, since I don't really need to discuss Jenny's love life in my journal; but will again mention that we definitely have different views about relationships when it comes to dating and boys.

It's a school night, so the party couldn't go late, but we were at Jenny's house until a bit after eleven – and Michael and I were that late because we helped out with the party wind-down clean-up. I walked Michael home; kissed him goodnight on his front porch; and then came home from there and got to work shortly after having a bedtime chat with Mom and Dad in the office. Ethan and Ehlana were in bed by then, so I only checked in on them for goodnight kisses that they didn't wake up for; and then I came up to my room and got ready for bed. I've been working since then; didn't use a time phase; and skipped my language studies tonight because I didn't want to be awake for another hour. I don't want to be awake now, and that's pretty much all I have for tonight anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

We've had another nice fall day – cloudy, but warm; and that was good for my outdoor fun – Tai Chi, Cheerleading, and marching band practice. The fun was mixed in nicely with the work too, but it's also been a really long day; and I just need to pass out now.

My classes, four practices, and all of the studying and work has kept me going since a bit before dawn until now – a bit after three in the morning; so the details really aren't that important to me as I'm writing this while running on empty. I will be taking good feelings with me into dreamland, though, and I'm glad that I got everything on my to-do list finished; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

It isn't late, but I am still fried; and it's time to crash and actually try to catch up on my sleep.

Even a teen Magi Master hits the wall now and then – metaphorically-speaking.

We've had another warm day for late October; with a bit of rain and a short thunderstorm or two mixed in. My morning and school day were fun but not newsworthy; I came home from school and worked in the office – and in a time phase – until I had all of my homework, language studies, and family business work finished. There was a break in the middle of the work for dinner, and I had Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana with me for at least one half of those time phase work and study opportunities; which is why they're all done the work or studying they had on their to-do lists too.

They're now having some Halloween movie fun as I'm writing this, but I don't have that much energy left in me; which is why I'll be in nap mode soon after finish this little update.

I'm ready to find out how quickly I can do that right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, October 27, 2016

I'm not being very good with my journal updates right now, but even though I did get lots of sleep last night; I need to do that again now – so this is going to be another short report.

Tai Chi by the river was a bit cooler again this morning, but that was still fun; and so was breakfast in the sunroom with Mom, Dad, and the twins. My school day was fairly normal for a Thursday; with cheerleading practice at lunchtime the highlight – at least when it came to having fun. Our last home game of the regular season is tomorrow night, and while we're hoping for some home games during the playoffs too; we won't know how that goes until sometime this weekend when the first round match-ups are announced.

Michael had football practice after school, so I came home and did my work and language studies using a time phase so I didn't have to do them now. Mom cooked dinner, but I took care of the clean-up after we had that meal in the sunroom too – and while the rest of my family got ready to go to the Inn for game night. That gave me something to do while waiting for Michael to come over; though I had time to freshen up a bit too so I'd be ready for the make-out time we were overdue for sharing once we had our homework out of the way. We did not have our music practice first, but we are teens; and it is okay to put a bit of clothing-optional fun ahead of the responsibilities now and then.

Speaking of that, since I haven't mentioned it lately; all of that work at the Inn, the weight training, and football practices are having quite the effect on my boyfriend! Sure, I'm biased; but doubt that any girl around our age would disagree with me when I state that Michael is seriously hot!

I won't go on about that, since this will be a journal that other Magi can read some day, but I will again mention that Michael and I do have our rules for that kind of fun; and we manage to have fun without doing anything we shouldn't.

Moving along, we had fun with that hot little make-out session; had our music practice; and wrapped that up when Mom and Dad got home with Ethan and Ehlana. Mom did a Magi lesson with us after that; Michael and I took care of getting my brother and sister in bed for the night; and then I saw Michael out with some goodnight hugs and kisses on the front porch before come up to my room for the night too. I've only done a quick email and computer systems check since getting into bed with Mandy; so I'm pretty much ready to head into nap mode now.

It's been fun, but we have a very busy next few days ahead of us; so I'm going for the extra sleep while I can.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, October 28, 2016

This has been one of those seriously crazy-busy days with a lot of fun mixed in with the school time; work; and football-related action.

I'm going to skip the news from the start of my day, since that was fairly-standard exercise by the river and breakfast in the sunroom fun. My school day was shortened thanks to dealing with the fruit and vegetable boxes delivery and then the outbound pick-ups. I was on the crew unloading the truck; we had an extra-large order because of the bonus sales at the fall festival and the extra boxes we ordered to sell tomorrow night at the Haunted Halloween Walk booth the marching band will be running to sell snacks, drinks, and raffle tickets too.

That work was tougher than the classes would have been, but we had fun with it too; and then I had to keep moving again after school while continuing to help with that; do my own deliveries with help from Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then I had a micro-dinner before heading back to the school to get ready for cheerleading and marching band for the football game.

We were up against Pinehurst for our final regular season game, and it was a big deal for both teams; since first place in our division was on the line – and home field advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. Pinehurst didn't have an undefeated season on the line, but beating us would have left our teams with nine-and-one records. Fortunately for our team, we won; and did that very convincingly by a score of fifty-four to twenty-six. Pinehurst never gave up, but I won't suggest that the game was close. Michael and Tim helped us out to a big first-half lead that included a combination of great offense and big defensive plays. Lucas added a couple of touchdowns on the ground before we switched to kicking field goals for the rest of the game; and Pinehurst had to settle for only two touchdowns and four field goals. They did keep trying for more touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, but either lost fourth down attempts or gave up interceptions to Michael and Tim.

Having a lot to cheer about made cheerleading a lot of fun for us, but the awesome weather made a big difference too. The 'feels like' temperature at kick-off was in the mid-eighties, and while I wouldn't dream of complaining about that; it was weird for the last weekend of October. It definitely felt weird to be wearing our usual cheerleading uniforms instead of needing to bundle up, and while the guys appreciated that a lot too; I'm not going to write about that at all – even when it applies to the single girls on the squad; and they generally like the attention. I only enjoy that kind of attention from Michael, and he did appreciate me a lot tonight too; but not at the expense of having a really great game.

Our half-time cheerleading routine was another kid-friendly, Disney-themed show; it was a hit with all of the spectators – including my extended family; and then we put on our best marching band half-time show of the season too. We're not sure whether the band will be going to every football playoff game with our team, but we will go to as many as we can – and we'll definitely be playing at the first-round match next Friday night. While I was too busy to help out with the work, we also had the marching band raffle tickets on sale; and some of the fruit and vegetable boxes were picked up at the game too.

The post-game action was comparatively short because the school Halloween dance was already starting by then; so we wrapped up on the field as quickly as possible; those of us that needed to hit the showers before going to the dance did that; and then Rowen and I met up with Tim and Michael when we were all ready to go to the dance. Michael and I went with the Elena of Avalor costume for me while he went as my Royal Magician, Mateo, and although we didn't win any prizes for our costumes; we did have fun – and a much easier time of it when it came to things like dancing together than some of our friends did with their costume choices. Even with the game and everything we had to get done after it; we still had nearly two hours left to go until the end of the dance when we got to it; and made the most of every minute. The dancing was great; we had fun hanging out with our friends; and we had the bonus fun of the Pinehurst teens staying for part of the dance too – though they needed to get on their buses by a bit after midnight when they closed in on the time limit they had for their bus drivers' work limits.

Michael and I loved the dance; I brought him home with me after it; and we had some cuddle time in the living room for a while before he needed to head home to get some sleep ahead of the breakfast shift he's working in the morning. I'm not doing that this weekend, but I will be helping out on Sunday. I need to get some sleep too, though I'll be busy with other things tomorrow – including another fall cleanup day; the marching band work at the Haunted Halloween Walk; and babysitting later tomorrow night while the parents go out to the Halloween party at Sheldon's Pub after the haunted walk.

I'm getting tired just thinking about all of that, but we'll be having a lot of fun again tomorrow too; so we're sure to have a really great day too. Sleeping now is an option, though, since there isn't anything newsworthy for me to report from my bedtime computing or email checks; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Happy 5th Birthday, Aiden!

This is an interesting year for Aiden's birthday because it falls on the same day as the Haunted Halloween Walk. Add in that it is also a very busy day for his parents at the bakery; and it explains why his extended family and best friends got to celebrate his big day with him more than his parents did this year. I wasn't around for most of the birthday fun during the day, but Aiden did go out to the Inn for breakfast with some grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; and I knew about that because Aiden was then dropped off to spend most of the day with Ethan and Ehlana – except for a lunch break with family that Ethan was invited to go along for while Ehlana and Naomi stayed behind because the available kid space for that lunch was limited. The kids were back together for the afternoon; and then they all went to meet up with Aiden's parents at home after the bakery closed so that they could get his birthday party started with a quick dinner and dessert before moving on to the Haunted Halloween Walk.

I'm ahead of my own story for the day, but then it wasn't birthday party fun and games to that point on the timeline. Tai Chi by the river was especially nice because the Carringtons joined us for the work-out and the weather was awesome even that early. The double-family breakfast was great too; and then it was time for me to get to work on the never-ending fall clean-up. As usual, I will not complain about that work, since I do have it easier than most teens around here thanks to the handy attachments Dad has for his lawn tractor, but there is still a lot of work that has to be done the hard way, and since Mom still won't let us use our Magi gifts to do that work out in public; it takes time to deal with the gardens, maintenance on the house and storage barn; and deal with other issues – like getting the dock ready for the winter freeze. All of that work was much easier to take with temperatures in the seventies and eighties, and while the work wasn't all that exciting; spending the time with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana was great. Aiden and Naomi were there for parts of the work too, but Aiden and a get-out-of-work card for his birthday; and the four kids played most of the time when they were around. They also got to go to the park for some play time that Mom had Aunt Leanne along for when Zack and Brianna needed to get out of the house for a while after lunch; and that included a bike ride for all of them – with Zack and Brianna in our trailer for that part of the adventure.

I needed to wrap up the work by four; get cleaned up and ready for the rest of the day; and then head to the school to help out with everything the marching band was doing for the Haunted Halloween Walk. Michael was working the dinner shift at the Inn, so he couldn't help out with that; but Rowen and Tim were among the volunteers. We had to get everything ready at the school, and then couldn't head for Witch Falls Road until the stores closed at six o'clock. We were busy getting the trucks and minivans loaded up, but then the work kicked up into high gear when we could start setting up our fundraiser booth and the area where the band – or smaller groups of our musicians – played music from seven to eleven o'clock. We needed a far bit of space for that, so our booth and the band was given an area in front of Landry's Automotive; and some of the cars that are usually lined up near the sidewalk were moved back to make room for our band for the evening.

We managed to be ready to go on time, and we started playing our first set right at seven o'clock; though we didn't quite have the full band because not everyone could be there on time. Michael did make it, though, so I was in a great mood as we launched into the Halloween-themed songs – beginning with a few Disney songs from Halloween episodes or movies. Yes, I might seem to be a bit obsessed with Disney, but keep in mind that our band is doing all of this for a chance to play at Disney in Florida; so it is important to remind everyone why we're doing all of the fundraising. As I mentioned, we didn't all play all of the time, since everyone wanted to go on the walk and play the games too; so we took turns and only had the full band for two half-hour sets. We had a blast with that, but the musical highlights of the night for me were the half-hour of saxophone duets and duels that Michael and I did from seven-thirty to eight; and the guitar and vocal duets we did during the ten-to-ten-thirty time slot. Part two of that was especially amazing because we had my family and all of Aiden's birthday party gang among the spectators; and they especially loved the duets we did from the 'Girl vs. Monsters' movie. Our songs were all Halloween-themed too, and while it was a bit different with our acoustic version of the song; our little audience seemed to love singing and dancing along to the Monster Mash when we wrapped up our set with that – and then I was done my band work for the night.

That needed to be the case because Rowen and I went into babysitter mode after that; and we went home with Mom, Dad, and most of the kids we are babysitting tonight. Michael and Tim stayed to help with the work at the food booth and then the clean-up; but they came over in time to be with us when the parents were collectively ready to leave for Sheldon's Pub and the last few hours of the Halloween party already in progress there. Rowen and I got all of the kids ready for bed first before moving the show up to the lounge for a toddler-friendly Halloween movie and shows marathon; though most of the toddlers didn't stay awake through to the end of the first show. You might think that was good news for the teen babysitters, but I have cousins in my bed right now as I write this; there are kids camping out on the floor in the lounge; and there is zero chance that I'll be having a sofa sleepover with Michael tonight.

While it's been a bit crazy around here since the adventure in babysitting starting for us, it's been a lot of fun too – and not just because of the kids. We had some drop-in visitors, and Jessica and Patrick were among the most-entertaining. They came over with Sophia to drop her off for the babysitting and sleepover; stayed to help out until Michael and Tim were done with the band work; and then went back to her house because they were in charge of Ryan and a couple of his buddies while her parents were at Sheldon's too. Lucas and Rebecca stopped by after they were done at the Haunted Halloween Walk too, but didn't stay long; and they are spending the night out at the farm. Getting back to the kid-friendly movie marathon, we've watched Sofia and the 'Cauldronation' episode; a Halloween-themed Doc McStuffins; and two spooky PAW Patrol shows. By the end of that fourth show, we'd lost all of the kids except for the twins, Naomi, and Aiden.

Don't worry, Moms and Dads – we only lost your younger kids to dreamland; so that wasn't meant to be Halloween-scary for you! ;^)

I got to watch some of those shows too, but spent more time dealing with the younger kids – especially Brianna and Faith. This is Faith's first babysitting sleepover with the gang of kids, so she was an adorable combination of fired up and sleepy; since she'd already had a very long, busy day with her very first Haunted Halloween Walk adventure too. I cuddled with her and Michael had Brianna with him until Faith went to sleep; I put her into a portable crib in my room; cuddled with Michael and Brianna for a while after that; and then put Brianna to bed next – in my bed. We started to lose the toddlers next. Sebastian was one of the first; and Leah was the last – even though Zack and Eli had insisted that they would stay awake all night; and definitely out-last all of the girls. From my perspective, it's a good thing that Zack does run out of steam now and then; since he's a scary kid to keep up with whenever he's awake.

Note to me – ask Violet if Chris and Martin were like Zack when they were three!

Moving along – again; the current movie is Casper, and I have no idea why the kids picked that one over other favorites tonight; but Michael, Tim, and Rowen are having fun watching it too. I was having fun with them, but I'm currently multi-tasking this update with taking care of Faith because she apparently only needed a nap before deciding that she wanted to party again. Her bottle of choice is non-alcoholic, and I wouldn't consider the diaper change she needed before we got her bottle ready a fun party game, but she thought it was funny; and I guess that it was messy and smelly-enough to fit in with a Halloween theme.

I'm writing this update while Faith is having her bottle and we're cuddling in the living room. Yes, we could hang out in the lounge too, but I want Faith to go back to sleep, and even though she is very special; I don't think that she necessarily needs to watch the scarier parts of Casper – especially since there's a good chance that she'd remember all of it. We won't actually know that for sure until years from now, but Mom is already starting to get some strong indications that her prenatal and neonatal Magi programs are improving what Magi kids remember from their early childhoods to something mid-way between what older Magi here remember and the perfect recall that Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I all have in common.

That isn't something I need to write about tonight; and I should wrap this up so that Faith isn't more interested in what I'm doing with my Magi power than in sleeping. Mom and Dad are still out and having fun, but then I didn't expect them to be home early because they're designated drivers tonight as well as the hosts for the babysitting sleepover. They do get that job more often than not right now, but then I expect they'll get a break from that after I head for college and they won't have the most-convenient babysitters in the family anymore. I'm just starting to ramble now, though, so it's time to wrap this up and get back to concentrating on the babysitting.

Oh wait – I did forget one very important detail – the Haunted Halloween Walk! Michael and I went on the walk with Mom, Dad, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We didn't go with the twins because they were with Aiden and his party guests instead, but while I would have liked to have them along too; we still managed to have fun. The stories for the walk are the same every year, but I still love the shows as much as the first time I saw them; and it's even better to share the fun with Michael. You might, by the way, wonder why we haven't gotten involved in putting on the walk by now. We would love to do that, and may get the chance to do it in the future, but we don't do it right now because we're too busy; and can't add that work to our schedules when we're already busy with football, band, cheerleading, and the teen praise team. For now, we'll have to settle for enjoying the annual show!

Yes, that's definitely all for tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a very long, busy day too; though there will be a lot more work and a bit less fun because I'm working the full shift at the Inn to help Miranda with what is sure to be a busy day because of the lure of Witch Falls on the weekend before Halloween. Starting the day with breakfast for a gang of kids will be crazy too, but I'm sure that will be the fun highlight of the day too; so I'm looking forward to that – even though we'll also likely wish we could have slept in by then instead of getting up early to deal with the extra work.

I'd better not go there, or I'll be the one falling asleep before Faith does! Then again, a cuddle and nap with Faith dies sound very inviting right now. Maybe we'll do that, but I need to finish this report before doing that – or not; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, October 30, 2016

It's been a busy, often fun day, but I'm beat; so this is going to be a micro update.

Tai Chi by the river was a small break before the storm that was my morning while we did all of the work that went with getting a gang of kids fed and ready for church. We had bonus help from some parents, including Jacob and Miranda; but we were still all kept busy through until we sat down for the start of the service at church. That hour and change of faith and family felt like another break for me; though that was compared to the rest of my day.

Michael and I headed for the Inn once we were finished Sunday school; and then we worked hard for the rest of the day except for our afternoon break and a quick dinner after the last buffet was well-underway in the evening. I worked until close, and our afternoon break included doing our homework; so we really were on the go most of the time through until we walked home at a bit after ten o'clock. I had a visit with Mom, Dad, and the twins in the office once I was home; Mom did a short Magi lesson with me; and then I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. I came up to my room after that; hopped into my Jacuzzi; and started multi-tasking my work while in a time phase. That's the only way I got the work finished without staying up all night, but it still took quite a while to get everything finished; and I've needed to keep the time phase going through my tub time and what's been the equivalent of hours snuggled in bed with Mandy while I continued to work; so the cost of the power drain has been very high tonight.

That's why I'm wrapping this little report up without writing about anything else that went on without me – like an afternoon pumpkin carving bit of fun that I missed out on with my family today. Tomorrow is Halloween, and I'm sure to have another late night with that added to my schedule. I'll need all the sleep I can get now and will likely add in a bit of self-healing in the morning too, so that's all for today; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

I've mentioned this in the past, but let's start this update with a reminder that Halloween does not need to be incompatible with Christian faith. That isn't something I want to write a lot about; so let's keep it simple. Anything you do – including dressing up in costumes and having fun – can be filtered through your beliefs and faith; so Halloween isn't any more dangerous than any other day. Here's another news flash for some people – evil is done on other days too – and sometimes, supposedly, in the name of God. Sometimes, people need to focus on the big picture; and not freak out because a bunch of kids dress up and go door-to-door to collect treats.

Okay, that's enough of that – let's get to the Halloween fun news!

Tai Chi by the river was a great way to start the day; Mom and Dad had Halloween-themed breakfast for us that included orange pancakes with scary cut-outs to make them look like jack-o-lanterns. I helped with the work on both sides of the meal; we had fun eating the special food; and then I helped out with getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for school – and into their PAW Patrol pup costumes. I haven't mentioned that, but Dad picked up those costumes while in the city – and the costumes for Naomi and Aiden; so we're talking about full, plush costumes that are adorable.

The weather today has been awesome for Halloween, and while it has been cloudy all day too; the temperatures climbed to right around eighty; and we had a perfect evening for going trick-or-treating. Before I get to that part of the story, though; we need to cover the rest of the news for today.

First up, we had fun with the walk to school – especially doing that with four of the PAW Patrol pups. Rowen and I were dressed up too, and I've worn my Ehlana of Avalor costume for most of the day, but didn't really need to do that; since Michael, Rowen, and I missed the afternoon parties and most of the Haunted House at school anyway. That was because the concert band was playing at the Seniors' Halloween lunch and party; so we had that to do on top of the rest of the work we did at school in the morning. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did get the entire day off from classes because of the work and party; so that was good for us – even if we worked harder than we would have in our classes. We spent most of the morning setting up the haunted house in the gym and one trip to the church to set up for the band in the fellowship hall.

We were at school for lunch; Michael and I volunteered to go with the kindergarten kids when they were first to do the haunted house; and then we needed to head over to the church again in time for the mini-dance we were providing the music for between one and two-thirty. The haunted house was fun to do with Ethan, Ehlana, and Aiden, but while it wasn't really scary for us; it was scary-enough for the little kids – in a hilarious sort of way. The seniors' party was especially fun for me because Grandma and Grandpa were there for it this year.

Yes, you're now noticing that I haven't mentioned them leaving for their annual trip to Arizona, and that's because they stayed later this year so that they could see their grandkids at Halloween. They're heading out tomorrow for a shortened holiday in Arizona; and will still be home for the Thanksgiving weekend mid-way through their first warm-weather vacation of the winter.

Having them at the party made the duet that Michael and I performed that much better too; though that's always magical for us. We didn't have the full band with us, but Rowen was there; and she had a flute solo for one of the songs as about half of the music today was a mix of solos, duets, and small ensembles while the band took care of the rest of the tunes – with most of them Halloween-themed. At two-thirty, we packed up and hauled the gear back to the school; Rowen and I helped out with the gym clean-up after that while the boys needed to get to their football practice; and then I needed to get home to help Mom with getting everything ready for an early dinner and the trick-or-treating.

By the way, our first-round football match for the play-offs is going to be against Ridgeway. I'm only mentioning that because I should have before now; but will save the football news for the Friday night report.

I was busy from the time I got home until Michael came over when it was time to take Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden out trick-or-treating. We got to do that instead of Mom and Dad because they were looking forward to seeing all of the kids as they stopped by our house – as all kids and teens in town always do each year on our street. That's still true even with the new section in town adding to the available areas to go trick-or-treating; and will likely stay that way for a while – at least until most of that new section is completed. When Mom and Dad were finished taking pictures, we headed out – going west at first; and then back along our street on the other side of the road. We ended up adding Sophia to our group because she was just getting ready to head out too when we stopped at her house; and she was glad to go with us instead of with Jessica and Patrick – or Ryan and his buddies.

I won't offer a play-by-play of the next two hours or so; but will note some of the highlights. Our visits with grandparents, aunts, and uncles were all really awesome moments; we had fun when we met up with friends of all ages; and Rowen and Tim had a fun little display going on at her house that included Tim the Zombie wandering around in search of brains and Rowen handing out candy while also using a microphone to make a pumpkin-headed dummy in a chair near the end of the sidewalk 'talk' to the kids as they passed by. After covering our street, we went into the new section to visit the Seagers and Drapers – along with quite a few of the other houses and one of the apartment buildings before we came back into the 'old' part of town. It really isn't possible to visit every house in town on Halloween – at least with small kids; so we didn't try to do that. We did visit our grandparents – including Sophia's Bassett Grandparents; and we also did some trick-or-treating with Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Brianna when we met up with them at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The four kids had two bags full of candy each by the time they'd had enough and were ready to head home. Michael and I took Naomi and Aiden home first; I went home with Ethan and Ehlana after that; and Michael took Sophia home on his way back to his house so that he could get changed and then come over to hang out with me for a while – at least until Mom and Dad were done with the trick-or-treaters.

We ended up sitting out on the front porch with them – and with Ethan and Ehlana – for a while; went inside with enough time to watch one last Halloween show; and then Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night before doing a Magi lesson with Mom while Dad got to work in the office. There wasn't much time left after that for any quality make-out time – unless one of the teens is a Magi Master with the ability to time-phase! ;^)

That might be scary for parents to think about, but Michael and I had fun; and he was a happy camper when he went home at a bit after eleven o'clock. So was I, but it was time to get to work after that; and I did that as soon as I was in bed with Mandy and my computer. I needed to use a time phase for the work and studying too, but used a bit of self-healing first so that I could do that without being totally-exhausted before even starting in on the stack of family business work that needed to get done tonight. I won't go into the details there either, but some of that work was a priority right away because of the earthquakes in Italy and some needs there that our charities and some European companies could help with – once they had the approval to spend the money. I'm really wiped out now, but this was one of those nights when the work has been more than worth the personal cost.

Getting some sleep now is an option, though, and that's enough of the news from today recorded for posterity to satisfy me when I'm this tired; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
November 2016

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Happy 17th Birthday, Paul!

My involvement in his big day wasn't anything to write about, since I was there when Michael gave him the gift from us at lunchtime; but I couldn't even stay for that mini-party because I had cheerleading practice to get to as soon as I'd finished eating a quick snack that I finished along the way to our outdoor practice.

We could do that because it's been another awesome day; and that worked out great for Tai Chi this morning and marching band practice between our concert band and teen praise team practices. Having Paul's birthday on my four-practice day meant that I couldn't go to his birthday party; but then he couldn't go to it either until after his football and band practices. I'm sure that Vanessa's helped to make up for the lack of party time tonight – or might still be doing that as I write this for all I know, but that isn't something I need to think about with my friends; so let's not go there.

Our school day was really good, and we spent extra time outdoors thanks to the nice weather and teachers that were willing to have some classroom time outdoors with the feeblest of excuses to do that. Our cheerleading practice was a bit more serious this week because Jenny wants to make an impression for the first playoff game – even though we are here at home and it shouldn't be any different than the other home games we've had this season. We still had fun, though; and that was true for the rest of my practices. The concert band practice included starting to work on the Christmas music that we'll be doing both with the marching band and the parades; and for the school pageant and seniors' Christmas party we'll play at again this year too.

Speaking of seniors, Grandma and Grandpa are in Arizona now; they left early this morning for the airport; and I'm sure they're having a nice day too – even if the weather likely isn't all that much better than here today.

We couldn't start with the Christmas music at our marching band practice because we needed to get ready for the football game on Friday – and possibly the next few weeks to come if we keep winning. One change we will have this week, though, is that we'll have more teens from Maple Valley able to come to the game because their team isn't in the playoffs this season. That's going to be fun for all of us, and Jenny seems especially happy because those extra teens include a couple of the guys in the band that she likes as potential future boyfriend material. We had a really good practice; and we've even come up with a different routine to use this week for the game. It still isn't anything fancy, but we're also just not marching around the field or just standing in place while playing our music either; so it's fun for all of us – and hopefully for the spectators too.

Before I move on from the band, I didn't mention it with the last update, but the raffle prizes were drawn yesterday; and they were either sent out or picked up today. I'm writing about it now because about half of those prizes were picked up by band members for delivery to family or friends – particularly for the Maple Valley and farm kids members. I had two prizes to pick up and deliver, and they were for family members; but I won't add the details here; since that isn't something I want to brag about – even in my own journal. I will mention that the marching band is going to get at least one anonymous donation to the general trip fund, but then that isn't really that big of a deal; since our family business will help out later if needed anyway to make sure that the trip is fully-funded if we have any last-minute issues. I don't think that will be a problem, but there are other things we can do too – like help out with spending money for the trip for any students that might need that kind of assistance.

Moving along, we were back into Christmas mode for our teen praise team practice; though we have music for the Thanksgiving weekend service to practice too. That practice started and finished late; and then Michael came home with me so that we could do our homework. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were all working in the office when we got home, so we worked there too; I used a time phase; and we had our homework and a Magi lesson done in record time. That was fun; and so was the bedtime chat I had with Ehlana while Michael and Ethan were having some 'guy time' instead of doing the bedtime routine together. Michael and I came up to the lounge for a bit of privacy for our minor make-out session before he needed to get home; and then I hopped into my Jacuzzi after seeing him out so that I could have a nice long soak while starting my bedtime computing, family business work, and language studies.

I used a time phase for a lot of that work and studying too, but needed to be in real time for some of the family business work and a live, multi-lingual chat. I've added in some extra language studying tonight that I'll do more of over the next couple of days to brush up on my French. To be honest, I don't actually need to do that, but I do have my first SAT coming up on Saturday; so it's probably a good idea to get ready for it now.

Okay, that's not really a worry for me, since I was fluent in French by the time I was a toddler, but it doesn't hurt to practice more than I usually do; and I can honestly admit to studying for that SAT now when I talk about it at school. Maybe I should have mentioned that test in my journal sooner, but it just isn't a big deal for me – even as it is a big deal when it comes to getting ready for my college plans. That's why I have to start my testing early. I wouldn't be able to take all of the tests I need to take if I wait until next fall – the way that most of the seniors are doing now – including Rebecca and Jenny. I won't get into that now; but will write about how our school gets the seniors ready for the SAT testing when it's our turn next year.

Moving along, the family business work continued to include more help for Italy as the highlight of that part of my work tonight; though I do usually have more fun with the language studies – especially when I'm chatting with other teens from all over the world. Putting in the extra work tonight has kept me awake later than I should be, though, and I doubt that anyone reading this in the future cares much about what a bunch of teens talk about online in the middle of the night – or other times of the day in other countries; so I'll just wrap this up and get some sleep.

I don't have much time for that tonight, but it's a work day tomorrow; so I'm going to shoot for an early night to make of for the lack of nap time I have left for me now. This has been a really good day, if a bit too busy and long; and a great way to start November. I'll hope that the fun keeps coming, and would like to continue the trend into dreamland right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

We've had rain off and on today; with more of that on tonight while I've been home. It's also been a work night, so I worked in the office after getting home from school; did my homework; worked on the family business; and did my language studies while Mom worked and Ethan and Ehlana studied. We stopped for dinner; Mom cooked the meal; and I cleaned up while she and Dad went to work in the office – again for her. Ethan and Ehlana supervised my work; we had a nice talk; and then it was time for more work and studying for us. All of my fun in the office was done while in a time phase; which is why we all had our work done for the night by eight-thirty. I've had a soak in my Jacuzzi since then; Mom and Dad took care of Ethan and Ehlana through until they all went to bed a few minutes ago; and I'm planning on having a long nap to help me re-charge from too much busy over the last five days.

That's also why I don't have anything else to add to this update. Nothing else that happened today is more interesting to me right now than heading off to dreamland is, and there isn't really anything newsworthy to write about anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, November 3, 2016

I am going to sleep early; so this is going to be a quick update so that I can do that sooner instead of later.

Everything from Tai Chi by the river through to when I was done school for the day was fairly normal for a Thursday – including my cheerleading practice at lunchtime. I came home after school and did all of my family business work, language studies, and more prep work for my SAT test on Saturday while in a time phase to make sure that I got everything done and didn't have more to do after Michael and I spent the evening together.

I worked until dinner was ready; had the twins studying in the office with me so that they could get their college assignments for the day finished too; and then we had dinner in the sunroom with Mom and Dad. That was all fun for us; and then I took care of the clean-up after we ate while Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana for a walk on the way to game night at the Inn. Michael came over when he was done helping with the dinner rush; we did our homework and had a music practice; and then spent the rest of our alone time having a fairly-hot make-out session until shortly before my family got home again from the Inn.

You don't likely need to guesses to know what the best part of my day was to that point; but Michael and I also had fun with Mom's Magi lesson for us after she was home – and while Dad got started on his homework for the night. We took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after that too; and then I saw Michael out and on his way home after that before coming up here to my room to get ready for bed and tucked in with Mandy. I've only done one last email check before getting to this report, and didn't have anything extra to do; so going to sleep now is an option.

I'll need the extra sleep ahead of what could be another very busy weekend – and the first playoff game of the season is just part of the busy we'll have ahead of us. I can write about that in the next few updates, though, and I really am ready to head into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, November 4, 2016

Happy 38th Birthday, Dad!

Our team didn't get the first-round playoff win as a gift for Dad's birthday, but he was at the game tonight with most of our family; and the big win was a nice bonus for Dad – and all of the players, coaches, and fans!

I'll start with the football news; since that's the top story of the day – even if Dad's birthday was important for Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me. We've had another nice-weather day; and it was in the low-sixties at kick-off – awesome weather for the first weekend in November around here! Ridgeway won the coin toss; opted to defer; and found out that their defense wasn't as good as they thought when our team proceeded to roll down the field and score a touchdown on our first drive. We never lost the lead after that, but the game was fast-paced; Ridgeway fought hard and put up a lot of yards too; and both teams pushed hard right through to the end of the game. We won by a score of fifty-nine to thirty-three, but that score looks more lopsided than it should for two reasons. The first is that Ridgeway only scored one touchdown and three field goals in the first half; and the second is that they kept pushing for only touchdowns in the second half after starting out with a field goal on their first possession – even when that meant giving up the ball with turnovers or on failed fourth downs.

Our team didn't have a perfect game, and the Ridgeway defense earned two turnovers too, but Michael and Tim had three touchdowns each; Lucas had two more; and we only had one field goal because of the way the game went in the fourth quarter – where trading touchdowns or earning one on a pick-six was how we needed to play to maintain our lead and keep Ridgeway from making a major comeback attempt. Our cheerleading squad and fans certainly had a lot to cheer about with eight touchdowns and the field goal; so Rowen and I had a lot of fun with our families and friends. The half-time show for cheerleading and band was great too; though I'll admit that it does seem to be getting tougher to keep up with everything now that we're eleven weeks into the season. Since we are moving on, though, I'm not going to complain about the extra work and being too busy at half-time between band and cheerleading – or with all of the work that goes on before and after the game.

We won't know until sometime tomorrow which team we'll be up against in the next round of the playoffs – or whether we'll have home field advantage again or not; but our team is quietly confident in a way that's much different than a year ago when some of the seniors had a swagger that wasn't really justified by how well we had been playing at the time. Michael and Tim are really confident too, and since they've got some of the best numbers for wide-receivers in our division; they've got the stats to back up that confidence. I'm not going to get into that, since anything can happen in a football game, but Tim is as driven to succeed as Kyle was – and is with his college team; so I wouldn't bet against him when he's on a mission to earn another championship this year.

Moving along, the post-game festivities on the field took a while tonight; we had a lot of work to get done before we could even hit the showers and get cleaned up and changed; and then Michael and I went over to Tim's house with Rowen and a handful of other team mates - including Lucas and Rebecca. We didn't have a full team party – or a party at all; but we did hang out together until twelve-thirty – mostly so that we could all wind down from the excitement. Michael walked me home; we were first to leave Tim's house; and our goodnight hugs and kisses didn't take long because Michael needed to get home and off to sleep to be ready for his breakfast shift at the Inn. I did help him out with some Magi healing before sending him on his way to deal with the bumps and bruises he picked up during the game; but didn't take that too far so he'd still be able to sleep. After Michael went home, I came up to my room because everyone else was in bed by then anyway; I got ready for bed; and have only done the basic email and computer checks before getting to this update.

Even though it's Dad's birthday today, I really don't have much more to write about because I wasn't available for the lunch at the Inn with some friends or the family dinner at home. Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, Michael, and I did have a special breakfast with Dad after Tai Chi by the river, and he opened his gifts from us then too; but that was also a bit of a rush when we all needed to get ready for work or school too – and deal with the larger-than-usual breakfast clean-up. That was all fun, though, and I had a good school day too; so it's been a fairly-awesome day – even if I have yet again missed out on having fun with Dad while I've been busy with other commitments.

I guess that is all of the news I have for now, though, and it's time for me to get some sleep too; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, November 5, 2016

I was up early; Tai Chi by the river and breakfast with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana was fun; and then I needed to hit the road with Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and a group of seniors that were all going to write their SAT's today. We were doing that at Central State; so it was a bit of a drive; and then we split up to go and write the different exams – though I was one of the few taking a specialty SAT today while most of the seniors from our school were writing the 'normal' SAT while I was writing the one for French with listening. I need that for my own college plans; and need to take it this early because I'll be taking more SAT's in the spring and again next fall too so that I'll have all of the testing done that I'll need for a multi-lingual program when I head for college the summer after next. I won't get the results from this test for a while, but won't need to wait to know that I wrote a perfect SAT today.

That isn't meant to be bragging – it's just a fact. Nobody should be surprised at that, since I do have some rather significant advantages that make standardized tests very easy for me to write perfectly every time.

Moving along, I won't bore you with the test details, but I had fun with it; and then had time to wait for Rebecca, Lucas, and Jenny to finish up their tests. We went out for lunch; some of us did some shopping after that; and then we headed for home to get back to town in time for Rebecca to help out with the dinner sift at the Inn. I didn't work at the Inn too; had dinner with Mom and Dad because Ethan and Ehlana are spending the night with Aiden and Naomi respectively and they were already gone by then; and then I had Michael, Tim, and Rowen come over to watch a movie and spend some time together after Michael was set free from the Inn early after working most of the day there while so many of the senior teens were out of town with the SAT testing.

Michael and I don't get to spend enough time just with Rowen and Tim right now, but as with the problems I have for that with my family and other friends, we're all busy; and do the best we can. Tonight, we had fun for a few hours; watched a Christmas movie; and simply enjoyed being together when we weren't busy doing other things – like football, cheerleading, or band. Rowen and Tim went home to her house at eleven; Michael stayed for a minor make-out session; and then he went home at midnight because I was getting tired.

Yes, a sofa sleepover was an option, but we're saving them up right now to use more often over the holidays. ;^)

After seeing Michael out with some front porch goodnight kisses; I came back up to my room; got ready for bed; and have been doing a bit of family business work that came up during my email check. I didn't use a time phase for that because I was too tired to do that safely; which is why I'm seriously ready to crash and nap now. It's been a good day, and though I wish that I could have helped Mom and Dad with the work around the house today; the testing was more important for our future plans and that had to be my priority today.

Speaking of priorities, before I forget to mention it; Michael and Tim get bonus points tonight for watching a movie with us instead of college football. I'm sure they have or will catch up on that news; but it's nice to know that Rowen and I get a bit of priority over football now and then too! ;^)

Okay, I haven't covered any news from around here from while I was away, but there are other sources in the archives for that; and I'm ready to nap right now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, November 6, 2016

According to the guys, the only news around here worth reporting for the weekend is that our opponent in round two of the playoffs will be Mount Pleasant. They're not quite right about that – though it was the big story at church and around the Inn today.

Tai Chi by the river was frosty; I had breakfast at Michael's house because we also had a phone chat with his cousins so that we could collectively wish Annette Bishop a happy second birthday; and I got the bonus gourmet breakfast out of the deal! I'm sure that Annette has had a happy day, but other than that call and sending a gift that Michael, Rebecca, Lucas, and I went in on together; that's all the birthday news I have for her big day – mostly because I don't exchange many email with the Bishop family; and haven't been sent any updates on what she did to celebrate her big day.

We had a good morning at church and Sunday school; I came home for lunch; and spent the afternoon doing my work and studying – including doing my homework with Michael during his afternoon break. I worked the buffet shift at the Inn after that; Michael and I kept busy until closing up for the night in the kitchen; and only took one break for a quick dinner because we were busier than expected and a bit short on staff because of that. the good news is that I don't have to stay up half the night working thanks to doing that work this afternoon; and I didn't spend much time with Michael after work either because we were both ready to have an early night after a busy weekend.

I had a visit with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana after getting home; took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night while Mom and Dad kept working in the office; and had a soak in my Jacuzzi after that before getting ready for bed and snuggled in it with Mandy. Other than an email and computer check, I haven't done anything else work or study-related since then, and once I have this update finished; I'll be heading off to dreamland.

Consider that done; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, November 7, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Marcie!

This has been a big day for her; she's now a member of the drivers' club; and her birthday party was a hit with her family and friends. Allen did a good job helping her with the fun; and earned 'good' boyfriend points for his efforts.

I'd write more about her party and the rest of the fun – like the little lunchtime bit a birthday entertainment that Allen and some of Marcie's best friends set up for her, but it's been a very long day for me; and I need to make this quick and head into nap mode.

Tai Chi by the river was a bit chilly again this morning; we had a hot breakfast to warm up after that; and the rest of my school day except for Marcie's birthday fun was fairly normal – even on the day before the big presidential election. This may be shocking for some Magi reading this in the future, but teens and kids are generally indifferent to politics in general and elections of any kind. Yes, we've had to deal with it in our lessons for several subjects. That, by the way, included Phys-Ed, but that was just done in fun; and I seriously doubt that we'll need the cardio because there will be a Zombie outbreak the day after the new president is elected. ;^)

Michael had football after school, as usual, but I didn't end up getting any work or studying done after last class because I helped out at home – and spent time with Ethan and Ehlana instead. That was fun; and so was the play time while I got ready for Marcie's party. That started shortly after the football practice ended; there was a social half-hour before dinner; and then we had a pasta and sides meal that was a bit more than normal for a gang of teens, but I loved the change from the barbeque or pizza and wings sort of fare that we normally have at birthday parties. Michael and I had fun at the party, but we helped with some of the work too; and then had a couple of hours after doing that to hang out with our friends. We listened to music, Michael did a bit of video gaming with the guys; and I talked with the girls a lot as we just had a really fun, good night together. Michael and I left the party at ten o'clock; he came home with me; and we did our homework before Mom had a Magi lesson for us while Dad took care of the bedtime fun with Ethan and Ehlana. Michael didn't head home until eleven-thirty; I had a short visit with Mom and Dad when we all came up to bed; and then I got started on my family business work and studying.

I had a lot to do, and since I didn't get it started until nearly midnight; it's now going on four o'clock as I write this report. A time phase was only possible for part of my work; and I needed to work in 'real' time for everything else. That's worn me out, and while I'm happy with what I got done; we don't need to go into any details about what was mostly-boring and dry business facts and figures tonight. I've also dragged this report out longer than I'd planned, and really want to be sleeping more than I want to be doing anything else right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

It's Election Day!

I'd suggest that the best part of that will be that the non-stop garbage on the news will be over again soon for a while, but the news media will just move on and find something else to sensationalize instead – as well as re-hash the election results.

Before I get to the election news, though; let's take a quick look at normal life around here in the real world where life goes on regardless of what our politicians are doing.

For me, that meant that school and my four practices went ahead as normal; and I had fun with everything – whether that was in our classes or playing with my friends. Jenny had us work pretty hard at our cheerleading practice, and while she isn't adding another practice this week or anything; she is getting fired up about the playoffs. We're enjoying the better-than-expected weather too; and I'll be glad for every practice and game we have from now on that won't be wet, cold, or snowy. Our band practices were both really good; though it's been very busy for me – especially since I spent a fair bit of time in between band practices working on the fundraising part of the marching band business.

I know it's a bit early for most of my friends to care about the Florida trip, but we are in the fundraising run up to the end to pay for everything; so what we do now is a big deal. This next fruit and vegetable box order is going to be big too; and we're making a push for the Thanksgiving week orders – particularly when we'll have so many visitors here and locals going away to visit other families. If we get this right; we should come close to double the orders compared to last month – and bring us that much closer to reaching our goal even before we launch the main Christmas fundraiser the week of Thanksgiving too. I'll write more about that soon, but we'll be busy that week between the fundraising, holiday fun, and what will hopefully be a championship game opportunity for our football team too.

Our actual practices for both bands went pretty well too; though the one downside of continuing in the football playoffs is that we have less time to get ready for the Christmas parades and the Florida trip. We're going to need to start splitting our time more in favor of those parades, but we'll be there for our team too – whether they have one game left in the season or will go all the way to their next championship victory.

I'll mention here as the story moves from band to teen praise team practices that the election was not an issue for any of the teens around here as we played; and most of us don't care who our next president will be for the simple fact that it won't make any difference for us. That isn't true for many of the adults, but we also don't have a contentious battle going on here either. That wasn't an issue at all during our teen praise team practice; though the election and our nation were in our pre-practice prayers. The music time was really good, but we also got a late start to that practice again; so Michael and I were late getting home and started on our homework.

We did that at my house again tonight; Mom did a Magi lesson with me; and then Michael went home while I joined Mom and Dad in the office so that we could all work and keep an eye on the election results. We were all busy because there is a lot going on in the business world because of the election, and while we're mostly immune to whatever happens in Washington; that doesn't keep people from being nervous or panicking when markets of all types are volatile. I'll be honest and admit that I find that a bit funny – if not in a good way. An easy example for that tonight is some of the goofiness we've heard about the stock market futures' volatility tonight and how that's bad for investors. Note to all of the supposed news analysts – there is a winner for every loser in a stock trade! I know, that's shocking and too many people can't get their heads around that fact; but it is true. If you're on the winning side of those trades; you're a happy camper whether the market goes up or down by hundreds of points.

I don't really want to get into anything like that, but silliness abounds in the media tonight as we've watched the election results trickle in. This is the time to write about my personal feelings about some of the issues, though; so let's do that next. First up, as a member of the fairer gender, I'll agree that we're past-due for putting a woman in charge at the White House, but having said that; I don't agree that it should be done simply for the sake of doing it regardless of the worthiness of the candidate to hold that office. Don't get me wrong – I don't support either of the top two candidates this year; I wouldn't have voted for either of them; and wish that we weren't stuck with one of them for the next four years. Then again, ditto that for most members of congress and the senate.

As you read this someday in my future, I'm sure you'll be entertained by this update; since you'll have the historical perspective on how the next four years will go with our new president. Trying to use the Sight to take a look ahead is tempting, if a bit scary with either candidate in charge of the country, but that wouldn't really work out very well anyway; since there are just too many variables and possible futures to learn anything useful.

That does bring up a question that you might have about how that's different for what Ethan, Ehlana, and I see about our own future and the Ascension of the Light. The simple answer is that we're mostly looking at our own future; and we're keeping the scope of our use of the Sight fairly narrow. I'll also point out that the things we're doing in reaction to what we see is mostly local and small-scale right now – even as we're getting ready for an amazing future. My point is that we're not affecting millions or billions of people through what we see in our future. Compared to that, the President of the United States has a much larger impact on the world that we do – at least over the next four years; so there are many more variables. There are other issues too, but it would be far too egotistical to write about why our future possibilities are very different to look at compared to national or international politicians. Let's not discuss any of the reasons for that – I'll leave that sort of thing to the mainstream media.

Speaking of them, as we've been working away for hours now; the news services finally began to call the Presidential election for Donald Trump. One of the things that I will mention about that is the news that President-elect Trump gave his acceptance speech before most of the major mainstream news networks called the election in his favor – though they did start doing that shortly after his speech; and after finding out that Hillary Clinton had called Mr. Trump to congratulate him and concede the election. That, by the way, was the next news story I have about the election – the fact that the Clinton campaign is not doing a concession speech tonight; and that they instead sent their supporters home from their election night party without hearing at all from their candidate.

That isn't a choice that I agree with, but then it also isn't something that surprises me about either candidate for dealing with the election loss. As I've mentioned already, this result isn't something I'm happy about because I think that both choices for president were awful. It would be great to be surprised over the next four years, but the odds are poor; so I won't hold my breath. Fortunately for us, the President-elect isn't likely going to ever do anything that will affect our little town very much; and this won't change how we run our family businesses and charities.

We do have the election results now, though, and we've dealt with everything we can for the work issues we've had tonight; so it's time for me to wrap this up and head up to bed. We won't get much sleep, but I'll also be set for our classes tomorrow – where the election post-mortem will be part of the lessons we'll have in at least one or two of our classes; so maybe that'll be worth the lack of sleep tonight.

Having the bonus time with Mom and Dad was what I really liked the most about staying up late tonight; and we did get a lot of work done too. That will help me for tomorrow night, and since it's also an after-school work day; I plan on making up for the lack of nap time today when I go to bed early tomorrow – later today. I'll add more news about the election if anything interesting happens between now and the next update, but this is it for tonight, and Mom, Dad, and I are all ready to head into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday, Jillian!

Michael and I sent a gift to her, but I haven't talked to Jillian or Dawn at all today; so I don't know how her day has gone – though I do expect to get an email or two from them sometime tonight with that news.

My day hasn't been birthday party kind of exciting, but then I've been a bit tired out today – even after doing a bit of self-healing this morning. That's why I'm not going to be spending much time writing this update; since I'm already in bed and pretty much ready to crash and nap for the next eight or nine hours to play catch-up on my lack of sleep.

As you can guess, a lot of people are tired this morning after staying up late to watch the news from election night. The general reaction over the results is muted; but then it would have been the same if Hillary Clinton had been elected too. Honestly, most of the adults around here just don't expect that it matters which politicians are in the White House, Senate, or House of Representatives. Maybe I'll do a one-year recap sometime next November and let you know whether we all get a surprise and something actually gets done in Washington. We won't wait on that here, though, and just take care of ourselves and our family, friends, and neighbors instead. I'd make comments on that about politicians; but I've had enough of politics to last me until the next election – and then some.

Moving along, my morning was quiet because Mom, Dad, and I were all a bit tired. That's a fair statement of how I felt for most of the day; though I managed to fake it while at school and with my friends and classmates. The political post-mortem wasn't really any fun for me; so let's just skip that news and pretend that all of the idiocies being spouted in the media and talked about around school and town today are now history. The good news for us at least for at school, though, is that we have a second-round playoff game to talk about and get ready for on Friday; so this should be the only day where the election is news at all.

I came home after school; used the time until dinner to do my homework and most of my family business work; and then I helped Mom with making dinner and cleaning up from the meal afterward for a break before doing my language studies and Magi lesson after dinner. Dad worked while I did that; Ethan and Ehlana studied; and Mom worked on the family business when she wasn't doing my lesson. I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed early, but they didn't go right off to sleep; and were both using their iPads when I left them and came up to my room. I got ready for bed right away; did one quick email check; and I really will be out for the count shortly after wrapping up this report. This will be my last chance for a decent night of continual down time from now through the weekend; and I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity – even though I really would prefer to have some extra time with Michael instead.

He needs the break now and then too, and I can't heal both of us every day just for being too tired; so that is best for both of us – if not nearly as much fun! ;^)

Okay, that's it; I'm done; and it's time for me to go into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Take the general news from my usual, recent Thursdays; and apply it to this report. The highlight of my day was the alone time with Michael while my family was at the Inn for game night, and I managed to get most of my work finished after school and before Michael came over after working the dinner shift at the Inn; so I won't need to stay up half the night working either. The studying with Michael wasn't as much fun as the music, make-out time, or the Magi lesson that Mom did with us after she got home; but you don't really need me to actually note that in my journal to know that little bit of the obvious.

That could be a clue for how tired I am, though, and while I did have a bit of work to deal with after seeing Michael out and getting ready for bed; I really don't have any other significant news to write about for that – or anything else. I'm good with that, since I'm worn out; and can use the bonus nap time ahead of the too-busy day we're sure to have tomorrow with school and football. Thinking about that game is doing absolutely nothing for me right now, and I am going to need to be fired up about it by game time; so that's another hint that I'm ready to head into nap mode now.

It's been fun, and I'm sure that's going to get better as the day goes along tomorrow, but I do need to sleep between now and getting going again in the morning; so, until next time....

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Today is Veteran's Day, and while it isn't a holiday for us, we did have an assembly at school this morning; and had a small ceremony at half-time during the game tonight where all vets were invited to come out onto the field and be recognized – including the few vets that were at the game to cheer for Mount Pleasant tonight.

I started with that news because that should be the top story today – even if it's our football victory that now has top billing; and will be for the next week as our team gets ready for the third round. We're now just one win away from a return to the championship game, but it wasn't easy getting there tonight, so while everyone is excited about our chances this year; the guys are not getting over-confident. Since we are there already, though; let's get the football recap done right now!

The weather today has been normal for the time of year, which means that the game time temperature was only in the mid-forties. We didn't have much more than a nice breeze to deal with, though, and the sky was clear and star-filled – not that we could see much of that above the lights around the field during the game. We did have more than enough to watch on the field, though; and Mount Pleasant gave us everything we could handle as our teams battled it out to advance to the third round. Mount Pleasant got the ball first as we won the toss and deferred; and then they went on to score a field goal on their first drive. That's a very important detail because it proved to be very important for the rest of the game. Tim scored our first touchdown on our first drive; and then Lucas scored the second touchdown thanks to a turnover that Tim earned against Mount Pleasant on their second drive.

Tim's early play was a big deal too because Mount Pleasant adjusted their game plan to defend better against him; and that opened the door for Michael and Lucas to really shine from that point in the game through to the end. After we had that fourteen-to-three lead; our teams exchanged touchdowns through until late in the game – with Michael earning three touchdowns. Lucas earned two on the ground, and Tim had one more; so we had a forty-nine to forty-five lead as time was running out fast on the season for Mount Pleasant in the last minutes of the fourth quarter.

They didn't give up; won an on-side kick attempt after cutting our lead back down to that four points again; and then Michael beat them defensively with an interception and long run that set us up for a field goal that gave us a seven-point lead. Let's give Mount Pleasant a lot of credit for holding us to that field goal, but they were really running out of time when they got the ball back again. Their hopes ended on their first Hail Mary throw that Michael again intercepted, and while he could have run it back; he slowed up and let the nearest Mount Pleasant defender push him out of bounds near the twenty yard line on their side of the field. We'd have been happy to run out the clock at that point, but Mount Pleasant used up their time outs and forced us to kick a field goal after Lucas still managed to move us down to the thirteen yard line despite having the defense stacked against the run. That gave us a ten-point lead with seconds left to go; which is why Michael and Tim took turns knocking down the last two pass attempts that Mount Pleasant made before time ran out and it was time to celebrate for a while.

We did have a small party after the game, but that wasn't until after the post-game fun on the field with our families and friends – and then we needed to get packed up and hit the showers before we could move on to Tim's house for that little team party. That was a fairly rowdy bit of fun by our normal standards around here, but Michael and I only stayed until twelve-thirty because we're both working the breakfast shift. He was also in need of some healing, since it was a tough game, and he got hit a lot even while playing so well tonight. I was happy to help him with that – and have a minor make-out session in the living room at my house too, but he headed home at one o'clock; and I came up to bed after seeing him out – and watching him walk over to his house.

Mom, Dad, and the twins were all sleeping by then after a long, busy day, but I had a few things to do on my computer after getting ready for bed and snuggled with Mandy. That was mostly work on the family business for things that were sent to me by email and needed my attention sooner instead of later, but I used a time phase for that; since I really do need to have a nap before getting up again and over to the Inn in time for the breakfast prep work.

I haven't covered any other news from today, but other than having a chilly start to the day with a frosty Tai Chi workout by the river that we needed to bundle up for; the rest of my day was fairly normal for a football Friday. This is going to be a work weekend, so there isn't likely going to be a lot of fun involved, but we're just weeks away from Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season; so I'm happy to put in the time when I can – especially when I'm not really pulling my weight around home most other days of the week right now while I'm so busy with everything else.

Yes, Mom and Dad are happy to help me out with that, but they're just as busy as I am; and still manage to keep up with all of the work around the house too.

I am doing the best I can with everything, though, and there's no point in going on about that when I should be sleeping right now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Working the breakfast shift at the Inn meant an earlier-than-normal start to my day – and not much sleep; but I had fun doing that with Michael, his parents, and the few other early-risers working at the Inn this morning. I missed out on Tai Chi by the river, but it was freezing out; so that wasn't all bad – even if I would have still liked to do that with Mom, Dad, and the twins this morning too. We didn't have a really busy breakfast rush today, but it was steady; and there were a few extra diners compared to a normal Saturday thanks to the cold weather and the need for a bit of warmth ahead of the work that most of our customers were busy with for the rest of the day.

That was true for me too, so I had a quick breakfast after my work there was done before heading home and getting started on the yard chores. We are getting through the annual fall list, and should have it all done ahead of the holiday weekend, but it was still an all-day event at our house as we both got things ready for winter and the holiday weekend. With this work day out of the way now, we only have one weekend left for those remaining chores ahead of Thanksgiving; so I see a repeat performance for today coming up next Saturday. We worked until six-thirty; cleaned up enough to have dinner; and then I hit the shower to get ready for an evening of Christmas shows in the lounge with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden.

I'm writing this report while doing my hair so that it's out of the way in case I fall asleep during the movie time – something that is definitely possible since I could nap right now without any trouble. Michael won't be here for a little while yet, since he's working the dinner shift at the Inn, but he isn't working to close; so we'll likely just watch a cartoon episode while waiting for him. Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana should be back soon from going to pick up Naomi and Aiden, though, so I should wrap this up and move on to get the lounge set up for our cuddle and Christmas fun time.

Before I do that, I'd better mention that we know that our team will be playing Hillcrest in the third round. Both teams are undefeated so far this season, but Hillcrest gets home field advantage; so we'll need to win this game on the road to earn the spot in the championship game. I haven't heard from Tim about it yet, but Michael is quietly confident; so I feel pretty good about our chances next Friday night. Stayed tuned for more news on that over the next week – or just flip a handful of digital pages if you can't wait that long; since you are reading this in my future and this is all history to you anyway! ;^)

I have to get back to living my life now, and can write about the rest of the story for this evening tomorrow night; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Our Christmas movie night was a lot of fun; partially because I decided to do a bit of self-healing last night to make sure that I didn't fall asleep on Michael until we were ready to accidentally have a sofa sleepover. The highlights last night included having Mom and Dad join us for one of the movies; a pizza bedtime snack; and lots of cuddle time. I really love Naomi a lot, and she is always fun at movie nights because of her single-minded dedication to making sure that everyone knows that Ethan is her perfect match. As usual, that included cuddling with him while we watched the television; she also pretended to fall asleep shortly before the end of the last 'kid' show of the night; and then seemed terribly disappointed when the teens and adults in the room were each assigned a kid to carry down to the second floor and get tucked into beds that were in girls' and boys' rooms.

Naomi isn't actually wrong when she suggests that it totally isn't fair that Michael and I get away with sofa sleepovers when Mom and Dad have nothing weird to worry about with her and Ethan, but she is being careful with those jokes; since she does appreciate the precedents that we're setting for my younger siblings, their friends, and our cousins.

After getting the four kids into bed, Mom and Dad turned in too; Michael and I took care of the pizza snack clean-up; and then we came back up to the lounge and had fun with a fairly-hot make-out session while not watching a Hallmark Christmas chick flick. Don't be scared, but I love those Hallmark romances; and don't mind admitting that to anyone – even if the guys sometimes tease me about it. Last night, the Michael and me time was more fun – and more important for us; so it was a perfect way to end our day before we fell asleep together while snuggled under a warm blanket on the sofa.

Warm is not a word that I'd use to describe our Tai Chi by the river, but it was a nice morning despite the freezing temperature; and we'll keep exercising outdoors as much as we can ahead of the annual return to indoor workouts for the winter. Our morning kept getting better because Mom and Dad invited Jacob and Miranda to join us for breakfast because Rebecca was at Lucas' house overnight; and they decided to have breakfast with us instead of doing that on their own. I really loved getting to spend that time with our parents, and while I spent a lot of time today with Michael's Mom and Dad; it's a lot different when we're all working at the Inn and the job comes first. Cooking breakfast was a collaboration; Michael and I were the clean-up crew volunteers with supervision from the four kids whenever they weren't taking turns getting ready for church.

The hour and a half we spent at the church for the service and Sunday school was wonderful, and after a few hours of too-busy; I was glad to have the break before heading for the Inn ad a full-day shift there. That really was the last break I had for the rest of the day through until now. Yes, Michael and I did take our breaks from the work, but we had homework to do during our afternoon break; and we half-worked while having our dinner break after the second buffet started and there was work we could do in the back room to help out – mostly to get things set up for Monday morning and the usual deliveries that come in to re-stock the supplies we use up every weekend. We had a short break after the Inn closed too, but I only stayed at Michael's house for fifteen minutes before coming home so that I could get to work on my computer with the usual Sunday night family business and language studies fun.

Dad was finished his weekend work and packing for his trip to the city in the morning; and he was that far along because Mom used a time phase for their work – and so that Ethan and Ehlana could do more studying for their college classes. I spent some time with all of them while Ethan and Ehlana got ready for bed; and then they all turned in while I came up to my room and began my work with some tub time multi-tasking. I used a time phase too when I could, but did nearly two hours of work in real time; which is why I'm only going to have time for a nap before getting up again to see Dad off on his way to Crystal Springs.

I finished everything on my to-do list tonight, though, and need to keep ahead of the game now so that I can also work ahead going into the holiday weekend that is now just ten days away. Let's not go over the work details, since if you're that bored; there are other places in the archives to read all about the family business if you have access to those archives. Most of the work was fairly boring to do; and writing about it will just put me to sleep.

Oh wait, that's where I want to be, but I don't really need the help when I'm this tired anyway; so let's just call it a night and I'll head off to dreamland now.

This hasn't been a top-ten best-ever kind of weekend, but I have had enough fun to go along with all of the work; so I'll be having happy dreams tonight – and hope we'll have a great week ahead of us too. I'll let you know how that goes for us, but that's all for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, November 14, 2016

We were awake too early this morning, and I'm still awake too late tonight; so this is going to be a short report.

Dad's safely in the city and keeping busy there; my day was filled with classes, family business work, studying, my language studies, a Magi lesson with Mom, and a bit of play time here and there with Mom, Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana mixed in to keep it from being all work and no play today. I do have a lot to get done this week, though, and that's why I put in extra time on my computer after coming to bed.

It's also why I seriously need to go into nap mode now, and there isn't anything specific that I really need to write about tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Okay, the good news is that I finished everything on my to-do list for today; and the bad is that I only have time for a nap before it'll be time to get up and going again.

With Dad in the city, Mom is extra-busy, but I couldn't help her out today because of the usual overload of classes and practices I have on Tuesdays. I had fun with all of that, and all of my practices went really well today; but I was running an hour behind by the time Michael and I got home from our teen praise team practice. We still had our homework to do after that; Mom did a short Magi lesson with us before Michael went home; and my total contributions to helping at home only included folding a load of laundry and getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night when we all came up to bed after Michael went home.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana were busy today too, but their work and play time included spending the afternoon at the lab and family business work or college studying while they were home and I was busy with band and praise team practices. I wish that I could have done that with them, but didn't get to my work and studies until eleven-thirty. I did some of my work in a time phase; added three more hours in 'real' time; and now I'm ready to crash and nap for an hour or two before getting up and doing a bit of self-healing so that I can get through another day.

I am going to be able to work and study after school tomorrow night – tonight, so if that goes as planned; I will make up some of that missed sleep with an early bedtime that could be the last one I have a chance for until after Thanksgiving. That thought is a bit scary, but we will hopefully have a lot of fun over the next week and a half to go along with the work – including a couple of football game victories and another state championship for Michael, Tim, Lucas, and the rest of their team mates.

Football, by the way, is the top story at school and around town too; though it's more about band, cheerleading, and half-time shows for me when it comes to talking about sports – and getting ready for the game on Friday. Michael is fired up, though, and looking forward to having a road game – partly because he feels less pressure without the home town crowd and we have ended up with a long run of home games thanks to the schedule this season.

Football isn't something I need to be writing about now when I should be sleeping instead; so I'll stop here and call it a night. I am slacking off a bit with these updates, but I'll try to make up for that as we head into the holidays. For now, though, it's time to pass out for a while; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Happy 9th Birthday, Kaitlyn!

Can you believe that she's nine already – the same age I was when Mom and I moved here? Nearly seven years of difference in our ages seemed like a big deal back then; but that gap seems much smaller every year – just as it is going the other way for the difference between Violet and me. We sent gifts and had a short phone chat with Kaitlyn at breakfast, but that was it for our involvement in her big day. We will get to see her on the holiday weekend, though, so we will at least get to spend some time with her – and the rest of the Proctor and Rice clan while they're home.

We started the day out with near-freezing temperatures again, so Tai Chi by the river was chilly, but it warmed up starting up right away; and we've had a beautiful fall afternoon with a high temperature nearing the mid-seventies. The phone chat at with our cousins at breakfast was the highlight of the morning; and I guess that's true for the entire morning – including my classes at school. Michael and I had fun today, and our outdoor lunch break was the most-entertaining part of our school time adventures, but then we didn't get together for the rest of the day because he had football and work at the Inn; and it was a work night for me too.

That's why I came straight home from school except for a short visit at the computer store with Rowen and her parents; and then I got to work on my studies and family business chores. Mom and I worked in the sunroom to do that while Ethan and Ehlana played in the back yard; I used a time phase when I could; and we only took a couple of quick breaks to cook dinner and clean up after we ate while continuing to work while we ate and traded stories with the twins for what we'd all been doing during the rest of the day. Ethan and Ehlana studied their college classes after dinner; and we stayed in the sunroom because it was nicer to be out there instead of cooped up in the office.

Our work and studying was done by nine; we had a bedtime chat with Dad while getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then Mom and I both decided to have some quality Jacuzzi time before going to bed too. I didn't multi-task the tub time, but I did use a time phase so that I didn't lose an hour of sleep while having a long soak; so I'll still be in nap mode early. I only did one last email check after getting tucked in with Mandy, and there wasn't anything new to deal with on the work front; so I'll be heading off to dreamland as soon as I wrap up this report.

Consider that done, and I am way-past ready for a decent night of rest; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, November 17, 2016

We're going to have a very long day tomorrow, and it's getting late; so this is going to be a short update.

The news of the day, not including football talk; was the weather. Having another beautiful day with temperatures in the upper-seventies was part of that, and we especially enjoyed the warm morning for Tai Chi because it didn't cool down much overnight; but we're also talking about the imminent cool-down that's already in progress as I write this. It would have been nice if we'd been able to have one more warm day for the football game, but we're not going to get that; and it could even be in the thirties by game time tomorrow night. We aren't supposed to get rain, though; so I won't complain. I also enjoyed the nice weather as much as I could today. That started with our morning workout by the river; we had a bonus outdoor class this morning; had lunch outside too; and then I went to the park with Ethan and Ehlana after school for a bike ride and some playground fun while Mom did some running around town that gave her a head-start on her usual Friday morning shopping.

I probably should have worked instead, but couldn't resist the lure of the warm weather and a chance for some fun time with the twins; so it was worth doing the extra work tonight instead. There's also the fact that Michael and I spent the evening together while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana were at the Inn for game night; and we spent more time together than I spent at the park after school. The studying was easy; we had fun with some music play time; and then the make-out time was definitely the best part of my day. Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me after she got home that Ethan and Ehlana only watched while doing a bit of college homework; Michael and I took care of getting my brother and sister off to bed after that; and then he went home while I did a bit of work with Mom in the office.

She didn't have a lot to get done tonight, so we only stayed there until she was done; and then we both came up to our rooms. I got ready for bed right away and back to work again while Mom opted for some Jacuzzi time; and I've been working for more than three hours now. I do have all of the must-do work and studying finished, though; so I can take the weekend off except for anything important that comes up between now and Sunday night. I'll need that break, since we have a very busy weekend ahead of us between football, work at the Inn, and getting ready for the holiday weekend. The only thing I won't get around to tonight is a decent night of sleep. There is still time for a nap, though, and I'll need that even with some self-healing in the morning, so that's all for now; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, November 18, 2016

We are heading back to the State championship game for our small school division next Friday!

That is the big news of the day; so let's get right to that part of my report for today. First up, let's talk weather; since that definitely had a big impact on the game tonight. It was barely forty at kick-off, but the wind chill was freezing; and it was fairly-windy too. We were ready for that and played accordingly, but to be blunt; Hillcrest didn't and that showed right from the start.

Before I write about the actual game, one bit of personal news should be added here; since it was very important to me – Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden all came to the game! Dad had to drive to Hillcrest from Crystal Springs, and didn't get there for the start of the game; but Mom made it there early and was able to surprise me before going to sit in the bleachers with the four kids. They were there to support Michael, and I'd say it helped; because he had a really awesome game again tonight.

How great did he play? He had three touchdowns including a defensive pick-six; two other interceptions on defense; and a lot of offensive yards after the catch because our game plan was for a short passing game to counter the wind gusts that made the long game unpredictable. The football fanatics reading this in the future might ask how that worked out when Hillcrest should have been able to defend more easily without the long game threat, but the simple answer is that Michael and Tim were too fast for their defense and Lucas pounded them with a ground game they couldn't stop very well either. Tim had four touchdowns including one on defense too; Lucas had two touchdowns; and we only scored one short field goal on the way to a sixty-six to twenty-nine victory that left Hillcrest players and fans a bit stunned after what had been a great season until tonight. We only tried for the one field goal because of the wind, but while that might not seem fair when Hillcrest scored five field goals, Coach Robinson knows his team; and our field goal kicker isn't as good as the guy with that job on the Hillcrest squad. The score was a bit lop-sided because of that, but keep in mind that Hillcrest did score seven times; so things could have been much different if we punted instead of pushing on when we faced fourth down conversion situations.

I haven't written much about the other guys on the team in my journal, but I should note every week that our team isn't succeeding just because of Michael, Tim, and Lucas. All of the guys are playing great and fight hard on every play. Reid doesn't get much attention either despite having great numbers that any quarterback would love, but then he'd be the first to admit that's thanks to Michael and Tim; and he's as humble as Michael; so he's modest too. I wouldn't dream of including Tim in that little group, since he is happy to accept all accolades, but he also doesn't go around bragging about how good his is; so that never goes beyond the line from confidence to obnoxious. Lucas is somewhere in between Michael and Tim, and while he's generally a quiet guy; he's not as modest about his achievements as Michael tries to be all of the time.

Regardless of their personal style for that, though, they are now just one win away from a second championship in three seasons; and that would be something to be very proud of for everyone in our little town.

Getting to that game is a big deal for our band too because we're going to get some exposure on a big stage next Friday. We're already looking into whether we can do some fundraising at that game, but don't yet know if that's possible. We should at least be able to do some advertising, though; so that might help with the fundraising – even if we have to try and do that through the school website. I'll keep you posted on that when I know more.

For this game, our cheerleading was fun but too cold; and this was the first game where we needed to use our winter gear for the band. I guess that was good practice for the Christmas parades, but I'm sure hoping that it will be a lot warmer in Florida for the week we'll be spending there in February! The half-time band and cheerleading show was really great, but we didn't exactly earn major cheers because our team had taken a big lead into the break; and it was cold-enough that the hometown fans didn't feel much like getting up and cheering for the 'enemy' students. I liked getting to use one of our winter-themed cheerleading routines, though; and it was especially great to do that at an away game that Mom and Dad were at – and Dad was there by the start of the second quarter.

The cold helped with keeping the post-game festivities short, but it was still a very long day by the time we finished up in Hillcrest; drove home on the buses; and unpacked at our school. It is an hour and a half between our towns; so it was past-one by the time Michael walked me home and came inside for a bit of Magi healing and cuddle time before going on to his house to get a few hours of sleep ahead of the breakfast shift at the Inn. That's also why it was past-two by the time I climbed into bed with Mandy, and after seeing Michael out; I only stopped in for goodnight kisses with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden on my way up to bed. They didn't wake up, so that didn't take long; but I did end up with a bit of work to do after checking my email that has taken a bit of time to get done before starting in on this update.

I don't have anything newsworthy to report from that, but will back up and do a quick review of the rest of the news for the day. Tai Chi by the river was cooler today, but the temperature actually went down as the day went along; so I won't complain about temperatures in the mid-forties first thing in the morning. We had an easy-breakfast that Michael stayed for; Ehlana and I had a bit of play time while getting ready for school; and then it was a busy day at school between classes and getting ready for the game in Hillcrest. There was a lot to do for that, which is why I spent most of my lunch break helping out with getting the fundraising supplies ready to go – including getting a hundred fruit and vegetable boxes ready to go that were taken to be sold at the game – even though the monthly delivery won't be here until next Tuesday. I'll have more on that next week, but we're doing it on Tuesday so that all orders can be picked up at the practice on Tuesday. We would have filled some orders early if we hadn't sold out tonight, but we apparently did – and could have gotten more orders if we'd wanted to take another load out to Hillcrest next week. We didn't do that, but the rest of our fundraising tonight did go very well from what I've heard so far tonight.

Most of us didn't have time to go home after school since we pretty much needed to pack up the buses and hit the road for Hillcrest; so I had a second bag lunch to have during the long drive; and Rowen and I did most of our homework then too so we could get it out of the way instead of leaving it for Sunday afternoon as usual. We had fun with our friends too, and it was an upbeat mood on the bus all the way to Hillcrest. The work at the other end kept us busy through until game time; though it was a bit cold too and we regularly had AWOL teens as they found warm places to be while waiting for the game to start. I've covered the game, and while I'm not going to write much about the cheerleading, we had fun with that too; and had a lot to cheer about. They guys don't find our efforts as entertaining when we're in our cold-weather uniforms, but that is more good than bad for us – even if half of our squad enjoys that kind of attention a lot.

That's pretty much it for now, and I'll be working that breakfast shift at the Inn too; so it's time to wrap this up and get started on my nap.

Before I do that, the last thing I'll mention is that I'm very proud of Michael. We're both modest about everything we do in public, but once in a while, at least here in my journal; I should be allowed to admit that he's truly gifted and amazing. I'm not going to do anything silly like guarantee a win next week or anything either, but I do like our chances – and know that Michael wants to win that championship nearly as much as Tim wants the second title to earn something that not even his uncle and cousin managed during their stellar high school football careers.

Let's not get ahead of things with that, and I can write more on football next week while I should be sleeping right now instead of doing this; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, November 19, 2016

It was cold out this morning when I met up with Michael and we walked to the Inn with his Dad to get started on the prep work for breakfast; and it didn't get all that much warmer through the rest of the day. Being in the kitchen where it was warm and cozy for a few hours made the work more fun compared to the outdoor chores I moved on to do with Dad after the main rush was done at the Inn, but that work needed to be done too; and Dad and I did manage to get everything done by mid-afternoon. My work wasn't done yet then, since the chores and some holiday cooking and baking was going on inside; but I did get cleaned up first before helping Mom for another couple of hours.

Those chores and the cooking was more fun again because we were cheating a bit and using our Magi talents to speed up the work. That was especially entertaining because we had four junior helpers using their special gifts too; and they had fun playing a bit while doing their chores too. We wrapped up the work at six; and the four kids are already gone because Aiden's parents came by to get all of them on the way home from the bakery. They're keeping them overnight too, and I'm going to spend the night at Michael's house; so Mom and Dad will soon be starting their kid-free night. I am going to have dinner with them, but I'm writing this while getting ready for my night out; and I'll be leaving after helping with the clean-up. I could have left before dinner too, but would only end up working at the Inn anyway; since Michael and Rebecca are both working the dinner shift and nobody is home at their place right now.

I'll still end up helping with the post-dinner clean-up, but that'll get all of us out of the Inn a bit earlier than planned; and then we'll get to our teen night plans. We haven't come up with anything major for that, but Lucas is spending the night at the Stone's house too; and we're going to watch a couple of Christmas movies before turning in for the night. Jacob and Miranda may watch the first one with us – unless they decide to go out or something for a couple of hours instead. I'll keep you posted on that with the next update – along with the rest of the news from our teen night and sleepover.

Michael and I haven't gotten to spend much time with Rebecca and Lucas lately – except for with football and band; so I'm looking forward to having an evening with them where we're not just part of a bigger group. I'm not taking my computer along tonight, which is why I'm writing this and already have my email check done for the night. There wasn't any must-do work waiting for me, so I don't have to deal with any family business issues; and I'm glad to take the night off.

Now I just need to figure out how to stay awake for very long once we do have all of the work done and can relax for a few hours. A little bit of self-healing is an option, but I haven't decided whether to do that or shoot for an unplanned sofa sleepover with Michael. ;^)

That'll be news for tomorrow too, but I need to wrap this up and make sure that Mandy has everything she needs for the night while I'm gone – and the twins are away too.

Yes, Mom and Dad are still here, and so is Silkie, but the pets won't likely be getting invitations to spend the night with our parents tonight; and Mandy doesn't usually cuddle with Silkie unless she's feeling very generous – or too tired to bother moving when Silkie tries to cuddle with her. Speaking of our adorable little dog, I should probably take her for a walk too before heading to the Inn after dinner, and that's one more job to do before I go; so it's really time to wrap this up and move on to life out here in the real world.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, November 20, 2016

We stayed up too late last night; it's been a very long day; and now I'm going to keep this short so that I can get all of the sleep I can before needing to get up and going again in a few hours.

After heading for the Inn last night, I helped out with a fairly-easy post-dinner clean-up because they had a relatively-quiet dinner rush – probably because so many people are busy getting ready for the holiday weekend. That won't matter for the buffet shift tomorrow; but I was glad of the quieter night because we were able to get an early start to our Christmas movie night. To keep that part of the story short, we watched two movies; Jacob and Miranda watched the first one with us; and then Rebecca and Lucas went up to bed after the second show so that Michael and I could be alone for our goodnight hugs and kisses. We were happy to do that; happier when we fell asleep on the sofa; and had a fun wake-up call for two this morning.

Tai Chi by the river was too-chilly and we were on our own for that because Mom and Dad didn't exercise this morning. Okay, they didn't do a Tai Chi workout, but that's all I'm going to write about that, and if you must use your imagination for what they might have been doing instead; I don't want to hear about it if I'm still around in your 'now.'

Breakfast for six at Michael's house was awesome; we had a fun telephone chat with Jake and Stephanie; and then we eventually met up with my family once we were all at the church. Michael and I sat with my parents while the twins sat with Aiden, Naomi, and her family; the church service was great; and so was our Sunday school time. I went home after that; spent the afternoon alternating between kid control duties and helping with the holiday weekend baking and pre-cooking; and then I got ready for my buffet shift at the Inn and headed there a bit early to help out with the prep work already in progress by the time I arrived.

That shift went quickly, but we had to work hard too; and I didn't get home again until a bit after ten o'clock. Mom and Dad were working in the office, so I had a visit with them and did a Magi lesson with Mom before coming up to bed; and once I was tucked in with Mandy and my computer; it was time to get to work. Three and a half hours later; and I am way-past ready to get some sleep.

We only have a three-day school week, but I'll just be busier than normal as we finish getting ready for the holiday weekend – including the championship game on Friday and the Sunday service that the teen praise team will be leading.

This hasn't exactly ended up being a micro-report, though, and I can write more about all of that over the next week; so it's time to wrap this up and head into nap mode.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, November 21, 2016

It's seems I've been shooting for short updates on most of these late nights, but this time; I really mean it!

Tai Chi by the river was frosty but fun; my school day was uneventful except for the bonus cheerleading practice at lunch and all of the football talk as everyone is fired up about the big game on Friday. I was at Michael's house after school while he was at football practice so that I could help Miranda with the work to get ready for their holiday weekend guests. Rebecca worked with us too; and Michael joined in once he was home – and after we had dinner. We had to fit our homework into the mix too; and I stayed until eleven o'clock when it was time to come home and get started on my bedtime work and studying.

I did most of that in the office with Mom and Dad because they were having a late work night too ahead of the holiday weekend; and Mom continued with some baking tonight too. Some of that work could be done in a time phase, but we also all had work, research, or studying that needed to be done online and in real time; so we kept going until a bit past-two before coming up to bed. I had more work to do after that, but got changed and tucked in with Mandy first; and then worked for another hour and change before getting to this report. The details about the work would just bore most of you, so I won't go there, and this is supposed to actually be a short updater; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Okay, this has been a crazy-busy day!

First up, we've had rain on and off all day; and that's made some of the work and play around here a bit uncomfortable. Tai Chi was outdoors but cut short when we started to get rained on; my lunchtime cheerleading practice was in the gym because it was too wet to do that outside; and we got fairly wet this afternoon while unloading the fruit and vegetable boxes delivery during our last two classes of the day. After that, I skipped the concert band practice so that I could help with the order pick-ups after school – and then do my own deliveries with some help from Violet and Dillon because Mom got them to volunteer to help so that she could keep on with the baking she was doing today.

This, by the way, is not a special occasion year or anything – Mom just wanted to do the baking instead of buying everything from the Olde Bakery. She isn't planning on doing that at Christmas too.

Moving along, our marching band practice was outdoors too, and we did get wet; but needed that training too since we will get rained or snowed on sometime over the next half-year or so and we should be ready to handle the challenges that go along with playing music in bad weather. Sure, that's different in some ways depending on the instrument; but that just meant that we had a lot to teach today – including how to care for wet instruments at the end of practice to keep them from being damaged.

We also had to get almost all of the fruit and vegetable boxes orders picked up – particularly by the Maple Valley members; and then there were the Christmas ornaments. The official start for the ornament sales is tomorrow, but band members could pick up cases of them to have at home – and hopefully sell a lot of them over the holiday weekend. I haven't mentioned that fundraiser in my journal since the last marching band planning meeting, but then I haven't been involved in that project directly – except for the little recording we did for the music. They are musical ornaments; and the little song snippet should make for a perfect addition to any Christmas tree! I'll keep you posted on how the sales go for that, but we have a limited supply; and expect to sell out – not have problems with stock left over that we can't sell.

Moving along, because I was busy with the extra fundraising work, I was later than most of the other teens for our praise team practice, but Michael went on ahead because he is the lead guitarist. That practice started late too; so it was past-ten before we were out of the church and on the way to my house. I'd expected that, since we did need to get ready for the service on Sunday; but it has made it tough to get everything else done tonight – especially when we only have one more day of school ahead of the holiday.

I mentioned Violet and Dillon earlier, but haven't mentioned them in my journal lately or even report on what they've been doing for the first half of their fall break. They went to Woodvale last Friday and spent the weekend there with her family. They got home by late morning today; and will be staying here until heading back to college on Sunday. It was nice to have a quick chat with them while doing my fundraiser deliveries, but that didn't take long; and I didn't get to talk with them much tonight because they were getting ready to head over to Dillon's house for the night when Michael and I got home. They're staying with his family this time because they can do that more easily now that Isabelle and Andrew are married; but then they are also making it easier for Mom and Dad since we'll have the rest of the Rice clan at our house for the next four nights.

Michael and I talked with them, Mom, Dad, and the twins for about fifteen minutes; we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after Violet and Dillon left; and then we did our homework in the office so that we could talk with Mom and Dad while they worked too. Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me after that; he headed home; and I kept working in the office until Mom and Dad were ready to pack up and head for bed. I came up to my room then; kept working and studying until I had everything finished so that I'll only need to deal with must-do family business work until after the holiday; and now I'm ready to crash and nap for a couple of hours before we'll be getting up and started on the last day of classes ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend adventures.

The crazy and busy is just going to get more extreme from here, and I'll need what rest I can get when sleeping is an option, so that's all for now; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Welcome home, Grandma and Grandpa!

Ditto that for all of our visiting family; friends; and the rest of the guests we have in town this weekend!

There is no way that I can cover all of the news from today; so I won't try to do that. I had a quiet morning; Tai Chi was indoors due to a bit of leftover rain and everything was wet outside; we had a very busy day at school for our last day before the holiday; and then I headed to the Inn to work the dinner shift. The Inn was surprisingly busy tonight; though we did eventually find out that there were a lot of inbound visitors being slowed down a lot on the trip here; so we had more families able to go out to dinner while in town for shopping or other reasons – along with other diners taking advantage of beating the holiday traffic by getting here early.

While I was at school and working at the Inn to close, I missed out on most of the inbound family arrivals. Grandma and Grandpa got here by late morning, but nearly everyone else either had to wait for kids to get done school or parents to finish work; and Uncle Blaine and his family was the only exception because they took the kids out of school for the day and he made this a work trip – supposedly because he could then claim the travel expense on the business. The Rice clan got to town at sometime after eight; some members of the Johnson family got here before I was done work; and Michael's weekend guests were here about an hour before we finished the clean-up at the Inn and had the dining room ready for the Black Friday breakfast buffet that Michael and I will miss while we're at the championship game.

Our day didn't slow down after we left the Inn. I went home with Michael; we visited with his family for an hour because the kids are younger and started going to bed before we headed over to my house for a visit with the Rice clan. Add another hour of fun for that in the living room; and then we spent an additional two hours in the lounge while hanging out with Violet, Dillon, Dawn, Chris, and Martin while half-watching a Christmas movie and catching up on life here at home and away in Woodvale or at college. That was fun, but I was getting tired by then. I saw Michael out and on his way home after the movie ended; Dawn, Violet, and I had a little girl chat time before Violet went home with Dillon; and then Dawn and I split up to head for bed.

I didn't plan on doing any work tonight, but needed to deal with a minor family business problem that took a while to resolve thanks to time zone issues. That is dealt with, though; and now it's time to get some sleep before some of us will be up early for a busy Thanksgiving Day. That's going to be especially true for Michael and me while we juggle holiday fun with our families – and we also have to do that before an early bedtime at least for him because we'll need to be up extra-early on Friday for the trip to Central State for the big game.

Getting sleep now is my top priority, though, and I can write about our holiday weekend adventures after I've lived them; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to get up and ready for a bus ride and football game in a few hours; so let's keep this short; and I'll try to fill in the blanks tomorrow night.

Tai Chi by the river was early and chilly; breakfast with our gang here at home was crazy and busy and a lot of fun; and then Michael and I split our morning between my house, his, and a handful of others as we did some visiting and played when we weren't helping out with the work or kid control with our cousins and other kids. We attended the early Thanksgiving dinner at Michael's house; the late one at mine; and had a gang of kids with us – and a bunch of other teen and adult helpers for an afternoon play time at the park that was between the end of the clean-up at Michael's house and the start of dinner at mine.

We were on the clean-up crew after dinner for both meals; watched some football; and a Christmas movie with the kids and teens in the lounge.

Michael went home at ten o'clock; I stayed up for a second movie; and then had a bit of work to do before getting to this update because apparently the family business doesn't just take the holidays off – especially when this isn't even a holiday in most countries of the world. Doing that work and a bit of computing that included a bit of online Black Friday shopping has kept me up too late; which is why I'm going to just wrap this up without going into the details from today.

The busses will be leaving in about three hours, and I'll need time to get ready; packed for the day; and over there in time to help load up the band and cheerleading gear; so it's definitely time to go into nap mode while I can still do that. Some self-healing will likely be needed too, but I'll keep you posted on that – and you can flip the digital page to find out anyway while I get back to living the life you're reading about whenever you're doing this in my future.

It has been a really amazing first day of the holiday weekend, though; and I hope we'll continue that trend tomorrow with a football championship win!

That is the least the boys can do for us when we are giving up our Black Friday shopping day for them! ;^)

Okay, that's it, and I really have to go now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, November 25, 2016

Michael, Tim, and Lucas led our team to the State Championship for the small school division; and did that by playing an amazing game against Clairmont – one of the most successful teams in the State – as well as the defending champs.

Before I get to the game news, let's do a quick review of our opponent's recent football history – including against our team. They beat our team in the championship match in twenty-twelve; Kyle Landry led our team to the Championship over them the next year; and then Clairmont didn't make it to the big game in twenty-thirteen while we won our second title in a row with Michael and Tim playing on the team for the first time. Clairmont regained their championship crown last season; and now we have our third championship in four years. They still have the better record for that by far compared to our school, including four titles and two runner-up honors in the past seven years; but they couldn't quite keep up with us today.

So here we are – time for the championship game report. First up, we won by a score of seventy to forty-eight; we had ten touchdowns; and Clairmont scored six with two early field goals that they scored before giving up on that strategy and going for touchdowns on every drive while also going for it on every fourth down. Michael and Tim each had four touchdowns; including one defensive pick-six for each of them. Lucas scored the other two touchdowns; and ran for more than two hundred rushing yards on a day when the defenses were far from stellar on both teams. This game came down to mistakes. We made two big ones on offense that turned into fourteen points for Clairmont; but they made more mistakes – particularly late in the game. The one thing that I'm sure everyone watching the game would agree on, though, is that Michael and Tim are an amazing wide receiver duo – and that's something that is really tough to defend against.

That's certainly why they were named co-MVP's for the game at the banquet; but I'm getting ahead of the story.

For this game, Clairmont took the early lead; we tied on our first drive; and then they settled for a field goal on their next drive. We took the lead after that; they narrowed it to a point with their second field goal; and then we traded touchdowns before starting to build our lead through to the end of the game. The two pick-sixes weren't the only turnovers we earned; but they did help to keep us in the lead and put Clairmont off their game plan and in a fight to try and catch up that included taking more risks than they're used to taking. They fought to the end, though; which is why we kept scoring touchdowns in the fourth quarter to keep a two-score lead that ended up being three after the second-to-last turnover mistake from a Clairmont receiver that was out of his league against Michael or Tim – and they tried playing him against each of them with no success.

This win was a huge deal for Tim, since he can now claim two championships when Kyle had to settle for one; but it has been a big day for Lucas as Captain too, and while Reid Spencer didn't earn the MVP award for his amazing stats; he did get the quarterback credit for eight touchdowns. The only difference between this year and our title game two years ago was that Michael and Tim were so obviously the reason for Reid's success – and they had a lot of yards after the catch to their credit.

For my part of the adventure, the cheerleading was really great – even though it wasn't very warm during the game. Our half-time cheerleading routine was fun for all ages, but geared for the kids as we went Troll-themed complete with a music montage from the new movie and had the big, colorful hair to go with the act. We couldn't exactly use that hair for cool tricks like I've seen clips of from the movie that I haven't been able to go and see; but we did add in some flips and aerials that looked pretty cool. We were certainly a hit with the crowd; and had a lot of fun with it – just as we did with the marching band.

We played Disney Christmas music and had a new marching routine for the championship game. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was the music that was a hit anyway; and we do sound really great for a band from a pair of very small schools.

Finally, for the game report, I want to mention that we had a fairly decent-sized group of supporters for our team from home. Dad, Uncle Adam, Uncle Blaine, and a handful of other family and friends men brought a group of Dads, sons, and cousins to the game – and that really meant a lot to the guys on our team. Some of Michaels' cousins were included in that group; so they got to see Michael play – and find out just how good he is at sports. That's a lot of driving for one high school game; and they spent more time on the road than they spent watching the game. It did give them an escape from the shopping day at home, though; so they seemed to be happy about that – and it gave the girls at home a break from them! ;^)

By the way, Rebecca came to the game to see Lucas play his last high school game, but she came later; after working at the Inn for as long as possible before hitting the road for Central State. That's a fairly-important bit of news because she was also there to help with the drive home for those of us who couldn't stay overnight this year because we need to work on Saturday. I'll get to that in a bit; but this is likely a good place to back up and cover the news from before the game before moving on to the post-game adventures.

I was up too-early after my nap; got ready in record time; and headed for the school without waking anyone else in the house. We loaded the buses with the football, band, and cheerleading gear; waited until all teens and tweens were accounted for; and then we hit the road. That trip would have been more fun if I could have spent the time with Michael, but that wasn't an option; so Rowen and I had fun with our friends; I had a short nap along the way; and then we were busy after that getting our gear hauled from where the buses were parked to the stadium.

Let's not get bogged down with those details, but it was more work; and we had to hurry to get done in time to be ready for the game and have something to eat before getting ready for the pre-game festivities that included a lengthy team introduction for Clairmont and the Raiders. We've covered the basics for the game and half-time show; so let's talk about my afternoon. Watching the other games was an option, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were among the teens that opted for anything else. In our case, we went shopping after we'd all gotten cleaned up and the busses were packed and ready to go. The band and cheerleaders buses were heading back home then after a fast food stop, but most of the guys on the football team are staying overnight; so their bus was available for a shopping mall visit – especially when most of the gear was sent home with the band and equipment buses.

We shopped for a couple of hours; headed for the hotel so that we could get dressed up for the awards banquet; and then we took the bus or other vehicles to the hall where the banquet was being held. Coaches and players were allowed to have guests – if they ordered enough tickets for that in advance; so Rowen, Rebecca, and I were among the girlfriends of players at the banquet – along with a bunch of parents and a few alternate guests like grandparents or other favorite people. Michael's parents couldn't be there, but Tim's were – and they were another set of parents that were also among the drivers needed for the teens that had to be home tonight instead of on Saturday.

I don't have a lot of banquet experience, and don't plan on saying anything bad about this one; so I'll mention that the food was okay; and we had lots of time for the meal while waiting for everyone in the room to eat and for the awards ceremony to begin. The best parts of the night for me – other than spending that time with Michael – were watching Michael and Tim get their joint award and then seeing Coach and Lucas accept the championship trophy for our team. Yes, our team players all stood for the applause; but they didn't have all of the players go up to receive the awards for any of the championship trophies.

It was getting late by the time we could head for home. Michael and I went with Rebecca and Lucas, and while he could have stayed overnight, Rebecca couldn't; and three out of four of us are needed at the Inn tomorrow – especially because there is more seating available this year while we also don't have Jacob and Stephanie here to help out with the extra business – even if we do have a few collegians helping out this week.

Cuddling with Michael all the way home worked for me; we napped a bit; had fun talking with Rebecca and Lucas; and Lucas drove the last half of the way home when Rebecca was ready for a break and we stopped for washroom breaks and to pick up a fast food snack. That might seem like an odd thing to do coming home from a banquet, but the guys were all ready to devour some burgers and fries by then; so we fed them. Rowen and Tim came home with his parents, but we didn't all drive together; and I'm sure that they got home before we did because Rebecca and Lucas are both big fans of not getting speeding tickets. We didn't have any of that kind of trouble; and the drive home was smooth and painless – especially compared to bouncing around for two and a half hours on a school bus!

We've had a really great day, and I'm glad that we won the game too; but it's late and past-time for me to wrap this up and have a nap before getting up to help with the breakfast shift at the Inn.

After getting home; we unloaded the minivan; Michael walked me home; and I came up to bed because nobody else was still awake – including Chris and Martin. I don't yet know if the younger kids just wore all of the adults and teens out while I was gone, but it was heading toward two by then; so maybe my cousins are just growing up and getting more responsible. I also haven't heard much news about what everyone was doing around here while we were away; so there may be more news to add with the next update if there is anything really good to report. There is one bit of news that I can add here; though I had no involvement in it at all.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sebastian!

While I know nothing yet about how his day went; his birthday is the reason why Uncle Nick didn't go to the game today. Five hours of drive time just wouldn't have been a fun way for Sebastian to spend his birthday; so they stayed home while the older cousins went to the game and then got back in time for the birthday dinner.

Okay, I'm falling asleep; so let's wrap this up. I came up to my room; got ready for bed; and then ended up doing some family business work again thanks to doing my email check and finding out that I needed to deal with another minor problem that still took time to get resolved. I'm going to be working a lot for the rest of the weekend, but hope to fit a bit of family and friends fun into the mix too while my aunts, uncles, and cousins are home. Stayed tuned for the next report to find out if that happens for me or not, but I'm done with this update; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, November 26, 2016

We've had a really busy day, but I'm exhausted now and have another very long day ahead for tomorrow; so this is going to be a very short update for a holiday.

Some self-healing was required for me to pull it together and get to the Inn on-time to help with the breakfast rush. I spent three hours doing that; had the late morning and afternoon off; and spent that time with my family – and with Michael when he could join us too. Top action for that time was the trail ride at the ranch after lunch and the follow-up canoe ride that some of us went on because we could when the temperature tried to reach sixty by mid-afternoon. Sure the water is still cold, but we stayed in the canoes; and didn't take any younger kids or older adults along with us to make sure we wouldn't have any problems if we had tipped any of the canoes.

I also helped out with the work around the kitchen before lunch; and then worked the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn. We were busy; but Michael and I had fun with his family and the rest of the staff; and then moved on to have a visit with his family for an hour after I went home with him. Finally, we came over to my house once his younger cousins were all in bed and their parents and grandparents were ready to crash by then too; and we watched a Christmas movie in the lounge with the teens, Violet, and Dillon while the kids and adults in my house went to bed too – once the college football game they'd been watching was over.

It was past-one when Michael went home; I saw him out; and then got ready for bed after straightening up the lounge while my cousins were getting ready for bed – and Violet and Dillon headed back to his house after Violet had some sister time with Dawn before doing that. I've done only the basic email and computer checks since getting into bed with Mandy; didn't have any family business work that couldn't wait until tomorrow night or Monday; and will be able to crash and nap once I have this report wrapped up.

Okay, I'm there and past-ready for some quality nap time – even if I won't get to have many hours of it; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Our Thanksgiving holiday weekend is over now as I write this, and we'll be back to school again in the morning; but the Christmas holiday feeling is in the air and we are going to keep having fun over the next four weeks – even as we'll be busy with work and all of the rest of our daily responsibilities. I'm not going to get into any of that tonight because it's really late and I need to have a nap before getting up and going again; so let's just get to the report for today so that I can do that sooner instead of later.

Tai Chi by the river was fun, and not too chilly; and we dodged the rain for that too – a theme that continued throughout the day for me. Breakfast for our gang was crazy, but while I helped with some of the prep work; I actually had breakfast at Michael's house with his family – and then helped with the post-breakfast clean-up there before Michael and I had to hurry to church to warm up with the teen praise team. I feel as though I've been on the go all day because I have been. We were busy at church from the time we got there until we needed to hurry again and get to the Inn to help with the prep work for the first lunch buffet. Today was also the first Sunday in Advent, so we had a lot to celebrate at church; and our teens and teen praise team helped to make the service fun and upbeat as we led our congregation with amazing music, skits, and everything else we did during that hour and a half of high-energy praise and worship.

High energy was needed for the rest of the day at the Inn. It was all hands on deck; each of the four buffets were sold out; and we turned as many extra tables as possible for the extra diners that hoped to get in on one of the buffets even when it meant having to wait for tables to clear. I mentioned dodging the rain today; and I managed to do that whenever I needed to be outside. I didn't get out much, but did do a round of goodbyes with my outbound family during the afternoon break with Michael; and I was glad about staying dry when working while damp wouldn't have been fun at all. We did the best we could for having fun while we worked today, but sometimes we really are too busy to have much fun; and today was one of those days.

While I worked, I missed out on all of the family fun – including the second buffet that they attended before everyone headed out of town. Michael's family came to the first buffet and left after that; which is why we didn't get a chance to spend any time with them after breakfast except for a quick round of goodbyes at the Inn. Rebecca and Lucas went home to help them with loading up before they hit the road; but then she came back to work as soon as they left while Lucas headed home after staying for the first buffet with his family.

We were behind on the clean-up by the end of the fourth buffet, so it was going on eleven by the time we closed the Inn and came home. I only had a short goodnight visit with Michael at his house on the way to mine; had a short visit with Mom and Dad in the office before coming up to my room; and then began to multi-task my work while having a long soak in my Jacuzzi. I used a time phase when I could; worked in real time when I couldn't; and it took three and a half hours to get everything finished – real time hours. I couldn't procrastinate on anything tonight because we have a busy week ahead even with football season over for our team.

The highlights for the coming week include Rowen's and Rebecca's birthdays – among others; the Pinehurst Christmas parade on Friday night; the kids' Christmas shopping trip on Saturday; and our now-annual visit to the Christmas tree farm to pick out our trees next Sunday afternoon. I'm getting tired just thinking about all of that, and since I have pretty much covered the must-write news, I guess it's okay to wrap this up and get some sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, November 28, 2016

It's been a good day, but I'm tired and have a birthday breakfast to go to in a few hours; so let's keep this short.

Tai Chi by the river was good; we had a bit of rain earlier today; but a fairly-nice afternoon with temperatures climbing into the sixties for just a few hours. High School football season is over; so getting to hang out with Michael was an option again after school. Since it was nice out; we started our after school adventure with some play time with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden at the park; and then I was at Michael's house for the rest of the evening.

We did our homework; had dinner with his parents, Rebecca, and Lucas; practiced our music for band and the praise team; and had a nice little make-out session in his room before wrapping our night up with a bedtime chat with his parents after Lucas went home and Rebecca opted to go to bed early. I've skipped the work parts of our night, including the clean-up after dinner, but then this is supposed to be a short report; so I should stop even mentioning things like that. I came home at eleven; had a visit with Mom and Dad; check in with the twins on my way up here to my room; and got ready for bed. It was time to work and study after that; I did half of the work in a time phase and the rest in real time; and now it's past-three again and I'm wishing that I don't have quite so much work to do and more time to sleep.

That isn't an option, though; since I really need to keep ahead of the work during the school week so that I have more time on the weekends for the holiday fun and work at the Inn. Having a nap right now is an option right now, and I'll get more down time with less writing in this journal; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Rowen!

This update is coming to you early because I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep from having an un-planned nap while doing my work and studying. It's been a long day already; and I'm already having trouble staying awake and focused even on this report.

Michael and I skipped Tai Chi this morning; we met up and went to Rowen's house in time to help out with making her special birthday breakfast; and then we had fun with the birthday entertainment as she opened gifts and we had a birthday cake for dessert because she doesn't have time for a party tonight thanks to our band practices. Sure, she could have taken the night off, but her parents have the store on Christmas hours anyway, and most of her friends were at band practice anyway; so that's why we did the birthday breakfast instead. WE also had a birthday party at lunch for her so that her extended group of friends could get in on that too – and we could do that now that we're done with football cheerleading.

We didn't want to skip the band practices – and for me; that was especially because Michael can come to the concert band practices again too now that football season is over. Christmas music was the name of the band game today, and while getting ready for the parades we have over the next two weekends was a big part of that; we're also working hard on the music for the school Christmas pageant and the Christmas party for the Seniors that we'll play at again this year. For marching band; we worked on parade marching instead of football field shows, and while that wasn't all that tough for most of us; we did need to do the work to get our turns cleaned-up. We also worked on our cold-weather marching – though it wasn't cold out while we were practicing tonight.

It did start cooling off today, though; and it will be cooler-still by parade time on Friday night. I'll keep you posted on that; but let's get back to Rowen and her big day.

Rowen passed her driver's test this morning; so she's joined that club; and she took Tim for a drive in his Corvette after marching band practice before going on to whatever they did for the rest of the night while Michael and I were busy with teen praise team practice and the studying we did after coming back to my house once we were done at the church. She doesn't have a new car or any other seriously awesome gift that any teen would drool over, but she was happy with her gifts; and Tim did a good job for the boyfriend gifts – thanks to some help from Michael and me and the magic of online shopping! I'm only mentioning the low-key gift thing because I do only seem to mention those extreme gifts in my journal; so I should include a bit of perspective when the gifts that Rowen got today were closer to the norm for most teens around here.

As I've mentioned, Michael and I did our homework at my house after our teen praise team practice; and we got started on that late because of the usual practice over-runs that add up to a late end to our final practice of the day. We did that studying in a time phase; that helped Mom, Dad, and the twins with their own work or studying; and then Mom did a short Magi lesson with Michael and me before he headed home for the night. Mom and Dad took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; so I haven't been here in my room for long – and it didn't take long to get changed and ready for bed before getting to this update.

I do want to get all of my work and studying done, but really might not last as long as I need to for that to happen. That's something that you'll need to flip the digital page for to find out, though; since I need to get started on that work now and won't know if I get everything finished or not until I either do or don't make that happen.

Maybe I'd better have a nap and then try to work if everything I try to do is as messed up as that thought!

That's too tempting, and I'm really just procrastinating now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

While Rowen's sweet sixteen was hardly a party-of-the-century kind of day; the fun level was higher than it was today. We all had work to do after school; the temperature is cooling down toward normal for this time of year again; and I've done a lot of work since getting home from school thanks to doing a fair bit of that work and studying while in a time phase.

That's also going to allow me to go to sleep early; which is why this is going to be a very short update.

My morning was normal and uneventful; school was good but unexciting; and Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were happy to take advantage of my time phase to get all of their work or studying done early too. None of that sounds like a very exciting way to end November, but it's the way it is; and I'm okay with getting a solid eight hours or so of continual nap time. Maybe I won't even need some self-healing in the morning to make up for the general lack of sleep.

You can flip the digital page to find out how that works out for me, but I'm going to wrap this up and go live and nap my way through the next day or so before getting around to that next report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
December 2016

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Happy 35th Birthday, Mr. Seager!

He's had a fun day; but I only know that through Naomi and my family because I didn't have much involvement in his big day.

Okay, I suppose that I did in one way through working the dinner shift at the Inn to help Miranda out with the extra business from his birthday dinner; but I missed out on all of the fun except for one cameo visit at school when Michael and I dropped off a card and gift to his room before lunch.

The first day of December isn't an any better or worse day for birthdays than most; but I can't help but to feel in the mood for Christmas instead today. Part of that is having Christmas in the air around here. Decorations are going up at school and everywhere else, and while we won't be decorating our house until this weekend and over the next week or so; Christmas music is in the air; and Ethan and Ehlana are getting into watching Christmas shows and movies. I didn't have time to do that with them today; but do hope that we'll get some chances for some movie nights between now and Christmas even though we'll also have a late start to our Christmas holidays this year thanks to Christmas being on a Sunday.

This update is getting a bit disjointed; so let's back up and do a quick run-through of my day.

Tai Chi by the river was frosty; it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas with colder temperatures just in time for December; and we had a hot breakfast so we'd be warm and happy when we headed out to school or work. Christmas-themed projects are starting up in our classes – and as we start to get ready for the Christmas pageant. Michael and I are among the teen draftees for that show; and we'll be doing another duet this year too because we're one of the most-requested acts. We haven't picked a song for sure yet; but we did talk about it a bit tonight during our music practice; and will come up with a choice soon.

As I've mentioned already, Michael and I worked the dinner shift, but we had a bit of time before needing to be there now that Michael doesn't have football; so we went back to my house; had a bit of fun with Ethan and Ehlana; and then went on to the Inn in time to help out with the dinner prep work. Mom, Dad, and the twins were among the birthday dinner guests for Mr. Seager's party at the Inn; but while they stayed for game night; Michael and I came home after we'd finished the kitchen clean-up.

We did our homework; had a music practice that was mostly to get ready for the parade tomorrow night and to practice our teen praise team music; but we did a quick run-through of the music we'll be doing for the other acts in the Christmas pageant – or at least we did that for the music we have so far. We also had a minor make-out session; and a very short Magi lesson with Mom while Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden out for a walk with Silkie while also going to pick up overnight bags for Naomi and Aiden after Naomi's parents were given a kid-free night as a last-minute birthday gift. Michael also helped me out with getting the four kids tucked in for the night; and then he went home by a bit after eleven o'clock.

I needed some Jacuzzi time after that, but multi-tasked my work while having that soak in the tub; and then continued working once I was in bed with Mandy. The details from the work and studying is too boring for me to write about now without falling asleep; though that would be okay when I should be sleeping by now anyway.

Before I go there, though; it's time for the start of my now-annual Christmas music video picks for twenty-sixteen! My first pick for this season is from one of the Barbie Christmas movies; and the only reason for this choice today is that Ehlana and Naomi were watching the movie tonight after I tucked them in on Ehlana's iPad. It is also what we're all hoping to have this year, though; so I'd say it is an appropriate first-song too!

Barbie – A Perfect Christmas Music Video

Merry Christmas; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, December 2, 2016

Happy 17th Birthday, Rebecca! Happy 2nd Birthday, Caleb!

It has been one of those crazy-busy days!

This morning, it was too cold out for Tai Chi by the river; so we were indoors for that workout. Michael came over for that; and then we had breakfast at the Inn so that Jacob and Miranda could at least spend a bit of time with Rebecca for her birthday – and have a mini-party for her then. Lucas came into town early for that; and there were a few other guests; but it was also a fast blast of fun before the kids and teens needed to get to school and the adults had to go to work – if they didn't leave early to do that before we went to school.

We had fun in our classes; there was another mini-birthday party for Rebecca at lunch; and then we only had time for quick trips home or to do something else before we needed to be back at the school to load up the buses for the trip to Pinehurst for their Christmas parade. Rebecca's birthday dinner consisted of food booth fries and some other treats; and we actually had time to spare because we didn't need to set up a trailer this year for our concert band. The skies were clear and star-lit tonight, but it was around freezing by the time the parade started – and we had time to wait because we were placed about half-way in – and the parade this year was bigger and better than ever. That wait was fun, since we did get to talk with our friends and Michael and I stayed close to keep warm; but the parade really was awesome. The Disney Christmas songs were a hit with the crowds that lined the streets; and we had some surprise bonuses that we didn't even know about until they were sprung on us – like the glow-in-the-dark decorations we were all given to really put a Christmassy glow on our band. That was particularly true for the color guard; and it was pretty cool to see them twirling flags and everything else they do when they could create glowing patterns as they twirled and spun.

I had some bonus fun thanks to having quite a few members of my family there for the parade – with the main reason for that being Caleb's birthday. Our family took him to the parade as part of his birthday entertainment; and then the kids got to see Santa too before heading home. Michael and I got to see that, since our last surprise was an hour of free time to hang out at the post-parade festivities before we headed home again; and we were also given coupon books for treats and a few games to help us with keeping entertained. Rebecca and Lucas spent that time with other friends, but Rowen and Tim hung out with us – even though they might have had more fun with other friends too instead of hanging out with the parents and kids in my family.

While we had a blast in Pinehurst; I was getting tired by the time we got back to town; unloaded the buses; put everything away; and came home. I brought Michael with me so that we could have some cuddle time in the lounge; but he couldn't stay for long because he's working the breakfast buffet shit; and I'll be at that buffet with all of the other shoppers for the Kids' Christmas shopping trip to Crystal Springs. We had a visit with Mom and Dad in the office on the way up to the lounge; stopped by for two shorter visits with the twins; and then put a Christmas show on that we didn't watch while cuddling and having a minor make-out session.

Michael went home at a bit after midnight; I've been doing a bit of work and computing since getting into bed with Mandy; and now it's time to crash and nap for a few hours before it'll be time to get up and going again.

Before I do that; my pick for the Christmas music video for today is one of the songs we were playing tonight with the band – or part of it; since it was part of a Muppet Christmas Carol montage. These songs also always bring back happy memories for me; and The Muppet Christmas Carol will always be one of my favorite Christmas movies!

Bless Us All – The Muppet Christmas Carol

Let's hope that happens for all of us this Christmas season!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, December 3, 2016

I have a movie night to get to now; so this is going to be a short update of a very busy; amazingly fun day!

We were up early; I went to the Inn early to help out with the prep work for the breakfast buffet; and went to join my family to eat after the first round of food went out to the buffet tables. That hour of food and fun was a blast – especially since we had most of the one hundred and seventy-two shoppers booked for our trip today. As usual, Mom and Aunt Leanne coordinated the departures and made sure that all groups were together and kids were accounted for before heading for the city too, but I was with Rowen today; she was one of the teen drivers; and we headed out early along with most of the other teen drivers and their groups. We also had fellow cheerleaders, Emma and Bethany with us for the drive both ways; our arrival was mid-pack because Rowen went the speed limit; and we shopped for nearly an hour before meeting up with my family for a bit of shared shopping fun that included us helping out with taking smaller kid groups around to do their gift buying with a bit of privacy from some of the gift recipients.

I'm pretty sure that more than half of the teens helped out with jobs like that because we only had forty-four adults to keep up with one hundred and twenty-eight kids and teens. Most of the parents in my family had three kids per adult; and that was especially tough for the parents with young kids. Uncle Adam, for instance, probably deserves a medal or something for keeping up with Zack and Eli while also helping out with the other kids in their larger group. Rowen and I had fun while doing our part, though; and we still managed to have lots of shopping time with Rebecca, Jenny, and some of our other friends when we could do that too. I also picked up nearly-everything on my list today; and used my phone to order the rest when I couldn't get certain gifts in-stock in the stores. Yes, I had time for that too – since we had the drive home again where I could multi-task while talking with the other girls.

I really do need to move this along; so let's do that. We shopped at the mall all morning; had lunch in the food court; and split the afternoon shopping between our favorite big-box toy store and Wal-Mart. The last stop was also for the usual trip to the city supply pick-up; and Rowen and I stayed long-enough to help Mom and Dad with getting those last purchases packed into the van and truck. We picked up fast food to go; drove home again; and then Lucas and Rebecca took over getting Emma and Bethany home while we unloaded the van; did a couple of deliveries for friends; and then helped my parents with unloading the van and truck. After that, we took Ehlana and Naomi shopping to catch the tail-end of the big sale here; picked up some more gifts and an outfit or two; and then we all eventually ended up back at my house. Rowen collected Tim first; I came home with Ehlana and Naomi; and we're going to have a Christmas movie night once Michael gets here after the Inn is closed for the night.

Naomi and Aiden are booked for another sleepover here, and I'm planning on accidentally having a sofa sleepover with Michael; which is why I'm writing this while taking a break to freshen up and change into something that will be perfect for cuddling with Michael while having that sleepover with him. I haven't covered any of the details from our shopping fun, but I really do want to get back to the fun; so let's do the music video pick and then I'll do that.

I'll pick this little song again because the kids have the show cued up first for our evening entertainment – and they still really love Holly and Hal Moose. Okay, I do too; but I'm sure that Tim is likely rolling his eyes over that choice – even though he'll never say anything about that to the kids. I don't want to mess with his rep, though; so here's one of Ethan's and Ehlana's favorite Christmas music videos.

Holly and Hal – When You Dream

I'm nearly ready to go and watch the rest of that animated Christmas adventure now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Before I get to the news from today; let's cover the movie night and sofa sleepover fun.

Mom and Dad joined us for the first two shows – Holly and Hal and How the Grinch Stole Christmas; they dealt with getting the four kids into bed on the second floor while the teens took care of the clean-up; and then Michael and I saw Rowen and Tim out because they wanted to have some alone time at her house before calling it a night. Some make-out time had been on our to-do list too, but that didn't end up happening because Naomi and Ethan had miraculously ended up in the lounge again by the time we got back there; and they were having a sofa sleepover too. While we were tempted to carry them back down to their beds, they were really adorable; so we left them there; fell asleep while watching a third movie; and had a really great start to our Sunday with a wake-up call that included lots of jokes about double-dating sofa sleepovers.

Tai Chi was outdoors and by the river, but a bit chilly. Rebecca was at Lucas' house overnight, so Mom and Dad invited Michael's parents to join us for breakfast; and we had bonus fun while doing that thanks to the junior sofa sleepover buddies and a video chat with Jake and Stephanie. We had to hurry after that to get through the clean-up and have everyone ready to go to church; and then we had a really good morning at church that included some work for the teens during Sunday school while we worked on props and costumes for our Christmas show that we'll be putting on the Sunday evening before Christmas. That's only two weeks away, but let's not go there; since it's late and I have a lot to cover without getting side-tracked.

After church, Michael and I went to the Inn and helped with the lunch prep work and rush until my family was ready to hit the road for our afternoon outing to the Christmas tree farm. Michael was allowed to do that with me again this year; but Rebecca stayed and worked the dining room as a trade-off for not working until close tonight – while Michael and I did do that instead. Rowen and Tim came along with a group from their families too, but while we had most of my family along for the trip; Uncle Adam stayed behind to be around in case of any medical emergencies. I can't possibly cover everything that went on out there; so let's just include the basics.

We picked up ten trees; had a blast doing that and going on the hay rides out to the evergreen fields and back again; and then we spent an hour in the Christmas store enjoying treats, hot drinks, and picking out some new ornaments and other Christmassy purchases – like cookies, sweets, and apple cider. Michael and I had some really awesome moments with our families and friends; I especially loved sharing some of that time with Brianna, Faith, and the rest of our cousins; and we even managed to have a bit of teen time with Rowen and Tim. The weather was pretty good for our trip with afternoon temperatures in the mid-forties; and that made the work side of the trip better for everyone too.

Michael and I had to miss out on most of that work at the home end of the adventure because we needed to get cleaned up and over to the Inn for the buffet shift; but we did what we could; and left the tree deliveries to the guys that Dad and the other fathers drafted to help with getting those trees into houses and set up for trimming and decorating.

By the way, I didn't mention it in my journal, but should have noted last Monday that Grandma and Grandpa went back to Arizona after the holiday weekend. They'll be home in time for the school Christmas pageant; and then they'll stay into the New Year before heading out on their first travel adventure of twenty-seventeen. I would have loved to have them with us today; but I'm also glad that they're enjoying their retirement – and being someplace warm for the winter is good for them too.

Moving along, the buffet shift was quiet compared to last weekend, but still busy-enough. As I mentioned, Michael and I worked until close, but with a slightly-easier dinner rush; we were able to get all of the work done by a bit after nine-thirty. Since we didn't get our studying done during what would have normally been Michael's afternoon break, we needed to do that after work. Michael came home with me; we did that studying in the living room while watching the end of the tree and room decorating; and then Mom did a short Magi lesson with us before Michael went home for the night. It was time for me to get to work after that, but Dad had some homework to do too; so I used a time phase and we worked like that until he was finished and ready to go to bed. I came up to my room then; multi-tasked more work and studying while having a soak in the tub; and finished up my work after getting into bed with Mandy.

I had a lot to do, so it's past-three now; but I am up-to-date and ready to keep it that way as we continue the countdown to Christmas. We have another busy week ahead of us; though I won't be directly involved in the top adventure for Monday – the Moms' Christmas shopping trip. I will be helping Dad with the twins before and after school; but that will be fun – especially if we also do the outdoor decorating tomorrow too. That'll depend on the weather; so I'll keep you posted on that with the next report.

You can flip digital pages in my future to find out what happens next in my life, so I'll skip the rest of the look ahead; and just call it a night. Morning is going to come too early; and I do get tired out and worn down – especially if I need to self-heal too often along with all of the rest of the times that I use my Magi gifts to work faster or do other things. Before I go, my Christmas music video pick for today is from How the Grinch Stole Christmas – one of my all-time favorite Christmas movie songs!

Where Are You Christmas – Faith Hill

This has been a really awesome weekend, and we still have a lot of holiday fun ahead of us that I need to be ready for; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, December 5, 2016

We still have three weeks until the Christmas break this year; but the Moms' shopping trip to the city is after the kids' trip because the majority of the shoppers find it easier to go a week after the Thanksgiving holiday instead of the Monday right after it; and they have the bonus of new gift ideas from what their kids saw in the stores on Saturday. Even though Mom and Aunt Leanne have already been through a tough shopping day so recently; they were fired up and happy when they left our house for the Inn and another buffet breakfast.

That buffet was why Dad only had three exercise buddies today; though Michael wasn't there because he was helping out with the breakfast buffet instead. I had to pick between that and helping Dad with the twins; and picked the family-first option. Sure, Ehlana and I had more fun playing dress-up and doing our hair together, but our favorite guys also appreciated the effort; so that was a bonus for them – and for us too. I cooked breakfast; Dad and Ethan cleaned up after getting ready first; and Ehlana and I managed to be ready to go to school on-time. Dad was at work before we left; but we left early-enough to collect Rowen, Naomi, and Aiden along the way; and then we were off and running for a fun, busy day at school.

For Michael and me; that meant really getting going on the music practices for the pageant. We'll be having two of those practices pretty much every day now through to the big show; and we're booked to accompany more classes and acts than last year – along with another duet. The music play time did help to make our day more entertaining; and we especially love working with the younger kids. That includes Ethan and Ehlana this year; so I'm glad that we'll be playing the music for their class – as well as for Naomi's Grade One class. I don't have any news from our classes, unless you consider a bit more homework to make up for the missed time we had in some of our classes while we played as being newsworthy.

Our after-school entertainment was more interesting; since Michael and I picked the twins up from KidZone; we brought them home; and got started on the outdoor decorating at both our house and his – though his parents helped out there – particularly with stringing the lights and the porch rooftop decorations. Dad helped us out after he was done work for the day, and when he did that; I took care of cooking dinner for five. We had all of that work done by around six o'clock; had dinner; cleaned up; and then came up to the lounge for a Christmas movie night. Michael and I needed to do our homework too, but Dad stayed with us; and saved his own homework for after Mom got home from the city.

We finished our movie by the time Mom and Aunt Leanne got back with the truck and van; we helped with some of the unloading – mostly to deliver bags and boxes to Aunt Leanne's house; and then we had a bedtime chat and Magi lesson with Mom before she was ready for some Jacuzzi time and Michael needed to head home. I dealt with getting the twins into bed after that; and then Dad and I worked in a time phase in the office so that he could get his work done faster. I had more to do after he was ready to meet up with Mom in their room, but I took a break then to come up to my room and get ready for bed before getting back to my work and studies – while also once again working in a time phase.

That's the only reason for why I'm finished for the night while it is still only a bit after one o'clock, but the extra power drain is still exhausting; and I'm looking forward to more than a couple of hours of nap time!

Before I get started on that, the Christmas music video pick for today isn't exactly Christmassy, and it's another song from The Muppet Christmas Carol, but I've been thinking about it today because of a little chat about the movie that we had at school. There are, apparently, a lot of people that have never seen the uncut version of the movie, so just in case this little gem is lost to history some day; I'll make sure that it at least lives on in our Magi archives!

When Love is Gone – The Muppet Christmas Carol

Okay, I'm ready for nap mode now, and I'll need the rest to be ready for the after-school practices that will include a major teen praise team practice to get ready for the Christmas show and holiday services; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday, Dawn!

My cousin is especially happy today because she not only passed her driver's license test for her beginner's permit; but she was also able to take the knowledge test for becoming a pilot – the next step along the way to her goal of being a commercial pilot and flying the big jets! There was a birthday dinner with family and some friends too; but it was definitely the pilot thing that was tops for her today – though she will eventually appreciate being able to driver herself out to the airport and back again in another year.

Compared to that, my day was fairly uneventful. We had a good day at school with more practices for the Christmas pageant; and we're doing some testing ahead of the holidays as we begin to wrap up the current modules we've been working on in our classes. I was extra-busy after school with our concert band practice as we get ready for the pageant and the seniors' Christmas party; I followed that up with some fundraiser work for the marching band that included dealing with the Christmas ornaments and the next fruit and vegetable boxes orders; and then we had a long marching band practice that included getting ready for the Maple Valley parade and a shorter section of the practice for the Disney parade. That was a cold practice; so it took us a while to warm up once we were at the church for the teen praise team practice. That was a very long practice too now that we're down to just a week and a half or so to the Christmas show a week from Sunday night – and we had the extra teens and tweens there for a run-through of the entire show including the skits and everything else.

It was past-ten before Michael and I got back to my house; we did our homework in the office while in a time phase; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then we took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night before Michael went home at about eleven-thirty. Mom and Dad were nearly ready to head for bed then, so I had a visit with them while they wrapped up their work; came upstairs; and hopped into my Jacuzzi to get cleaned up while multi-tasking my work and studying. I did some of that in a time phase; the rest in real time after I was in bed with Mandy; and now I'm ready to crash and nap for a few hours before it'll be time to get up and going again.

Before I go there, my Christmas music video for tonight is my first a Capella pick of the year, and while it isn't the most-Christmassy song on my list this year, it is from the Home Free Christmas album; and I really love the harmonies of the song – something that Michael and I love to do with our own music. I hope you'll love it too!

Colder Weather – Home Free

While you watch and listen; I'll go off to sleep – or will have done so in my now and your near or distant past; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The top news of the day is that we got our first dusting of snow for this winter, and while the ground was still too warm for it to stick to pavement for long; the lawns around town are a bit frosty – and may stay that way until the temperature climbs above freezing again.

I don't actually have much else to report for today. Our classes at school were fun; Michael and I had two more music practices with two of the primary classes; and I came home after school to get started on my homework and part-time job while Michael went to work at the Inn and Rowen and Tim were busy with their own jobs too. Using a time phase was an option; Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana took advantage of that before dinner; and Dad joined in after we ate and cleaned up so that we could all have our work and studying finished early. Mom, Dad, and the twins decided to watch a Christmas show after that, but I'm ready for a full night of sleep for a change; which is exactly what I'll be doing as soon as I'm finished with this little report.

My Christmas music video pick for today is a cute little mash-up of Christmas songs that I really like a lot; so have fun with this next blast of holiday cheer while I go and get some rest!

Mistletoe – The Janes

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Lily!

It's heading toward four o'clock now; so this is going to be a short update.

Tai Chi was indoors thanks to the much colder temperatures today, but it is December; so I won't be one of the snowflakes complaining about a couple of cold days. It is moderately funny that nobody ever complains about the days that are too-warm for the season!

Moving along, the only news from school today is the ongoing practices for the pageant; Lily's noontime birthday fun; and her graduation to the ranks of the next-level drivers club. Lily's parents threw a sweet-sixteen party for her too, and Michael and I stopped in for a visit and to drop off a gift; but we didn't do that until after we finished working the dinner shift at the Inn. We needed to do that because quite a few teens needed the night off for a birthday party they were attending; and Miranda needed the extra hands in the kitchen. I wasn't drafted or anything; but volunteered instead of going to the party without Michael.

I really do want to make this quick; so Michael and I worked until a bit after seven; spent an hour at Lily's house by the time we made the rounds and could head out again; and then we came back to my house to get our studying done – along with a music practice and a minor snogging session that ended when Mom and Dad got home with the twins from game night. Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me; he went home at a quarter after eleven; and then I got to work on my studying and family business jobs. Getting all of that done took longer than I'd hoped, but I am ready to take the weekend off as much as possible; so it will be worth losing the sleep over.

That doesn't mean that I don't still want all of the rest I can get, though; so let's wrap this up so that I can do that right now.

My Christmas music video pick for the day is a new, original Christmas song from a favorite a Cappella artists on YouTube. Michael and I have fun with his songs; and have added this one to our Christmas favorites this year.

December Song – Peter Hollens

Have fun with that while I'm off to start my short winter's nap; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Michael and I are making a last-minute decision to have an 'accidental' sofa sleepover tonight; so here's my Christmas music video pick for the day; and you can watch it before flipping the digital page to get the double-update that I'll write tomorrow night!

Hallelujah – Pentatonix

Okay, one note on the song pick before I go and cuddle with Michael for the rest of the night. I don't think of Hallelujah as Christmassy at all, but it ends up on a lot of Christmas albums; and I do love the harmonies that Pentatonix puts together for all of their music; so it makes my list of favorites this year just for being such a wonderful version of the song!

Now it's time for me to go; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

This is a double-update; but it's going to be a short one because I'm out of steam and need to get some sleep.

Friday – cold-enough for Tai Chi to be indoors; and for us to stay indoors as much as possible. We had a good day at school; and then I helped Mom around the house after school while Michael was busy at work. Ethan and Ehlana were with Aiden and Naomi respectively for the night; which was why we were able to have a teen movie night in the lounge after Michael was done work. Rowen and Tim came over early and helped me with getting ready for that; we watched two Christmas movies after Michael joined us; and then Rowen and Tim went to her house for some alone time at twelve-thirty – and you already know that I kept Michael for a sofa sleepover. That was fun; so was the Saturday morning wake-up call; and then we needed to hurry to get ready and over to the school in time to help load the buses for the trip to the Maple Valley Christmas parade with the marching band. We managed to fit in a quick, hot breakfast too, but didn't help Mom and Dad with the clean-up; and we all skipped Tai Chi today.

The bus ride to Maple Valley was a lot more fun with Michael; and I should have mentioned that last week for the Friday night parade too. After being on separate buses during the football season; it's nice to have that time to spend together – and with all of our friends. The weather was really very good for a Christmas parade – just a bit below freezing; a few snowflakes in the air without being anything major; and a bit of a dusting of snow on the lawns along the parade route. That also meant there was a big crowd – at least for a small town parade; and our band was a big hit thanks to the fact that we do have a nice contingent of Maple Valley students in it with us! That had a lot to do with why we were also Santa's band, and while that put us at the end of the parade and made for a long wait before we hit the parade route; it also meant that we got to watch the entire parade head out ahead of us – and we could get right to the fun afterward as soon as we'd packed up and loaded the bus with our gear. This time, we were given two hours to play and have lunch; and then we headed back to town by mid-afternoon.

That worked for Michael and me, since we were booked for the dinner shift at the Inn; we had time to help out at the school; get home and cleaned up for work; and then go on to the Inn. I didn't have much time to talk with Mom and Dad then, and they hadn't gone to the Maple Valley parade this year after doing the night parade last weekend instead; but then Dad is working a lot this weekend to get ready for his week in the city. The dinner crowd at the Inn was fairly-large, but most customers came early; so we didn't have a late rush and managed to get out of the inn by a bit after nine o'clock. Since Mom and Dad were going out to the pub for a while; and Michael and I were on babysitting duty while they were gone; they were happy about that because it gave them nearly an hour longer than they'd expected to have.

Ethan and Ehlana had Naomi and Aiden booked for the night; and we also had Zack, Brianna, Eli, and Hailey to watch while the parents were out while other kids and cousins were with other babysitters – and we weren't keeping any of those extra kids overnight. It was also already bedtime for half of them, so while we set up a Christmas kids' show in the lounge; Hailey, Eli, and Brianna were all sleeping before the end of it – and I moved the girls into my bed while Eli was temporarily put in the guest room across the hall from the lounge. Zack tried to stay up later, but only lasted to the start of the second show; and he joined Eli in the guest room while the rest of us watched the rest of Home Alone and then the twins and their besties went to bed too. Michael and I cleaned up; and then cuddled in the lounge until Mom and Dad got home with the parents that were picking up their little angels. Brianna had woken up; so we'd had a bonus cuddle buddy, but that was a blast of fun for us; and a fair trade for the lack of make-out time we were too tired for by then anyway.

While I was tempted to keep Michael again tonight; he went home when Eli, Hailey, Zack, and Brianna went home with their parents; and I only had a short visit with Mom and Dad before coming up to my room and getting ready for bed. I've only done the basic computer checks since getting into bed with Mandy; and that brings us up-to-date with the news for the past two days.

My Christmas music video pick is from another favorite a Cappella group; a Christmas classic; and a really fun version of the song.

Do You Hear What I Hear – Home Free

While you listen to that; I'm off to have a nap; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

It's been another long, busy day; so I'm going to keep this short and get on with my nap soon.

Tai Chi was indoors; and likely will be more often than not from now on. While I'll miss being out by the river; Michael and I do get to work on our pushing hands forms when we're exercising indoors; so that is fun too. We were at his house for breakfast; had a chat with Jake and Stephanie while we had breakfast; and the main news for them is that they're busy with exam studying – and will be writing them over the next four days before coming home for the holidays. We moved on to church next; spent a Christmassy couple of hours there that included more work getting ready for the teen Christmas show that is now just a week away; and then Michael and I had to hurry on to the Inn to help out with the lunch rush prep work.

I was booked for the full-day shift at the Inn; and Michael and I didn't really get much of an afternoon break because we did our homework – and stayed at the Inn to do that instead of heading home. The buffet side of the shift was tougher – and busier because we were light on staff while we had teens and adults taking the day off for some holiday fun that there won't be time for on the all-hands-on-deck days during the Christmas and New Year's Day weekends. Michael and I still had fun together, but I'll admit here that I'm glad that this will be my last holiday working in the kitchen; since I'll be able to work as a server once I'm sixteen in February. I'm not saying that job is easier, since it isn't; but it is usually cleaner and more sociable!

Moving along, we worked until nearly-ten; I went home with Michael and his family for a little bedtime visit; and then came home and had another visit with Mom and Dad before they went up to bed once Dad wrapped up his work ahead of his week in the city. I didn't miss much at home while I was busy because he did work most of the afternoon and evening; and Mom took Ethan and Ehlana to play in the lab and archives for the afternoon before spending the evening studyi9ng or working in the office too. The twins were in bed by then, but I stopped in for visits with them too on my way up to bed; and they were both still awake and playing on their iPads. I needed a soak in my Jacuzzi after that; multi-tasked my language studying while doing that; and then started in on the family business work once I was tucked in with Mandy and my computer. Some time phasing was possible for some of the work; I did the rest in real time; and now I'm pretty much ready to crash and nap.

My Christmas music video pick for tonight is a new-for-this-year version of another of my favorite Christmas songs, and since I did hear some kid-talk about Christmas lists and letters to Santa today; it seems like a good pick now that we're down to just two weeks to Christmas!

Grown Up Christmas List – Peter and Evynne Hollens

Santa is a Magi; he could know that I'm not sleeping right now when I should be; and I don't want to end up on the naughty list this close to Christmas; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, December 12, 2016

We didn't exactly get a reprieve from winter yesterday, but it did get warm-enough for us to lose the bits of snow on the ground; so being back into the freeze again today was a change for the cool. I'm okay with that, since there is still a chance that we'll have a bit of snow for Christmas; but we'll see how that goes.

Seeing Dad off to the city this morning meant that I didn't get much sleep last night, but Ethan, Ehlana, and I did have a nap with Mom in her bed once Dad was on his way; and then Michael came over in time for Tai Chi before going home again to have breakfast with his parents and Rebecca. We were off to school after a quick and easy breakfast and some hair and dress-up fun for Ehlana and me; and I had a fun day of music and classes that was, as always, a lot more fun with Michael. We had what is pretty much a last-minute change for the Christmas pageant today when we had a major request from a bunch of primary kids that wanted to add one of the songs from the Elena of Avalor Christmas episode to the show. That is going to happen; and Michael and I worked up an arrangement with can use for the kids that we'll start teaching them tomorrow. That doesn't give us much practice time for the kids, but we'll deal with it; and I love what they wanted to do – and so will everyone watching the pageant!

Michael and I were at my house for the night so that we could help Mom with the twins and some work around the house too. We did our homework first; helped with the chores and making dinner after that; and then had a play evening that included the music practice to get ready for tomorrow and for the pageant and seniors' Christmas party; we followed that up with a Christmas movie that Michael and I watched with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom worked in the office; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with Michael and me after we got the twins tucked in for the night and before he went home to get some sleep. I've been working in my room since then; used a time phase to get everything done without staying up all night; and now I'm ready to head into nap mode.

For my Christmas music video pick tonight; I'm going with two because it was the final performances night for The Voice this season; and I thought that it'd be fun to include a then and now pair of songs for one of the contestants. I don't have time to watch the show, but do check out the YouTube videos for some of the performances, so while the 'Now' pick isn't a Christmas song; I hope you'll find these music videos by Billy Gilman entertaining.

Then: Warm and Fuzzy – Billy Gilman

Now: Because of Me – Billy Gilman

Have fun with the music while I head off to sleep now; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

It got cold overnight; didn't warm up much today; and the only real weather impact on my day was the very chilly marching band practice that we really need to have outdoors as many times as we can ahead of our big trip in February.

Music seemed to be the only thing I was doing for most of the day; though Michael and I did have some classes that we attended between the practices with the younger kids and tweens that we're working with this year. We are having a lot of fun this week, though; so it's worth the bit of extra work we need to do to make up for those missed classes and time we don't get to have in class for our assignments.

I've skipped the morning news, but then there really isn't much to write about anyway. Tai Chi indoors was good thanks to the pushing hands workout with Michael; breakfast was standard school day fare; and we had a short video chat with Dad that was mostly about a kids versus the parents battle over Mom going to the city for a sleepover despite the fact that she's too busy for that this week. We – the kids – won that fight, but while we'd have been okay with Mom going there today; she isn't doing that until tomorrow because the Christmas dinner visit with the Malloys is tomorrow evening; and Mom wouldn't stay in the city for two nights.

Okay, that does sound like news for the morning, but that wasn't confirmed until later; so it's technically news for this afternoon – and I wasn't even around when Mom finally caved in thanks to an afternoon of twin badgering. ;^)

Moving along, our concert band practice was all Christmas while we got ready for our little part in the pageant and the seniors' Christmas party. I had fundraising work to do between band practices, so I ate on the fly; and dealt with the fruit and vegetable boxes orders that will be arriving this Friday because we're all too busy to do that work next week when we'd be just two days from Christmas. The Christmas ornaments fundraiser is now done; we sold out; and hit our goal for that little blast of holiday fun. Our sales for the fruit and vegetable boxes will be lighter this month than last; but we do have more local orders for families needing the extra food for holiday weekend guests even if we are losing the chance to sell many orders to visitors. There's only going to be one more month for that fundraiser too, and I don't expect the order in January to be all that large; but we're going to hit our fundraising target anyway; and there is a surprise coming via the family business that I won't spoil ahead of time – even here in my journal.

The marching band practice was the exception for the Christmas music, since we needed to practice our Disney songs instead; but that was fun too – even while we were a bit frozen by the time we were done.

Get it? We were Frozen!

Aren't you glad that I'm not the family business comedian?

The cold did keep us from having an extremely-long practice, but those of us that needed to be at the church next were still late – and that was quite a few of us because we had a full, dress rehearsal for the Sunday night Christmas show. That last, big practice always takes twice as long as the actual show will be this weekend; and that's why it was heading toward eleven o'clock by the time Michael and I got home tonight. We are ready for the show – even if some of our friends are stressing about it a bit; and I still think that it's the little imperfections that make those moments most-special for everyone.

Michael and I needed to do our homework; we worked in the office while doing that so that Mom could take advantage of the time phase I used; and then she went to bed when Michael went home – without doing a Magi lesson with us – or with me. Skipping it tonight worked for me because I still had a lot to get done on my family business work and studying – especially since I'll be taking the holiday break from my language studies for sure; and hopefully be able to do a bit less on the family business front too – though that's less likely to happen for me. I used a time phase for that work and studying too; multi-tasked some Jacuzzi time at the start of that blast of busy; and had about an hour of 'real time' work to do once I'd finished everything that didn't require being connected to the internet and our systems at the lab.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, my work day is now going to include babysitting the twins while Mom's in the city; I'll likely end up with Naomi and Aiden too; and may invite Rowen to stay overnight too – just because we're overdue for a girls' night sleepover. Yes, we might invite the boys to hang out with us too – though Michael won't be able to do that until after work at the Inn; but we'll be good – and won't keep them for the night too – no matter how tempting that is for all of us.

Yes, I'm a normal teen, and do sometimes want to take a walk on the wild and crazy side of life, but that really, really isn't an option for a Magi Master; so it won't happen.

I should get some sleep now to be ready for another busy day, though; so let's get to the fun part of these holiday updates! My Christmas music video pick for tonight is from another of the contestants on the Voice this season. I'm sure that having a famous mother in the television and movie business is a big help when it comes to getting chances to perform songs for those shows or movies, but this teen has some talent; so I hope you have fun with this catchy little Christmas tune – even if the parts of the video with said Mom making out with the leading man might be weird for most teens! ;^)

The Only Gift – Natasha Bure – from A Christmas Detour

I'm off to dreamland now while you're being entertained; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

It's late; Rowen is now sleeping with Mandy cuddled at her side; and I'm going to head off into nap mode as soon as I've wrapped up my day with this little journal update.

We've had another sub-freezing day here; though the temperature did at least get close to that mark instead of staying frosty all day. Tai Chi was fun – particularly because Mom was excited about her trip to Crystal Springs; we had a hot breakfast; and then we had an extended bit of play time while getting ready for school before doing the goodbye hugs and kisses with Mom before three of us headed out to meet up with our friends for the walk to school. Mom was able to say goodbye to the twins again at lunchtime; but she was only staying long-enough to take them to KidZone after their morning in Kindergarten before hitting the road for a kid-free twenty-four hours.

I didn't have many kid-free hours all day; since Michael and I had a total of three music practices with the primary kids – and then I had Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden with me from the time I rounded them up at school and KidZone on my way home. They had me outnumbered, but I am a Magi Master; and managed to keep up with them until Rowen came over to join us in time for a pizza and wings dinner after working her shift at the computer store. Her parents have the store open late every night until a week from Friday, but they aren't so busy that they need her for those extra hours during the week. She is expecting to work more hours this weekend and next; but then Michael and I expect to do that at the Inn too.

Our after-school fun at home included some video gaming in the lounge while I dealt with some chores; I had four supervisors while cooking the food; and we had that dinner for six in the sunroom before Rowen and I took care of the clean-up while the kids went back up to the lounge for more video gaming. Tim worked later at the shop to help his Dad with a rush repair job; came over after having dinner at home; and joined the gaming with Ethan and Aiden while we waited for Michael to come over too. It was Christmas movie time after Michael did catch up with us; but the four teens in the room also had to do our homework while watching the first shows – starting with an encore viewing of the Elena of Avalor holiday special.

This is off track, but I'll give points to the show executives for actually having a Christmas-themed episode instead of going with some fantasy-holiday – as they did with the Sofia the First series. Teaching kids about a few actual Christmas traditions – like a Parranda – is a bonus too; so nicely-done, Disney!

Moving along, we wrapped up our homework fairly quickly; had some cuddle time while watching one of the Home Alone movies; and then Michael and I took care of getting the four kids off to bed for the night – an hour or so later than they should have gone to bed. Rowen and Tim got to have a bit of alone time while we did that; and then there was time left for some Christmas music videos and teen chat and couples' cuddling until Michael and Tim needed to head out and get to their homes by a bit before midnight. Rowen borrowed my Jacuzzi after that while I got started on my work and studying; we had a nice long girl chat after that; and I've only been the last one in the house still conscious for about a half-hour while finishing up my work.

I had a short phone chat with Mom and Dad while they were between dinner and the part of their night that I won't need any details about; they'd had a lot of fun with the Malloys and with the rest of their day to that point; and I'm sure they'll get even less sleep than I will tonight – for reasons we don't need to even think about. That does have me wishing that Rowen and I had kept our boyfriends around for the night, but while it sometimes sucks to be so responsible all of the time; it is worth all of the good that goes along with those choices.

The work and studying has taken longer than I'd hoped, but I need to get ahead of things in time for the holiday break, work of other kinds, and the family and friends fun; so I'll have more late nights coming up to do that while keeping up with everything else. Getting some sleep now is my current top priority, though; so let's do the Christmas music video pick and I'll get right to that. My pick for today is a bit off-the-beaten-path, but I came across it a while ago when looking for Christmas music to use at school and church this year, and though we aren't using the song; it did make it onto my short list – and I do like both the message and the harmonies a lot too.

What It's All About – Farmer's Daughter

While you listen to that and turn the digital page to find out what happened to me next from your perspective in my future, I'm going to head off into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Another school day; another blast of music practice fun along with about half of our classes for Michael and me. I don't usually mention it in my journal, but we aren't the only teens helping out with musical support for the younger kids; and it would be a bit much for us to even attempt to do all of that work.

I should have started out with the morning news, since Rowen and I were kept busy getting four kids fed and ready for school. We had fun with that too, since we did get to play dress-up with Ehlana and Naomi; but it is no wonder why so many parents are ready for naps by the time they're kid-free for the day or off to work to play with the kids their own ages instead. No, I wasn't ready for a nap despite the lack of sleep last night, but I do have some rather handy talents to help me out with that sort of thing; so it takes more than four kids to push me past my limits. ;^)

Other than the music fun and one test; I don't really have anything to report from my school day. Mom got home in time to collect the twins from school and deliver fast food to Aunt Leanne, but I didn't get much of a chance to talk with her bout the trip to Crystal Springs until we got home from game night at the Inn. I went to the Inn with Michael after school; we did our homework; and then got to work on the pre-dinner prep work with Jacob, Rebecca, and the rest of the kitchen crew. The dinner rush was busier than normal for a Thursday due to it also being the last game night of the year ahead of the Christmas holiday; and that's why Michael and I didn't go home tonight – because our Mommies wanted us to stay and be there for the Christmas edition of games night.

I'd have liked the make-out time with Michael, and the music practice would have been good too when we do have the seniors' Christmas party tomorrow afternoon and the teen Christmas show at the church on Sunday night; but we'll just have to find time to make up for the first part of that sometime this weekend; and hope that we're ready for the music play time tomorrow afternoon.

As usual, our Moms won the senior championship tonight; and I have very little doubt that collusion is involved to make that happen for Miranda – though her family and friends do manage to get that done without being blatantly obvious about it. The statistical odds of that happening nearly every year – twice a year; if you include the last championship ahead of the summer breaks – are against them, though; so Miranda likely just accepts those victories for the Christmas gift they're meant to be.

The bonus Christmas treats, music, and fun at the Inn meant that we didn't get home until eleven o'clock; Mom did a Magi lesson with Ethan, Ehlana, and me; and then it was past-midnight by the time the twins were tucked in and I could get my real work and studying started while also multi-tasking some Jacuzzi time. I used a time phase for as much of the work as I could; kept the online work to a minimum; and now it's after-two; so I'm ready to crash and nap.

My Christmas music video pick is another a Cappella favorite; so it's back on my list for this season.

Mary, Did You Know? – Pentatonix

Here's a fun trivia tidbit for that song that might eventually be lost to history – it was written by Mark Lowry; a Christian comedian. Sure, he has a musical background too; but it's way funnier to note that a now-classic Christmas song was penned by a comedian known for making fun of the amusing moments in life that every Christian can relate to from personal experience.

It's time for me to get some sleep now, and that's all the news I have for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Congratulations, Violet and Dillon!

Details are still unavailable because Violet and Dillon are in Woodvale for the weekend, but word has reached us that they're engaged as of sometime Friday afternoon; and that Dillon proposed to Violet while they were getting ready to hit the road for home after their last final exams of the fall semester were done.

I think that's an awesome way to both celebrate the end of exams and get the holidays off to an amazing start; though I'll also take a wild guess that their departure was delayed for a while due to a private celebration for which I don't need the details! ;^)

For the record, no, we did not have advance warning of their engagement; though we knew they were meant to be together. The Sight can't be used for everything; and life might be just a bit boring if we knew everything before it was going to happen!

Boring isn't a word I can use to describe my day – though it wasn't getting engaged kind of exciting. Michael and I spent the morning unloaded boxes of fruit and vegetables; we loaded up the truck with the order for the Maple Valley band members; and then moved on to get everything ready and over to the church for the seniors' Christmas party. We helped with the set-up there; grabbed a quick lunch; and then we had most of the concert band there with us to entertain the seniors both while they had their luncheon and for the party and dancing after they'd eaten. The band didn't play all of the time because there were other 'acts' – including Michael and me with another, requested duet. Since I'm writing about that now anyway, that song is my Christmas music video pick for the day; and this version of the song is the one that Michael and I used to work up our duet harmonies and the guitar-piano arrangement. I hope you like it as much as the seniors liked our version!

A Strange Way to Save the World – The Gardiner Sisters

That party was a lot of fun, but we were busy the entire time too; and then we really needed to kick things up into high gear when it was time to pack up and head back to the school. The band gear needed to be dealt with first; Michael and I needed to deal with our fruit and vegetable boxes deliveries for our own orders; and then we headed to the Inn to work the dinner to close shift. In addition to the normal Friday business, Jacob and Miranda had quite a few Christmas dinner party reservations set up; and needed all of the help they could get to keep up with the extra customers. While I always love working with Michael and his family, it was a tough night after an already-long day; so we were both getting tired out by the time Michael came home with me after we finished getting the Inn cleaned and set up for breakfast on Saturday.

Dad had been home for a while by then, but he was tired too; so we only had a visit with him and Mom for a half-hour or so before heading up to the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana to watch a Christmas movie before they needed to go to bed. I had a couple of little naps while doing that with them and cuddling with Michael; he and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after that show; and then we had a bit more cuddle time after that in the lounge again before Michael headed home shortly before midnight. He needed to do that because we're both working the breakfast shift at the Inn; and need to get the sleep to be ready for a work and chores day that, for me, is going to include a lot of holiday weekend prep work chores around here between the breakfast and dinner shifts that I'm booked to work at the Inn. Add in another Saturday night of babysitting while parents go out to dinner and the Christmas party at Sheldon's; and I'm going to have back-to-back busy days.

I wasn't able to go right off to sleep after Michael left because some family business work needed to be dealt with once I was changed and in bed with Mandy – and then there were the emails with what few details I have so far about the big engagement. The real fun for that with Violet and Dillon will need to wait until they get home on Monday; so I'll keep you posted on that as more news comes out. For now, I really just need to head into nap mode, so enjoy the music video pick while I do that; and then flip the digital page to find out what happens next while I have to wait to go out and live that next day in my personal adventures of a teen Magi Master!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Welcome home for the holidays, Jake and Stephanie!

Michael and I haven't had much time to spend with them today since they've been with Stephanie's family more than Michael and his today; but we will get to see them a lot tomorrow – while we're working at the Inn.

Speaking of working; I have babysitting to get back to; so this is going to be a micro-update that will need to be continued with the news from the rest of my night in my next report.

I was up early this morning; met up with Michael and headed for the Inn with his father; and worked a very busy breakfast rush thanks to a lot of Christmas shoppers – both the visitor-to-town variety and the bound-for-the-city shoppers. Three hours of busy and fun later, and it was time to get home and started on my list of chores around the house. Other than a lunch break; I worked through until it was time to get ready to help with the dinner shift at the Inn. Michael and I weren't booked to work until close because we are two of the babysitters dealing with the gang of kids at our house tonight, but since the dinner part of the fun ahead of the Christmas party at Sheldon's meant a lot of extra customers; Miranda needed us there until the last of the food orders went out. Rebecca and Jen are leading the close shift crew; and Michael and I made it back home by seven-thirty or so.

It's a bit weird, but Rowen, Tim, Patrick, and Jessica led the dinnertime part of the babysitting while Michael and I were busy and the parents came to the Inn for dinner; so that made for a very interesting few hours for them – especially for Tim and Patrick. Sure, the guys got to play video games while keeping the younger boys entertained, but we've already heard that dinner was quite the adventure for them – particularly thanks to Zack, Eli, and some of the boys that are maybe just a bit too much like Tim was when he was younger. They did survive, though; and Michael is here to help them out now – and keep the more-rowdy boys under control.

Note to Tim and Patrick that they really already know anyway – don't facilitate the consumption of too many chocolate treats with toddlers. They tend to start bouncing off of the walls until the sugar rush wears off! ;^)

We've all been having a lot of fun while playing and watching Christmas shows, and that fun is ongoing as I write this; but I'm doing a computer check and the rest of my usual bedtime computing right now because I got to have a bit of a quiet break while getting Faith fed, changed, and off to sleep. We'll be moving on to the next Christmas movie once I'm back in the lounge; I expect the kids will be partying for a while yet; and we're sure to have another late night. All of the kids and babysitters will be spending the night here too, but while that will be fun; I don't expect to have my day end with a sofa sleepover with Michael – no matter how much fun that would be.

There really isn't anything else for me to write about from the news of the day, though, and I'll keep the Violet and Dillon engagement update for Monday or Tuesday – once we get more of the news that I'm sure will include Jake and Stephanie being asked to be Best Man and Matron of Honor. I do need to wrap up with my Christmas music video; and I'm going with another Christmas movie music pick – one of my favorites from last year.

Oh Santa – from Hallmark's Christmas Melody 2015

Maybe Rowen, Jessica, and I will talk the boys into letting us watch a nice, sappy, Hallmark Christmas movie once we eventually get most of the kids off to bed – if that happens before Mom and Dad get home from the party. Yes, I admit that I'm a teen Magi Master with a soft spot for all of those Hallmark love story movies – especially at Christmas, but try not to have too much fun with that; since there are a lot of women with me on this one – and you really don't want to mess with this particular legion of romance fans!

Okay, I really need to get back to the fun; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

It's been an eventful day since my last update, and it's also getting really late; so let's get right to the news!

After getting back to our play time last night, the video gaming in progress had heated up while I was busy with Faith; so the boys had to finish that fun over the next half-hour or so before we could start the next movie. I didn't get to watch a lot of that show because I had to take care of getting other kids tucked in after they fell asleep. I won't mess with the reputations of any of the guys by naming names; but Brianna, Leah, and Hailey were all sleeping before the end of that show. There was a bedtime snack for the kids that were still awake; more play time; and a minor battle to get the more-stubborn toddlers to go to bed and stay there that lasted until after-one; and then we had time to do a clean-up and have some couples' quiet time until Mom and Dad got home from the pub. Faith and Brianna both woke up once for different needs; Michael and I ended up with Brianna for a bonus cuddle buddy through until Mom put her to bed again; and Rowen and Tim had Faith with them for more than a half hour before she was ready to be tucked in again. We all went to bed after that, since we were down to just hours left for sleeping before we'd need to be up and getting the gang of kids going again; and Rowen was with me for the night because of the lack of extra available guest rooms.

Morning came too early; we had our Tai Chi workout with extra exercise buddies; and then it was a bit of a nuthouse for the next few hours as we cooked dinner for the gang; cleaned up; got everyone ready for church; and then needed help to get all of the kids to the church on time. Oh, and I almost forgot that the driveway, sidewalks, and vehicles all needed to be cleared of an inch of snow. It was also really, really cold out this morning; which is why walking to church wasn't an option with all of the kids. I am happy about getting a bit of snow, but we might not have it around for long; since it's going to warm up over the next few days and a white Christmas might not be possible for us this year.

Most of the teens had a very busy couple of hours at the church; and it was even busier for the teen praise team because we also had a 'teaser' medley to sing during the service to get everyone fired up about the Christmas show. During Sunday school, we finished up the work on the sets and costumes; though Michael and I weren't on the crew that did the sanctuary set-up this afternoon while we were busy at the Inn. The lunchtime shift there was busy, but we had more fun today thanks to having Jake and Stephanie there with us. Michael and I didn't get to spend much time with Stephanie, but we did talk with Jake quite a bit while we worked together; and it is really great to have them back for Christmas this year – especially when they couldn't be home last year while at school in Europe.

There wasn't an extended afternoon break for anyone today because the buffet sittings were being done early – at three and five o'clock. Michael and I worked until six; went straight to the church; and we both got ready for the show there while also dealing with things like our praise team warm-ups and everything else we needed to do before the show started at seven-thirty. I haven't written about it before now, but want to mention that I really love what Stacey came up with this year for our annual Christmas show. While we usually tell the Christmas story through the music and skits, Stacey comes up with great ideas for how to do that and make it fresh each year. I don't want to write much about the show details, but that's only because Michael and I were center-stage a lot this year; and that would just feel like bragging when all that is really important is the message.

I will add my Christmas music video picks of the day here, though; since they are three of my favorite songs from the show tonight. They're all Stacey's picks; she adapted the first one – Only Hope – a bit to fit the story and skit from a Mary and Joseph perspective; and the third song, The Heart of Christmas, was our show-closing song – and had the bonus of being written for one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies! They were three of the music highlights for most of the congregation too; so I hope you enjoy watching these videos while I wrap up this report.

Only Hope – Gardiner Sisters

One Small Child – CBC Christmas Special 2008

The Heart of Christmas – Matthew West

Our Christmas show was about an hour and a quarter of non-stop fun; we followed that up with a social hour in the reception hall; and Michael and I only stayed for a half-hour or so of that before heading over to the Inn to help with the rest of the clean-up and set-up to get everything ready for the morning opening there. Since that last buffet had been sold out; there had still been a lot of work to get done; we didn't have a lot of help; and it took until a bit after eleven to get all of the work finished before we could head home for the night. I went home with Michael; we had a visit and wind-down break with his parents, brother, and sisters; and then I came home by a bit before midnight.

Everyone in my family was in bed by then; not everyone was sleeping; and we don't need to write about what my parents might have been doing instead. I was in need of some quality Jacuzzi time by then, so after stopping in for bedtime kisses with my sleeping brother and sister; I started my work and study time by multi-tasking the soak in the tub with the work – while also in a time phase. I couldn't do all of my work or studying while in the time phase, but I did do a lot of it that way; added an hour of work in real time; and that's the only reason why I have a bit of time left to actually get some sleep before I'll need to be up and going again.

Even though there was a bit too much work to go along with the fun, it's been an amazing, remember-forever kind of day; and I am really looking forward to our last week of school before the Christmas break – and the fun we'll have between now and Christmas! There are only seven more sleeps to Christmas, and this first one will be more a nap than a sleep; so I should really get started on it instead of rambling on with a look ahead.

Yes, I know that you can flip digital pages and read ahead anyway, but I still think of things like that in terms of living my life in real time; so I'll do that – and look forward to the family and friends fun and excitement ahead of me. Napping is next on my to-do list, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, December 19, 2016

Let's begin this update with the news from our favorite, newly-engaged collegians, Violet and Dillon!

I was at school when they got back to town, so I had to wait to get home from school to see them; but they got back in time to go out for lunch with his family – mostly so that his mother and sister didn't need to wait until after school to congratulate them in person. I can also report that they've been working on the wedding plans already too, and since getting home; they've already recruited Jake and Stephanie for Best Man and Matron of Honor; Isabelle will be one of the bridesmaids with Dawn and Violet's best friend from college; and Andrews and Josiah will be groomsmen for Dillon along with his best college buddy. Ethan and Ehlana are happy about being asked to be their ring bearer and flower girl; though they're a bit worried about becoming the adorable twins that everyone in the family wants to use for that job. My first mental picture on that was of them leading wedding parties for the weddings of our great-grandchildren, but while that would be funny; I don't think they have anything to be seriously worried about.

Michael and I got to spend some time with Violet and Dillon after school; we had to share them with a fairly large group of family and friends at dinner; and then they were off to hang out with some friends by around eight o'clock while Michael and I got to do more boring stuff – like our homework. We also had a music practice to get ready for the pageant on Thursday and more music we'll be doing at church on the weekend; Mom did a Magi lesson with us once all of our dinner guests had moved on; and then Michael and I watched a Christmas movie with Ethan and Ehlana before Michael needed to head home for the night. We took care of getting the twins tucked into bed while he was on the way out; and then I did most of my family business work in the office while Dad was still busy with his homework – mostly so that I could speed that up for him too while we – and Mom – worked in a time phase for about an hour or so of 'real time' that allowed him to get his work done without staying awake half the night.

Okay, Mom and Dad didn't just run upstairs and go off to sleep; but let's not go there! ;^)

Getting back to Violet and Dillon; they're staying at his house over the holidays again, and while we'd be happy to have them stay with us; it does work out better for them when it's only his parents in the house there – and we'll have extra kids around here a lot over the holidays. Some other wedding news I should report for them that we already know about includes the highlight that the wedding will be here instead of in Woodvale. That's going to be a bit of a pain for the 'hometown' friends that Violet and her parents will want to invite to the wedding, but it is what Violet wants, and contrary to some of the jokes we heard tonight; it is not because our Pastor is way hotter than the one at their church in Woodvale.

That's just an added bonus!

I'll guess that will be one bit of journal humor I'm going to get teased about someday in the future, but it is still true; so don't have too much fun with it, folks.

I'm letting this update get away from me tonight; so maybe it's time to move it along and go get some sleep. A date hasn't been set for the wedding, but Violet and Dillon will be meeting with Pastor John about that while they're home; and are looking at a May wedding sometime shortly after they get finished their fourth year of college. Yes, they want to get married this coming spring – not after they're finished their Master's degrees in a year and a half. That's another precedence that will work for me; though Jake and Stephanie did beat them to that one by nearly two years. Their timing is convenient for at least one thing; since the new apartment building will be opening in June; and there might be one with their name on it – even if they don't know that yet. There was other wedding talk during dinner, but not really anything to write about that is officially set up yet; so maybe I'll leave off on that news until some of those decisions are officially made. I can report that Dillon did an awesome job with his proposal; I won't add any details about the delay with getting home to Woodvale that was definitely not traffic-related; and will add that Violet and Dillon are both brilliantly-happy right now.

I haven't written anything about my morning or school day; so let's do that quickly; add in the Christmas music video pick; and then call it a night.

It was frosty out this morning, so Tai Chi was indoors, but it warmed up a lot to near-freezing by this afternoon; and the warming trend is going to continue through the rest of the week. My school day was a mix of classes and music practices; we're down to just two more practice days to get ready for the pageant; and I think that most of the kids are ready to go – and fired up about getting their moments in the community spotlight. I'm excited about the show too; though that's entirely because I really love seeing the kids and their families having so much fun – and getting to help make that happen for them. It's a bonus that we'll have extra family there too – especially when Dad can be there for Ethan and Ehlana's first school Christmas pageant. That won't work out most years when the last week of school ahead of the holidays is also his normal week in the city; so we'll enjoy this one. We'll also have Grandma and Grandpa, and Violet and Dillon there; so Ethan and Ehlana are going to have a big turnout for their debut!

While I've covered the basics from after school through to when I came up to bed after finishing up in the office with Mom and Dad, I'll add that Michael and I were on the work crews for the before and after-dinner cooking and clean-up. Mom had lots of help for that – including dinner dishes donations from the other guests that made our meal something of a potluck adventure. We had more help for the clean-up; though Violet and Dillon had a small gang with them in the living room to continue the wedding talk while Michael and I led the clean-up.

The only bits of news I should add to the post-dinner evening is that Ethan and Ehlana joined Michael and me for the music practice and Magi lesson; our Christmas movie pick was a chick flick that the guys put up with because they love us; and I've spent the last two hours since getting into bed with Mandy working on the rest of my family business jobs and my language studies. I've done all of that in normal time because I needed to be online for most of that work and studying, but I'm getting further ahead on both; and will be able to take most of the two week holidays off except for the must-do family business work that never ends.

Since I'm thinking about chick flick Christmas movies; my Christmas music video pick is from another one of those sappy Hallmark movies that I love so much. I especially like this version of the song because the video includes a handful of members of the movie cast performing the song; so I hope you like it too!

Home for Christmas – George Canyon

That's all for tonight, and it's past-time for me to be off to dreamland; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

This felt like a wrap-up day at school; though we still have three days to go to the holidays. The first day of winter started out chilly-enough, but we also managed to have the temperature climb about freezing for a few hours this afternoon – and the warming is forecast to continue. The chances of a white Christmas are going downhill; though I can always hope that the weather experts will be wrong and we won't have a warm, rainy Christmas Day!

Our morning at home was uneventful; my school day was filled with music and Christmas cheer; and then Michael and I were busy with our final band and praise team practices of twenty-sixteen. The concert band practice was all about the pageant on Thursday; marching band practice was all about the Disney music and getting ready for our trip; and our teen praise team practice was the shortest in quite a while because we only needed to work on a few songs for the Christmas weekend services. I'll add one bit of news for the marching band – we've unofficially hit our fundraising target thanks to a Christmas gift from BMR labs that makes sure we have the final payment for the travel and hotel expenses. The fundraising will continue, since there are some incidental expenses and spending money we want to have for some of the band members that need that kind of help; but we'll keep that part of the news quiet to avoid making things weird for any of those teens.

I missed out on all of the home fun while I was busy at school and with our practices, but Violet and Dillon were back at the lab today; Ethan and Ehlana were there with Mom for the afternoon too; and Ehlana is especially happy to get bonus work time in her lab while Dillon's there to do research with her. Michael and I got that update from Mom, Dad, and the twins after we got home from the church; we did our homework and a Magi lesson; and then took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night before Michael and I got to have a bit of alone time in the lounge until he needed to get home for the night. That was all fun, but it also meant a late start to my work and studying; so I used a time phase for as much of it as I could do; and then worked in real time for the parts that needed to be done online or linked to the systems at the lab. A shorter day would have been nice, but tomorrow is Winter Solstice as well as an after-school work day; so maybe the stars will align to let me have an early bedtime tomorrow instead! ;^)

Quit laughing – it does actually happen that way for me now and then – if not nearly as often as I'd like.

That is all of the news for today, though; so let's get to the music part of this update; and wrap up this report with a multimedia bow! I have more a Cappella for the Christmas music video pick, and while I know that isn't for everyone; you have to love a fresh take on an old classic; so give Pentatonix a chance and you might enjoy this busy little song as much as I do!

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Pentatonix

I'm off to nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Welcome home for the holidays, Grandma and Grandpa!

I haven't spent a lot of time with them tonight, but they are home from Arizona; and went to the Christmas dinner at the Inn that Dad and Aunt Leanne hosted for their office at the Inn. Michael, Rebecca, Lucas, and I were at the dinner too, but three of us also helped out with the prep work in the kitchen too; and didn't stop work until the appetizers were ready to be delivered at six-thirty.

This update is already getting out of sync, though, so let's back up a bit; and start from my wake-up call this morning.

Ethan and Ehlana had Silkie take care of waking me up, and since she'd already been outside for her morning bathroom break; he nose was cold when she was helped up onto my bed and nuzzled me awake. Tai Chi was fun thanks to another pushing hands workout with Michael while Mom, Dad, and the twins did their own thing; and then Michael stayed for breakfast in the sunroom before heading home to get ready for school – helping out with the cooking while I took my turn getting ready for the day. That put me on the clean-up crew after we ate, but I was happy to have the hot meal; and then go for the walk to school with Michael, Rowen, and four kids. The music practices for the pageant tomorrow were the highlights of my school day; and then Michael and I headed over to the Inn to get started on the work there. Miranda needed us because Dad's Christmas dinner wasn't the only one booked for the evening; but she also had enough help so that Michael and Rebecca could go to that dinner with Lucas and me.

We had two large tables for kids and adults; Michael and I were in charge of Zack and Brianna during dinner; and Emma and Benjamin had fun with Rebecca, Lucas, Ethan, and Ehlana while we were mostly kept busy with our youngest dinner guests. Zack was more of a handful for Michael, and messier while eating, so I got the better deal with Brianna; and the cuddle time with her was a bonus too! The adults all had fun too; there were gifts that included a nice bonus for Claire; and then we headed back to our house for a social hour or two that again had the adults in the living room while the kids were in the lounge.

We watched a movie while Zack also played some video games with Ethan on the twins' portable Nintendo systems; and there was some quality cuddle time for the two teen couples while Emma got to have Brianna for her cuddle buddy; Michael and I got Ehlana; and Benjamin split his time between taking turns with Ethan for some of the gaming and sitting in the window alcove while watching the movie. The party wrapped up by eleven; Michael went home when the Nortons left; and it was close to midnight by the time I got back to my room and into bed with Mandy after helping with the clean-up and getting the twins tucked in for the night.

It's been all work and studying since then; I had a lot to get done; and my usual Wednesday work plans went out the window with the party – and the volunteer mini shift at the Inn that messed up my after-school work and study plans. The next two days aren't going to get any quieter, and I should get started on the nap I still have time for now before getting up and ready for the big school Christmas pageant day; so let's wrap this up with my Christmas music video pick and I'll do that.

Tonight, I'm going with one of my new favorites from last Christmas, and while time will tell if it becomes a future holiday classic; it's a beautiful song that I hope gets a chance to be just that some day!

Noel – Chris Tomlin featuring Lauren Daigle

We're down to three more sleeps and a nap 'til Christmas, and I'm ready to get on with the nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Marc!

I'll get to that part of the fun for the day in a bit, but the top story of the day was the school Christmas pageant; so let's start with that news.

Michael and I were busy all day with pageant set-up, practices, and the actual show. All of the primary and middle school classes performed a group song or act; the concert band played two songs plus the warm-up carol sing; and there were a dozen special acts – solos, duets, or groups singing or dancing or performing a skit or other activity. I won't go over all of those acts; but here are my highlights for the afternoon. First up, Ethan and Ehlana had a duet; they sang the Elf of the Shelf song, Christmas Is, with me on keyboards for them; and they sang after their Kindergarten group song while the stage was transitioned to the next group. That, by the way was how we did all of the stage transitions; so the entertainment was pretty much non-stop for the audience.

Ryan Bassett did a guitar solo that was really awesome, so it was one of my favorites too, and while I'm not including our duet because I need to brag about it; Michael and I had a lot of fun with our duet of 'As Long As There's Christmas' from Beauty and the Beast Christmas – and it was a hit with the audience too. Finally, the pageant wrap-up song and act was the added Elena of Avalor Christmas song, Let Love Light the Way. Michael and I led the Parranda; playing our guitars and leading the singing; there was a lyrics video with scenes from the Elena Christmas show; and all of the kids following us into the gym from the main entrances; and they each gathered one person to join the Parranda from the audience – usually a parent, grandparent, or younger sibling. We continued until we had a ring of kids and adults two-deep surrounding the entire gym; wrapped up the song; and then moved on to the meet and greet that included snacks and drinks in the main hallway outside of the gym. That was a highlight for me too; since I got to share those moments with Michael, most of our families; and our friends and neighbors. Having Dad there had been especially great; and that will likely be the one and only time he'll get to do that with me – or the odds are at least against me for my last year of high school.

Okay, moving along, my morning before going to school was fairly normal except for the extra time that Ehlana and I spent getting ready for school and dressed up a bit for the pageant. As I already mentioned, Michael and I were busy all day, but that also meant we missed all of our classes too. We did stop for a quick lunch that included some birthday fun for Marc; but that was the only real break in the action through until we were set free from school for the day. We split up and came home to get cleaned up and ready for a cameo visit to Marc's party, but then we basically just went out to his place for the social hour before dinner; and then we hurried back to town to help out at the Inn because Miranda had a half-dozen Christmas parties on top of the usual Thursday dinner business. We worked until close; Michael came home with me; and then we did a Magi lesson with Mom and spent some time with Ethan and Ehlana before they went to bed and Michael and I got to have a bit of cuddle time in the lounge before he went home at eleven-thirty.

My work and studying started after that, but I used a time phase for most of it; and put a two o'clock time limit on that because I'd have worked most of the night if I didn't do that. That does mean that I'm not quite where I wanted to be before taking the weekend off for the holiday, but I'll deal with that problem as soon as I can. For now; I'm just ready to crash, so let's do the Christmas music video songs; and I'll go and do that while you're enjoying the entertainment.

First up, Christmas Is; from An Elf on the Shelf.

Our duet was based on this version; but Michael and I gave it an update and some different harmonies.

As Long As There's Christmas – Beauty and the Beast – Duet by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack

Finally, the show-stopper for the pageant today was the newest; and we all loved the audience participation that really made the Parranda so special!

Let Love Light the Way – Elena of Avalor Christmas

Okay, I'm out of here and off to dreamland. Three more sleeps to Christmas – and just one more to the last day of school for the year!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, December 23, 2016

Two more sleeps until Christmas; and we're officially on our Christmas holidays for the next two weeks! We're also having a sleepover here with our best friends, and I'm doing this update during our break between working the close shift at the Inn and our first Christmas movie of the night; so I'll need to keep it as short as possible.

We've had a dash of rain here and there today, but that didn't get in the way of anything important before or after school; and the temperatures climbed into the forties again today – on the way to the sixties for Christmas Day. The chances of a white Christmas are pretty much zero now; but maybe we'll see a few snowflakes on Christmas Eve day before the big, one-day-only warm-up to fall or spring warm.

Mom and Dad went with another hot breakfast today; and we played while at school – whether that was holiday fun in our morning classes or while we had our Christmas parties in the afternoon. We were also set free early; so Michael and I had time to hang out with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden before getting ready for our dinner-to-close shift at the Inn to help out with the Christmas parties and normal Friday night business. Speaking of parties, I missed out on the Christmas party at the lab this afternoon, but Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana were there for it; they had a lunch buffet that Jake and Stephanie catered for them; and a gift exchange that apparently included some nice Christmas bonuses. Violet and Dillon were happy to be included for those bonuses; and were also glad to be set free early so they could hit the road for Woodvale. They'll be there for most of the weekend; but come back in time for dinner on Sunday with his family. Uncle Mark, Aunt Grace, and the kids headed out of town early too; and they'll be with her family for a three-day weekend. While I'm thinking about family anyway; I'll also add that while my family and Michael's are having an away Christmas this year; the Johnson-McEwan clan is here for the holiday weekend – either already in town; or will be by late tomorrow morning.

The dinner shift at the Inn was busy, but not newsworthy. Michael and I had fun with Jake and Stephanie again; though Rebecca and Jenny have more fun with Stephanie while they all work the dining room together. I'm thinking about that more as I get closer to being able to work the dining room too, but I'm trying to keep this update shorter; so let's not go there. One good thing about the holiday weekend is that most diners were at the Inn early and we didn't have a late rush when people either needed to hit the road or be home to welcome incoming guests; so we were done with the clean-up by nine o'clock. Michael stopped for his overnight bag on the way to my house; I came on ahead; and Rowen and Tim were already here – and helping our four junior sleepover buddies with getting the lounge set up for the Christmas movie marathon. They have the movies picked out; the snacks and drinks are ready; and we'll start the first show as soon as we're all ready for bed and back in the lounge.

I could be last to get there if I don't hurry, so let's do the Christmas music video pick; and then I'm out of here. I'm going with another Christmas classic with an a Cappella take on the song – and my favorite for this year from this country band.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Rascal Flatts

from CMA Country Christmas 2016

Okay, it's time to get to the Christmas and first night of the holidays fun with my family and friends; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Happy Christmas Eve Day!

After wrapping up my update from last night; I'm happy to report that we had a wonderful rest of the night. The Christmas movies, chat and play time with my family and our best friends, and the quality cuddle time with Michael was all wonderful; and our night ended with a group sleepover in the lounge when we collectively decided that staying there would be more comfortable than splitting up and going to our rooms for the night. Michael and I got one side of the sectional sofa for that; Rowen and Tim had the other; and the two junior couples had nests of blankets and pillows on the floor. Ehlana and Aiden weren't exactly cuddled as a couple as they slept next to each other; but Naomi definitely was snuggled next to Ethan; and he had an arm around her as they slept – or at least they were like that when I woke up this morning. There's a good chance that I was one of the first to be sleeping last night; though I think that we all nodded off during the second movie, and while the sofa sleepover with Michael wasn't hot; it was still really great to wake up with him – and then have some more fun with our friends as some of us got moving and ready for a busy day.

For two of us, that meant getting cleaned up and dressed before hurrying over to the Inn to help with the breakfast buffet rush that Miranda was hosting for the Christmas Eve Day shopping frenzy. Mom and Dad brought the rest of our sleepover teens and kids to that buffet; and then they went on to some shopping with the four younger kids while Rowen and Tim went to work at the computer store and auto shop respectively. While I'm thinking about Landry's automotive, I'll mention that they are actually quite busy around Christmas. Part of that is the work that goes along with people getting their vehicles ready to travel or emergency repairs; but they also get a lot of business for gifts too – usually upgrades for cars and trucks; but some new vehicle gift sales too. From what Tim's told us; they'll also be busy next week doing installations of other gifts – like new sound or multimedia systems or other toys for cars and trucks.

Moving along, I didn't get to go with Mom and Dad when they went shopping, but I did join them for about half of that play time once the last major round of food went out to the buffet tables at nine-thirty. I was able to catch the shopping at Abby's store; helped with the Olde Bakery stop; and a visit with Rowen and her parents at the computer store. We went home after that; uploaded the van; and then I went with Ethan and Ehlana to walk Aiden and Naomi home before helping Mom with making lunch for five. We ate, cleaned up, and then puttered around the house doing some chores until Michael came over for his afternoon break. We had a music practice to get ready for the church services tonight and tomorrow; had some outdoor play time with the twins; and then we headed back to the Inn to help out with the early dinner shift.

Miranda was doing that dinner rush early because of the Christmas Eve service at the church; and she had a big turnout for it that included many of the families that needed to be at the church early because they were participating in the service – or had come to town early to help with the service set-up. Michael and I needed to be at the church early for warm-ups with the teen praise team; though we were only singing one song as a group and taking a turn for two of the pre-service caroling. The Christmas Eve service was as wonderful as always; with one especially-noteworthy change this year. Pastor John took over the Christmas Eve message from his mother; he's putting his own touches on the Christmas story she's been telling since getting her copy of the Magi Christmas story that Mom gave the Magi for our first Christmas here; and I'm really glad that this will continue to be a new Christmas Eve tradition at our church. The duet that Michael and I sang was a close second for best moments of the service tonight, but everything was wonderful; and getting to share all of it with my family and our best friends and neighbors is what really makes the night so special!

It seems a bit too practical to go from the magic of the Christmas story and jump right back into normal life again, but that's exactly what Michael and I needed to do after the service. We headed for the Inn with his family and a small group of staff-volunteers; finished the clean-up from dinner; and got everything set up for the Boxing Day breakfast buffet so that nobody would need to go to the Inn on Christmas Day – except to deal with the handful of guests staying in the rooms. That, by the way, is something that I don't usually think about at all, but since all of Miranda's guests at the Inn this weekend are here for family Christmases; it won't be a problem for them to get food on Christmas Day while the stores are closed for the day. Miranda also left a couple of boxes of bakery treats for her guests to have in the morning; though I'd expect all of them to be with their families for breakfast anyway – even if they hadn't had room in their own houses for all of their weekend guests.

Then again, I doubt that anyone would have a problem with getting to stay in one of the rooms at the Inn instead of guest bedrooms in homes anyway; since they really are awesome rooms – especially the newly-renovated rooms!

Moving along again, that work took a while; Michael came home with me; and he stayed for the Christmas Eve fun with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then helped to play Santa with me too after we took care of getting my brother and sister tucked in for the night. That work was a lot of fun too; though we were all getting tired out by then. Some of that work was Magi-powered, and I am so glad that was an option; since we might have been up all night if we'd had to do all of the toy building or assembly by hand the way that most 'normal' parents need to do on Christmas Eve. That might sound strange when we're talking about gifts for two junior Magi Masters, but they do need to keep up appearances with the other kids; and do still like to play with toys – even if they like to play with the grown-up toys at the lab and archive too.

Speaking of that, I should mention that Ethan and Ehlana will be moving on to their next-level of unofficial college education in the New Year. Their Masters Degrees from the University of Mom can't be used for anything in the real world; but they have completed those degrees; and will be moving on to their doctoral studies in January.

Getting back to the news from tonight; we filled stockings; hauled all of the gifts to the living room from where they've been in hiding; ate the Santa and reindeer approved treats; and left enough of those snacks for Ethan and Ehlana to munch on when they sneak downstairs to check out what Santa's brought for them. I expect they'll do that sooner instead of later; so I should wrap this up and get a bit of sleep.

Michael went home after we finished the work in the living room; and I came up to my room and got ready for bed after seeing him out with a fairly-spectacular goodnight and Merry Christmas hugs and kisses bit of fun under the mistletoe in the front hall. I was tempted to keep him, but he needed to get home to put the gifts for his family out under the tree; and then he'll come back here whenever I send him the message that Ethan and Ehlana are up and ready for the Christmas morning fun here. That really is likely to be soon; so let's do the Christmas music video thing; and call it a night.

First up, this adorable version of Silent Night is new to YouTube this Christmas; and this little charmer has become quite the YouTube sensation with her music videos!

Silent Night – Claire Ryann

Song number two for tonight was one of my favorites from the Christmas Eve service tonight, and while there isn't a music video to go along with the audio recording; I still want to preserve the song in the archives just in case it's lost to time everywhere else in the distant future. That idea might seem impossible with the technology today, but that has happened over and over again in the past; and will happen again for whatever reasons we can't anticipate now. That's gotten off-track, though, so here's the song; and I hope you love the message as much as I do!

The Best Gift Of All – 4Him

Okay, it's officially time for this Santa's little helper to get to my short winter's nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Okay, there's a very good chance that it isn't even the Christmas holiday season as you're reading this someday in my near or distant future, but Christmas should be in your heart everyday anyway; so have a Merry Christmas even if it's a hot, mid-summer day!

This has been a really awesome day, but we've also been too busy; and I am seriously worn out now. Ethan, Ehlana, and Silkie gave us the wake-up call at five-thirty; Michael came over by six; and we opened gifts for an hour before Michael and I needed to hurry to his house for more gift-giving fun; and a gourmet breakfast courtesy of Jacob and Jake. I'm not going to write about the actual gifts, but I will mention that I didn't see any disappointed kids, teens, or adults today – including everyone we saw at church this morning. My day just sped up after breakfast as Michael and I took care of the clean-up from that meal; hurried on to the church for music warm-ups ahead of the service; and then we had an hour and change of Christmas celebration with a lot of music and fun as we were in full-immersion with the true meaning of the holiday!

I'll go off-track here for a moment to write about our church having two services this weekend; since that's apparently something that isn't done anymore in a lot of places. For us, it isn't really complicated – when Christmas falls on a Sunday; we still have a Sunday service. Getting to celebrate Jesus' birthday is an awesome added bonus, and while that did add to the craziness today; it was in a good way. When you think about it, I don't even get why this is an issue. There certainly wasn't a guy around here suggesting that Sunday football be cancelled because it's Christmas Day; and I hear it won't be a problem next weekend either. In fact, now that I think about it; I'm sure there are more college and pro football game days because of Christmas and New Year's Day being on Sundays this year!

Okay, that might only be one or two more days of football, but I can still work with the joke; and have some fun with it as we roll through the end of the college football season over the next few weeks!

Moving along, the social time after the service took a while for some of us – partly because Michael's parents don't normally get to do that when the Inn is open; so they stayed and visited with lots of people as we all got ready to continue our Christmas festivities. I haven't mentioned the Christmas dinner cooking that Jacob and Jake had on the go since early this morning, but they were putting on the feast for their family; and the Bassett clan began arriving at the house at the same time we did; since Michael and I brought Ryan and Sophia home with us from the church. We had to get to work to help out with getting the dining room set up and deal with other chores around the house, but Sophia was happy to supervise in the kitchen or dining room; and Ryan got the video games warmed up and ready to go in the play room.

Not having the Stone family here for Christmas isn't either new or awkward for me; but I can't help but feel a bit of sadness because Michael's grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins don't feel the same connection with their roots as Michael's parents, brother, and sister do – and only want to come here for Thanksgiving or Christmas; but not both anymore. The Bassett clan more than makes up for the family-centric fun, though; and we had a blast today. The early Christmas meal was definitely a highlight; the gift-exchange was a hit with the kids; and the play time was great too. The post-dinner clean-up wasn't all that exciting, but Michael and I did have lots of teen help; so we made the best of it – and did have fun talking with Michael's cousins and the collective boyfriends and girlfriends. Yes, I'm one of the members of that group, but I don't feel like I'm on the outside of Michael's family, and I'm also no longer the newest; since Patrick has that spot now. That did feel a bit strange to be sharing Michael's family Christmas with my best friend's little brother, but that made for some entertaining moments too; and Patrick and Jessica are a really cute couple.

Moving along, football was the name of the game by the time Michael and I moved on to my house, and while we weren't having a major family Christmas dinner; Grandma and Grandpa were there already – and with us for the meal while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were busy having Christmas dinner with his family. Michael joined the football watching in the living room; I helped Mom with the tail-end of the Christmas dinner cooking and set-up; and then the guys had to walk away from the game while we enjoyed our meal in the sunroom this year – mostly because we all love the view there more; and could do that with a small group of just eight diners – not including the puppy mooch. Two Christmas dinners in one day is too much – especially when there was a gourmet breakfast this morning too; but I do have a hyper-metabolism and will survive. The third kitchen clean-up of the day was easy-enough because we all pitched in to get it done while the guys also watched the ongoing football; and then we moved into the living room to hang out there while waiting for Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Brianna to come over for the family gift exchange.

They did that once his family was settled in for the evening after their much-larger dinner clean-up; and Uncle Adam's parents hosted the family fun at their house while they were with us for an hour and a half or so. Brianna was so adorable tonight, and while she might eventually get sick of the comments about it; the rest of us really are having fun getting to watch what it must have been like to be around here when Aunt Leanne was growing up! Then again, there's a very good chance that I'd have been just like both of them had I been born here and been part of this amazing family of ours instead of it just being Mom and me for the first nine years of my life. Mom's likely glad that didn't happen; since I was hyper-enough and a handful to keep up with anyway – even for a Magi Master single Mom. ;^)

That gift exchange didn't take long, since we each had two or three gifts to open; so Michael and I spent most of that time playing with Ethan, Ehlana, Zack, and Brianna – while the guys continued to watch football. The second game of the day is also why the play time continued in the living room after our aunt, uncle, and cousins headed home again; and Grandma and Grandpa stayed until the game ended before heading home too. Once we were down to just six; we cleaned up from the evening fun; Michael and I came up to the lounge with Ethan and Ehlana to watch what might be our last Christmas show of the year; and then Michael and I got to have a bit of Christmas alone time while my parents, sister, and brother went to bed.

We couldn't get too enthusiastic about that because we're both working the Boxing Day breakfast buffet at the Inn in the morning; but we did have a modestly-hot, minor make-out session before Michael went home at one o'clock. I got ready for bed after seeing him out; got started on my bedtime computing; and ended up doing some family business work that needed to get done sooner instead of later. That isn't going to leave me with a lot of time to sleep; but I still have a bit more to write about before calling it a night.

First up, the weather today was mostly really great – even though we didn't get to have a white Christmas. There was some light rain early this morning, but then it was pretty good for the rest of the day except for a heavier rain storm around dinnertime. The temperature climbed into the sixties; and the 'feels like' temperature hit seventy for a couple of hours ahead of the late-afternoon rain that rolled in around sunset. Next, I should mention that there are a lot of details that I'm not including in this update; since there is just too much to include everything. That's mostly been a lot of cameo moments – like the stops along the way home from Michael's house to mine this afternoon that included helping to drop off gifts at the Bassett house and two quick visits with the Emersons and Johnson clan. Yes, we saw all of them at church this morning too; but Michael and I really wanted to at least have a few minutes with Rowen and Tim; and we might not get to spend much time with the Johnson-McEwan gang before they all head home sometime tomorrow.

That seems so strange to me, but it's also the way my holiday weekends are going now, and while I'd love to spend more time with our family and friends; I wouldn't do that and leave Michael's parents short-handed on one of their busiest days of the year. That does remind me that we're going to have another very long, busy work day, since Michael and I will be working all of the afternoon buffets as well as the one in the morning; so I guess that will have to do it for tonight.

My last Christmas music video picks are from two of my favorite a Cappella artists of the year; so I'll wrap up this Christmas Day report with their holiday messages to the world!

That's Christmas to Me – Pentatonix

Believe – Peter Hollens feat. One Voice Children's Choir

And now it's nap time for me; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, December 26, 2016

I've had a very long, tough day, and I'm writing this while taking a break between movies that is going to lead to a sofa sleepover with Michael; so this is going to be a short update that skips over most of the news of the day.

My morning wake-up call came too early; I hurried to get ready for the breakfast shift at the Inn; and then I met up with Michael for the walk to the Inn. We worked with his Dad and the rest of the early-morning crew to get everything cooked up for the first filling of the buffet tables; and then Michael and I switched to clean-up duties for the rest of the morning until we were set free for first break at nine-thirty. That was our long break; we went shopping with a gang from my family that included Mom, Dad, and the twins; and we had Olde Bakery treats for our snack break before heading back to the Inn by eleven to start the prep work for the first 'regular' buffet of the day at noon.

Life at the Inn got busier from there; we could barely keep up with the clean-up as we moved deeper into the afternoon and needed to do the full turnover of the dining room for the second and third buffets. I missed out on the family dinner for the second buffet, and also missed out on the family play and work time at home before they all came to the Inn for that meal; but Michael and I took our main afternoon break once the third buffet was ready to go out to the tables and that allowed us to say goodbye to most of the Johnson and McEwan visitors as they left town immediately after the buffet. The third buffet started at five, but we had an extended meal for that one because we had quite a few families join us for that after parents or kids were finished working in the stores. That's why we kept the food coming until about a quarter-past seven; and we ended up with closer to three and a half turnovers of the dining rooms with the extra customers we fit in as tables were cleared and could be used again.

The clean-up seemed to be never-ending tonight; and it was past-ten by the time we were able to head home. Michael came home with me; we found out then that Ethan and Ehlana had Naomi and Aiden spending the night with them; and we joined the four kids in the lounge for a movie in progress. It was near the end of that show, so we're up-to-date to right now; and I'm multi-tasking while getting changed and cleaned up a bit before we get to that second movie. I really do have every intention of keeping Michael with me for that sofa sleepover, and likely won't last a half hour into the second movie before crashing and napping; but I'll keep you posted on that with the next update.

We are taking the day off except for chores around our houses tomorrow, but I'll write about that next time too. For right now; I'm just ready to get to that cuddle and nap time with Michael; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Michael and I got to have our sofa sleepover last night, but I also fell asleep as expected during that movie; and we had four junior chaperones because my brother, sister, and their best friends camped out too – all four of them on the floor with piles of pillows and blankets that they'd been using for nesting while watching the shows. Naomi also cuddled with Ethan for at least some of the night; while Ehlana and Aiden only slept close to each other without the cuddling.

Our wake-up call was fairly entertaining; Tai Chi was fun with the bonus exercise buddies; and we had a hot breakfast in the sunroom before Michael went home and Dad headed for work while Mom and I took care of the clean-up. The guys did cook; so don't take that the wrong way when it was our turn to do that work. It was also my turn to do a morning of chores with Mom too while the twins played with their best friends. Michael was working at home anyway; we're both way overdue for helping out around our houses; and we preferred to help out all morning and then we took the rest of the day off to play. I cleaned the top two floors except for Mom and Dad's room; helped out with the laundry; and helped out with a bit of the work on the main floor once I had the easier jobs out of the way upstairs. We had an easy-lunch; and then Michael came over and we went out to play with the twins and their friends for the afternoon.

The temperature climbed into the high forties this afternoon, and while we didn't have snow to play in; that did mean that biking and playing at the park ere options for us – and we did really love getting to bike some of the trails in the park when that normally wouldn't be an option in late December most years. Okay, we haven't had all of those trails at the park for years yet; but you know what I mean. We took a picnic snack along with us so that we could stay outdoors longer without returning or going elsewhere for that snack; and ended up having that little picnic on benches by the falls on the park side on the way back from the trail riding. We followed that up with the playground action and got to do that with quite a few friends from school – both kids and teens that were enjoying the nice weather play opportunity.

Michael and I were at his house for dinner, and since his parents had the day off from the Inn other than the visit Miranda made there to deal with some supply ordering issues; they wanted to have a family dinner with all of their kids – including Lucas and me. Lucas had worked all day on the farm, but they wrap up before dark whenever possible; so we didn't have to do a late meal – and six-out-of-eight of us were very happy to be there for the gourmet meal that included dishes that Jacob and Jake cooked up for us with a bit of a mini competition between them that required voting on the dishes by the 'judges' at the table.

I'm sorry, Jake, but your Dad did win tonight, and if you really think the vote was rigged; then make it a blind taste test next time so we don't know which of you cooked each dish! ;^)

Taking care of the clean-up was a small price to pay for the awesome dinner; Michael and I stayed for some chat time in the living room once that work was done; and then we headed over to my house again to spend the rest of the evening with the twins. Mom and Dad both needed to do some work in the office; so we came up to my room; the twins joined in for some music time; and then we wrapped up our day with some video gaming in the lounge because the boys were overdue for getting to pick the fun for the night. Michael also kept an eye on the football games, but he's been really good about that this bowl season; so I'll cut him some slack on that too. Ehlana and I played some games too, but we were happy to sit and talk when we weren't taking a turn; and I was good with cuddling with Michael all of the time. Even though it isn't a school night; we decided to wrap up the play time at eleven; Michael headed home after we took care of getting the twins tucked in for the night; and I only had a short visit with Mom and Dad when they were packing up and heading to bed before coming up to my room again and getting my Jacuzzi ready for some quality tub time for me.

I multi-tasked that with my bedtime computing; ended up with more family business work to deal with than I'd expected to have tonight; and the work continued after I was in bed with Mandy except for the break I took while getting my hair done and ready for bed after getting out of the tub. I didn't use a time phase tonight because I'm trying to rest up – even if that's not working out very well for me so far this holiday. We do still have three-quarters of the Christmas break still ahead of us, though; so maybe I will get some rest between now and when we head back to school.

Okay, with the family Christmas on the New Year's Day weekend in between now and then, that's more hopeful than likely; but we'll see what happens!

My work tonight was of the boring business variety, so there isn't anything newsworthy to report; and that's pretty much it for tonight. I won't get much sleep before it'll be time to get up and going again, but some self-healing will be an option, and some of us are going to get to mostly have another play day tomorrow anyway; so I'll survive the lack of rest. I am ready to nap now, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Let's make this a quick update because getting a decent night of sleep is an option; and I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity.

Tai Chi was without Michael this morning while he worked the breakfast shift with his parents. I spent the morning at the lab and in the archives with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; split my time between playing with Ehlana in the lab and then hanging out with Ethan in the archives; and had a bonus visit with Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor that included a chat about their plans for the winter archives retrieval trip. We were home for lunch; Michael joined us for that an another afternoon of play time with Ethan, Ehlana, and some of our collective friends that was again at the park and included biking and playground time. The temperature reached the low-fifties this afternoon; so those hours of fun were comfortable as well as entertaining.

Michael worked the dinner-to-close shift too, so while he was doing that; I helped Mom with making dinner at home; we also worked in the office when we could; and I used a time phase for the after-dinner work in the office that Mom and Dad took advantage of while Ethan and Ehlana were happy to have the extra time for playing in the archives and working on a lab project respectively. We were completely finished the work by eight-thirty; I came up to my room; and had some quality Jacuzzi time without any multi-tasking. I've done a quick email check since getting into bed with Mandy; there wasn't any work that came up since wrapping up the fun in the office; and I'll be in nap mode within minutes of wrapping this up.

Hanging out with Michael would have been nice after he was done work, but he sensed that I'm wearing down; and was thinking about me when he suggested that we take the night off because he can't keep up with me going day and night every day. He is tired out too, but since he's right that I need the down time; I'm okay with the plan – and we can get back to spending more time together again tomorrow.

That is it for now, though, and I really don't want to waste this big chance for a solid night of sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Here's another quick update coming your way; but that isn't because of an early bedtime tonight – I'm doing my nightly computing now ahead of a movie night in the lounge that might end early for me if I fall asleep while hanging out with Michael, Rowen, Tim, and our four junior movie night buddies.

My morning was spent working around the house and in the kitchen with Mom while the twins were at the lab with Uncle Adam and Dillon. Yes, Violet and Dillon are back home from Woodvale, but haven't been mentioned in my journal because I haven't seen them much – even when we were at the lab yesterday. Mom and I did more cleaning and prep work for our incoming weekend guests; we pre-cooked some dishes for the holiday meals; and made up a shopping list so that Mom could do groceries this afternoon while Michael and I went out to play with Ethan and Ehlana and kept out of her way. Michael had to work at the Inn for a lot of the day, but isn't working close; so he'll be here soon for the start of our movie night. His afternoon break was the majority of my play time with the twins – and Naomi, Aiden, and Sophia; so we biked the park trails again and had some playground fun before wrapping up his break with a visit to the Emporium for snacks and drinks before we dropped him off at the Inn and headed for home.

I helped Mom with an easy dinner for seven that was ready when Dad got home; we ate in the sunroom; and then I was set free without helping with the clean-up so that I could get ready for our movie night. I have the lounge set up already; and am multi-tasking my computing with getting freshened up and changed before Michael, Rowen, and Tim get here. Naomi and Aiden are spending the night for a last sleepover ahead of the holiday weekend, but we're not doing a teen sleepover too – mostly because Michael, Rowen, and Tim are all working in the morning anyway; and that will be another breakfast shift start to the day for Michael.

Yes, there's a small chance that Michael will end up staying if I do fall asleep on him, but I don't sense that'll happen tonight – while I also won't be surprised if I do crash, nap, and miss parts of the movies. I'll mention here that the boys get points for us actually having a movie night, since it means that they'll be settling for only keeping an eye on the college football scores during intermissions or on their smartphones; and Rowen and I appreciate their sacrifice!

I also need to wrap this up because they'll be here any minute, and I don't have anything else to add tonight anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, December 30, 2016

We've had a fun day, but I'm wiped out; so let's keep this very, very short.

First up, I did fall asleep during the movies last night; but Michael still went home when Rowen and Tim did – after helping to get the twins and their besties into bed for the night; and leaving me napping on the sofa in the lounge. Our morning was fairly normal with Tai Chi and breakfast in the sunroom; though Michael was working the breakfast shift at the Inn and missed out on both. I spent the morning helping Mom around the house; had another play afternoon with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and Michael; and then worked the dinner shift at the Inn. I didn't work until close, so I was home by the time the Rice clan arrived; and I spent the evening hanging out with Dawn and the rest of our family. Michael came over after work and hung out with us for a while too, but headed home by midnight because he's working the breakfast shift in the morning again.

Dawn and I sat up and talked for another hour and a half; Violet was with us for the first part of that before heading home with Dillon; and I had a bit of family business work to deal with after Dawn moved on to her room and was ready to get some sleep. There isn't anything major to report from the work, and nothing on the email front; so that's pretty much the news for today in a nutshell without any of the details.

Life is going to get busier for me starting in a few hours, though, and I really need to get all of the sleep I can get; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Happy New Year's Eve Day!

I'm about to head to the Inn to work the dinner and party shift, and won't be back home tonight; so I'm taking care of the update now and will add the New Year's Eve report to the New Year's Day update.

My morning was a crazy blur of fun and work after the Tai Chi calm that started our day out with a bit of quiet ahead of the familial storm. We fed our gang of weekend guests; some shopping or alternate play time was an option for everyone in the family; and we took turns doing the work to get ready for our family Christmas luncheon dinner and the afternoon gift exchange and play time. Michael worked the breakfast shift; came over in time for that lunch; and stayed for the gift exchange and some of the football bowl game watching going on in the living room. We also supervised the junior cousins for lunch in the sunroom; had a bit of play time in the lounge when we could do that; and now Michael's at home getting ready for our shift at the Inn too while I'm multi-tasking my usual bedtime computing with getting ready for the dinner, party, and work tonight too.

I'm skipping a lot of details here, but really don't have much time; and there are too many kids and teens in the lounge next door for me to try a time phase to make the extra time I'd need for the entire report.

Doing something closer to a double-update tomorrow is an option, though, so let's do that instead; and I'll just wrap this up and go on to find out what's going to happen in my life between now and then!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!
***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, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 Journals are also available for free at my  Smashwords Author Page.
